Fiber Corner

Daily life of a knitting designer/publisher of handknitting patterns

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Stress Control Spinning

The sun came out this week and I was finally able to snap some pics of the stress control spinning accomplished over the last couple of months.

First off is this unusual skein (for me).
It's a heavy worsted, spun from a cloud preparation. The color is actually deeper and darker than it appears in these photos. The fiber blend consists of mohair/wool/alpaca/glitz.
My first spin attempt was to just grab a handful and go but found better control and results when I pulled it into a roving as June suggests. Spun woolen and squishy soft.

The next skein is one of my all time favorites! Natural brown/black alpaca spun to fingering weight. The fiber was processed at Argyle Fiber Mill in Argyle, WI and they did a terrific job with it. Plus, I happen to know these happy animals personally and their fiber is soft as can be so it's a great pleasure to be able to turn it into nice soft yarn (without a hint of wiry-ness)
A couple of years ago, alpaca spinning gave me so much trouble, but this was such a complete and utter pleasure.

Next up, Cormo--roving purchased from Riverwinds Farm in Boyd, WI. The 4 oz. of white was bought at Shepherd's Harvest last spring and the oz. puffs of blue and yellow from WI S&W last fall.
Initially, I tried to spin this worsted but found that I could achieve a much more consistent yarn when it was spun woolen with a short backward draft. The final yarn is fingering weight--destined to be a stranded pair of gloves. Hopefully, they'll have more dyed colors at Shepherd's Harvest this year. (yes, I could dye my own but I'd much rather be spinning ;)

I also tried my hand at spinning Shetland. These were some bumps purchased from a vendor out in the Shetland barn at WI S&W. Lovely soft stuff. The brown roving had more neps in it but I didn't bother picking them all out. Both colors were spun woolen and are fingering weight.
Before I left for Hawaii, I started spinning the Blue Moon Sheep 2 Shoe kit I purchased at MI Fiber Fest. It's a 3-ply and spun worsted but it's apparent that I didn't get the top divided evenly as the colors didn't match up very well. It's a true sock weight yarn so that's what it will become--eventually.
The above yarns were all spun on my Ashford Joy. Last but not least is the first skein of Perendale that was pictured on the bobbin last week.
Spun on my Lendrum Saxony, it's also a fingering weight yarn. Hey, that's what I like to knit! It's almost an exact match in twist and feel to Satakieli.

You are now up to date with spinning projects. Next week I'll try to get knitting photos.

4 Comments:

At 11:54 AM, Blogger Melanie said...

Wow, what a bevy of beautiful skeins! You know I have a thing for Perendale, and your skein is just exquisite. Your Sheep 2 Shoe socks will be lovely.

 
At 5:39 PM, Blogger June said...

Wowza! Are you spinning literally or what by now?! It's all fabulous but my favorite has to be the fiber blend mohair/wool/alpaca/glitz. I've never seen a "cloud preparation" must go investigate June's site now!

 
At 11:20 AM, Blogger Margaret said...

Beautiful spinning! And Hey, I like to knit with fingering wt too - so versatile from socks and mitts to lace. Might as well spin what you love to knit!

 
At 7:34 AM, Blogger A Fiber Frolic said...

What beautiful skeins! You have certainly been doing a lot of spinning these dark winter days. Love the perendale. June's tips on preparing a cloud were new to me, so thanks for that link.

 

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