Fiber Fool

It seems if I don’t have a fiber or project in mind right away my spinning suffers. I got out of the habit early in July when I couldn’t decide what to spin next. Even when I finally pulled it out and started spinning it was a slow process. I’m not positive why. I think partially because this fiber required a different mindset than I normally have when I’m spinning (just let the noils and slubs go, you aren’t going to get a smooth yarn out of this fiber). I also think the prep and the re-entry for the whirlwind Minneapolis trip also didn’t help me to re-establish my spinning habit. Then there is of course the heat and the fact that there just isn’t a good place to set up my wheel in the somewhat cooler basement and the heat in general makes me lazy and unmotivated.

This past week I decided I wanted to complete this 4 oz of roving (yes, I’m embarassed to admit it took me basically an entire month to spin 4 ounces) before July was up so I’d have another Project Spectrum item to show off (other than on the bobbins). Well, I did it!

I learned some things in the process. Don’t try to split 4 oz of roving for a three ply yarn, opt to do so with 3 or 6 or 9 ounces! I ended up with odd yardages of yarns because of the uneveness of the bobbins and am not sure what I’ll do with them. It did, however, give me the opportunity to compare singles, two-ply, and three-ply yarns all from the same singles, which is a valuable thing. I also learned that while silk noils in the fiber produce a nice tweed-like effect in the final yarn, it drives this anal-retentive person nuts while spinning the singles. It also seemed that more often then not, the noils would line up between two or three of the singles which drive me nuts too because it made the final yarn more uneven looking that I would have normally expected. I do like the final 3-ply product, but I have to learn to spin much, much thinner if I’m going to get 400-yds of 3-ply for socks. That also means that I would get a thin yarn more like Lorna’s Laces or that that require a US0 which I hate… So, perhaps I need to figure more like 5 ounces for a pair of handspun socks?

Fiber: Alpine Meadows Wilflowers (17), a blend of soft wools, mohair, silk, angelina, and holographic fibers
Fiber Source: Bountiful at Estes Park Wool Market 2005
Weight: 90 g 3-ply, 24 g 2-ply, ?? g singles
Yardage: ~200 yds 3-ply, ~70 yds 2-ply, ~7 yds singles
WPI: 20 WPI 3-ply, 23 WPI 2-ply, 35 WPI singles

This yarn is not as soft as I would like, so besides the odd yardages I have the issue of whether the yarn is soft enough for say a pair of fingerless mitts or that. I’m open to suggestions for a project with sparkly, slightly scratchy 200-yrds of light sport or heavy fingering weight yarn. Or, even better, one that could use the 70-yds of two-ply in conjunction with the 200 yards of three-ply!

Perhaps I need to put Spinning for Softness and Speed on my wishlist! It’s too bad it isn’t available via Amazon as I have a gift certifacte for them…