Polworth, Plied

Last weekend I got excited about my new sock yarn spinning project.  But as I thought ahead, I realized that I needed to clear some bobbins before proceeding much further.  I only have 4 bobbins for my Ladybug (someone asked me why I don’t just buy more – I may someday, but they are $36 each…).  The first singles for the new sock yarn were on one bobbin.  Another had the first half of the golden Polworth I spun on the spindle (I had to clear the spindle to spin the other half).  Another had some leftover singles from the purple 2-ply merino silk.  And the final bobbin was empty.

But… I need singles on 3 bobbins and a 4th empty bobbin on which to ply. 

So I returned my attention to the gold stuff.  I finished spinning it on the spindle at Knit Night on Wednesday.  Then I quickly ran it through the wheel (not adding too much twist, I hope) to get it onto a bobbin so I can ply it on the wheel.  I used this fancy shoe box contraption to hold the spindle: Then I realized…OOPS!  I just used my last empty bobbin. 

So I ended up hand winding the purple singles onto a short length of PVC pipe that I use as part of my homemade niddy noddy (boosted from my kids’ box of PVC fun – they build things out of it – think Tinker Toys).  Then I slid the PVC pipe onto my kate, and reminded myself how to Navajo ply.  Thank goodness for YouTube!  This time I used this video, which is very clear and just what I needed.  (Navajo ply is a chain ply technique that allows you to make a 3-ply yarn from singles on one bobbin – great way to use up those leftover bits of singles because you can use every last inch.)

I got another 33.5 yards of this pretty merino-silk and cleared my bobbin. I love how round the 3-ply yarn is compared to the 2-ply.  See the difference? 3-ply is on the left; 2-ply is on the right.  I might have to use this technique for an entire batch of singles sometime soon.  (But not the new 3-ply sock yarn, because I understand that the chain ply doesn’t work so well with certain long and/or wiry fibers, and mohair is one of them.)

Once I cleared that bobbin, I plied the gold stuff into this 2-ply yarn.  I go 259 yards out of 101 g: I had a tiny bit of singles left on one bobbin, which I promptly navajo-plied, and got so little it wasn’t even worth winding up.

Now I can proceed with the sock yarn.

I’m not unhappy with the gold stuff, but it’s somehow different from the yarn I spin entirely on the wheel.  Maybe the twist on my spindle-spun singles was less consistent?  I’m not sure.  The Polworth top was sooooo buttery and the yarn is less so.  It’s not rough and rustic, exactly, but nor is it buttery soft.  Learning curve is still on the way up, I guess!  (Spinners, speak up if you have wisdom on this, please.)

Look, more yarn!

My latest hank of handspun took quite a bit longer than the previous one.  Part of that was that I tried to create skinnier yarn (still in search of the ever elusive handspun sock yarn).  Toward this effort, I got a new whorl.  So now I have 3 altogether – here is my whorl tower:The bottom two came with my Ladybug; the top one is the Schacht high-speed whorl.  Each one has two grooves and depending on which one you put the drive band into, you can get different spinning ratios:The higher the ratio, the more times the flyer spins around for each revolution of the wheel, and the more twist you get.  When you draft the fibers out very fine, you need more twist to hold them together – so spinning finer yarn requires a smaller whorl.  (I think I have that right!)

Anyway, this is the first yarn I’ve spun on my new whorl.  I used the larger setting, though (14:1), so I can still go one notch finer if I want to (and I will).

This is a 2-ply merino-silk blend (70/30, I think).  I got 432 yards in 120 grams (4.25 oz).  I spun it worsted style, which means that the yarn is fairly smooth – not lofty and airy – and it has nice drape thanks to the silk.  It’s pretty! I’m not exactly sure what to use it for.  It should probably be something that goes around the neck, because it’s soft enough.  Maybe a kerchief-y or cowl-y neck thing.  Some of those smallish triangular kerchief-y/scarf things have been catching my eye lately.

My next spinning project is going to be another attempt at a true sock yarn.  That means THREE PLIES.  It is just so hard on my hands to knit 2-ply yarn at the density it needs to be knit at for hard-wearing socks (that beautiful gray Jacob sock yarn I’m currently working with is 2-ply).  I’m going to use the high-speed whorl at the 16:1 ratio in order to get the thinnest singles I can.  And I will spin either the BFL/mohair roving I got in Bedford or the treasured Wensleydale roving naturally dyed by Tactile Fiber Arts that I got at Sock Summit last summer.  Wensleydale is a very long-stapled wool and it should be good for socks.

I’m taking a quick trip to the Midwest this weekend, which means airplane/airport knitting.  I think I’ll take a project for the plane that requires a little more attention – perhaps the Butternut Scarf that I started last fall and then abandoned for holiday knitting.  I’ve revived that in the past week and it’s a lot longer now.  Or maybe the Campanula Scarf in laceweight cashmere.  I cast on for it again last night with my new Knit Picks Harmony needle (you were so right, Janna, about which needle would work best).  So far it’s very slow going. And then, I’ll need a plain vanilla sock for knitting amongst people.  Dang, I have some packing and planning to do.  Better go!

Pansies

The Pansy Socks are done!

Those were a pretty quick knit.  I took the time to weave in some reinforcing yarn in the heel flaps.  I used some Mountain Colors Bearfoot (from these socks) that I had around – its wool/mohair content makes it a good felter, and felting is good for heel reinforcement.  Kris and I darned socks at our Knit Night last week, and I darned not one but two holey socks made from Socks That Rock, so I’m being extra cautious about sending these into the world.  I really love the Blue Moon dying sensibility, but this 100% superwash merino sock yarn base is one that I will not be buying any more of.  (Perhaps you knew that?)So now I’ll get back to those grey Jacob Cauchy socks I started before I got distracted by the pansies.

In other news, I’m over halfway done spinning the purple merino/silk blend.  Here is the first bobbin all finished: Yum yum yum!

Purplicious

I’ve read the children’s book Pinkalicious.  I understand that Purplicious is its sequel; I haven’t read it yet. But purple seems to be my color lately!

The first Pansy Sock is done, and I’m almost ready to begin the heel on #2.  Here’s #1:Then I reached into my basket of spinning fiber and came up with this:  I knew this was top by the way it was arranged, but it didn’t have a label on it.  I got this earlier this spring when I placed an order with The Spinning Loft.  I had a gift certificate to use with them and wanted to get a smaller whorl for my Ladybug (as part of my quest to spin a good 3-ply sock yarn).  I’m sure I knew what it was when I ordered it, but I’d forgotten.  I managed to find my receipt online and have decided that this is a merino silk blend.  I have 4.75 oz and I’m spinning is rather fine to make a 2-ply.

The receipt says “Louet merino silk McKensie,” but I can’t find a colorway called McKensie on the Louet website.  Ashland Bay makes a 70/30 merino silk blend called Mckenzie, so this might be it.  The colors online look more gray than purple, but that could just be the photography.  Then again, I think my fiber really looks like the Ashland Bay blend called Purple.  So, whatever…

At any rate, it’s pretty and I like it.  And spinning on the wheel is sooooooooo much faster than spinning on the spindle!

In other fun news, I won a contest on the Novamade blog and got this fabulous BFL dyed by Cloverleaf Farms.  The colorway is “Golden Oaks” – isn’t it gorgeous?This was waiting in the mail when I returned from NC – what a treat.  (Ironically, Cloverleaf Farms is located in Hendersonville, NC, one of the towns we spent a bit of time in during our trip.)  I thought about spinning it next, but I decided to wait until I feel that first chill in the air since it’s so autumnal.  The chill is decidedly NOT here now – we’ve been having highs in the mid-upper 90s every day. 

If you aren’t already familiar with Nova’s blog, I encourage you to visit – she takes fabulous photos and always has beautiful things to show (fiber-y things as well as her adorable children)!