SPIN008

Look what I did on Saturday morning!



Two skeins of Cheviot from Wildcraft in colourway Shamrock. I am becoming more into greens in the past few months. Plus I was very interested to try out Cheviot so I grabbed this together with another braid in yellow immediately after I saw them on Wildcraft webshop.

I was planning to do a standard 2-ply so I divided the top into two halves in the middle, then further divided each lengthwise into thin strips of about 3-5 grams.

It's my first time to spin Cheviot. I loved it! It's softer than the English Wool Blend I usually got from Wildcraft. With a medium staple length of about 3-5 inches (according to Wikipedia), it is easy to draft and perfect for a beginning spinner like me.

The colours were lovely. I was amazed by the different shades and depths of greens remained upon spinning. I wasn't sure if the subtle changes in colour would stay after plying, so I changed my mind and decided to keep the two bobbins as singles. Hum... I still don't know if it's really a good idea. Because the two bobbins of single were still quite overspun and very kinky even after I ran them into opposite direction once.

It's also my first time to really "whack" my handspun. I usually finish my handspun yarn by a normal bath in lurk water. But recently I saw some discussions on Ravelry about whacking and fulling singles and understand single yarn needs some agitation to get the lovely "softened & smooth round" look. So I decided to give it a try. I gave the yarn hot-and-cold baths 2 times (Hot, cold, hot, cold). I was quite worried it would become some ugly felted ropes, but I think it managed to survive. The slightly felted look not only made the singles stronger but also gave it a cozy bouncy look which I am really happy with!



I now got two skeins of Cheviot. Both are 52 grams in weight. The pre-wash yardage were 157m and 163m. Pretty close right? Honestly I am quite proud of it. They are relatively even (relatively! to me!). However I noticed a significant shrinkage in the length of both skins. I tried to put it back on to the niddy noddy and found  both skein was about 3-4 inches too short to go back so I think the shrinkage is about 5%. Should still be enough to make a shawlette or a pair of mittens I guess?