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Sunday, February 21, 2021

An Equinox in Wool

Yesterday afternoon I met up with Eileen, Kat, and Jane online to chat about spinning. This is the second time we've done this, and I think we'll continue to do it for the foreseeable future. While we were chatting, I managed to chain-ply an entire skein of handspun! This is the Loop Bullseye Bump that I've been spinning for the past week or so. The colorway is Vernal Equinox, and it's a mix of pretty pastel colors interspersed with black. Here it is fresh off the wheel last night, right before I put it in to soak:


I know the lighting is terrible, but I think you can get the picture -- it was a little limp and scraggly, clearly in need a good long spa treatment. This morning, it looked much better:


The yarn was fingering-ish weight fresh off the wheel, but it plumped up nicely to more of a sport/DK after washing and drying. There's also the tiniest bit of sparkle in it, just enough to catch the light every now and then.


This isn't very consistent yarn, which I expected. I typically spin from combed top, in which all the fibers are nicely aligned and lend themselves to a smooth yarn. This fiber, however, comes in roving form, so even though I used my typical short forward draw to spin it, the prep makes for a slightly more textured yarn. I'm not really bothered by the inconsistencies, and I think it actually works with the fact that the yarn is mostly merino -- it's got a soft fuzziness to it.

Speaking of merino, I have already pulled out the next bit of fiber to spin. I am tackling that big backlog of Southern Cross Fibre club shipments, starting with the oldest one, which happens to be organic merino.

I spent some time contemplating how to spin this. First, there was the number of plies to consider. I was tempted to do another end-to-end chain-ply, but it's been a while since I did something a bit more fun, so I've come up with a different plan. I pulled the fiber apart so the green/blue areas are mostly separated from the brownish gray areas and weighed what I had to more or less divide it into thirds:


I'm going to spin a traditional three-ply, and I'm hoping that if I've thought this out correctly, I'll end up with something like the Spincycle yarns. I've had to borrow a bit of the blue/green fiber to add the the brown/gray in order to have the bundles weigh closer to the same amount, but I think if I distribute them evenly, it won't be too obvious. I'm really excited to see if it works out as I'm hoping -- it's a good thing I got an audiobook from the library that should keep me entertained for a while!

9 comments:

  1. All the great spinners I know getting together, and how nice to produce such lovely yarn during your time together! I love that next SCF and look forward to seeing what it looks like spun.

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  2. I LOVE the colors in the Vernal Equinox yarn - so gorgeous! Your spinning meet up sounds quite lovely 😀

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  3. Wow! That is wonderful yarn. I am still muddling along with my spindle now and then. It is definitely a different kind of muscle memory for me.

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  4. Beautiful yarn!! What fun for you all to get together!!

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  5. That yarn turned out beautifully, Sarah! (and yay you for starting on that stash!)

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  6. I knew I'd love that black pop! It's gorgeous!!

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  7. Ohhhhhh! I love that vernal equinox! Just gorgeous!

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  8. That equinox yarn is so pretty. The black provides such a nice contrast. So fun to absorb all the spinning conversation from you ladies.

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  9. I absolutely love the colours - both in your equinox yarn AND in the new fiber! The blues and the browns just are delightful to see. You're probably done with them by now (I'm catching up) but I'm excited to see the finished yarn of this! :)

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