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Sunday, May 09, 2021

Oops! I Did It Again

Remember how when I finished my last skein of handspun, I said I'd overestimated just how fine I needed to spin my singles? Well, it appears I am the proverbial old dog who can't learn new tricks.


This is the Crown Mountain Farms Polwarth that I'd been spinning as the compliment to the really bright and colorful skein for Rainbow's bat mitzvah tallit. It was the most sedate fiber we found in my stash, at least of the stuff that was dyed, and I still have no recollection of why I bought it. Unlike the previous spin, this one had no silk in it, so you would have thought that it would have been a little more of a challenge to get a really fine yarn. But no:


From 4 oz. of fiber, I have approximately 778 yards of two-ply heavy lace weight. I am still astonished by that number. And I'm also thankful I had my Super Skeiner when it came time to wind it off, because I think I would have damaged my shoulder had I had to do it using a niddy noddy and very likely would have lost count while winding (there were 459 wraps, in case you were wondering). I still need to dig out my Zoom Loom and weave up a little sample with the two yarns to get Rainbow's approval, but I think the skeins look really nice together:


Because I am not a weaver, I'm not sure which yarn would be better for warp and which for weft, but I think the darker skein will tone down the colors in the other skein and give a colorful but muted fabric. And I think there's certainly enough yardage -- more than 1,400 yards in total!

Up next, I've started a project to spin for a sweater. Mary and I have decided to to a little knitalong together of Andrea Mowry's Shifty pullover. The pattern calls for Spincycle yarn, which is (in my opinion) absurdly expensive, most of all because I can spin yarn that looks pretty much the same. So that is what I'm going to do. I have started with my most recent Southern Cross Fibre club shipment, a colorway called Dark Ocean on gray Merino. I'm spinning a traditional three ply and started the first bobbin yesterday:


This colorway is a semisolid, so I just split the fiber into thirds, but for the other colorways, I'll be going for a Spincycle-eque look and dividing different colors or shades for different plies (much like I did with this skein). I am going to need quite a lot of yarn for this project, but I have quite a few colorways from SCF with shades of blue, so while it may take a while to get all the yarn spun up, it will be a good stash-busting project.

I hope those of you who are celebrating Mother's Day today have an enjoyable day. For those of you for whom this is a tough day, I send you love.

11 comments:

  1. I am so excited to see that you will be spinning for that sweater! I think your yarn will be a great option.

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  2. I think they're beautiful together, too! I hope you had a lovely Mother's Day there. Sarah. A chilly and damp one here, but warm on the inside :)

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  3. I can't wait to see the woven sample! I can't imagine what they'll look like together, but am anxious to see the next step in this wonderful project.

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  4. Beautiful colors Sarah! I, too, can't wait to see the woven sample. I also like the yarn you are spinning for your Shifty. Hope you had a lovely Mother's Day. It was chilly here (still is...)

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  5. I am bowing to your spinning yardage! That is magnificent, Sarah! (and I am really looking forward to your sweater spin!)

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  6. Happy Mother's Day ... and this might be precisely the push I need to FINISH that Long Love so I can start something else.

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  7. Beautiful spinning as always. I hope you had a nice Mother's Day.

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  8. What beautiful yarn you've created, Sarah! I can't wait to see the shawl come to life. XO

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  9. Looking forward to your newly spun yarn/s become and seeing you and Mary with your knit-along. Should be great fun!
    Cheers~

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  10. You've done such a beautiful job with your yarn - I can't wait to see it all woven together.

    And enjoy your knit along with Mary - it sounds like so much fun!

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  11. You are probably half-way done with Rainbow's wrap by now, but the colours look beautiful together! Not eye-seering bright and not to dull. Beautiful! (I'll check whether she approved it!)

    "Shifty" is a great pattern, when I saw it pop up on the pattern page last month, I thought it would also be fantastic to use up leftovers maybe?

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