Possessed to Knit

Chin Up 2-Ply Yarn

This yarn spun up very quickly.  I spun two singles on my Majacraft Gem at the 1:6 ratio.  I then plied them together with the Woolee Winder on my Gem set at the 1:8.5 ratio and the bobbin was quite full when I finished.  This yarn is about 120 yards and 10 to 16 wpi, which is quite a variation in thickness.  I'm learning more about spinning with Nikol's Art Club batts as she challenges me with Angeline, Sparkle and Sari Silk threads.  This yarn has some concentrated bits of Sparkle and Sari Silk thread.  Spreading them out as I spin would be helpful and I will keep that in mind for my next Art Club batt.  I think it would knit up into a pretty hat, like the Droplet hat in Knitting Nature.

Chin Up Cuckoo Batt

I started spinning Nikol's August Cuckoo Batt that she calls "Chin Up!"  She combined Superwash Wool, soy silk, sari silk, nylon sparkle, and angelina for a wonderfully light batt that is delightful to spin.  I completed my third bobbin of my Never on a Sunday Sheep 2 Shoe roving (with one bobbin left to go) and thought this batt would be a fun break.  I've never been one for the nylon sparkle or the angelina fibers, but they aren't so difficult to spin and they add a pretty sheen to the yarn.  I will spin one batt per bobbin and then ply them together into a 2-ply yarn.  Not sure what it will become, something small like a hat or a cowl.

Raspberry Truffle Art Club Batt

I received my June Art Club Batt last week.  Nikol combined superwash Merino with Alpaca to create a fluffy batt that is wonderful to spin.  Somehow, I decided that I would spin thin singles with this batt.  Not all batts can be spun into thin singles.  Some of them have lots of textury bits and spinning thin singles is not a practical option.  I do have to pay attention as I spin and pull out the odd little lumps every so often.  It is going well, but slowly.  I am inspired by Patrick's blog, where he describes spinning a hand-dyed alpaca/merino/tussah silk blend.  He spends between 75 and 90 minutes to spin half an ounce of this blend. Learning about how much time he invests in his thin spinning has inspired me to spin half an hour or so on this blend every day.  The singles are 28 to 36 wpi and the resulting 2-ply is 22 to 24 wpi.  This batt will hopefully turn out to be a great lace weight yarn.

May Art Club Yarn

I spun up the May Art Club batt over the holiday weekend.  Nikol calls this one Boy Crazy, a combination of merino, tencel, sari silk threads and angelina.  I used my Gem with the Woolee winder to spin the singles and getting the right thickness and twist was somewhat easier this time around.  I plied the two bobbins on my Lendrum with the plying head.  The yarn is 10 to 14 wpi, 5 oz, and about 200 yards.  There is a cute button up neck warmer pattern in the latest Spin Off magazine that takes about 85 yards of yarn.  This yarn will certainly make a colorful one.

April Showers Art Club Batts

I started spinning up my April Showers Art Club Batts yesterday.  Nikol sent us four shades of green wool rovings (I haven't spun the fourth up yet).  The top and bottom skeins are about 70 yards each.  The top skein has more texture and varies between 10 and 16 wpi.  The bottom skein is smoother and has between 14 and 20 wpi.   I spun both of the skeins on my Gem.  I had taken the Woolee Winder off when I went to Judith's spinning classes at MSWF and left it off to spin these skeins.  The Woolee Winder is great for packing on lots of sock yarn singles, but I spun the top skein long draw which is easier for me with delta flyer.  I used the lace flyer for the bottom skein.  In the center, I have 85% combed wool top combined with 15% nylon on my Spindlewood Ebony/Maple spindle.  This spindle spins very nicely and its square shape does not require a notch.  The sharp edge holds the single as I wrap it around the hook and then I am back to spinning.  It was fun to relax and spin these lovely batts of wool.  Not sure what they will become, maybe stripes of a hat or a flashy pair of mittens.

Spinning Wheel Plate & Radish Yarn

Look at the spinning wheel plate my friend, Lawrence, sent to me.  I see it is a flax wheel as the distaff is dressed with prepared flax so it can be spun and woven into linen.  The back of it says "Colonial Homestead by Royal circa 1750".  Lawrence says it is transfer-ware, and he knows much more about ceramics than I do.  It is beautiful and will inspire me as I spin.  I finished spindle spinning and plying the rest of my Art Club Radish batt.  I have over 4 oz of 16 to 20 wpi singles.  I am considering making the Hydrangea scarf with this incredibly soft blend of superwash blue-faced leicester, merino and alpaca.  Thank you to Lawrence for the darling plate.

Art Club Radish Yarn

I've spun my first Art Club March Batt into a 2-ply yarn.  This skein weighs 2.2 oz at 16 to 20 wpi and approximately 140 yards.  I used my Magpie Midwhorl spindle and my Cascade St. Helen spindles for the singles and my Golding Sunbeam spindle for plying them together.  Nikol's Radish colorway batt consists of superwash blue-faced leicester, merino and alpcaca fibers.  It is very soft and was a lot of fun to spin.  I wanted to make it more of a lace weight yarn, but it did not work out that way.  I have one more batt to spin up and then I need to decide what to do with 300 yards of this 2-ply yarn.  I think I will know the right project for it when I see it.   

Blue Streak Hat Completed

I've completed my Anna Zilboorg Toque #3 hat with my spindlespun Blue Streak and silk cap yarn.  I used size 7 (4.5 mm) Addi Turbo 16" and 32" needles, giving me a gauge of about 5.5 sts and 7.5 rows to the inch.  Anna recommends 5 sts and 7 rows to the inch, so this hat is a little bit small, even after blocking.  The toque style is a close-fitting cap and it feels fine on.  Going up to a size 8 (5.0 mm) needle would have exposed the thinner parts of my silk cap even more.  I did not like knitting the braid her way as she recommends changing direction to knit the braid from the inside instead of purling the braid from the front.  This change of direction creates holes at each point.  In the future, I will be glad to just purl the braid and have no holes.  I followed Lucy Neatby's suturing advice to close the holes at each point.  I still have a second skein of Blue Streak yarn and am looking at possibly making a pair of mittens to match.

Sugar Coma Cuckoo Batt

This is my 2-ply yarn from February's Cuckoo Batts Club in the Sugar Coma colorway.  I upgraded my membership to a double batch and this skein weighs 4.6 oz at about 10 to 12 wpi.  I spun it on my Wyatt Norwegian Wheel at a ratio of 1:8.  I plied it with my Lendrum plying head on the 1:9 whorl.  I did not make any samples before spinning.  I tore a strip off the batt, pre-drafted it a bit and then spun.  I would minimize most of the slubs, but it does have some thick and thin sections.  It was fun just to spin and not be overly concerned about wraps or twists per inch.  I will likely use the yarn to make this Diamond Modular Scarf with my size 8 Namaste glass needles.

Blue Streak Hat

I selected this toque hat from Anna Zilboorg's 45 Fine and Fanciful Hats to Knit book for my spindlespun Blue Streak Art Club batt.  The other yarn is a 2-ply spindlespun hand-dyed silk cap that I purchased from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm at the 2007 MSWF.  The thickness of the silk cap yarn varies quite a lot as found the silk cap a challenge to spin.  I like the look of the knitted braid at the edge and crown, it just takes a little getting used to as the yarns get twisted in one round and then untwisted in the next round.  The needles are size 7 Addi Turbo 16" circulars.  When the crown gets too small for them, I will switch to my 32" needles and use the Magic Loop method to complete this fun little hat project.