Eclipsed
I got to play with both of my wheels to finish up the hand-dyed Merino and Tussah from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I did all the spinning on my Ashford (mostly because I started spinning it on this wheel and I thought it would be good to be consistant) and then did the last two batches of plying on my Lendrum. I absolutely love my plying head and being able to create skeins with a little heft to them.
This head is actually big enough that you have to put a bigger drive band on the wheel to use it. And the orifice is so large that you don't need a threading hook at all. You also get quite a work out treadling to keep that big bobbin spinning! But the end result is very much worth it. I'm a big fan of plying on a wheel in general, though. Compared to when I was doing this on a drop spindle, I feel like it's easier for me to tell when I have just the right amount of twist in the yarn. In fact, almost all these skeins were pretty well balanced after plying (just a little bit of over twist) so I haven't really bothered to dunk any of them in the sink yet. I will eventually, just to make sure that the yarn doesn't want to give up any dye. But for right now I've just put the yarn into hanks..
All 5.75 ounces spun into 663 of two ply yarn. The last skein (the one farthest to the left) is a little bluer than the others, but I expected that given the way I worked with the roving and the way the roving was colored. 663 yards seems like a pretty respectable amount of yarn to me. So now I just need to figure out what to do with it. I'm thinking maybe pillows made with mitred squares? I know it's going to stripe quite a bit. I guess I just won't know until I swatch a little bit of it up.
Finally, I wanted to cap this off with another closeup of the last skein. My spinning is beginning to get a bit more consistant, I think. My concerns about consistancy brought out a few interesting comments from people reminding me that handspinning is not completely about making perfect yarn that looks like it was millspun. With this, I completely agree. I'm not really striving for perfection at all. However, I am striving to develop greater control and, to me, being consistant and getting a single of the diameter that I want is part of the control development process.
Right now I am just learning, getting my hands and feet to co-ordinate, understanding what cool things can be done with a wheel. Learning what things work best for me. I'm happy with almost any yarn I get and I am not worrying all that much about what the final yarn turns out to be. But, ultimately, I want to be able to look at some fiber, say "I want a two ply DK weight yarn" and be able to spin that yarn. So my interest in achieving more consistancy is more about me getting to a place where I can create what I envision than about creating perfect yarn. And about understanding about how spinning really works.
It looks great - very consistent, actually. And, is that a Longaberger picnic basket I spy in that photo?
The yarn looks gorgeous!
That yarn is beautiful, despite my current distaste for blue.
Gorgeous yarn! I think it will make fabulous pillows.
Wow...gorgeous yarn! I love the color and it looks so yummy soft. Can't wait to see what you make with it.
I'm getting sucked into the spinning...
Wow, the yarn is scrumptious! Pillows are a great idea! You can prop them near your wheel and admire them every day!!!
The yarn looks lovely!
If you're having trouble keeping the plying head spinning, make sure it's as low as possible on the wheel to reduce the tension. (Part of it is just weight, and there's little that can be done about that.)
Your yarn is beautiful!
And--if you haven't thought of this yourself already--I keep the "other" drive band bundled up in a rubber band at the back of my Lendrum, so I don't have to disassemble it everytime I want to switch to the Plying head.
That looks like wonderful yarn, Theresa! Wonderful!
Beautiful yarn. Just following your odyssey through spinning keeps pushing me a little closer each post; it's always been in my head, but further back. Slowly the urge is sneaking through the crevices and finding its way to the front
I LOVE that yarn. Where did you get the roving? I really need some!
In fact, I think this is my favorite handspun yarn I've seen on a blog EVER.
Wow! And you're right, it is looking more even than the first picture of the yarn. Awesome!
-Sarah
I love Blue Moon Fiber Arts' colorways and this one is gorgeous. Your yarn looks lovely and very consistent.
I'm always worried about consistency across skeins more than within skeins. I'm a bit of a perfectionist though, and I was very nitpicky until some friends gently suggested the yarn in a skein should be within 10% of the yarn in the other skeins, in terms of wpi (or 10% of the average wpi of all skeins). It's easier for me to deal with the slight differences across skeins when I think in terms of how close the wpi are across all the skeins. Maybe I'm just mathematically fooling myself. Now, if I can just be within 5% . . .
I took a class with Celia Quinn two years ago on the very subject of spinning for "specification." It's not all that mysterious. There are charts galore that tell you the optimum WPI for 2-ply, 3-ply, etc, and you double or triple that to get the WPI for the singles. Approximately, because you have to sample to see twist angle and things like that. Check the catalogues for something called the Spinner's Control Card....simply match your singles to a line on the card after figuring out what you want your singles to be! If you need to be even more anal than that, get Mabel Ross' book or video!
Great yarn and even better insights into yarn and perfection. I love the colors in the yarn.
Lovely yarn! I love those colors....