Tag Archives: spinning

Friday Spinning Win

Posted on by
2

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

Posted on by
1

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

Posted on by
3

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!!

Finished: Alpaca Blend 2-ply

Posted on by
Reply

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!!

Spinning Some Alpaca Blend

Posted on by
Reply

My wheel was empty after finishing my last two skeins of yarn/plying. So I grabbed some fiber from my stash and got started on some new singles.

Most of my spinning is coming from the hand me down fiber I got from my mother’s friend. He bought a ton of fiber at festivals and farm stands. This was some alpaca and merino blend in the natural colors (I think). I don’t have a ton of information because I didn’t buy it.

So far its spinning really well and fairly thin. My skills are improving and my lumps/bumps are getting smaller and fewer. It really is intoxicating to see how fast this can go!

Happy Spinning!!

Beautiful BFL Skeins

Posted on by
2

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!!

Could Use A Little More Twist

Posted on by
3

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!!

A Plying Spree

Posted on by
3

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

Posted on by
4

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

Posted on by
2

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!!