The weather is ever improving and I’ve been finishing off some of my languishing spindle projects, which I’ve talked about in the podcast. But for those who don’t watch and also for my own reflection down the road, I thought I would quickly re-cap what I’ve been working on pertaining only to my spindles! All of these projects were languishing over the winter. We had such a terrible winter (for us) that it was hard to get outside, which is where I do most of my spinning. In an effort to ‘clear off’ my spindles, I started with my breed study from back in July 2016. This was Norwegian White combed top and I stripped the top down and spun each end-to-end. Nothing fancy. I started on my 30 gram Capar spindle but it just wasn’t fast enough and I soon switched to my Hound Design 35 gram drop spindle for speed of adding twist. It has me wishing for a couple more spindles like this to spin up stuff a little quicker because as much as I love my Turkish spindles, there’s nothing like running a drop spindle down your leg for speed!
It is airy and lofty, low twist singles and ply. I only plied until I had a nice angle (about 30 degrees). I didn’t thwack the daylights out of it either and I didn’t want to rough it up too much. This long wool will eventually fuzz up a bit on its own without my help!
Next, I’ve been sampling from my raw fleece that I bought back in March at Fibres West. I spun a 2-ply and 3-ply worsted sample and have now washed it. I spoke about this on the Live Stream a couple of weeks ago but they weren’t washed yet. The finished yarns are quite lovely and spun these on my Bosworth Midi spindle. They have a bit too much twist and I wonder about biasing when I knit so knitted samples are next!
I also need some photos of the finished yarns but I’ll get there when I go to knit with them!
Lastly, I’ve been working on my Spinning Socks Six Pack and right now I am on ‘English Garden’ Island [above photo]. I love all of the SweetGeorgia Yarns’ colourways because each has its place and fills a niche. I know that English Garden is one of the most popular colourways and I just.don’t.like.it. I was sharing this with Charlotte, one of my fellow colleagues at SGY, the other night and she just laughed and laughed! I know, it’s crazy but it’s true! I’m almost finished the bump and will be able to move onto the other 4 soon!
Lastly, I had a bit more fibre left over from some mittens I spun and knit for James. I’ve been slowly plugging away at that spin on my Bosworth Midi and just need to chain-ply now. Fingers crossed I can get that done in the next week or so if this amazing weather continues!
I’m looking forward to seeing the difference between the worsted-weight 2 ply and a fingering 3-ply. I have a plan to use it as a stripe for a cardigan for Norah. I have no idea when I will knit the thing but one can dream!
What have you been clearing out and working on?
Love the mittens
I’ve been adding a few more sock and shawl projects to the pile . . . usually I have only 2-3 planned projects at any one time, but this year, I have been allowing for a lot more leeway when I want to cast something on. Not so sure what that’s about, but I certainly have my pick when it comes to projects ATM. I do so love when things get cleared off needles and bobbins! Your spins look wonderful and I love those wee mittens 🙂
I have at least three spindle projects that have been languishing for a long time — we’re talking years, here! — that I really should get back to. They’re all lovely fibers, all silks or silk blends that want to be spun very fine, so I tend to lose my steam on them every time I pull them out. I suppose I should start spending 10 minutes a day on one of them until they get done, because I think I would likely end up spending more time than that once it became a routine.