Back in
December, I mentioned wanting to spin enough yarn for one of the sweaters in
A Fine Fleece. I have to preface this by saying I'm not a technical spinner, and spinning to a standard that isn't my normal mindless spinning just sounds way too hard. I know, I know, I should be a better person and learn to do this and I would learn a lot in the process and improve my spinning and all that. To do this properly I should spin up some samples and knit samples and do lots of math (shudder). Yeah, that all sounds like a lot of work. Plus I worry that I wouldn't have enough fiber if I have to dedicate who-knows-how-much-of-it to sampling, and then where would I be? A bunch of samples and I couldn't make the sweater anyway. So I decided that I would spin all the fiber as a 3-ply. The yarns used in the book for the patterns I like were all worsted weight, and my usual 2-ply would be too fine. I AM trying to spin a bit fatter, cause I'm not sure that a 3-ply would be the right weight either, but again - in a not-too-technical way. Mostly I'm going to wing it and hope for the best. This is supposed to be fun, so I'm just not going to go and try to make it hard!
The fiber I'm spinning is a blend of unknown wools with maybe a touch of mohair in it too - it's random stuff I dyed over the years and when I took it in for blending/carding, I meant to keep all the info about the fleeces with it, but it didn't happen. It's really pretty though! I love the tweedy look to it, with lots of different blues.
There are 4 of these little mini-bumps of fiber to spin up, totaling close to 2 lbs I think.
And here is what it's looking like on the bobbin - it's spinning up with a bit of texture, as well as the mix of color. I think I'm going to like the finished yarn!
So far I've filled 2 bobbins and have maybe 1/2 of the 3rd one. So, yeah, it's going to take a while. I'm not even through the first bump, although it is one of the larger weight ones, if that's any consolation. I wonder if I'll even get it all spun this year? Let alone get started knitting... This is definitely a long-term project. I so admire those people that get lots of spinning & knitting done!!
And then if this blue one isn't enough, I have a touch more of this purple blend. It's not as tweedy looking, but it has some silk noil in it for interest, and it feels like a higher mohair content. I adore mohair. But it's REALLY going to be a while if this blue stuff doesn't work out, and I opt to go with the purple!!
Maybe I should consider this a 5-year plan. So far so good! :)
2 comments:
Ah, a woman after my own heart and experience! As a self-taught spinner who doesn't have a lot of time or brain to devote to the craft, I "wing it." I have "A Fine Fleece," too, and want to do what you're doing. And I'll be doing it the same way, so you'll have to share how it goes.
Both colors are gorgeous - I'm sure the silk and mohair blend will be tempting. Who says you have to finish the first one before you start on the other? There's no reason you can't have many glorious endeavors going on!
Post a Comment