This is the first time I spun 8 oz. of roving into yarn - on my spindle. There was this Sunday afternoon where I thought I'd go down to ariadne and try the wheel they have in the store. I got frustrated really quickly - but that's my own fault. I brought the wrong roving, and drafting was just not working out. So back to the spindle for the project it was. In the end it wasn't bad getting it done, I just spun a little every day.
I'd never spun roving with mohair in it before, the drafting turned out to be a challenge in the beginning (it's 50% border leicester/50% mohair). Once I had figured it out, it got way better. I'm trying to see the little bit of unevenness in the yarn as the special charm it possesses. The 2ply turned out to be a DK weight - I could knit it on 3.75 mm needles (US 5).
To give the plied yarn a quick wash to set it, you wind it into a skein. For a while I made do with my umbrella swift, but it's a bit of a hassle. Now I use my skein winder - it's vintage, or maybe even antique, and I got it from an old lady who was in the sheep raising and spinning business for decades, but had to give it up because of health reasons.
I can tell you, these were 50 bucks well spent. I love it.
I have also finished (it only took a day, really) Egg's cap. I'm still not sure if I should attach ties. I don't think it's really necessary. It used only 23 grams of my hand spun.
Where's the baby when you need one?
No comments:
Post a Comment