February 08, 2007
You know how the Knitting Goddess likes you smack you down sometimes when you do dumb things like not swatching or maybe just for the fun of it? Well there must be a Spinning Goddess too. She has the same warped sense of humor and she's been hanging out here lately. Maybe they're sisters.
My first try at spinning alpaca:
100% Alpaca from Amy in the Lichen colorway - 2 ply - 114 yards
Doesn't it look nice and pretty sitting there like that? Here's what it looks like when it's not twisted up into a skein. This is the first time a have spun an unbalanced yarn. I can't say that I like it much. And how do you know if it is over or under spun? I can't tell because it looks ok to me when it's not hanging.
I also finished spinning and plying the Grafton fibers Corriedale. While I was spinning this, I thought more than once that the singles were the nicest I have spun so far.
Graftons Fibers Corriedale batt - 2 ply - 13 WPI - 256 yards
Unfortunately, about 1/3 of it looks like this:
Now, I know you can run it through your wheel again when it is over or under spun. But how do you run it through when only some of it is underspun without overspinning the parts that look ok?
My wheel is getting a little rest this week.
I found the Walker Treasury Project blog when I was surfing this week. They are gathering high-quality, color photos of all the patterns in all the Treasury books and posting them on the blog as a visual aide. I thought it was such a great idea. We were just talking about these books last night at SnB.
And just to put a smile on your face....
A really awesome dog dance.
Happy Knitting!
Posted by Karen at February 8, 2007 08:25 PMWow. The WTP is an amazing resource. I hope it goes over big (even though I don't want to do a swatch). I hope it's completely legal. I hope Barbara Walker thinks it's a great idea. Anyway, thanks Karen, for pointing it out.
Posted by: Sharon at February 8, 2007 10:42 PMYou know, it still looks great to me!
Of course, I can't spin at all, so I'm always amazed at the beautiful yarn you spin!
Posted by: cordeliaknits at February 8, 2007 11:00 PMI think the alpaca looks gorgeous. However, did you punish it after plying? With alpaca, qiviut, etc, you HAVE to give it the Judith MacKenzie finishing treatment: put skein in hot, soapy water and mash it with your hands or even a potato masher. Then into cold water and beat it some more. Then back into hot, rinse, and WHACK it hard against the counter or bathtub or shower. It will make all the difference in the world, I kid you not!
Posted by: Marcia at February 8, 2007 11:21 PMI'm with Marcia -- whack that skein around (and do it like you mean it!) and you'll be much happier withh it!
Posted by: amanda at February 8, 2007 11:56 PMNo advice on the spinning although I do think the alapaca will be just fine.
Posted by: Carole at February 9, 2007 07:50 AMYarn abuse really is a good thing. As for how to tell which way it's over or under spun, you look at the direction of the twist of the skein. You've heard of Z twist and S twist in your singles and plying, right? Well, same thing with the over all skein. Now I just have to go research: if the skein is twisting Z, do you respin it S to reduce the excess? Can't remember but I think that's the way it works.
Posted by: Chris at February 9, 2007 08:27 AMAlpaca can be difficult to work with since it tends to spin more tightly more quickly than wool (I dunno if that makes sense or not). You could try weighting that skein out - it's not badly overplied at all.
Posted by: Anne at February 9, 2007 08:36 AMTo re-ply some of it but not all, you just let the ok parts go through quickly and spend more time on the others. Does that make sense? If it gets a little overspun it should settle out.
Posted by: Amy at February 9, 2007 04:11 PMthe alpaca is lovely - and I agree with most of the earlier commenters - that a big of a rigorous washing will most likely solve the twist issue - plus, perhaps try weighting it for about 5 minutes in the first part of the drying phase. If you weight it the entire time, you might end up with a very flat, non-lively yarn. (good for weaving, not so good for knitting).
It looks like you are getting a fabulously consistent single.
are you shhhhhuuuuuurrrrreee you don't wanna spin for us (big grin). I know, i know.. (smile)
Yes, as soon as you get a little confident, the knitting and spinning goddesses smack you right back down. I hope you can figure out how to fix your yarn.
Posted by: Debby at February 9, 2007 07:34 PMThe alpaca looks good to me. but hten, I know zero about spinning!. The dog dance was hilarious! I was watching it again with the sound off, my husband walked by and watched for a minute before commenting "They're dancing to 'you're the One that I want' from Grease, aren't they?" I have no idea how knew that....
Ok, I think I need to borrow your spinning goddess. If that is her idea of smacking you down, she's one gentle goddess. Seriously, that alpaca looks gorgeous. Every single skein I've ever spun twists like that when I take it off of the niddy noddy, so apparently I need some lessons in balancing. Do let us know if the harsh treatment Marcia suggested works.
Posted by: Rachel at February 10, 2007 02:40 AMDid you do the soaking and the thwacking? It's magical - especially if you put it into hot water and then don't take it out 'til it's cooled off (that way no felting).
I can't remember where, but I read somewhere that if your skein twists one way it's over and another way it's under - maybe the spinning handbook or something? Alden Amos?
...I'm not much help, am I ;o)
Posted by: JessaLu at February 12, 2007 09:56 AM