How awesome to open up my mailbox and be greeted by a picture of a kaleidoscope of lovely hand spun yarn?!? And it isn’t even my spinning magazine, but from the monthly electric co-op publication! (My sister gifted me with a subscription of Spin-off magazine that I LOVE, and selfishly stretch out by only reading an article or two at a time.) Bonus spinning info, hurray! Here is the link to the digital version, if you are interested. It talks about a enterprising group of spinners that co-op their own herd of sheep, goats, and alpacas. A little too far away for me, which is a bummer, but I have local sources for alpaca, buffalo down, and mohair, so I feel pretty darn lucky.
Oh, and that is Sophie doing a photobomb and looking scary. I caught her in the middle of a yawn and stretch.
The lace scarf is done! It isn’t very long, but I used up all my fiber, with only a short segment remaining.
I won at yarn roulette, only a few inches of yarn left over
The total weight of the scarf is 103 grams (3.6 oz). I used two colors of pink merino roving, pre-drafted the colors together without blending, spun with a hand carved drop spindle, then made a two-ply yarn. Lace stitch was done with size 8 Prym needles (which may have just changed my feelings about knitting and especially lace knitting). I blocked and dried the scarf.
Finished merino wool lace scarf
Interestingly, the pictures of the scarf are much more striped than it appears in person.
For someone who does not count knitting in my favorite crafts, I certainly seem to be knitting often. I finished spinning the two-color pink merino wool and am quite pleased with the color distribution. It isn’t nearly as patchy as I thought it would be when I was spinning the singles! I then needed to decide what to do with the two ply yarn. Since I want to get back to spinning, I chose knitting because it is faster than nålbinding and I like the texture better than crochet. It is all well and good to only spin, but how can I improve my spinning if I don’t know how the finished yarn performs?
Hand-spun merino wool
I found a simple knit lace pattern, since I read two ply is often used for lace. I also learned about a different kind of needle from Prym. These are ergonomically designed with tips that hook the yarn better, triangle shafts so the loops slide better, and they clip together to keep the stitches on the needle between sessions! I do appreciate well designed things!
Prym knitting needles (size 8) shown clipped together
This pattern is my kind of lace! It repeats every four rows, and there is only one row with increases and decreases, otherwise it is knit or purled all the way across. I had the pattern memorized after three sets, and could recognize where I was in the pattern after three more. And such a lovely dynamic result! I realized that I have seen this ripple pattern somewhere else. My daughter’s dolls were tucked in with a rainbow blanket that my grandmother made that used the same stitch! I’ve always admired the ripple and wondered how it was done. Now I know!
Baby blanket knitted by my grandmother
My knitting still can’t be considered speedy, but it will do for a sitting project. I have two other skeins queued up for the next knitting project, and have started a new walking spinning project. We’ll see if I can finish the knit projects before I have more finished yarn!
Oh I had a good time plying this merino wool!! I wrapped the singles nostepinne style when I spun them, which made lovely center pull balls. For plying, though, I chose a top whorl spindle because it would hold more. I can also set the top whorl spinning by rolling it along my outer thigh, which makes it go much faster than flicking. I had just read an article about Romans depicted spinning in art, where the leg was raised at an angle to roll the spindle. Aha! If I timed it right, I could raise my leg on the forward step, roll the spindle, and continue the step and only have a little hitch in my stride. (It is sad that rural women in Italy were forbidden to spin and walk because it was considered a bad omen.) I also pushed how long I could ply before I had to wrap. I figured out that I can hold my left arm out about head high and let the spindle hang, then when the twist was where I wanted it, swing the spindle up and catch it in my right hand. I have to watch the hubris, though, because if I get too cocky a strand breaks and I spend the next five minutes of my walk splicing the yarn back together. Still, it was not only an enjoyable walk, it was longer because I wanted to finish the second ball.
Walking and plying from a center pull ball (not pictured in action because I’m not that talented)Yarn plied in about an hour (left) and singles wrapped in center pull balls ready for plying (right)
Critters and Craft 