Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (3)

It’s finally done, all chain plied and made into a skein, ready for when I decide to use it. I didn’t particularly enjoy spinning this fiber, it was a batt, and those are prone to neps (lumps) and it makes drafting quite difficult. Over the three years that I’ve been spinning yarn I’ve learned what sort of fibers I enjoy, and how I like them prepared. I do have a drum carder but I didn’t want to ‘ruin’ the batt that I had purchased from a vendor. Next time I might just prepare it the way that I prefer anyway.

I’m glad to have completed it, I’m incredibly thankful to finally have an e-spinner, and I am excited about all of the future spinning I’m going to be doing. I have an entire bin of fiber just waiting to be made into yarn. Of course then I’ll also have to figure out what I’m going to spin with it all.

Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (2)

In a single evening I managed to finish spinning the singles of the alpaca, merino, & finn fiber that I had. It was 3.5oz, which on my kiwi would have taken me a few weeks, at best. The fiber wasn’t the easiest to draft (as I already mentioned) and was quite filled with neps, but I’m hoping to learn how to chain ply using it. Chain plying is perfect for when you want to keep colours together, or for when you don’t have 2-3 bobbins of yarn to ply it with. In this case, I only have the one bobbin. I’ve never tried chain plying before, but it has been on my to-learn list for a number of years. It’s just a nice skill to have. I think using my Starling will be a good way to learn, I can keep the speed very low, and I can forcus on the hand motions required rather than focusing on my treadling. Hopefully the next update on this yarn will be the completed version.

Cardigan (1)

The yarn is just Lion Brand Pound of Love in worsted weight – but this cardigan is coming along nicely. Unfortunately I’m on the most boring part now – 14 inches of plain knitting. I’m hoping to do a row or two every day so I can actually see some progress, but it’s pretty slow. Especially now that I have the new spinning wheel to play with. The idea was to have this finished for fall, and I’m not confident I’ll even have it ready for then. We’ll just have to see!

Alpaca, Merino, & Finn (1)

After being on a waiting list for over 6 months, it was finally my turn to receive a Daedalus Starling spinning wheel. This is an electric wheel, 3D printed with kevlar components and goodness, it is *amazing*. Some days I’m unable to treadle my kiwi2, as much as I love it, and this provides me with an alternative so that I can still do something I love that relaxes me. I set it up last night on the couch while I watched some Golden Girls on Disney+ and honestly it was one of the most relaxing evenings I’ve had in a very long time. I didn’t game, I didn’t pay attention to social media, I just unplugged and worked on my spinning. In less than 2 hours I had almost 3.5oz done, the entire bag of fiber I had purchased so many years ago. Meanwhile, upstairs on the kiwi I have not even done a fraction of that amount, in a much longer timeframe. It will be hard to get the motivation to complete that spin at this rate, lol.

Blaugust Incoming

August is quickly approaching, and for a number of years now I’ve participated in Blaugust in various degrees, and hopefully this year will be more of the same. I know my blog posts tend to come in waves, but Blaugust has always been a great motivator. Belghast has all of the details over on his blog, and don’t forget to join the discord too if you’re into that sort of thing. You absolutely don’t have to if it’s not your thing. I’ve always loved watching the community that has evolved from this event, but I also tend to feel a bit on the outskirts of things. A part, but not a part.

The idea is to try to post on your blog as much as you feel comfortable doing. Some folks use it as motivation to post all 31 days, others have a more relaxed approach. There are little mini goals this year, along with the regular schedule for some post motivation. If it’s something you’ve never looked into before and you’re curious about it, I highly suggest checking things out. Blogging might be ‘dead’ but there are those of us who continue to carry the torch.

Happy writing!