Tag Archives: singles

Spinning Lamb Again

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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?

Finished Cotton Candy Singles

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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!!

Everything Coming Up Daffodils

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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!!

Spinning Deep Regret

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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!

Ultra Fine Merino

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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!!

Super Fine Merino

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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!!

That Went South Fast

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My plying process started out so good…..

And then it went south SOOOOO FAST…..

My tension from the cake got all wonky. And then the outside started feeding faster than the inside and in the end I ended up with tangled ramen.

I took a big girl breath and decided to walk away for a minute. My play is to break the singles and wind the ramen into separate balls. Once I get all the chaos under control I will then reevaluate and figure out best to keep plying this beast.

Slightly less happy spinning today….

From Batt to Singles

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The two ounces of this wee little bat didn’t take me long to get spun into singles. I have a finished bobbin of singles all ready to spend 24 hours in timeout.

I feel like a I have strong singles with good enough twist that I feel comfortable winding this off into a center pull ball. I will get out my tensioned lazy kate and ball winder to make my cake. But that is tonight’s task!

Happy Spinning!!

Batt Obsessed

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I finished my little 3-ply recently and I couldn’t help but pull out the other Moonstone Dyeworks batt that I had ordered and got it on the wheel.

This is another custom made batt that has a mix of rambioullet, merino and a bunch of other fiber content. This is really spinning very easily and I find that I don’t mind spinning from the batt.

I don’t think I plan to spin this into a 3 ply and shoot for a 2-ply instead. I will spin all the fiber on to a single bobbin and then wind the bobbin off into a cake. With the end goal of spinning from both ends of the cake. That way I use up all the singles with no leftovers.

Happy Monday and happy spinning!!

Spinning My First Batt

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After getting the Corriedale off the wheel this past weekend I felt the itch to start some of the small batts I purchased recently from Moonstone Dyeworks. I decided to start the purple-ish one.

This is a custom blend that is mostly Rambioullet but has some mohair, nylon and merino. I can feel some longer staple fibers every once in awhile. Overall its been very pleasant to spin.

I have achieved relatively thin and consistent singles for this spin. I have a plan to 3-ply these singles using chain ply. I will end up with a very small skein doing this method as this fiber is only two ounces in total.

This spinning project is really hitting the sweet spot in my brain and I kind of don’t want to stop. I forecast this being a super quick project! Happy Spinning!!