I thought I'd show what's involved in finishing up a skein of handspun yarn, and at the end I'll show you why I was so anxious to finish it! It's a picture-heavy post again, but most of it is eye candy.
You may remember I was making a three-ply yarn, so I first had to spin up 3 bobbins of singles, i.e. the plies that make up the yarn:
Singles Meet-Up. Couldn't resist! |
Faux-keh. |
More faux-keh. Maybe someday I'll get a real camera so I can do real bokeh! |
The bobbins of singles go onto a lazy kate . . . |
which goes next to the wheel . . . |
and about an hour later, it's all plied into a full bobbin of 3-ply. (Sorry this one is so fuzzy.) |
Then the yarn is wound off onto a niddy-noddy to make a hank. This is my favorite niddy-noddy. It's the first one my dad ever made me, when I first started spinning. |
After it's removed from the niddy-noddy, the yarn gets soaked for about a half hour. This sets the twist and also helps the yarn bloom. |
Then it hangs to dry. And now the hardest part: waiting!! |
I couldn't resist inspecting my work every hour or so! |
Finally, the next morning it's mostly dry, and I can twist it into a hank. |
I got about 320 yards out of this piece of sliver. |
And the heathery color mix shows up a lot more than I was expecting it to, so I'm happy about that! |
That hank of yarn took quite a bit of work. Each bobbin of singles took about 2.5 hours, the plying took over an hour, and the finishing took another half hour or so. So, about 9 hours for one hank of yarn, and it's not even wound into a skein yet! Good thing I enjoy spinning!
I think this yarn will become another Wholehearted shawl. I'm not really sure it's enough, but I have at least another pound of this fiber, so I can always spin more if I need to!
And now the reason why I was so anxious to get this off my wheel. Last week when I went to Vogue Fabrics to get buttons for my sweater, I discovered a bin of spinning fiber. Uh-oh! Look what I came home with:
I got three ounces of this. |
Ah! Those colors! |
Be still my beating heart! |
Look at this cute little curlicue! |
I actually have enough spare bobbins that I could have started this right away, but I was a good girl and finished one project before starting another. But you better believe I'll be starting this today!
Oh my goodness! That is sooooo gorgeous! BTW, the faux-keh is pretty darn good!
ReplyDeleteHehehe - thanks! But I want to be able to make little hearts or stars like the fancy people do!
DeleteWow! This looks amazing! Great job, Gail!
ReplyDeleteI can not wait to see how that fiber knits up, it's just too beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love a french manicure, goes with everything. I wear a french pedicure during the summer to make life easier!
It's funny - a French mani is so understated, but I'm so used to wearing crazy colors that to me it feels really noticeable!
DeleteI couldn't wait either - I just wound the yarn into a skein!
Oh wow! it is glorious! You are so clever! I just love the colour...
ReplyDeletesooooo gorgeous ! I cant believe how clever you are ! (well I can, but you know). The colours are just fabulous and I love the name !! :-) Nice to be inspiring for a change rather than the other way round, lol. xx BTW - LOVE the mani - I just did French with glitter top coat - great minds ! xx
ReplyDeleteGreat minds indeed!
DeleteI love that there's something called a niddy-noddy. Tee hee. Both of these colours are so pretty! :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of fun vocabulary in spinning!
DeleteRococo Gold Leaf! That takes a classic French manicure in a fresh direction.
ReplyDeleteI really need to figure out spinning at some point, since I have a fleece on hand from a friend's sheep, but when I have no idea.
I love seeing behind the scenes of spinning (as I've never spin before). 9+ hours, huh? That's dedication ... and I think this hand-spun will look beautiful in the Wholehearted Shawl. As for your new roving -- watch out! It's going to be luscious.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't planning to ever take up spinning ... but now that I know it involves something called a niddy-noddy, hmm. At the very least, one of my sewing tools is gonna get nicknamed niddy-noddy.
ReplyDeleteWell, you might need a diz too, LOL!
DeleteOh, and the yarn is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOH, my gawd ! ! ! !
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS the best EVER color[s].
Now this is one I WANT to see spun up, PRONTO ! !
WOW! You never fail to impress!
ReplyDelete