A Sweater

 

This is a handspun sweater.  Or it will be, once I knit it.

Do you remember the two bobbins of Aguas singles and the bobbin of Zarzamora singles?  (Aguas and Zarzamora are the color ways of the Malabrigo Nube fiber.). This is what they became!  This is 1,268 yards of three ply fingering weight Merino yarn, 315 grams total.  I started spinning the first bobbin of singles in 2015.  I finished it and spun the second and third bobbins this year.  For such an extended spinning project, the yarn is surprisingly consistent.  (I did discover that I've got to make better notes - that's something I'm working on.). I decided to make smaller skeins instead of one big skein so that I could alternate them as I knit them to downplay any inconsistencies.  As it turned out, when I compare yards per pound (grist) of the three skeins, there's less than 2% variation within the range of all three skeins.  Visually they look identical to me.

Late in the spinning I decided to add the Zarzamora singles as one of the plies.  It has several greens in it, but also brought some purples to the table.  I think it does add some interest to the yarn and it makes the yarn a little brighter than the all Aguas yarn I showed Tuesday.  It also made the spinning more interesting.

One thing I can say after spinning all these skeins from Malabrigo Nube, I'm a lot more comfortable with Merino than I was.  The first few times I spun it I didn't enjoy it and I felt like it was fighting me.  I think it's kind of grabby and the one thing I've found that seems to help with that is to open up the fiber and make sure it's able to move.  I'm not necessarily talking about predrafting (although if  the fiber really compressed it might need that), just making sure that the fibers can and are moving within the top before I start spinning.  I'm not completely finished with Merino yet, so it's a good thing I've made peace with it.  I'm doing Tour de Fleece this year and everything I've pulled to spin is either all or mostly Merino.  I'll be showing you those spinning projects as I work through them!

Oh, and the sweater?  I've got two in mind, so I'll be swatching to see which gauge I'm happiest with to decide which pattern I'll knit.

Have a great weekend!