What a week! Whew. I am pooped.
I held back posting on Friday (as I normally do) in order to share with you my Spinzilla experience. I am tired, yo. It was tough.
I spun a total of 3,918 yards. And I have lots of photos to share my experience with you!
My upper back is actually a bit sore. I know what it is from: Navajo-plying. No Navajo-plying next year! It is hard for me to do well when I am spinning for speed. I feel that my n-plying still needs precision and, therefore, I was quite tense while I was plying. It is also slower than a traditional 2 or 3-ply.
I learned a few things this week. Firstly, that I love spinning a variety of fibres. Second, a portable wheel would be a really wonderful and highly valued addition to my ‘tools’ – I currently spin on a Kromski Minstrel, which I enjoy but would like more portability. And third, I just really love making yarn! I am so excited to start dreaming about knitting projects for all of this yardage but really … I just loved the process of making.
What am I most proud of? The Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts 100% Falkland. I was so nervous to spin this! I so badly wanted it to turn out well … and it did! I divided the braid into two long stripes and spin each end-to-end with a short backwards draw. I then did a traditional 2-ply.
It took 3 bulging bobbins to ply this! The finished yarn is light and airy with a roughly 60 degree angle of twist.
Fibre: Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts 100% Falkland
Colourway: She Sells Sea Shells
Stats: 428 yards/105.5 grams, 2-ply
The second project and responsible for my back soreness was Sweet Georgia Yarns’ July 2014 Fibre Club. I striped this into narrow stripes and spun randomly with the plan to Navajo-ply. This was a pleasure to spin! It drafted beautifully, evenly and consistently. I am in love. I have another 4 ounces to spin and I am thinking very seriously about a garter shawl …
I had spun a sample prior to Spinzilla, which I am thankful that I did since I continuously referred back to it throughout this spin!
Fibre: Sweet Georgia Yarns’ Superwash Merino + Nylon
Colourway: July 2014 Club – Strawberry Season
Stats: 222 yards/120.2 grams, 3-ply
My third project finished up a project I’ve been working on for a while and was ready to ‘get off the wheel’ so to speak. This was Ewe + Me Yarns which I had ear-marked for a dressy open-front cardigan … but now I’m thinking about a shawl. I have a good amount of yardage and could make a really great something. I’ll have to cruise patterns to see what I can find!
Fibre: Ewe + Me Yarns Merino/Mulberry Silk/Stellina
Colourway: Cola Classic
Stats: 252 yards/69.7 grams, 2-ply
Fourth on my wheel was another Ewe + Me Yarns. This is a new colourway from her and her daughter. I was so excited to see how it would spin up that I did a test skein for Spinzilla but I forgot to stop spinning, so it is more like a mini-skein!
Fibre: Ewe + Me Yarns Merino/Mulberry Silk/Stellina
Colourway: Ophelia
Stats: 100.5 yards/30.6 grams, 3-ply
Isn’t it puuuur-dy?!
Lastly, I decided to dive into my September 2014 Spunky Eclectic fibre club. It was Dorset down which I have never spun before. I was quite nervous … but after playing a little and reading what Amy had written about the month’s club, I actually quite enjoyed this spin!
I used a long backwards draw, low twist but enough to fibre lock (I found this was quite hard to do at first – it kept just coming apart like bison or buffalo does!). I used my largest and therefore slowest whorl which worked out quite well. I am excited to get into the second half of this spin since I only finished half the braid. I am spinning it in the same way as the Ancient Arts above: two long stripes, end-to-end.
Fibre: Spunky Eclectic Dorset
Colourway: Sept 2014 Fibre Club
Stats: 196 yards/61 grams, 2-ply
As I finish each of these spins off completely (finish spinning remaining fibre, washing & drying, future knitting, etc.), I will share more with you about each spin. This summary post acts a personal challenge to myself to spin over 4,000 yards next year!
There is absolutely no way that I could have spun this much without my mother-in-law visiting currently. She was able to distract J in particular so that I could continue on spinning when he needed some one-on-one time. He didn’t nap all week, which I was relying on to get the majority of my spinning time done. She was a rock star in allowing me to continue when I know she was feeling as tired as I was! I think that she definitely receives half of the credit for the amount I finished!
Did you meet your Spinzilla goals? Are you as tired as I am?!
I hope, as I am, that you are looking forward to Spinzilla 2015!
Happy Spinning :)
