SPIN011: Massam

For non-spinning readers, sorry to bore you with another spinning note. I promise it is the last one for a while. Will have more knitting related posts in the next few days -- I am hoping to have a FO so as a FO post by the end of next week. :)

In fact I think I hurt myself last night. After spinning about 600 yards continuously, my right thumb is in pain which extends to my forearm when I press my thumb down against my palm. Lesson learned. Shall never ever try spinning more than 400 yards in a day. I should be taking rest and staying away from my wheel for at least a week or so.

Anyway, let me show you what made me so obsessed last night. My November club fibre from Spunky Eclectic arrived on Thursday. The colourway is called Emerald City, inspired by The Wizard of Oz. Massam is a long wool with a very long staple (over 10 inches! wow. oh yes. I did measure it.). I heard lots of contrasting comments about Massam. Some said it spins like a dream or it just drafts by itself. Others said its long staple length makes it a bear to draft.



I divided the top lengthwise into two strips. Then I torn about 5 grams off to spin on my new Jumbo flyer. I used the slowest ratio which is 3.5:1. Couldn't handle it at all, so I switched my standard flyer back. My fault. I really should have tried the Jumbo flyer out with some scrap or undyed fibre first.



I then spun two bobbins of lace singles at 5.5:1. I have never spun any lace with such a low twist before! Guess it's the fun of long wools? Indeed it's a totally different experience to spin the long wool. As usual I did forward short draw (as I still don't have enough confidence to do long draw or properly prepare fibre for that). Usually my hands were only about 3-6 inches away (I am talking about the maximum distance between two hands, just immediately before my right drafting hand draw back to my left fibre hand). But to spin Massam, my hands were really far apart. It's about 12-15 inches. It really felt a bit strange at first, but other than that, Massam doesn't seem more difficult than other wool of medium length I've spun. True that it's not that soft. But the long staple makes spinning lace weight or low-twists easier. Even at a low ratio of 5.5:1, the single didn't really break as often as other fibre did during spinning. It's fairly relaxing and mindless to spin. And I'll definitely get some more Massam later.



Was tempted to ply them together to get a standard 2-ply. But I was curious to know if such a low-twist single can survive on their own without plying...



That's how I got two skeins of low-twist singles of Massam. They have 487m (533 yards) in total. In terms of yardage, they look like light fingering. But with a wpi of about 23-25, they should knit up as lace weight.

What to do with them? Maybe a Citron?

Oct/Nov Club Fibre *SPOILER*

I decided to join several fibre clubs in early October. Finally they are all here. I am so glad that all parcels arrived safely!

Ok! Ready for some eye candies?

These two braids arrived last weekend from Spunky Eclectic. They are Targhee, which I think is a native American sheep breed. I heard that Targhee is mushy and rough, not an enjoyable spin. But other club members said on Ravelry that Amy's one is definitely a good prep and is really wonderful. I haven't started spinning yet but did draft out about 3 grams at one end. It is not as soft as BFL but definitely softer than the English 56s. Maybe similar to Shetland? I'll try to spin a few grams to see if I can do a low-twist single. Sounds a bit too ambitious for a beginner like me huh?



Then yesterday came the Thylacine November club fibre. It's a very interesting blend of English 56s, Alpaca and Black Bamboo. Honestly the fibre content looks a bit challenging for me so it probably will stay in my stash for a while. But I love its humbug look. As usual, Megan's dye work is greatly inspired by Australian landscapes and cultures (as she's from Tasmania). This colourway is called Coolibah Tree. Megan's inspiration was from a poem/song called Waltzing Coolibah Tree which mentioned rivers and shades.



The postie brought me two parcels this morning. One of them was the November club fibre from Wildcraft. It's a BFL/Silk blend dyed in reds and yellows.I think the BFL is mixed BFL as it has a cute humbug look. I absolutely love it! I meant to try spinning BFL/Silk for a while so this braid just came at a perfect time. I also love the relatively longer repeats of each colour. Hope it will get some crispy and distinct colour changes when spun up. Maybe for a stripey scarf?



Another parcel is not a club fibre but an order with WoW. Alright. I cheated. I am not supposed to buy any yarn until 2011. But wait, it's fibre, so it doesn't count right? Anyway I think I deserve some credit for being able to resist the Wollmeise wave heating Loop. Plus the 500 grams of tops I got from WoW worth less than half a skein of Wollmeise in Loop. Not a bad deal right? :D

WoW does sell commercially dyed fibre but all I got are in natural colours. From top left-hand corner: White Superwash English 56, Grey Shetland, Shetland blended with bleached Tussah Silk, Oatmeal BFL, Humbug BFL blended with white, oatmeal and brown.

Among them, the two packs of BFL are definitely my favourites. So soft! The natural colours look sweet too. I am really looking forward to spinning with them.

I am currently on a very very very tight schedule for my Holiday Challenge. Ok. Totally my fault. Who would start holiday knitting in November? Especially those with in-laws living on another side of the earth. I can't afford do anything spinning until early January unless I can finish my Holiday Challenge ahead of schedule. Well. These parcels are wonderful motivators. I'll try to finish my Xmas knitting asap in order to spin!