Fledgling Spinner

The Tour de Fleece is well underway, and I have been diligently trying to spin a little as required, despite misgivings about reaching the end of the tour. With the little man due a mere three days after the tour, it is quite possible that this is an exercise in futility. However, I am willing, at this stage, to chance it since it is fun to try something new – spinning with sparkly batts.

I have spun from batts one other time, the butterscotchy amber colored Cappuccino batts from my mom. The rest of my spinning has been mainly from rovings and my own rolags and hand carded fiber. These batts I am tackling are also from my mom, a surprise she purchased me from BohemiaFibers, and the colorway is Scottish Highlands (click on pictures to see larger size).

All at once I was overwhelmed with how many colors are in each batt. The variation and layers are what I imagine geologists and botanists would find in the highlands themselves. A gentle blend of corriedale, silk, and firestar, I wasn’t sure where to start, but settled on making a two ply, since barber poles, where two colors swirl around each other when you ply, seems unlikely to matter with so much variation.

My prep was simple:

I decided to lay out all of the batts, to get a sense of the overall colors. In this case, the variations in the wool weren’t significant, but the silks varied from batt to batt, so I tried to picture how it would be best to distribute them as singles. I decided I would just pull each batt apart, ripping them into quarters, and then drafting them and making little piles I could pick from randomly.

A far more clever planner and spinner could determine how many bobbins of singles they might spin, let’s say four, tear batts into the same number of sections, and then use one part of each batt on each bobbin in order.

I took the lazy way.

I drafted into balls of soft fiber, ready to spin up. The fibers were meticuously prepared, so there were not a lot of chunks to contend with, as I have observed in some smaller carded prep samples.  Any thick/thin issues I had were my own shortcomings while drafting the fiber between my hands.

For a great tutorial on drafting to prep to spin, check this video out or this one for drop spindle.

Into the second bobbin, the colors are just delightful shifts and highlights with sparkle throughout. Can’t wait to see how it plies up, but I need to wait because I WILL be following the rules I read somewhere that say you match your last bobbin with your first bobbin, second with the second to last, etc. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out ok!

This month being my first Phat Fiber contribution, I have been enjoying the excitement that surrounds release and capture of said Phat boxes. My own arrived today, quickly opened and poured over by yours truly and a visiting Mom. But before I sit down to plan the inevitable smallish projects with all these wooly wonders, I wanted to take a bit of time to share photos of the blessed event. Video of contributions can be seen in the link on the prior post while following the boxes happens on the Rav group and the Phat Fiber Blog.

Since the December theme was space-y, I plucked some starry fabric from the stash to protect against pine needles in the yard while I tried to take advantage of fading winter sunlight:

This is a shot of everything from a distance……fleece in the back, coupons and stitch markers in the middle, and yarns up front. I also received two great patterns hiding in the wings there.

The yarns were lovely and I have to admit that “Pigs in Space” moniker that a couple of people used brought a smiley memory for me. I also love how creative some of the tags and cards are – everyone has wonderful designs AND colors for yarn. There was a great blue combo from Alaskan Nancy, Pigs in Space pink dominated blend from Gale’s Art, a great fingering called Moon Beam from Dame Emi that I keep trying to guess content on, a surprising and soft lovely from Anzula luxury fibers, almost earthy “Meteor” from By Rebekah with Love, and great greens from Wabi Sabi.

Here’s the two patterns, mostly covered up to not infringe on anyone’s pattern-y rights – one from Michelle Miller and another from Kira K. Also the clever wee WC Mercantile package, a rich, green merino hiding from FromEwetoYou, and a couple of the great stitch markers from winemakerssister and My Fair Bag Lady.

More fluffs – totally in love with the natural dyes from Vibrant Fibers and the feel of the BFL from Vivid Creations…also, can’t help but love the almost ethereal Natchwoolie sample. There are two hidden stitch markers – one fantastic big snagless from Dawning Dreams and a cute beaded one from Lampyridae.

On the other side, the large batt from Lampyridae is a delightful combo of fibers and Color Bug Yarns’ Pigs in Space is a fun wee sample plus what I think is a lamp work bead. Even though I have the wrong side facing, there is some recycled yarn from Jags Funky Fibers hiding in there, too.I still haven’t opened the Woolen Mill St. Yarns bag of bamboo cause I fear that I won’t stop touching it and it will get in the gingerbread I have to make later. Still a sucker for the cuteness of wee braids in the Unwind Yarn and Gems sample.

Overall, many , many hours of fiber feely lay ahead for me.

I might have already mentioned, but I know myself and my craftitis pretty well. When I wanted to learn how to spin I bought a copy of this book and tried the “first spinning” techniques suggested in the book. I got a hooked piece of a clothes hanger…the wire ones. I just made a tangled worm of roving. I tried a dowel and CD contraption and ended up with rubber grommets all over the garage trying to get them over the dowel.

Somewhere between off-center cup hooks and twirling fiber in my hands, I got a small bonus and decided that if I liked spinning, I would want a wheel. If I was really bad at it or hated it, the Ashford Traditional tends to hold value enough to find it a new home…

I have never tried the drop spindle until this past Saturday. My mom, the original craft loving enabler constant support of my hand crafts sent me two drop spindles in a goody bag with my visiting sibling:

I must admit – not as tedious or frustrating as I feared! I translated the drafting techniques I am trying to practice and manage some decently even singles on both. The Ashford top whorl on the left holds practice wool of unknown origin. The lovely dark wood spindle has a  50/50 merino & soysilk blend that is a bit too fast for my fingers at my present learning curve, but I love the colors. This roving is from SugarBee Art & Fiber Studios and I found it in She Sells Yarn, my nearest LYS..

I can’t decide if the dark wood spindle is a top whorl on account of the notch/turning details on the end of the shaft. However, there is a hook on the same side as the whorl.

New toys need new homes so I repurposed what I would consider a modern day “train case” for makeup. Those square bags are cute, but I love the rigidity of this MIL b-day gift. Plus there is a wee pocket for my cell phone or scissors.

I knit a little more on my Sideways Spencer, practicing my first I-cord bind off. I still need to do the button band and collar, but after that I can move along and block it….if I am not too busy spinning.

It always seems like there is a universal joke in which all patterns have gauge to show you what you should do, and hardly any knitters actually test with a swatch first. I have maybe three or four swatches for every dozen things that get cast on. Like most people (I imagine….or I could just be projecting on the needlework masses) I kinda measure when I have knit on a piece for a while or if something appears to be going hideously wrong.

So it is with the hopes of the magic of knitting and yarns that I keep my fingers crossed that the Very Tall Socks I cast on which are written in a pattern for worsted will work in the fingering I am actually knitting them in. I have done several rows already and put them on waste yarn once to see how they fit…..just in case.

In other size news, I have also been playing with some 7mm drop stitch markers….something which required some tiny hand/eye coordination to get miniature stitch markers. I think they worked out okay – I still love the brains the best.

Those are Size 2 needles, for reference.

I also broke down and pre-drafted some of “Vatican”, I couldn’t help myself. I still haven’t given the Merletto Mitts to the intended wearer, but I figured they might motivate me to make my own.

I have been “spinning” for over a year now. I cannot say that I have accomplished much. I can honestly tell you that I retain the fledgling part of my name. What I have learned is to just go with my gut…….and assume that if it was really that hard, all those people who developed it independently across the globe, well, wouldn’t have.

Basically, I press the treadle on the wheel and let the fibers go when I think they have whirled around on each other enough to not fall apart completely. I like to imagine there is instinct for this. Planning helps too. If I pull apart the fibers in a long strand (so-called pre-drafting) then it is already mostly there…..they just need the twist and a little help pulling apart along the thick bits.

The first full spindles of single ply fiber are so rewarding. It has all the potential wound up in there. There are no final ply issues or yardage concerns but the whole color palette of the fiber is laid out, plain as day. Singles are terribly romantic to look at. I think that this roving suits the color on the wheel very nicely.

I have not been spinner only – my spouse has also helped me to properly merchandise my latest etsy products. He created an amazing wee box for Caution: Live Yarns!

So I recently ordered some delightful dyed superwash and it arrived yesterday. The colors were even better in person!

KnitWitch Roving

They are the “Tuscany” and “Vatican” colors from the Knit Witch’s shop. I saw the Knit Witch at SAFF last year and loved the sock yarn I bought, so I have been coveting more of her things since then. So fate was kind enough to step in and make me the lucky winner in a random drawing for a gift certificate to her shop!

So confession time – after the alpaca I have spun (I am almost done with the third fleece – the fawn colored one),  the Louet merino silk bag I spun up (pictures coming soon), some merino/silk roving my mom gave me that started the whole “want to learn to spin” thing in the first place (yes, those pictures coming soon too!) and a couple of random samples and one BFL braid from SAFF, I have never actually knit with any of my finished yarn.

There. I said it.

I am so scared that:

- whatever I make will fall apart if my spun yarn turns out to be subpar.

-  that I will run out of wool for the project and can’t get more of it.

- that the yarn will split and be awful

I am also reluctant to part with the cuteness of the finished skeins!

Last night I changed all of that. The rovings were so yummy that I put what I have learned thus far into play.

1. Break off a manageable length of roving.

2. Split it lengthwise to a workable thickness.

3. Predraft the fibers, being careful not to pull them apart.

(that’s the spinning “predrafteddon’tmesswiththis” basket)

4. Relax and spin, being careful to test it to make sure it won’t break.

5. Stop before you get too into spinning the singles.

6. Navajo ply a sample because you remember somewhere reading that a three-ply was good for socks. Oh, and it is supposed to preserve color changes a little better?

7. Wind off the bobbin. Make a skein. Knit on needles……

I am the happiest spinner, ever.

I guess that at least once, in the life of every blog – there is a gap of time that posts slow or stop altogether. I am sorry blog, for ignoring you. I honestly had a lot of things to do. There were handknit Christmas patterns:

The shawl is from this Knitty pattern – highly recommended it. It was a fun knit! The scarf is a hybrid of Jean Greenhowe-style animal heads and my strange imaginings for a man’s scarf. (it’s a market bull and bear, for those who wondered)

There was also gratuitous fiber purchasing in the form of Louet silk/merino in Lichen.
There was also a garden filled with yummy treats, some of them too soon gobbled by humidity and heat
So you see, there were genuine excuses. Things that were also fun. Reasons for not spinning the alpaca like I was supposed to…….

North Carolina is made for knitters. There are crisp fall days and fiber festivals. I brought back goodies and congratulated myself on my restraint:I saw sheep and goats and all kinds of fleece and fiber.


I accidentally climbed the mountain in the background before looking down and realizing that the bridge we wanted to get to was in the other direction.
Alpacas don’t judge.

I also finished the sweater which was worn while on vacation.
Now it is time for covert knitting since it is almost the gift giving season and I have suffered another bout of knitting delusion and I imagine I can make four or more things to give away in less than two months. It could happen.