A Spot of Spinning

 

For the past few months I've been trying to spin every day even if it is the three minutes it takes Enrique to change Joaquin's diaper in the morning.  It does add up to finished yarns eventually!

These yarns are from Tactile's first two month's of the fiber club shipments.  From left to right: 70/30 Alpaca/Tussah 2-ply, 80/20 Merino/Tussah chain plied, 80/20 Merino/Tussah 3-ply, 50/50 Merino/angora chain plied, 50/50 merino/angora chain plied, Finn wool 3-ply.  My tactic has been to spin the fibers from the comfort club into sock yarn (worsted, multi-ply) and be a bit freer with the luxury club.  The 70/30 alpaca/tussah was spun over the fold layering the solid and the painted top to get more of a blended look to the yarn.  The 50/50 Merino/angora was spun long draw.

It's been a fun challenge to think about all the different ways to spin the two tops (one is semi-solid and the other is painted) to get different effects.  I also try to think a little bit about what I want to make with the yarn before I start spinning.  From the 70/30 Alpaca/Tussah think I am going to make a shawl (perhaps an Aestlight Shawl (Rav link)).  From the 50/50 Merino/Angora I'm going to make a cowl but I'm not sure which on yet.  I was thinking of something where the body would be in the solid and then use the painted as an edging that I would knit on length-wise to show off the color changes.  If you have any ideas or suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Comments

[Julia]

I think it's really interesting how people approach spinning differently - for me, the yarn itself is the finished product, and I rarely think about what to make out of it, which means I have a ton of handspun with no actual plans! Although I am making a pair of socks out of handspun right now. We'll have to compare notes on handspun sock yarn sometime! Are you looking for a lacy cowl pattern or something more substantial?

[Brooke]

I don't always think about what I want to make from the yarn before spinning it either so I'm giving it a try. It's been an interesting exercise!

As for the cowl pattern - I was thinking of a very simple pattern since the angora will create such a halo that it will obscure a lot of detail.