Spin, Span, Spun!

I finished the spinning project!

This was spun from four braids of Malabrigo Cloud (100% Superwash wool) in Aniversario, with a total of 433g of fiber.

I spun it on my Schacht Flatiron at 15:1 with 40 wpi for the singles.  This size singles usually gives me a fingering weight when I make a three ply yarn.  This stuff floofed!

After plying and washing, I have 1,101 yards of DK weight, three ply, and a little mini skein of 46 yards of chain plied yarn (also DK).  I was going for the barber pole stripes on this and worked out beautifully.  There is almost always a pink/fuchsia/plum/burgundy ply in the yarn, so the overall look of the yarn is in the red violet range of the color wheel.  When you look closely you can see all the other colors in the yarn as well.

I'm really happy with my finished yarn, even if it didn't come out the weight I was expecting (no, I did not sample, why do you ask?).  I can't get over how floofy and soft it is.  I'm really wanting to cast on a sweater immediately, but since I technically have two on the needles right now, I shouldn't.  I'm trying to finish a few things up before I start a new project...

Plying

I've got my first bobbin plied!  This is the Malabrigo Cloud fiber in Aniversario.  I showed you the singles earlier this week.  In the singles there are some very dark shades and some very pale tones.  The plying bringss those extremes visually more to the medium portion of the spectrum.  There's still a lot going on with the various hues, but Aniversario is a pretty busy colorway.  I'm thrilled with how this is looking so far!  I have to give credit to Obi as well because he decided to lay in my lap while I plied.  I spin on the sofa, so he climbed up next to me and put his head in my lap.  Apparently treadling is soothing to giant Labradors because he fell asleep there and wasn't even bothered when I'd pause to change hooks on the flyer.

Hopefully I can get more done this weekend.  I know from experience not to spin while I watch Formula 1 (I treadle too fast!), but I think I can spin during the two final World Cup games.  I'm not really emotionally invested in any of the teams so I'll see how it goes.

Of course, as I'm plying my brain is thinking about what to spin next.  I'm thinking about a smaller project, but I'm really not sure what yet.  I'll have to go through the stash to decide.  I'm sure Mr. Noodle will be happy to help select some fiber!  Have a great weekend! 

Spinning!

It has definitely been a minute or two since I've done any spinning!  This is 16 ounces of Malabrigo Cloud fiber (100% Superwash Merino) in Aniversario.  I divided it evenly by weight over six bobbins for the singles, which were spun on my Schacht Flatiron.  This project was begun in March of 2023 and I got five bobbins of single spun that year, and a very tiny bit started on the last bobbin.  Then life happened and I put it away.  I'm pretty sure I didn't spin at all in 2025 and 2025.

Last week I got out the tent* and brought down the wheel and the fiber.  Thank heavens for muscle memory, because my hands knew what to do, and I had notes to verify ratios and wraps per inch.  Over the last few days I've been re-acquainting myself with the wheel and I finished spinning the last bobbin of singles for this project.  I'm going to start plying this week (leaving the final bobbin to settle its twist for a couple more days).  My goal for this fiber is a three ply, fingering weight yarn with enough yardage for a sweater.

*Mr. Noodle has an obsession with wool, so if the spinning wheel is downstairs, it has to live in a tent.  Yes, we have a small tent set up inside the formal dining room right now.  The tent protects the spinning wheel and the fiber from the cat (and the cat from the fiber, because he does like to eat it, and boy is that an expensive day at the vet's!)  Fortunately, Mr. Noodle isn't offended by the tent, he plays on it, and under it, and inside it when I have everything out of it for spinning.  He's adaptable! 

Obi Makes A Friend

When Little Obi Dog came to our family, my spinning time sharply decreased.  There were potty training and puppy activities to do, and I didn't want the spinning wheel to become a puppy activity.  He's seen the spinning wheel, but Mickael was holding him so he hasn't gotten to touch it.  Now that he's 7-1/2 months old, he's doing really well with most of his commands (most of the time), so I decided to spin in front of him.

Obi really likes the spinning wheel!  I got it set up and started spinning and then Obi and Mickael came into the room.  Naturally, Obi was very curious and wanted to sniff the whole thing.  He managed to quickly bonk himself with the flyer (I wasn't spinning very quickly, but a gentle bonking can help a dog learn which parts of the spinning wheel to stay away from), and then he got a little close to the drive wheel and learned not to touch that while I was spinning.  Next, he barked at the spinning wheel (a sensible reaction, to let the wheel know he wasn't intimidated).  Finally, he inspected the entire thing, watching how each part was interconnected, and how the spinning wheel worked. (Are there possibly some engineering skills in Little Obi Dog?)  He also gave kisses to as much of it as he could safely reach, including my toes, as I treadled.  

When I stopped spinning to change hooks on the flyer, he really got into the workings of it.  I can honestly say that this wheel has never had so much detailed doggy attention given to it.  Logan checked it out periodically, but since I didn't spin bacon, he quickly lost interest.  I don't know how long it will take Obi to lose interest, but I was surprised by the way he paid attention to every part of it and how it worked.  The one thing he really wanted to check out was the fiber (This is Malabrigo Cloud Fiber in Anniversario), but I didn't think that was a good idea. We'll have to be 100% on Drop It and Leave It first!

Spinning

I've begun a new spinning project and I'm looking forward to making spinning a regular habit again.  I've gotten out of the spinning habit over the past year, but it's time to get back!

This is Malabrigo Cloud fiber (100% Superwash Merino) in Aniversario and I have a total of four braids, which will be enough for a sweater.  I'm working on a three ply fingering weight yarn and I'll be spinning a total of six bobbins for the singles.  I've messed with the fiber some to change up the way the colors work on each of the plies, so we'll see how that works.  This bobbin and the second are being spun the full width of the roving, for the longest sections of each color.  Future bobbins will be spun from roving that is split lengthwise, making shorter color runs on bobbins 3 and 4, and the shortest bits of color on bobbins 5 and 6.  Fingers crossed that this does what I want it to.  (No, I didn't sample.)

If none of this makes sense, stick around and as I get more done, hopefully you'll be able to see what I'm talking about from the photos!

Spinning

I plied the singles over the weekend!  Here are the finished skeins of Malabrigo Nube in the Azules colorway.  They are a heavy fingering weight, possibly sport weight - I haven't washed them yet so there might be some floofing.  I ended up with 325 yards of three ply for the big skein, and 32 yards of chain ply for the little skein, made of the leftovers.

I spun the singles on my Kromski Symphony and did the plying on my Schacht Flatiron because it has bigger bobbins.  I have no definite plans for this yarn, I'll just stash it until I do.

Spinning

I have finished spinning the singles for a project I began a year ago.  I really don't know why it's taken me so long to get these singles spun.  The fiber is a 4 ounce braid of Malabrigo Nube in Azules, divided into thirds by weight and spun on my Kromski Symphony in Scotch tension at a 16:1 ratio at 40 wraps per inch.

Since I started the first bobbin so long ago, I've got to let these last singles hang out a little bit so the twist will settle before I ply.  I'll probably ply either late this weekend or sometime next week.  I'm thinking of plying on my Schacht Flatiron because I'm not sure I can get the full skein of plied yarn on a single Kromski bobbin.  I've got a couple of days to make that decision though.

Next week we are supposed to have cold weather and rain maybe turning into snow or freezing rain.  I think this weekend I'm going to get all my chores done and everything else I have to do around the house taken care of and straightened up, then we can just snuggle and nest while winter does it's thing outside.  I might even pick a new spinning project!

Have a great weekend!

Spinning

I've finished spinning the singles from my Hipstrings sample pack.  This was a fun spinning project and I took photos of each of the rovings and then the finished singles.

This is Unicorn Seeks Soulmate

Unicorn Dance Party II

Narwhal Pool Party

Space Unicorn

Neon Pegasus

The Unicorn in the Library

And here are the finished singles, in the same order, top to bottom - Unicorn Seeks Soulmate, Unicorn Dance Party II, Narwhal Pool Party, Space Unicorn, Neon Pegasus, and The Unicorn in the Library.

I spun all of them for a singles diameter of about 40 wpi which I plan to chain ply, for a (hopefully) fingering weight finished yarn.  The biggest surprise to me was how much more muted the colors became after spinning.  I expected some blending of the colors, but I was not expecting it to this degree.  This is definitely something to keep in mind when I'm looking at rovings and planning a project.  (There are different ways to handle colors when spinning, but these particular rovings are basically made up of lengths of different colors, and while I could have divided the colors and handled the colors individually, I think this type is meant to be spun back and forth across the width of the roving, blending all the elements of color together in the finished yarn.)

I've still got to ply the singles, and I'll show the finished yarns when they're done, but I have been enjoying playing with these samples.  I do wonder about the original Unicorn Dance Party though.  What was that like???

Spinning in the New Year!

I've been doing some playing on the spinning wheel this year.  At some point I got a fiber sampler kind of thing from Hipstrings.  It has about an ounce each of six different tops, all from their sparkly, unicorn based colorways.  They are all slightly different fibers, but all of them have merino and some sparkles.  Some have a bit of silk or viscose or alpaca too.  I'm spinning each sample onto a single bobbin (a single bobbin for each sample, not one bobbin with all of them), and I'll chain ply them.  I'm spinning the singles between 40-50 wraps per inch so I should get a fingering weight finished yarn.  There might be some differences due to the different fiber content, but they should be fairly similar.  I think.  Who knows?  This is exciting!

The first sample is Unicorn Seeks Soulmate.  Here is the fiber.

And here are the singles.

Next was Unicorn Dance Party II (which implies there was a Unicorn Dance Party I, which I was not invited to).  The fiber.

The singles.

Narwhal Pool Party was the third sample.  Here is the fiber (which looks a lot like the singles from Unicorn Dance Party II, above.)

And the singles, which spun up much darker than I was expecting.

The fourth sample is Space Unicorn (do you think they're friends with Pigs In Space?).  Only the fiber for this one, it's on the wheel now.

There are two more samples after Space Unicorn and I'm going to spin all of the singles before I start plying.  I don't have any definite plans for the yarns, I'm just enjoying playing with them.  Also, I should add that I'm not sure that all of these are currently available, because I bought this a couple of years ago and I'm just now getting to it.

New Year, New Projects, New Photos, No Words

Spinning

Starting here, with four ounces of fiber,

 

To three bobbins of singles,

 

To the finished yarn!

This is 360 yards of three ply fingering weight yarn.  Fiber is the Sweet Voices colorway from Three Waters Farm, 80% Superwash Merino/20% Nylon.  This was my first time spinning superwash anything but I really enjoyed it.  I'm really happy with how the colors worked out.  The finished yarn is super colorful, but I don't feel like the colors got muddy.  I plan to cast on for a pair of socks later today.  I can't wait to see how it knits up!

Spinning

I've finished spinning my third and final bobbin of singles for my first superwash spinning project.  This has been delightful to spin, and I don't just mean the colors (although they do make me smile).  Merino can be a little grabby sometimes and while I've made peace with it and we've gotten more comfortable together over the last few years, I still find I have to pay more attention to merino than I do with BFL or Polwarth.  I'm guessing the superwash treatment has made the difference.

I plan to ply this over the weekend and I can't wait to see how the finished yarn looks.  Will it do the color play that I'm hoping for?  Will it turn into clown barf?  I don't even know!  So. Exciting.

Want to know something even more exciting?  Caleb is coming home tomorrow!  We can't wait!

Many Pictures, Few Words

My Blackberry Snuggle.  This Too Shawl Pass in Cascade Eco+ 3121 Blackberry Cordial.

An overexposed shot to show the lace design.

Long sleeved, long pant Christmas pajamas.  Ladies Tranquil Nightwear by Love Notions.

Short sleeved, shorts Christmas pajamas.  Modified Lou Box Top, self drafted shorts from a pair of ready to wear.

Second bobbin of my Easter Egg spinning project.  

Have a great Thanksgiving if you're celebrating this week!  I'll be back next week!

Lace and Glorious Color

At some point in October I started knitting the Recoleta cardigan.  This is one of my projects for the Fourth Quarter KAL for ESK (the theme is lace in Aran weight yarn or heavier).  I'm knitting it in Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran in Smoky Gray.  When I looked at this design, I loved the lace pattern and the overall feel of the cardigan, but I felt like it should be longer.  So once I had the upper body done, I put it on hold to knit the sleeves.  Then I'll come back to the body and I can just knit until I run out of yarn.  I'm not entirely sure how long mine will be, but we'll see!

I've also finished my first bobbin of the superwash merino.  I've started the second bobbin, but unfortunately, that's about all I've done with it.  I'd like to finish this yarn by the end of the year, and there's no reason I shouldn't except I've got to sit down and spin.  Funny how that works.

Lately, I've been doing some sewing but I haven't gotten pictures.  I'll get some pictures over the weekend and show you what's going on next week!

A New Spinning Project And Some Thoughts On Color

I started a new spinning project, but this is a smaller one than the last one was!  I like to alternate the size of spinning projects so I don't feel bogged down in one massive project after another.  Anyway, I realized recently that I had never spun superwash merino (or superwash anything).  I knit the yarn all the time, in various weights, but had never spun the fiber.  I decided it was time.  I picked up a braid of Sweet Voices dyed by Three Waters Farm that's 75% Superwash Merino and 25% Nylon, and I decided to spin a three ply fingering weight yarn for socks.  (I have no idea what the colorway name means to the dyer, it looks like Easter eggs to me.)

There's a lot going on colorwise with this fiber and while I could just spin it (either leaving the braid intact or splitting it lengthwise a few times) and then chain ply it, my colors would stay intact, but my finished yarn would stripe (longer stripes if I were to leave the braid intact and shorter stripes if I split it).  I'm not wanting stripes for this project though.  I really want the colors to all play together in the finished yarn so I could have just split the fiber into thirds and let it do whatever it wants, then ply the thirds together.  With that method of color handling, you run the risk of the whole thing turning to mud or at least getting some muddy sections, particularly with a colorway that goes all the way around the color wheel.  (If it was an analogous colorway, hues next to each other on the color wheel,  the risk of mud would be minimal to non existent.)  

Instead I decided to spin this another way.  First I divided the length of fiber into thirds by weight.  I didn't try to keep the stripe sequence intact, I just weighed and divided at this point.  The first bobbin is being spun from the first third of the fiber and I haven't done any further fiber prep.  I'm spinning straight through with one long section of color after another.  The second section of fiber I split into fourths lengthwise.  The color sections on this bobbin will be shorter than those on the first bobbin.  The third and final section of fiber was split into eighths lengthwise, so the color sections will be very short in this singles.  Above, you can see the the three sections of fiber starting with section 1 in the lower left corner.  You can see the difference in fiber width in each nest of fiber.

Here is the beginning of the first bobbin and you can see the large chunks of color on the singles.  Once I have all three bobbins of singles spun and ply them together, it's this first bobbin that will visually anchor the finished yarn.  Our eyes look for order and pattern and whatever is going on colorwise in the singles on bobbins two and three, bobbin one will be making long sections of a single color.  This should help to unify the shorter lengths of color from the other two bobbins and give me a fun color party on my yarn.

At least that's how it works in my head.  We'll have to see what actually happens, but that's the fun of spinning!

Finally, I just wanted to mention that while the way I stripped the fiber into increasingly narrow sections for each bobbin is similar to fractal spinning, I'm making no effort to keep the stripe sequence intact here, which is a big part of fractal spinning.  So, I'm not actually doing fractal spinning.  I didn't want to confuse anyone with this, just in case!

Spin, Spun, Done!

I got all of my recently plied yarn skeined and washed to set the twist over the weekend.  This ended up being 2,352 yards of finished three ply and I haven't checked wraps per inch, but just eyeballing it, it looks like sportweight.  I love the way the yarn turned out and it was so much fun to spin.  I will definitely be doing another combination spin again.  

These are the original six braids I started with.  Each was 100 grams or 4 ounces.  Four of them were 80% Polwarth/20% silk, one was 50% Merino/50% silk, and one was 100% BFL.  I divided each braid into sixths by weight, so there was an equal amount of each spun onto each bobbin of singles.

Here's a close up of the finished yarn.  It's got more green in it in real life, but I had trouble color correcting the photo.  I can't express how much I love this finished yarn.  I don't know yet what I will knit out of it, but I will swatch it first - I don't want to lose the colors in a stitch pattern or vice versa.  It might end up being stockinette, just to let the yarn shine.

Progress

There's nothing super exciting around here, nothing new and glamorous, but I have been making progress on my current projects, so that's something.  I've finished the first sleeve of my Punchwork Cardigan and I'm about halfway through the second sleeve.  I hope to get the knitting finished on this over the weekend.  (Not counting on getting the ends woven in, the whole thing blocked and the buttons sewn on by Monday, but that will happen soon.)

I also got the first bobbin plied from my combination spin and I love it!  I've got about five more to go though so I better get on it!

Have a great weekend!  Can you feel Autumn yet where you live?  We've just got a hint of it around here.  It's still hot, but it's less hot, and the temps have been dropping more at night than they were.

All The Singles

Back in early March I pulled out these six braids of spinning fiber.

This past weekend I finished spinning the singles.  It hasn't been easy to get these spun and the spinning wheel lives in the tent now when it's downstairs, but I finally got all the singles finished.  I hope to start plying today and I can't wait to see what the yarn looks like!