Coming around again

The wheel has been turning!

I’ve been slowly spinning this gorgeous stuff since February, according to my notes. It is Polwarth/silk (85/15) that I bought at MDSW in 2012 from Misty Mountain Farm in Virginia. The color is Blue Spruce. I had 2 braids (so, 8 oz total) and now I have a lot of yarn.

I spun each 4 oz braid onto a single bobbin and then made a 2-ply. (Technical notes: short forward draw, singles on 16:1, plied 14:1, a bit overplied.) I have one really big skein. Then I ran out of room and had to switch to a fresh bobbin, so my second skein is medium. When I only had singles left on one bobbin, I weighed it and tried to equalize what was left onto two bobbins (you need a scale and a power drill to do this). My last skein is tiny but I’m so glad I used all the fiber. In all, I have 226 grams and 1,051 yards of lovely stuff. This is kind of a lot of yarn. I’m not sure what to do with it. It could make a pretty gigantic shawl!

I finished spinning these singles before our big trip. I thought that after our big trip I would spin another 4 oz braid of fiber that would blend harmoniously with the blue to make an interesting 3-ply yarn. This is the braid: Mixed (meaning white and dark) BFL dyed in a color called Sprucey dyed by Miss Babs:

Even though this fiber was labelled “top,” I think it was roving. It just did not want to be spun worsted style like the blue stuff. After we had a meeting of the minds, I stopped spinning it and plied the blue stuff (so I would have the bobbins free that I needed). Then I resumed spinning the Sprucey and plied it up. Like the blue stuff, it was spun 16:1 and plied 14:1 – but it was long draw and the yarn looks very different: It’s loftier and fuzzier. Also, there is only 212 yards in 120 grams. Also, it took me 3 days from start to finish, while the blue stuff took 6 months. It’s just completely different from the blue yarn! So fascinating. The wheel is humming again and I’ve already started another project… remember that awesome Suri alpaca/Shetland fiber I won from PLY magazine? It’s bright red. So not my color, but so much fun to work with. I’ll show you that soon!