Mystery Handspun, But It’s Finished!

Posted on May 4, 2022 by atangledyarn84

I have had some singles finished and just waiting on bobbins. I got a wild hair to ignore my adult responsibilities and stay up past 11 to ply everything the other night.

The singles were really inconsistent and prone to breaking. So I decided to chain ply/3-ply them back on themselves. It made a really thick and thin yarn but I think it came out really pretty!

I ended up 242 yards out of 182 grams of wool. So this is probably a bulky skein with a few worsted spots on it. The wool was some unknown wool I was donated so I don’t know the fiber content is. It’s a little crunchy/wooly so I think not merino. But also not alpaca as there was no drape.

Whatever it is, I will make something fun with it! Happy Spinning!!

Fiber Clubs

Posted on March 10, 2022 by atangledyarn84

For Christmas the hubs got me a three month fiber club with WoolFiend. I have gotten two of three shipments. The first was a super fine micron merino in the Euphoria colorway (left)

The next month was a very appropriate spring colorway called “Waiting for Daffodils” in a 100% Romney blend.

I haven’t broken open either fiber packet and don’t have any designated spinning plans. For now I am loving watching what this dyer is doing with color. I may wait until the third installment shows up before I make plans.

Happy Spinning!!!

Warm Spinning

Posted on February 14, 2022 by atangledyarn84

After finishing my Mirror, Mirror spin, I put some mystery wool on my wheel. I have 6.6 ounces of mystery brown wool of unknown origin. I am not a great wool investigator but I know its not merino at all. It’s a bit of chocolate brown for a Valentines treat!

February has been pretty cold so I have been taking advantage of the fire to spin where its warm. I also have been wearing more of my wool socks. And I’m just spinning and letting the fiber become what it wants to be. I am not spinning with any sort of goal in mind.

Stay warm friends and happy spinning!!

FO Friday: Mirror Mirror 2-ply

Posted on February 11, 2022 by atangledyarn84

Some sparkly fun yarn has fallen off my wheel. I finished plying and have washed the 2-ply I made from my Christmas yarn from PB and Jellybean. I have named it Mirror, Mirror 2-ply!

I ended up with 233 grams/ 272 yards of a bulky 2-ply across two skeins. It’s not my most consistent spin and I was hoping it would come out closer to a worsted. But it’s marvelous finished spin and my kids LOVE it.

The photos really don’t do the purple sparkle justice. I am thinking this should be a cowl? But probably will percolate in the stash for a bit until it confirms to me what it wants to be. Happy Spinning!!

All Kinds Of New Tension

Posted on February 4, 2022 by atangledyarn84

I got kinda sorta obsessed with the singles from my Mirror, Mirror colorway I started earlier this week. I blinked and two full bobbins came off my wheel.

Based on how full I managed to get both bobbins, I have high hopes that this will end up fairly even and without a ton of leftover. But now I am super excited to try out the Lazy Kate my parents got me for Christmas!

It is all put together and I have adjusted all the bits and bobs. I just need to find some kiddo free time to sit and ply these singles together. I am by no means and expert, but I think I am going to MUCH prefer this to the cardboard boxes and knitting needle setup I had before.

I’ll keep you posted!

Spinning Sparkly Fluff

Posted on February 1, 2022 by atangledyarn84

For Christmas my kids picked out some fiber for me. No surprise that it was super sparkly pink/purple and very princess-ish. It some Rosie’s Magical Merino top in the Mirror, Mirror colowary.

I have a full 250 grams of this fiber so I have quite a bit. I used a scale and split this fiber into 125 lots. I am just now starting on the first half. My pants and floor end up VERY sparkly after spinning on this project, lo.

My kids can’t wait to see how this turns out. Happy Spinning!!

The Dirtiest Fiber I’ve Ever Spun

Posted on January 20, 2022 by atangledyarn84

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

Posted on January 18, 2022 by atangledyarn84

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

Posted on January 5, 2022 by atangledyarn84

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!

Another Alpaca And Merino Blend

Posted on December 28, 2021 by atangledyarn84

My wheel was cold without spinning on it. So here I go starting yet another bag of roving from my donated fiber stash.

This fiber actually had some information in it. This i3 ounces of merino/alpaca from Midwest Fiber Farm. Definitely a natural fiber with no dye. It is a nice blend of light and dark grey fibers. It is marling inside the singles.

I think this one will REALLY come out pretty when I ply it. Like a broken record, I plan to spin all the singles and make a 2-ply….again, lol.