Cotton Candy Corriedale
In between bouts of sock knitting, I've been spinning my little heart out. The thing about spinning, is that I can spin for hours, be greatly satisified with the result, feel very peaceful an refreshed, and still not have much of a blog post. Or, maybe I should say, I could show you more progress if the same time had been devoted to a knitting project. But I feel like I have gotten to this place where I really want to make my own yarn. Finishing the Flower Basket Shawl with my own handspun was magickal. It was the point where I realized I could spin enough of something to make a garment, and that I could like that garment just as much as something that I knitted out of commercially prepared yarn.
It was also this point that I determined that just as I am more of a product than a process knitter, I am also more of a product rather than a process spinner. I love the spinning, but boy do I want that yarn. And I want enough yardage so that it opens the door to many project possibilities. Which is part of why I really like buying fiber from Teyani at Crown Mountain Farms. Not only are her hand dyed rovings beautiful colors, well prepared and a pleasure to spin, but they are also in put ups that give you enough to dream big with -- 8 ounces isn't a sweater, but it's plenty for a scarf. And at $14-$15 for that 8 ounces, it's easy to afford enough for a bigger project.
After spinning up the first half of the Hang On Sloopy, I started to get this jones for some lace-to-fingering weight stripey yarn that could be used in a shawl or scarf project. I also really wanted to spin up my Cotton Candy Corriedale pencil roving. So I decided that I would divide the 8 ounces in half and spin each half into a single, just letting the color happen as it happened. A very easy thing to do with pencil roving. All I had to do was break off a bit, pre-draft and spin fine. I used the 10:1 ratio on my wheel to create the singles. And, in case you're curious, my singles are about 32 WPI.
When last I showed you a bobbin of this stuff, it looked mostly pink and green. Now you can see that the yellow has come out in full force. The first half of the roving had a good deal more green in it, the second half more yellow. Which was all fine by me, given my desire to have stripes.
This roving also taught me something about dyeing. Teyani never put the green and red portions next to each other in the roving, they were always separated by an area of yellow. Yellow blends nicely with both colors, green and red together create a murky brown. I'll be filing this away into the dyeing notes section of my brain for use in the future.
The next step was to get it all plied up. That took me almost an entire afternoon and the assistance of a good many podcasts. I finally have a homemade tensioned lazy kate (a shoe box, three straight metal knitting needles and a yard or two of Woolese) that lets me get through the plying process with the WooLee Winder bobbins. It was like plying up Easter egg dyeing colors. I used the 7:1 drive ratio. In retrospect, I probably should have used the 9:1 but I liked the yarn I was getting, so I let it be. The final 2 ply yarn is somewhere between 18-20 WPI. Corriedale always seems to come with a lot of elasticity. Without any stretching, the yarn is more like 14-16 WPI.
Here's the whole bundle, hanked up after a warm bath and a rest. I let it hang dry with no weighting (other than the weight of the yarn itself) and no twisting resulted, so I think I found the balance point for the yarn. In the end, I ended up with about 770 yards (as measured by wraps around my 2 yard niddy noddy), which is pretty respectable from 8 ounces of starting fiber. And it's stripey as all-get-out. The final impression I get of this yarn is a very yellow and green one -- a similar impression to what I got from the starting roving. I was expecting the areas where the green and pink plyed together to be a bit brownish/greyish, but they report mostly green to my eyes. I'd love to hear any of the impressions you get. This picture was taken on a cloudy day and the colors are very true to life, if a little muted by the neutral lighting.
No picture of yarn would be complete for me without a closeup. Here you can see how the individual colors play together, as well as the texture of the yarn. You can see that I am still working on the process of getting a good and evenly plyed yarn. I feel like I get better and better with every batch I spin up. Spinning really is one of those things for which the "practice makes pefect mantra applies".
The final yarn is soft, probably against the skin soft (this is always hard for me to judge until I actually wear the garment against my skin, but the fact that this yarn is quite smooth improves the odds that my prediction will come true). But it has one problem... at least for me. I love it, but I cannot wear anything that has this much yellow. At least not near my face. So I don't think a scarf project (unless it is not for me) is going to be in the future for this yarn. I'm thinking maybe a pillow, or a spring table runner with a very simple lace pattern that won't get lost in all the stripes. A table runner a la Clapotis also crossed my mind. Any other suggestions? It definitely won't become socks. I would die a thousand little deaths if some of my handspun was accidentally felted in the washing machine.
Absolutely gorgeous! It looks perfectly spun! Congratulations!!!
Beautiful yarn, it is a nice spring-y color, but sadly I wouldn't know what to make with it either. I would just watch it for a while and see what you think of eventually.
My suggestion is that you send it to me. I like yellow. ;-)
Really, it's fabulous. Your practice is certainly paying off.
Great yarn, great colors, great spinning, great pictures. A perfect fiber-blog post. I couldn't wear yellow near my face, either. Would you dare gift it, or make something with it to give away?
I too love large putups. Makes me feel more secure that I do have enough to make whatever I want to make.
I agree about the color - I don't really like yellow. I'm thinking a shawl would be good for this yarn.
It's beautiful and I think it would make a lovely table runner of some sort. Can you imagine it adorning thet table at Easter? Any stole pattern would work for a runner.
It looks really really good. You talk about working towards evenness....I see evenness.
Looks like it will have to be for someone else. Mittens, but that's a waste of 770 yds, and Corrie wouldn't be a robust choice for that. A shawl, but that gets too near one's face. Leg warmers? Probably not. I'm running out of ideas.
Beautiful!
It's lovely, very spring, and I'd be happy with the spinning too. If you want total perfection in your knitting you could buy mill spun but why should you when your yarn looks to be even in both thickness and twist. It will knit up beautifully.
I did my first roving dye where I poured dye onto the roving in the pan (rather than paint it onto the roving on the countertop). I'll think about the colour seperation tip next time, I didn't end up with any brown but that's just because I got lucky.
That yarn is unbelievably gorgeous. I have been resisting the call to spin. Post like this make it very difficult!
Wow, that is just beautiful!!
Oooo, that is gorgeous! I can't wait to see the knitted project!
I vote for table runner, as you have excellent yardage and your homespun would be a gorgeous underpinning to any special springtime dinner!
I'm using "Lavish Lace" as the inspiration for a Shetland Candlelight runner I'm making out of Claudia Handpainted linen. I like this book because these patterns are exclusively for hand-painted yarns.
Hmmmm maybe not quite enough for a pi shawl, but that would make a lovely springtime tablecloth.
Amazing. I can't even see the red in the singles, but in the plied yarn it pops right out! And it's utterly lovely. I'm kind of sorry you won't be wearing it, in fact. :-)
Ooh. I love your yarn! The play of colors is wonderful. I find it interesting that at least on *my* monitor that the hank looks more yellow, and the close-up looks more green.
After looking at the Clapotis pattern that you might also consider making either a pillow or runner in a lacey ripple design. Ripples and stripes often play well together.
There is a pattern in Alterknits (I believe) that would be awesome. You do a big long tube knit on bigger needles and then get some beautiful silk/satin/fabric in whatever colors go with it and put that in the middle with enough to hang out at the ends. That way you could get a darker green or a deep fushia ... Also, where did you get all your info on the ratio's ??? since i am still learning to spin I am trying to find resources and I have no clue what you were talking about!!
I think a pillow or runner or something similar would be a good use. The spun fibers are so dear to you, and your heart and soul is inside those fibers and therefore will be inside the finished piece ... therefore, making something that will be treasured by family beyond your years would be the route to go I would think. One piece in the puzzle of your legacy, and each of us does leave a legacy of some kind - great or small.
~firefly
I think it looks absolutely beautiful!
The color thing? Well, you know, you could always pair it with another yarn in a more you-flattering color, used as a border--something that will reflect the right light up toward your face, while still letting all that beautiful, handspun stuff shine....
What drop dead gorgeous yarn you are spinning. Incredible colours and incredibly lovely.
Wow! Your yarn is gorgeous! How long have you been spinning, if you don't mind me asking? (I can only hop emy yarns grow up to be that pretty someday)
Beautiful yarn! I love Crown Mountain Farms pencil rovings and right now I'm working my through all of their superwash merino rovings!
That is the issue I often have with handspun. Socks = no. Scarves, have enough. What to do, then, with the the lovely non-sweater-able yarns?
Wish I had wisdom.
lol! i dont understand half of what you said! maybe i will one day. i love the colurs. i am amazed at the magic of plying. i love it!
finally started my here b dragon sox. i am making them for a child so i am doing the scaled up, but in 3 repeats. what do you think?
Love the colors. Your spinning is very nice.
Your yarn is beautiful - it looks greeny yellow with hints of pinky orange to me.
Could you please tell us more about your tensioned home made lazy kate? I'm very intrigued.
Mmm, that yarn looks like yummy sherbet ice cream to me! Very greenish yellow with a touch of orange.
Very beautiful spinning! I think if you don't want to wear it, a table runner would be very pretty especially against golden or cherry colored wood. I haven't made a Clapotis, but in the Knitty picture it looks a little curled on the edges. If that is true about that knit, maybe a different lace would work better. The Beech Leaf lace pattern in BW vol 1 would look lovely with all those spring greens. Just an idea.
matching socks for you and your mom!! You would never get bored even with plain stockinette with a yarn like that. I think it is so cool to see the sock develop with that kind of yarn.
It came out just gorgeous!!
Sometimes when I don't know what to make with a finished yarn, I'll sit it in a pretty bowl on the counter and just admire it for awhile until I stumble across the inspiration for the project.
It will come to you - for sure.... something that gorgeous is just begging to be knit with.