I was at SAFF this weekend so the intrepid duo of Sherman and Scarlett was home alone with Brad. He took them for Scarlett's first walk in the woods. It sounds like they all had a good weekend together, but I think Brad is glad to have another adult back in the house.
I've got a lot to do around the house to catch up on things since I was gone. I'll be back with more about SAFF later.
First thing to do is select the fiber. In an effort to be thrifty and save money for festival shopping, I picked something from my stash. This selection is Peruvian Merino wool from the Black Bunny Fiber Club. There is about 8 ounces of fiber in this bundle and the colors is called French Lavender. Color management is not going to be a concern for this project for a couple of reasons. The fiber is dyed in such a way that keeping the colors together would be difficult and I'm using my singles to take to my class so I'm not going to try and get any particular color pattern.
So I start by undoing the braid/bundle of fiber and pulling the long piece into equal halves length wise.I continue to pull the lengths of fiber into even width strips until I have them about the thickness of a pencil roving.You can adjust the width of the strips depending on what you are trying to spin.I would guess that if I took a typical 4 ounce braid of fiber, on average, I would end up dividing it into about sixteen strips.
Once you have all the fiber divided into strips, you can loosen the fibers up by holding the fiber and placing your hands about 4 inches apart. I picked 4 inches for the hand spacing here because I'm using merino and I know the staple length of the merino fibers is usually 3-4 inches. Adjust the spacing between your hands Gently pull the fibers loose but do not separate them completely; you still want the fibers connected in long pieces. You won't have to make as many joins that way. The top strip of fiber has not been pulled apart, but the bottom part shows where the fibers have been opened up for spinning.
Anyway, once all the fibers are loose and ready to go, I wrap each strand into a separate ball around my hand and pile them up. Wrapping the fiber around your hand will introduce a small amount of twist and help hold the fibers together until you are ready to spin.I use a kitchen scale to weigh all the fiber and then I divide everything into two equal piles and start spinning.
I've finished spinning the singles for my class and they came out okay. I'll be sure and share the results of the class and show any yarns that result. Maybe I'll have some singles leftover for a 2-ply as well.
The knitted fabric is interesting it has a great texture and overall look, but it is kind of thick and used up my yarn quickly. Even though the socks are thick, I find the feel of them to be very pleasant, even in shoes. I did have extra yarn, so I could have made these a bit longer, but I was really tired of knitting them and so they are a little shorter than my average pair. I think the only reason that they even got finished was because the project was sitting in the living room next to the chair where I usually sit.
Project Info
My first step in this process was to buy some unprocessed alpaca blanket (fleece) at a local fiber festival this spring. My grand idea was that I would learn how to process the fiber; that includes washing, picking out any and all foreign matter, and then of course combing or carding the fiber into something spinable. Well, to get to that step was going to require some work and the purchase of at least some simple, though potentially expensive, equipment.
I ended up with about 1 pound 12 ounce of spinning fiber; just slightly less fiber than I sent. The fiber I sent in didn't meet the recommended minimum limit, so I was limited on what I could get back and I has charged a set minimum fee for the processing. But I'm please with the results. And at least I don't have unwashed fiber sitting around in my closet.
The guild gave every participant 2 ounces of white Shetland to incorporate into the project as well. The fiber I drew from the pile is a combination of wool, mohair, and silk. I like how the light tan color work with the white Shetland fiber. I've been considering spinning each fiber into a single and then plying them together into one yarn. I think the over all effect would be nice and maybe slightly tweedy. I'd like to have a pattern in mind though so I know what weight yarn to spin. I've only got four ounces though so the project cannot be too large. I do have some dark brown Shetland that I could incorporate too. That would give me more yardage. Maybe something stripey would work.
I just love the colors in this scarf. As I spinning the yarn I knew that it would not be in the stash very long before I started to use it in a project. I like how the yellow moves from orange to pink and back again to yellow. I liked all the colors in the roving - but it seems to look even better in the finished yarn to me. I really like how it held the color sections to make stripes.
I've being eyeing this pattern for awhile, really ever since I saw the handspun version on Smoking Hot Needles. I had just started to get interested in spinning when I saw this and figured it would be a good project once I was able to spin an appropriate yarn. I thought of this pattern as soon as I saw the roving. So I did spin the yarn with this pattern in mind.
The pattern was very easy to memorize and travelled well. I was able to put this into a small drawstring bag and carry it around with me until it was finished. It went quickly too - it probably helped that I was traveling for work and I was cooped up in hotels an airports. That is always conducive to easy knitting projects.
I did have to block the scarf to end up with the best finished length possible. I was hesitant to block it though because I liked the way everything looked unblocked. I blocked my chevron scarf and was actually sorry I did. But I wanted the extra length the blocking would give so I went ahead and blocked. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. I like the finished project very much; in fact, I think I like it better blocked. It seems to show off the yarn a little better than it did before. I wish I had taken pictures before the blocking so I could compare it here.
Project Info
I think Sundays will be good day to do any puppy updates and show off any recent cute pictures. We spend a lot of time in the yard with Sherman and Scarlett over the weekend so there will usually be fresh material. It will also be a good way to chronicle her growth over the next few months.
Right now we are dealing with some gastrointestinal parasites and anemia with Scarlett. Which required a nice Friday vet trip. The anemia is causing her to eat dirt, stick, rocks, lick concrete, and try and take down the trees in the yard bite by bite! We seem to be on the right track for treating that, but we expect to head back for an unrelated issue on Monday morning. I'm suspecting we now have a uti or bladder infection to add to the mix.
Well I guess those are all things you have to expect with a new puppy. She has been fun too. She loves to follow Sherman around and bite his tale and snip at his heels. She also like to bark at him too. Anyway, we are hoping her health improves this week and we can have a little more active weekend.
I'm sure there will be some good photos to share!
Yeah, it is another 3-ply yarn. I spun this yarn before I got all of your feed back last time. So, I thought I'd go ahead and post this one now. I'm going to start spinning something new today and will try to incorporate the suggestions you gave me in the post for that next skein of handspun.
This is superwash Corriedale. The individual fibers are longer than merino and that helps make it easy to draft and spin. I do like spinning Corriedale, but it isn't quite as soft as Merino. But it is still nice enough to wear next to the skin. The fiber is a little bit hairy too. So the yarn isn't as quite as smooth as the yarns I've spun from Merino either.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this knits up and how it wears in a pair of socks. I'm going to guess that the coarser fiber will produce stronger socks. Time will tell.
Geddesburg Handspun Yarn
Nah, actually she's a very sweet little puppy, but she is a lot more active and adventurous than Sherman was when we first brought him home. I have a feeling she will really open up in the coming weeks as she grows and gets use to being here with us in her new home.
Sherman and Scarlett are getting along too. We were a bit taken aback by the size difference in the two. She is a lot smaller than he was when we brought him home. So, right now playtime has to be supervised to keep the Scarlett from getting accidentally trampled. Although she does like to walk behind Sherman and bite his tail and she growls at him to try and entice him to play. She runs to hide as soon as he seems willing to play though.
I've been spinning again and I went for another 3-ply yarn. I really have enjoyed knitting with my handspun 3-ply, so another seemed in order. I think this skein is destined to become another pair of socks.
I really haven't been trying anything new with my spinning. I've reached a comfortable place with my spinning and I enjoy knitting with the yarn I spin. So that has led to a rut of sorts for trying new things.
I've wanted to try and post some spinning tips or describe some of the methods I use for spinning and plying. But I haven't set aside anytime to take photos while I'm spinning. I also wonder what you want to see posted with the photos of my handspun. Maybe the photos by themselves is enough. So what do you think, is something missing from these posts?
Geddesburg Handspun Yarn
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