This is a long way off from finishing as I have only spun the heathered grey-brown Merino locks, but I thought I would show you my progress anyhow. Remember my day with my friend Diana, washing fleece and locks? We had so much fun and I have been slowly making my way through the spinning of the Merino. My plan is actually for a fair isle toque, which will showcase the three natural colours of the Merino – the body will be the cream, then a small amount of the heathered grey and dark brown. I’m really excited to start charting out some ideas once I know my wraps per inch (WPI) and gauge.
Merino always wants to be spun fine. It is a fine wool with lots of crimp. I flick carded the tips of each lock to open them up, then hand combed a bunch of little nests. I spun from the tip each time so this was a true worsted preparation.
I let the singles settle on the bobbin for a few weeks, which ended up being Tour de Fleece anyhow, and then plied from a centre pull ball.
Finished bobbin on the Lendrum. Filled ~half the bobbin.
The finished yarn is very grey, with heathered light and dark spots.
It is really a lovely soft yarn and there is still quite a bit of Lanolin in the wool. I’m going to wash this again and see if I can get some more of it out. I didn’t notice this particularly when spinning but the finished skein is a bit sticky.
There are some very uneven parts in this yarn. I have to admit, I felt like a beginning spinner while spinning this fibre! It is super fine, wants to be spun fine as I said above and the faster ratios create a lot of twist. It was kind of a lot going on in my hands … but you know what? It is absolutely beautiful yarn. I’m looking forward to spinning more over the course of the next few months.
Happy Spinning :)
