Woolen Spun

Back in March, I caught the spinning bug again after reading winter issue of Ply magazine. Now there was a LOT of that farm fleece to go through, and as this was a rather grimy fleece, I didn't quite get through scouring it all. That's ok. I have enough prepared fibre from the fleece to play with for a bit. I think I might try to get a decently clean fleece in future to play with. Now I have a "real" reason to possibly go to Rheinbeck in future.

The other thing that I got super excited about in this issue was the first article "Lying About Longdraw: Helping spinners get from worsted to woolen" by Jacey Boggs. I was really pumped to work through the methodology laid out in the article to get to spinning woolen.

Yoke Roving

So I picked this merino roving out of my fibre stash. Yes, it's roving and not top. I thought it was a batt when I picked it out at Lettuce Knit on a weekend trip to Toronto a few years ago, but later saw that it was roving wrapped up. The article does say to work through with differently prepped fibres but I decided to work through with the same fibre throughout. Still worked.

Somewhere around step 5 or 6 things really started to click and I was "instinctively" started pulling the fibre out longer and longer before allowing it to wind onto the bobbin. Suddenly I was using longdraw like nobody's business.

Yolk 2-ply

I was so pumped by my successes with this skein that I went to the library and took out a number of spinning books. The Intentional Spinner by Judith MacKenzie McCuin and The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson were the most useful that I read.

Yolk 2-ply

I'd love to say that I flew through this bump of fibre, but I've been spinning in my fastest ratios for a while which means I keep ended up with very fine singles (such problems to have!). I didn't do a WPI count, but I can say that based on the weight to yardage ratio, this yarn lace weight.

Yolk 2-ply
2-ply
'Yolk' Pear Tree
100% Merino Roving
Woolen spun
Start Date: June 2013 (?)
End Date: May 14, 2014
112g
Approx. 774 yards

I finished the yarn by fulling it. I washed it in hot water and transferred it to cold water and back a few times before thwacking it against the side of my tub. It's so soft and surprisingly plump and squishy. I'm not sure if I'll be doing much worsted spinning anymore. This woolen yarn is that nice!

I'm so pumped about this yarn that I nearly threw all my active projects aside to immediately cast on for Kate Davies' Hap for Harriet. I have contained myself for the moment, but it's sure to be on the needles soon enough.

On my latest spinning project, I've changed my ratios and am trying to spin a heavier gauge of yarn. It was going to be a proper 3-ply, but I didn't think I'd get much yardage.

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