Here’s what I’m spinning now — felted polwarth. Ugh. I must have agitated the rovings too much when I was rinsing them… Yucky. I still spins ok, but I’m just getting little lumps that I have to stop and pick out.
There’s that wonderful Ashland Bay merino that I want to spin up but I’m afraid I’ll ruin it! Must spin with a plan! What to make with that 1/2 lb of merino?
Yeah, so I’ve been doing a lot of spinning recently. It’s been difficult to get any knitting in (although I did spend all last night knitting up Soleil). Since I’m waiting for the electric bobbin spinner and my bobbins, I’ve been plying everything with the centre-pull ball technique. Here are the gratuitous spun yarn shots:
So the question is, what to make with all this handspun? I don’t wear hats and I don’t need anymore scarves. I’ve been thinking about the Glampyre’s new shrug pattern, but will I really wear a multi-coloured wool shrug? In public? Funny thing is with spinning, I feel like the yarn is the final product. I’m done!
The last of the Polwarth! I bought some Turquoise dye powder a few weeks ago but just recently got around to mixing the dye stock solutions. I don’t know if I like the turquoise so much… I still think the stuff looks like tie-dye.
After finishing spinning all the hand-dyed polwarth, I decided to practice spinning thin singles with the merino I bought in Japan. I have to remind myself that this merino roving was picked up in the “felting” section of the craft store and that really, it’s meant for felting projects — maybe that’s why it feels so weird.
Observation No. 1: The end of the fibre was CUT. All the fibre I’ve seen so far has been natural looking with organic, torn ends. This was weird. It was hard to start spinning this since it was such a blunt end.
Observation No. 2: It’s so slippery. I lost my spinning a few times at the very beginning because the fibres were so slippery! But this could be because it’s merino. Merino has a shorter staple than the stuff I’ve been working with (Polwarth, Corriedale) so maybe that’s all.
Observation No. 3: It’s so soft and smooth…it feels like plastic. I know things in Japan are perfectly manufactured, packaged and merchandised…but this feels like it’s been so processed that it’s no longer a natural, organic product.
It’s pretty like gingham when it’s spun up and I think I’ll be making socks with these — merino socks to be lightly worn, and never on hardwood floors!
Driven by an obsessive, passionate and often tumultuous relationship with colour, Felicia Lo is the owner of SweetGeorgia Yarns, a handpainted yarn and design company based in Vancouver. Founded in 2005, SweetGeorgia Yarns is about intense, relentless and unapologetic colour in luxurious natural fibres and textiles. She writes about all things knitting, spinning, dyeing, and weaving here at sweetgeorgia.
SweetGeorgia Yarns Studio is located at #401-228 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5T 1G5 near the corner of 4th and Main. We're officially open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 am to 6 pm. Other times are available by appointment. Just give us a call!
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