Skeining again

I finished spinning the absolutely lovely Po-Mo-Silk top dyed by Spunky Eclectic. I spun it worsted style and quite fine. Here is what the singles looked like when they were done:

Then I plied, which took a while. The fiber kept going and going and going. When I put it on the skein winder, I realized I had a LOT of yardage. Like 528 yards!!! But it all fits nicely on one bobbin.

The weight of the skein (today, anyway – it can vary with the weather) is 118 grams. The fiber was labelled as “approximately 4 oz” and I think it was a generous serving. Still, I think 528 yards is quite a lot. I just love seeing how all the different colors look when they touch each other.

The yarn looks quite a bit more muted than the fiber did. This happens most of the time. I say, never be afraid to buy garish fiber! It will probably calm down when it grows up to be yarn.

With that project off the wheel, I turned back to the Targhee fiber that I got from Sheepspot in June, right before I left on my travels. I had started spinning it on a spindle but just wasn’t feeling the love. Then after I had my surgery, holding my arm up with something hanging down from it was NOT appealing at all. I didn’t have much on the spindle, so I decided to return to the wheel with the rest. Here is what the fiber looked like:

Yum yum yum! I decided to revisit the gradient idea and separate the colors. I ripped it all up, sorted it, and then I had this:

It’s not going to be a perfect gradient, but I think it will be an interesting yarn. I’m spinning this worsted style and quite fine, just like the last project.

In knitting news, Knitters’ Day Out is Saturday! I am taking Top Down Set-In Sleeves with Mary-Anne Posenau in the morning, and Afterthought No Sew Pockets with Lily Chin in the afternoon. I’m hoping to get inspired for sweater knitting season. All the pieces of my Drumlin Cardigan are done (and have been for some time), but I need to sew them up. The pattern calls for patch pockets. I’d like to have pockets, but I think they can be better than patch pockets. I’m hoping Lily Chin will school me in that department.

Once I finish that sweater, it is Boy 1’s turn for something new. He has long outgrown his last handknit sweater. He wants a warm wool vest this time! (Calm down Steven, I’m NOT doing colorwork…)