Everything’s coming up rainbows

I am so excited about my latest skein of handspun. It’s had a long gestation period, but it was totally worth it. This yarn started way back on October 1, 2017, when I took a class called “Handcarding the Color Wheel” with Beth Smith at the Spinning Summit. We started with combed top in red, blue, and yellow, and then we blended it to make 30 colors.

I got 2/3 of the carding done in class and finished making the last rolags at home. Then I admired them longingly for a long time. Earlier this month, I pulled out a little leftover fiber to make another rolag for sampling. I spun it long draw on my 14:1 whorl and chain-plied it. I had an easier time chain plying because I moved to a slower whorl (10.5:1) and really slowed down my treadling. I washed my little sample and decided I liked what I saw:

Then I started spinning my singles, carefully lining up my rolags so as to preserve the gradient. I feel like this project spun itself; I never wanted to stop because there was always something beautiful just beginning to appear on the wheel. Here are some shots I took as the singles bobbin filled:

And here is how the bobbin looked after chain plying:

So pretty! I pulled out my skein winder:

And then this skein had a nice, hot bath. The finished yarn weighs 87 grams and is 212 yards. Grist is 1105 yards/pound (not sure why I need that, but there you go). It is light and fluffy and beautiful. I don’t know how I’ll use it – maybe as part of a sweater. But if I want a specific amount of gradient yarn, I am now confident that I could make it if I started with dyed fiber!