Tag Archives: handspun

The Dirtiest Fiber I’ve Ever Spun

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I snuck in a super quick spin after the holidays. I had some unknown fiber in my donated stash bucket. The only thing I know is that it’s from the Weavers Loft, the fiber is brown and I had 2.9 ounces. So I got it on the wheel!

This was quite literally the dirtest fiber I have ever spun. My fingers turned BLACK where the fiber was passing through my fingers. The prepped fiber must have not been washed a ton after shearing. Which is fine but a new experience for me!

I ended up spinning all the fiber on one bobbin and then caking it up into a center pull ball to ply back on itself. When I was done I had a 2-ply skein that measured 114 yards over 74 grams. So a worsted skein with a few thicker spots.

I had to wash and wash and wash this skein to get all the grime out. But I got there and the skein turned out really pretty. Now to plot my next spin! Happy Spinning!!

Labeling Binge

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I present to you….most of my handspun stash!

I was organizing my storage bins and realized that I am amassing quite the collection of handspun. And some of it really looks alike. So went on the interwebs and downloaded some free templates for hand spun yarn labels.

I managed to get each skein labeled with yardage, weight, fiber content and date. I feel like future Rachelle will really appreciate what today Rachelle did. Not to mention it made the organization lobe of my brain REALLY happy.

Happy Spinning!!

Romney Spins Fast

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I have been sneaky spinning some 100% Romney I pulled from my donated stash. I started with a pretty large amount of fiber as it was 7.8 ounces. I let the fiber tell me what to do and I spun the roving with a pinch and pull method. I didn’t even grab any in progress spinning photos, I just couldn’t put this one down!

I ended up filling two bobbins without really having measured or splitting the fiber. After resting the singles I started plying them as two ply. I filled one bobbing and had to start a second one! This was for sure my biggest spin thus far. I did have a little bit of singles left on one bobbing so I three plied it back onto itself to finish it out.

In the end I created two 100 gram worsted to light bulky weight skeins that had roughly 328 total yards. And the small three ply mini was 15 grams and just under 17 yards of a bulky. All skeins got washed, whacked and finished. I was surprised at the amount of grime that came out of this relatively light colored wool.

Now on to my next spinning project!

I Couldn’t Help Myself

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A few special people in my life are expecting babies in the new year. So I couldn’t let those babies have cold heads!!

This yarn is some Super Bulky spindle spun handspun from 2020. I decided they needed to be baby beanies. I pulled out some size 10 dpns and just invented hats on the fly. I used up every single inch of precious handspun and came out with two cute hats.

PB loaned me a baby doll so I could take glamor shots. I still need to wash them and get them wrapped up. But that is for another day!

Happy Knitting!!

Friday Spinning Win

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I managed to snag some free time over the weekend to wash up and dry my latest hanspun. I came out with two really nice skeins!!

On the left is my unknown merino/alpaca 2-ply that came out black/dark grey with white tweedy bits. This skein had about 7 wraps per inch equating to a bulky yarn. I managed to get a 112 gram skein with 159 yards. So I really should be able to make something with this one!

And on the right is a skein that delighted me to no end. I had 4.1 ounces of all BFL roving in a natural/tan color. This spun a lot finer for me than previous attempts. So this two ply came out to more like 9 wraps per inch and close to a worsted. This is my finest spinning yet. The finished skein was 114 grams and 251 yards. That is pretty darn close to commercial yarn stats!!

I think that BFL skein will need to be my next Musselburgh hat…..

Happy Spinning!!

More Skeins Ready For A Bath

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As predicted my mystery tweedy alpaca singles very quickly passed through my wheel. And while those singles were resting I managed to get a whole other fiber bat spun up.

I ignored my household chores of laundry and dishes to spend a whole glorious evening plying my singles and watching Vlogmas videos from my favorite knitters. I ended up with these two pretty skeins.

They don’t hang completely straight and have a small amount of twist which means I might have overplied them. But that should wash out when I soak and whack these skeins. But now I need to catch up the laundry and washing line so I have room to wash and dry yarn!

Happy spinning!!

Spinning Mystery Fiber

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After emptying my wheel this week I decided to start my next set of singles. I am still working through the inherited fiber I received when I decided to start spinning. This is some mystery alpaca fiber that appears to contain white tweed blips.

This fiber is spinning pretty quickly and fairly consistently. I can tell my muscle memory is getting better as I am better able to look up from my hands for short periods now. Which really helps me pay better attention to my TV shows, lol.

I only have 4 ounces of this fiber so I see this project going very quickly. I think I will play to 2-ply this yarn back on itself again. I really like the yarn I am getting from this method. And I might be amazing enough 2-ply alpaca skeins that I could make larger project!

Happy Spinning!!

Knitting With Handspun

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A wise spinner told me that I shouldn’t wait to start knitting with my handspun. I should reap the benefits of my new found skill so matter how “good” I think my yarn is or isn’t. So I grabbed my recently finished teal skein and set to making a hat.

I cast on 72 stitches using a US 8 needles and started ribbing. I don’t have a plan or a pattern. I am just winging it and monitoring how much yarn I am using so that I leave enough for the crown decreases.

So far it is really neat seeing what the yarn is doing with the thick and thin bits. I can really see how that plays out in the stockinette section. I am pretty certain I will keep this hat in my hat collections because it is just too special.

Happy Knitting!!

Finished: Alpaca Blend 2-ply

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My spinning mojo is still chugging right along. I finished up the alpaca blend singles I had on the wheel. I did a pretty simple process of spinning a bobbin of singles and then wound into a center pull cake. I then plied by pulling from both the inside and outside of the cake. A wash and whack after that and I have a VERY soft finishd skein of yarn!

Skein: Merino/Alpaca 2-ply (Rav Link)

Size: I ended up with an 83 gram skein of 128 yards. So this is a bulky skein for the most part.

What will I do with this one? I have zero clue, lol. I am just starting a handspun section of my yarn stash to hoard all my treasures!

Happy Spinning!!

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!!