I decided that my goals for this year's Tour de Fleece would be to spin a 4 ply cabled yarn. I have been reading Judith MacKenzie McCuin's Intentional Spinner and Amy King's Spin Control . In addition, got some tips from HokieKnitter and working4yarn on ravelry (one of the many reasons I love ravelry is the ability to ask questions of other fiber freaks).
I picked fiber from the stash, fulfilling another goal of spinning from stash. The sparkly batt is an Enchanted Knoll farm raised batt in 'Monster Mash' (cotswold, targhee, sari silk and angelina), and my spring sheep share from Foxfire Fiber and Designs in Aster (wool and mohair blend). I thought the combination of fibers would work well together, and the purples complimented each other. Plus, Josette and Barb are two of my favorite fiber folks, I liked the idea of their wools combining in a happy yarn.
Next I spun 4 bobbins of singles. This was hard, because I spinning mojo was not in full force, due to an ear infection and such. Once the singles were spun, I plied them into a 2 ply with lots of twist (recommended by the books and the spinners mentioned above).
I then cabled the 2 bobbins of 2ply. In Judith's book, she recommends using a fast take-up and allowing the yarns to snap together. I love how the yarn looks. It was a multi step process, but taken a step at a time it wasn't bad. I will do it again. It makes a very strong yarn. I am thinking cabled mittens for me.I started spinning last June. My goal for this year is to become more technically proficient in my spinning and to try new things. I may make mistakes along the way, but I will learn more from the mistakes than staying in my comfort zone. My next challenge, core spinning. I'll keep you posted.
That's beautiful yarn! The colours really do work well together. I have a question: I have the Intentional Spinner and am wondering about getting Spin Control. Do you find it's worthwhile to have both or do they cover pretty much the same ground? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteValerie
They cover similar things, but in different ways. I like them both, and find that reading both of them answers my questions more fully than only one of them would. I also have Judith's "Teach Yourself Visually Book", which has more pictures, but the text isn't as good. I guess it goes back to my many years as a student, I like to have multiple references. I do the same thing when cooking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know. I know what you mean about having multiple sources. You should see all the books I just got from the library for the next chapter of my dissertation!
ReplyDeleteValerie
Looks great! Can't wait to see your mittens!
ReplyDelete