Wednesday, January 02, 2008

One, Two, Three

My first three attempts at spinning on my new wheel are complete.

Attempt #1
Fiber: 4 oz Corriedale; FiberMonster
Approx. yards: 74
I liked working with the Corriedale - but I knew that from working with my spindle. The fibers are easy to draft, but not too slippery for my novice hands. I had a lot of breaks in the yarn during spinning and plying. I'd have to say most of that is due to the twist going into the yarn - both too little and too much. I didn't spend much time preparing this fiber. I started spinning it about 5 minutes after getting the wheel set up to go. A little more preparation of the fiber before spinning would help a lot.


Attempt #2
Fiber:
5 oz Corriedale; FiberMonster
Approx. yards: 168
I like this one best because of the color and yardage. I did start out with more fiber so that explains some of extra yardage and I'm getting better at stopping big clumps of fiber from going through my fingers and onto the spindle. I got a lot less breaking during spinning and plying. I also spent more time fluffing and preparing the fiber before spinning. It made the spinning a lot easier.


Attempt #3
Fiber: 4 oz Corriedale Cross; Wooly Treasures
Approx. yards: 176
This is the last of the Corriedale I currently have. I figured I might as well go ahead and finish it all up. I liked these colors better in the fiber braid than I do all spun up.

I'm still not getting a consistent yarn, but it is a lot of fun. I've got to do some reading or take a look at some videos online to see what I need to work on - but I have a feeling this is one of those things that require a good amount of practice.

I need to figure out what to track with each attempt so I can compare and see my improvement. I bought some small tags at the office supply shop to write it all down and attache to the finished skein so I don't have to rely on memory alone. I thought about trying to record the wraps per inch for each skein. These skeins have so many inconsistencies that it would have been an average at best - so I'll start figuring that out later. I've already got some more fiber spun up and just waiting on being plied.

12 comments:

cpurl17 said...

Wow! The colors are fabulous!
This year is going to be great!

Monika said...

I'm very much impressed with your first attempts! They look wonderful! I love all the colores you've got, very intersting and not boring at all! Even with the inconsistency they might knit up nicely. Can't wait to see your future spinning atventures. Good luck with it!

Deb said...

Oh man - you are way ahead of me. I'm still j ust looking at mine and afraid to touch it! I better get ofver that!! Beatufil job on all.....

Bezzie said...

Wow! You're a natural! I've never seen first attempts look that good!

elizabeth said...

That looks great! As far as concentrating on what you need to do and learn, I've found that experience is the best teacher! Plus, it's fun!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

So impressive! I know absolutely nothing about spinning, but they look perfect!

Batty said...

Oooh, the first one is my favorite! It's bright and colorful and happy.

Lazuli said...

Wow, that yarn looks gorgeous! I think you're doing amazingly well for attempts 1-3! Have fun!

froghair said...

that is some incredibly beautiful, sexy yarn! I just love the colorway of the first one. Way to go!

The Kelly Green Rogue said...

so pretty!

Anonymous said...

These look really good. The first attempt looks a great deal different in the photo than it did on the "knitty knotty" (is that what it's called?). I think you're doing really well. I meant to try it again before I left you house but got busy with pillows etc. Maybe next time....

Anonymous said...

Great job spinning!