Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Where is the green sheep?

I started spinning this yarn (which we're referring to as "the green sheep") a few weeks ago, but haven't really posted about it yet. Not sure why. This is roving I bought at the Knitters' Day Out market in September 2008. It's from Gurdy Run Woolen Mill in Halifax, PA. I bought 8 oz of it (which looks like a lot, when it's unspun). I separated it into 4 equal(ish) piles and plan to make 2-ply yarn out of it. Until my spinning gets finer, I think I'll stick with 2-ply rather than 3-ply because my 3-ply is so bulky. I do prefer the roundness and bounciness of a 3-ply yarn, though...

This fiber is a wool/mohair blend, and it's sticky. I hardly ever break it while spinning, but it's also hard to get a very even single out of it. Maybe I just need more practice.

Have you noticed that spinners talk about how quickly one can make yarn and how long it takes to knit it? I've read blog posts that say "I spun and plied all the yarn for this project in 2 evenings, but it took me months to knit the sweater." I am having trouble imagining how one could make that much yarn so quickly. I'm going to take it on faith that as I become more proficient at spinning, I'll also become faster. I used to think it would take months to make a sock, but now I crank them out somewhat regularly. Hopefully this will be the same.

Where is the green sheep? Playing with my Ladybug!

4 comments:

  1. I've started a knitting club at my new job and my students (who all needed cast on training) can't believe that I started a sock next week and today started the second. I may have to share this blog post with them to assure them that we do get faster.

    As an educator, knitting reminds me that *I* can learn something new AND that learning takes effort! Keep it up, friend!

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  2. Love the green color. It is so pretty and deep.

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  3. As O can tell you, green is my favorite color. I'm not hinting or anything... ;-)

    It's gorgeous. Maybe the time spent knitting vs. spinning has to do with whether people consider themselves knitters who spin or spinners who knit. Or maybe I'm just making those distinctions in my head.

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