SPIN009 & SPIN010

I spun two skeins of standard 2-ply few weeks ago but didn't have the heart to wash and finish them till last week.

SPIN009: Wildcraft Superwash English Wool Blend. Colourway The Little Rainbow.



Originally I tried spinning directly without further division. I hope to reserve the distinct colour repeats and get a stripey yarn by Navajo chain plying. But then I noticed the colour repeats were quite short. Maybe 2 inches or less. After pre-drafting and spinning for about 5 grams, I found the colours blending in too much. All whites and  yellows were crowded out by reds. The single I got was predominantly pink, a muddied pink.



I then tried spinning from the fold. No luck. I simply couldn't get the hang of it. I then divided the top lengthwise into many thin strips. I spun a few grams and then chained plied it. The colours were indeed more crispy and distinct. Yet the colour repeats were very short.


After three failed attempts, I decided to return to my "usual practice": standard 2-ply. I intended to spin and plied tighter, hoping to get a sturdy yarn for my very first pair of handspun socks. All the yarn I previously plied tend to underplied, such as this monster, so I am quite happy about this one. Though it's still not very even, the plying looks tighter and relatively more balanced than my previous handspuns. I love the colours too. Pinks, yellows and greens. A very cheerful colour combo.

Unfortunately it only yields about 175m. Not enough for a pair of socks. Hum... maybe combining it with another skein of handspun or commercial yarn for a stripey sock or do contrasting toes and heels?

SPIN010: Scrap Yarn 2. Wow. It's the 10th handspun I made since October!



I almost wanted to name this colourway as Make It Or Break It because I spun it while watching the American TV drama series of the same name.



The fibre were scraps from Fibreholics Sample Bag which I got in summer. Last time I spun all the manly colours into Scrap Yarn 1 which has turned to be a Gherkin Hat. This time I spun all the remainig brights into two bobbins of singles.



Z-spun and s-plied, both at 10:1. 2-ply. 70g. 192m before finishing. 12-14 wpi after washing and drying. Fingering weight, sort of.



Again, there're pinks, greens and yellows. I guess I have told you enough about my colour preferences. :)

SPIN004

My 4th spinning practice. I finished it last week but my laptop went dead so I couldnt upload any photo. I am now using our super old Asus Eeepc netbook. It's a bit slow and the wee keyboard is a bit difficult to use. But at least I can upload photos and blog. Shouldn't complain too much about it.

It is Superwash English Wool Blend top from Wildcraft Fibre in colourway Neptune. Finally I got more yardage and more consistent yarn. :)

This is my first time to obrain more than 350 yards/330 metres. The yarn is quite even (for a beginner like me)! Yay! :D

There is about 364 yards before washing and fixing. Some shrinkage after wash is expected but it should still be enough for a pair of socks in terms of yardage. However I think I underplied it. The yarn won't be strong enough for socks. Or maybe a pair of bed socks?

Interestingly I found some sparkle (sparkling trilobal nylon I guess?) in the roving! Maybe it’s some leftover from the carder? Love the positive surprise though. Very pretty! I guess I may try to challenge myself with some Sparkling BFL next time. :D

Had difficulty in using the fastest whorl. The tension was too great that I often found it hard to treadle. For the singles, as usual, the first quarter was way too overpun while the last quarter was underspun that the single broke for a few times . Need to learn more about control of tension.