The spinning has been slow and warm by the fire. I finished the second two ounces of Finn fiber. The bobbins look very similar and I hope this means the yardage is similar.
This fiber is really lovely to spin with. As long as it plies out nicely, I think I will be procuring more Finn from 14 Hands Ranch. Admittedly, I still have the third ball of two ounces to spin. Spinning has been my calm in the year end storm.
We are past the winter solstice and the days can only get longer now. The holiday season brought some SUPER frigid temperatures and I pulled my wheel close to the fire. This is the Finn I started before Christmas.
I have the second ounce on the wheel and the first ounce resting on its bobbin. This fiber is carded very well and spins wonderfully. I started and stopped several times, but I got there eventually.
I’m still thinking I will put each ounce on its own bobbing and 3-ply the lot. I haven’t done 3-ply a ton so I’m intrigued on how it will turn out. I still have dreams of a stripped bulky handspun sweater in my handspun…..
Happy Spinning!!
I finished the incredibly sparkly and very messy Pink Merino Sparkle 2-ply. I’ll have FO pics to share tomorrow! So I decided to keep my wheel cozy and warm but starting the Finn roving I got at Fiber Flurry.
I have three little one ounce nests. I plan to spin each on its own bobbin and then make a 2-ply if the fibers spins thick or a 3-ply if they spin thin. This is my first time working with Finn so I am interested to see how it turns out with my technique level.
This color would fit nice with some of my first handspun in natural colors. I am still dreaming of a big thick cozy handspun sweater. But we shall see!! Christmas is almost here so I have many many things to do!
Happy Spinning!!
It’s been about one month since I touched my wheel. I decided to get back into the flow over the weekend. I grabbed the small 2 oz custom batt I bought at Fiber Flurry 2022.
This bat is VERY fluffy and VERY sparkly. It sheds more than my daycare providers German Shepherd in the spring. There are only 2 ounces of this fiber so I will just spin the whole thing onto one bobbin and then 2-ply back on itself.
I am a little out of practice so I reasoned that going back to my “default” spin would be a nice warm up to get my fingers back into the groove. Happy Spinning!!
My wheel has been a little quite lately. I decided to pull out a the fiber and partial bobbin of lamb I started way back when.
This custom blend is a longwool mix. It’s very different from the merino and other fibers I have been spinning. I’m not sure I am enjoying it, to be honest. I am about halfway through the fiber. I am really having a hard time mustering the desire to spin this. There is nothing wrong with it and I am making successful singles. It just feels like a slog.
I may put this back in timeout and pull out some different fiber that brings me joy?
My big floofy bat is all the way spun. I had a very interesting time with this fiber blend that looked like mixed up cotton candy.
The bat was three ounces in total and a blend of merino, rambioullet, mulberry silk, angelina, firestar and targhee. The bat was made by Melissa’s Yarn Barn and it didn’t come with composition percentages. I could feel the silk come up and be very slippery meanwhile the merino drafted very differently from the rambioullet and targhee.
All the fiber fit on one bobbin and I plan to chain play the whole thing. Which means I will end up smaller and thicker skein. But these colors aren’t my usual jam so this might be a donation skein or end up being a winter hat.
Happy Spinning!!
After finishing my Deep Regret 2-ply I decided to work another smaller project. I seem to be all about the instant gratification!
This Romney is not as soft the merino I have been working with and find I need to pre-draft a little bit more. I split the braid in half and then those half again to make thinner fiber. And as I spin I am opening up the fiber to make a thinner single.
My kids and husband were on the Switch before school/daycare so I took my wheel and my coffee outside for 10 minutes to spin before work. It was sunny, cool and calm. The last I saw of those things that day. Work has upended once again and is causing me more responsibility and stress but that’s a post for another day!
Happy Spinning!!
I love a good theme, so I decided to pull out the last of the three month fiber club I received early this year. This is four ounces of a merino/tencel blend. I decided to take a different tac on this braid to see if I could get finer singles than my previous spinning.
I split the braid in half to make two lots. And then for each lot I broke those in half lengthwise and then split those halves down the middle to end up with little nests of fiber. These are skinnier sections of fiber that I hope to control into finer singles.
Now I just need the spare time to keep spinning!
Turns out that my practice at spinning is making me faster and more confident. I had a work colleague over for a patio chat one evening and I managed to get all four ounces onto bobbins.
This fiber is just so super soft. I am glad I don’t plan to wind these off into cakes. They would tangle like beast. Looking at these bobbins, I for sure will get barber-poled finished yarn. For now, I am going to rest these singles and try to get my mo-jo working back in the knitting direction.
Happy Spinning!!
My wheel was feeling a little lonely without any spinning on it after finishing my batt. So I pulled out another little braid from the fiber club that my hubby got me for Christmas. This one is DELICIOUS! It’s 18.5 micron merino and like BUTTER!
I opened up this braid and split the entire thing in half. I wasn’t overly scientific and just eye balled it. The plan is to spin half the braid onto one bobbin and the other half onto a second. Then I can 2-ply.
This braid is giving me some serious stripes in the singles. The colors are very saturated and I can’t help but think I will some great barber poling in my finished yarn. I am not taking care to line up colors in the singles. I am just letting the fiber do what it wants to do.
Happy Spinning!!
Michele plays with yarn, food, and music in Portland
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