Spinners (and newbies!): What ya' spinnin'?

[Marlet]

Seems I've seen spinning all over the forum as of late so I figured we needed a new thread. Let's keep this one going.

I have been actually learning how to spin as opposed to just ploughing through it lately. It never occurred to me to watch youtube videos or read my spinning book for some reason. It seriously never dawned on me. I read the little sheet that came in my Nistock Farms kit last year and that was that. A couple weeks ago I watched a video or two (or more) on youtube and last night I thumbed through my book I have and had an a-ha! moment. Amazing what understanding your preferred techniques can do for quality. :

And I am about to admit something that may just show how clueless I have been this whole time. You ready? I thought the spindle weight referred to the amount of fiber the spindle would hold....not the weight of the spindle. I was posting on the other spinning thread and then went duh! Then as I was reading my book last night I got to a chart that showed which weights were best for spinning which weight yarn and I just groaned. Only took a bit over a year to figure it out.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

That's Ok, I'd been spinning for close to 5 years before I actually read anything about how to do it. I picked up a drop spindle on a whim and sort of muddled through how to do it. in my defence I didn't have internet access at the time.

[flapjack]

I like muddling through- I get some good effects that way.
I just discovered that my alpaca has been spread ALL across the carpet behind the sofa in my living room, so I guess I'm not going to be blending it with some tussah silk to make a heavenly soft batt I haven't actually got anything on a bobbin at the moment, I've been (are you ready for this?) knitting! That's not entirely true, actually, I have half a bobbin of manx loghtan that I've been spinning in the grease, long-draw, and I've forgotten how to do it :

You?

[Marlet]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who plows through!

Helen, why can't you blend it now? I imagine you might need a small cleaning maybe to get any hairs and what not out but I don't know why you couldn't still blend them. I'd love to see your fiber stash....all the lovely ones you mention all the time....you must have a ton!

Oh yeah, every now and then I see these gorgeous multicolored fibers spun up nd each color is in its own spot on the bobbin. Mine isn't. Is it just the way the are drafting and seperating the fiber? I like the look of it so much!

[flapjack]

There was something in a recent spin-off about it: basically, it all depends on how you draft your fibre. If you break it lengthwise into narrow strips, you'll change colour more frequently than you will do otherwise. By alternating colour strips, you can also fiddle with your colour repeats and make a yarn appear to be more x-coloured than it is.
Oh, and the reason I can't card my alpaca is because I don't know where most of it is The sofa is 7 foot long, and it appears to be spread EVERYWHERE. There was a good 200g or so when I bought it, and now I have barely a handful
I will admit to sending out another best-of-British swap parcel this time around I might even be able to get it in the postbox on Monday...

[captivatedlife]

ohhhhh, I'm getting jealous. It must be time to pull out the drop spindle and some alpaca from last year. I have enough. I bought it in bulk and then it got... Too hot, I think that was my excuse.

Now, though, I'm excited for fall.....

[steedalyn]

This is what I am spinning right now:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amanda.s...70368534526370
4oz Falkland from FatCatKnits.etsy.com
It is yummy!

[fallriverfox]

I'm working on some merino. It's for a gift for one of my birth attendants. Any suggestions on what to knit it up into? It's about 2.5 oz.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11600093@N06/2745370540/

steedalyn, that's spinning up so pretty! How are you plying it?

[Marlet]

Man both those are gorgeous! fallriverfox I have no idea on what it should be but it sure is pretty! Makes me think of Dreamsicles. :

Here's what I'm doing....impossible to get a decent picture of it due to the amount of red. The gold, regardless of how I draft, never really shows up well. The blueishpurply color and the red just swallow it. There are a couple spots where it shows up more (you can kind of see it near the whorl) but it's in such small amounts it doesn't really pop. I wish it did...it's gorgeous!

Ahh Helen that bites! I practically hide my fiber so stray hands don't get near it. So far so good! I cannot wait btw. I was telling a friend today I hoped to get this merino spun and off my spindle in time for the next batch! Looks like I need to spin faster!

[steedalyn]

OtherMother and fallriverfox, those are both soo pretty!! I love the colors! I am navajo plying it. I recently experimented with the Ply on the Fly method but I think I like spinning all my singles then plying them afterward.

Here is a link to instructions:
http://rosemaryknits.blogspot.com/20...ly-on-fly.html

[Marlet]

Does navajo plying use up a lot of length? I've thought about doing it on this skein (I finally had to wind it off my spindle last night! It was getting too heavy and the yarn kept snapping) but I don't want to end up with a tiny skein. The ball is decent sized but I know if I just spin the next batch and do a regular ol' 2 ply I'm not going to lose bulk/length yk? I'd like to try out navajo plying since I know you get a 3 ply out of it but without having to have 3 balls getting all tangled up. I have no idea how much this ball weighs. Is there a weight that's better than others (in regards to getting something worthwhile)?

[steedalyn]

well your final skein will be 1/3 the length of your singles. I just wind my singles into a center pull ball and navajo ply it off my nostepinne. I cant explain it very well but if you check out the link in my last post it describes the basic concept. It is a chained ply from one ball of singles. Clear as mud huh?

[Marlet]

I went ahead and did it! Super easy but not sure if I like it. A lot less tangling thats for sure! I'm about to wind it off the spindle and get it in a bath. I can't wait to see how much I have and to see what it looks like "finished". I'll get a pic of it as soon as I can!

[steedalyn]

yes yes pictures pictures!!

[fallriverfox]

Steedalyn, did you just find out you were pregnant? I could swear your siggy didn't say that yesterday. Regardless of how unobservant I may or may not be, congratulations!

[steedalyn]

Actually just this morning! I was so excited I changed my sig. :

[Marlet]

Congrats! I wondered about that too and clicked your chart link to see.


After I got the skein washed I dropped it and got it tangled up. Wet wool all nice and tangled. I managed to get it undone though and wound up. I'm liking it more than I thought I would. I got some nice coloring in spots and some unexpected ones too! My gold looks green in some places but that's ok. I just wish it would dry faster and that Dh would get home soon so I can take a picture!

[Marlet]

I have pictures! Crappy ones but ones none the less! It's hard to get an accurate color shot because 1. it's red and 2. I was using a cell phone.

Plopped on the counter
Skeined up...this is the closest color wise
Up close...or an attempt.

It's been wound up in a ball but I think I'm going to unwind it and leave it in a skein. I do not like the look of it in the ball. Silly I know but it just seems thick and it's really not. It's bothering me for some reason to see it all muted and heavy...it isn't!

[steedalyn]

Looks great!!!

I know what you mean about not wanting your yarn to look heavy. I have some pretty pastel pink and yellow yarn that was so fresh looking in a skein and when I wound it into a ball it looks kind of faded and muddy. I started knitting with it right away because it looked so sad in the ball.

[fallriverfox]

It's very pretty! What are you planning to do with it?