Author Archives: atangledyarn84

Beautiful BFL Skeins

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My finished Fusion hand spun is all skeined and measured up! I was finally able to dig out my yardage counter and other spinning tools. They had migrated to the bottom of my fiber stash box.

First up, on the left, is the chain plied 3-ply. This came out to roughly 18 grams and 11 yards. So definitely a super bulky! I think I got 5 wraps per inch depending on where in the skein I measured. Next up, on the right, is the 2 ply. This one came out to 6 wraps per inch and there were 90 grams over 73 yards. So I think this one is more of a bulky weight.

I am pleased as punch with both and they have landed in the special “golden egg” portion of my stash for now. My brain is now planning my next spin!

Happy Spinning!!

Spa Knitting

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As a belated birthday present myself I booked myself a spa night. I saved up all my birthday pennies and indulged in a 60 minute soak and 60 minute massage. IT WAS GLORIOUS.

I had solo access to the outdoor hot tub and sauna in a beautiful Japanese style garden. The air was cool and I could hear the wind rustling the trees. I basically melted into a puddle.

And guess what? You can totally knit in the sauna!! Of course your needs and stitch markers do get a little warm, lol. My Baby Blend Basic Hat did grow another inch before I dissolved into complete sweaty relaxation. That and I had to stop because I a now ready for the crown decreases.

Happy Knitting!!

Could Use A Little More Twist

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My Purple and Teal plied yarns are washed, whacked and dry. I was chuffed to see how “big” of skeins I created!

I love these yarns and all their uniqueness. But if I was being honest (and a little critical) I think they each could have used a little more twist in the plying. They are spun very loosely but do hold together.

Next up I need to wind and measure these beauties. I think these might be closer to a heavy worsted than my previous bulky/super bulky. But I still haven’t located my yardage counters or wraps per inch tool. My craft supplies might be a bit chaotic right now!

Happy Spinning!!

Cast On: Musselburgh

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I decided I could no longer resist seeing all the beautiful Musselburgh hats all over Raverly, social media and podcasts and I needed one of my own! I wound up the skein of Yak Sock from Moonstone Dyeworks and cast on my first Musselburgh.

I must admit I had put this project off for awhile because I HATE fiddly cast-ons with DPNs. I am totally capable of doing them but I have a mental block with them. And my needles definitely slipped out of my first try because it is slick yarn on metal needles.

But now I am off to the races and knitting the prescribed amount so I can determine my gauge and stitch count. Happy Knitting!!

A Plying Spree

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My wheel was empty after finishing my Fusion BFL skeins so I decided to ply up my first couple of set of singles. My purple singles and teal singles were WELL rested and ready for plying.

I used my ball winder to wind both singles into center pull cakes to ply end to end. My spinning teacher recommended this for me based on the twist/singles she saw me making. So I just decided to give it a whirl and I learned a lot.

First up, I could really tell I spun the purple singles first. They had much more thick and thin spots with plenty of unspun bits. That is compared to my teal singles that got more consistent thanks to practice. And both skeins had some overspun spots where it made plying extra hard because the yarn kinked back up on itself.

At the end of the day I have two filled bobbins with almost finished yarn. Next up for those yarn babies is bath and whack! Happy Spinning!!

Look At That Balance

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I took some time in between pie and napping yesterday to wash and dry what I’m calling my Fusion 2 py and Fusion 3 ply handspun.

I am super super super happy with these skeins. I have lots of issues but I managed two pretty well balance skeins that hang straight and stayed together through washing! Considering I have about 20 hours of total spinning under my belt I am super happy with my results. I am taking all of this with a growth mindset and looking forward to improving from here.

My chain ply is a little ropey and tight in places but still a super useful yarn! Next up is to dig out my yardage counter and get these measured up. Still betting on these both come out to a bulky weight. And I have absolutely no idea what I will knit with these. I might need to hoard them in the stash for a bit, lol.

Happy Spinning!!

Plying BFL Singles

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With the short holiday week I snuck in some extra spinning time, tee hee hee. My Jakira Farms BFL singles flew through my fingers. I had about 3.5 ounces of fiber left for this go around. I had split the fiber braid in half so I spun half on one bobbin and the second half on a different to aid with plying.

I managed to get a decent sized bobbing of a two ply (left) and then I had some singles remaining because I obviously didn’t split precisely or more likely my spinning varied quite a bit from beginning to end. So followed some more YouTube tutorials and managed to chain ply what I had left (right).

I am just pleased as punch to have some finished yarn that I made on purpose! Next up for these guys is a wash and whack to set the finished yarn. I am pretty sure both of these will come out to a bulky weight but we shall see!

Happy Spinning!!

A Hat Is Forming Quickly

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I blinked and a hat seems to be falling off of my needles! My Baby Blend Basic Hat it cruising towards completion.

I finished the brim in snap. I did end up working a turned brim and attached the cast on end to my live stitches after six inches of stockinette. Thus by the power of math I have a three inch brim!

I did go down a needle size to a US 7 to work the body of the hat. I felt like I wanted a denser and warmer fabric for the remainder of the hat. At this rate I should be ready for decreases in two more blinks!

Happy Knitting!!

Spinning BFL Singles

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Since my wheel was empty after finishing my teal singles I decided to put some more singles on before plying, just to keep my hands and feet practicing going in the same direction. This time I grabbed the Jakira Farms BFL I had tried to spin over a year ago to absolutely no success.

Safe to say I am making better progress this time! I am starting to notice that I can maintain a more even single with fewer thick and thin spots. Don’t get me wrong there are a ton of them in there! There are just fewer than last time, lol.

Happy Spinning!!