So Sheepy

It's been a very busy weekend -- I attended the local Women's March yesterday morning, then we had Rainbow's birthday party in the afternoon, then she went to sleepover at my brother- and sister-in-law's while the Mister and I went out to dinner with his parents, and then today we had errands and chores followed by a lunch for my father-in-law's birthday and dinner with our new neighbors. All of that is a long way of saying that my spinning time was limited and done in fits and starts, and I didn't manage to finish plying up my Corriedale until this afternoon. But it is done!

Here's how the skein looked fresh off the niddy noddy (I only just put it in to soak a few minutes ago), so it looks a bit wiry from being freshly plied, but I'm already very pleased with it. It's in the heavy fingering weight range, provided it doesn't poof too much in the wash, and it looks like I'll have upwards of 400 yards. I was hoping for a bit more than that, given that this was 6 oz. of fiber, but I think my singles were not as fine as they could have been. I did, however, use up pretty much all of the singles. When the first bobbin ran out, I wound the singles on the remaining bobbin that looked more full into a center-pull ball and plied from both ends. When the second bobbin ran out, I chain plied from what was left. That was a bit tough, as there was quite a bit of twist in the singles and they kept tangling on me. I finally gave up and broke off the yarn, but I was left with only a very small amount, so I was pleased. The finished yarn looks like it'll have a nice round twist to it, and it smells so nice and sheepy.

I'm sure you're wondering what that bright colored fiber underneath the new skein is -- it's my current spinning project, which I started after I finished spinning the last bobbin of Corriedale singles. It's Targhee from FatCatKnits in a colorway called Juicy Fruit that I bought on a whim because it was so darn bright and cheerful.

I absolutely love spinning Targhee. It's hard to explain how it feels, but it has a lot of spring to it and you can tell even spinning the singles that the finished yarn is going to be poofy and bouncy. I'm also finally using one of my Akerworks bobbins for my Lendrum -- I think I bought them almost a year ago, but it's taken me all this time to use one. I really like it. It's definitely lighter than my regular bobbins, and the combination of that plus my regular fast flyer (instead of the WooLee Winder) has made my wheel noticeably quieter.

I'm spinning this Targhee into another fingering weight yarn, though this one will be chain plied to preserve the color progression. The plan is to use the two skeins together in a shawl, a new design idea. I have an image in my head, so it will be interesting to see if I can make it come out that way in real life. I know that however it turns out, it will be wonderful to knit with my own handspun again.