A little loom, a puffy skein

I knew I didn’t have time to warp the Cricket again this week, but I wanted to play with weaving a little more… so I broke out my new Swatch Maker loom (12 epi) that I got at MDSW this year. This is a little loom designed for testing out how woven fabric looks without using a lot of yarn. Plus, it’s fun to use. I used the leftover yarn from my Seashore Cowl:

The little loom is a cinch to warp. The instructions that came with it told me to wrap the yarn around and around (so that you would see a full warp on the back side, too), but I didn’t… because I’d already seen a video on the Purl & Loop website about how to weave a swatch with no fringe. I thought that looked pretty cool, so I warped it that way (which uses even less yarn). See?

Also note that this little tool is made in Houston, Texas, USA, my old hometown!

The instructions suggested using a dpn to hold open one of the two sheds. This way, I only have to pick up the stitches (over-under-over-under) with the needle on every other row. And you use a kitchen fork to beat the weft. I was skeptical, but it’s the perfect tool for that.

I am finding this little thing highly entertaining. It comes in a cute little bag so you can take it along to where you may go, too. Keep an eye out for me weaving in public.

In other fiber news, I finished a small spinning project. This is the 90/5/5 Clun Forest/Romney/Alpaca roving that I got from Singleton Fiber Mill at MDSW this year:

I intended it to become sock yarn, so I spun it as fine as I could (aiming for a 3-ply yarn). BUT… spinning roving fine is not as easy as spinning top fine. I experimented a bit and did the best I could to spin it worsted-style, smoothing down the fluffy fiber as much as possible during spinning. Here is the bobbin full of singles:

Then I divided it into 3 based on weight:

And here is the finished yarn:

I think the color is just dreamy. The roving colorway is called “Celestial” and it’s clearly a blend of two blues and a purple… but once it’s spun you don’t see different colors. You just see blue with a lot of depth. Color is so captivating!

While the color is beautiful, I’m not sure that this is really sock yarn. Here is a penny and a little bit of Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply Toes for comparison:

The twist isn’t as tight, it’s a bit fatter, and it’s not as smooth. I could increase the twist by running it through the wheel again (and I might), but I don’t think this will be ideal for the recreation of the WWI sock I had in mind. Nevertheless, I enjoyed making this yarn.