Category: spinning

  • black, grey, stripes

    Just bound off this plain black shawl – just a top-down triangle in stockinette, with a seed stitch border. Needs a good blocking to open up, but doesn’t it look so cozy? It’s some cashmere that I bought a few Rhinebecks ago (too bad black is so hard to photograph).

    caaaaashmere

    Also in hard to photograph things, black and grey ombre stripe socks with some Lana Grossa sock yarn. Also very plain, but meditative.

    black and grey

    On the other end of the coloury spectrum, some super bright handspun!

    stripey!

    This is 100g, 210 yds or so of 3-ply (so, a worsted weight). The fiber is BFL from Into the Whirled, and it was awesome to spin. It isn’t that apparent from the hank, but this yarn should be pretty stripey.

    stripey!

    What else have I been up to?
    Watching: Continuum. I really liked it and wish there was more already!
    Reading: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
    Eating: peach crisp, corn chowder, tomatoes

  • rip and re-crochet

    Along with my Wool-eater obsession, I also started another crochet project – a ripple blanket. I’d bought a bunch of Cascade Eco Wool awhile ago with the plan of making a knitted blanket, but once the crochet took hold it only seemed natural to crochet it instead!

    I started with a 5mm hook and a single strand.

    crochet ripple, take 1

    That didn’t really seem right though, so I ripped it all out (after finishing a whole huge ball of Eco wool!) and started again, this time with two strands of yarn and a 6.5mm hook.

    crochet ripple, take 2

    It’s going to take even more yarn than I’d bought, but that’s ok! It’s really nice and thick, and goes really quickly with the big hook. The only downside is that I can’t do as long in a sitting as with smaller yarn – the motions are pretty taxing on my wrist.

    I also finally, finally got back to my spinning wheel after ages away from it!

    breaking out the niddy noddy

    I had this BRIGHT teal merino half spun up already, so it didn’t take too long to finish it up. It’s 420 yards of fingering weight 2-ply, and very soft.

    long time coming

    After that, I needed something quick from the wheel, so I grabbed a lone bump of Pear Tree Merino roving and spun that up really quick-and-dirty style. It’s very inconsistent, but really soft and fluffy. I love spinning long draw!

    quick and fluffy

    This one is 216 yards of 2ply worsted(ish) weight. Not sure what I’ll do with it, but for now I’ll just take the relaxation of sitting at the spinning wheel with something good on the tv.

  • tour de fleece – the final wrap-up

    So! I accomplished my goal of spinning every day, and got quite a bit done.

    tour de fleece skeins

    These four skeins are the only ones I spun in their entirety during the Tour – I also plied some silver merino/silk and spun and plied the rest of some tussah silk.

    So how about some glamour shots and stats?

    DSC_9890

    Ashland Bay Merino Silk in Cranberry – 300 yards/100g of 2ply, worsted weight.

    3ply silk/camel

    Spirit Trail silk/camel – 320 yds/4oz of 3ply (chain ply), DK weight.

    95% cormo, 5% silk

    Foxfire 95% cormo, 5% silk – 350 yds/4oz of 2ply, sport weight.

    and one that I snuck in the last few days of the Tour – a skein of 100% cormo that I am absolutely in love with!

    100% cormo

    100% cormo

    100% cormo, 300 yds/100g of 3ply (chain ply), sport weight.

    I’m not sure what my grand total is, because of the aforementioned finishing stuff up that was already on the bobbin. But I do know that I’m feeling really re-inspired to get back to the wheel, and I’ve already started some awesome wool/angora. I’m gonna keep spinning down the stash until Rhinebeck!