Deep-stash Spinning

While a general goal for my spinning this year has been to spin up more of my stash, a more specific goal has been to spin up the fiber that I've been saving because it seemed too precious to spin. Some of that has been fiber from my favorite dyer, who stepped away from dyeing for a time (and, though she's technically returned, hasn't put up much in her shop in several months). During the period where it was unclear whether she'd ever start dyeing again, I'll admit that I was hoarding the fiber I already had from her in my stash. I was saving it for who knows what; I guess it seemed like as long as it was there in the stash, I'd always have some. It's a bit ridiculous, I know, but there you have it.

During that period when Kristin wasn't dyeing, she also wasn't on Ravelry anymore, so I became a moderator of her group, along with a couple of other spinners. At some point, we decided that we should have a knitalong in the group to encourage people to spin their All Spun Up stash, and we're currently in the middle of another one. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to spin some of those precious braids.

This skein was finished last weekend, and you already saw it on the bobbin, but here it is, all skeined and finished.

I'm very pleased that I got what I was aiming for -- a three-ply worsted weight. The skein is approximately 210 yards in length, so it should be plenty to knit Rainbow another hat.

Inspired by this project, I decided to pull out another precious braid from the stash -- this one was bought back in March 2010 (or at least that's when I entered it in my stash).

This one is 4.2 oz. of merino, one of two color block braids I bought during one of the updates that went quickly. Originally, I'd planned to spin it fine from end to end and chain ply, but buoyed but the nearly instant gratification of spinning a thicker yarn, I changed that plan. I split the fiber in half vertically, and I'll attempt to get the two plies to match up when I ply.

This is the result of about an hour and a half of spinning last night. I estimate I'm about halfway through this bobbin. If I can find some time later today, I'll try to finish it up.