I love spinning on my wheel. It's so relaxing and goes so quickly! I just want to spin every evening, though I feel like I should make time for knitting, too. After all, what good is a lot of yarn if I'm not actually knitting anything? :)
Anyway, this is my first ever wheel spun yarn. I used a bit of fiber that came with the wheel...I don't know what kind of wool it is or how many ounces it was. It's a 2 ply, and I ended up with 98 yards. I was shooting for worsted weight, but it ended up being bulky.
It's not very consistent at all, and there are lots of spots with too much twist or not enough. But that's okay, because I'm still learning how to use the wheel properly.
I feel like that first yarn helped me get the hang of things. I figured out that I like to spin my singles somewhat loosely, and then put in more twist while I'm plying. This is my second yarn, and it's made from the other fiber that came with my wheel. The bag was labeled Corriedale, but I'm not positive that's what it is.
I hope it's Corriedale, though! Because I love this yarn. It's the softest, bounciest yarn I've ever spun (spindle spun included). This is the first time I've spun yarn that felt springy. It also puffed up beautifully after being washed. I have some other Corriedale fiber to spin, plus the rolags I'm creating from the 1 lb. of raw Corriedale fleece, so I really hope this is characteristic for this breed.
It's two ply, and the big skein is approx. 100 yds. I still had a bit of one single left on the bobbin, so I plied it on itself (Andean style) to give me some extra yarn. The small skein is approx. 20 yds, so it made 120 total.
I've now started on some greenish-blue fiber that I ordered from the Woolery. It's Corriedale, too, I think. I'm halfway done so I'll be posting it soon. :)
Until next time,
OHHH!!! I am so proud of you! Doesn't it feel awesome to hold your first ever skein of yarn? I think it's beautiful, and the little imperfections are what makes it that way. When I brought all of my yarn to the mill to have the owner weigh it up for me and help with pricing, that's what she told me. She said never to undervalue handspun yarn just because it's not perfect. People who buy handspun, especially "art yarn," are looking for those wonky little bits that make it look like it didn't just come off a machine. Good job in not putting too much twist in. That's my weakness. I tend to put more twist than I should in, and I'm finally getting the hang of not doing that. :)
ReplyDelete