Month: March 2011

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Taking a Break

I finally filled a bobbin with the merino/tencel honey-colored top; I breathed a sigh of relief and realized I needed to spin a bobbin of something different, just for variety and to keep my sanity.  Focusing on spinning top that is that fine and slippery required lots of concentration.

So, this week I switched to some 100% merino top; it’s a multicolored top with strands of honey, orange and pink (The color is called “Cassis”).  When spun it has a pinkish brown/orange cast.  It will make a really attractive sweater.   I pretty quickly filled up that bobbin.  It’s much faster spinning than the merino/tencel blend.

Now I’m back to spinning the merino/tencel, hoping to get another bobbin done so I can make a two ply yarn and try knitting a swatch to see how the yarn knits up.

I’ve started a natural white sweater with the white Correidale yarn I spun a few weeks ago.  I’m knitting it loosely, so that it will be a good sweater for spring.  I’m putting in some yoke designs with some navy blue mohair.  So far the dark blue looks good with the natural white yarn.

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On spinning some fine, slippery, wool-Tencel Fiber

I’ve had a two pound bag of beautiful honey colored merino/Tencel fiber that I’ve been putting off spinning; I tried some dark brown fiber of the same type several years ago and ended up with a thick, heavy yarn that did not knit up well.  I’ve finally been inspired to try again, realizing that I need to spin this fiber very thin for the resulting two ply yarn to knit up well into a wearable garment.  I separated the fiber lengthwise into long narrow strips; this made it much easier to spin the yarn into a fine yarn without the problem of the slippery fibers separating and pulling apart as I spun.

I love the silky feel and look of the fiber.  It has a glow and sheen that really is a lot like silk in appearance and feel.  It is taking a long time to spin, as the yarn is very thin.  I have to spin two bobbins before I can do a two ply yarn; then I will see if my attempt at a usable knitting yarn is successful.