Spinning, spinning, spinning…

I’ve been quite excited about spinning lately.

So back in September, I purchased a 6oz. braid of merino/tencel in “Emerald City” from Zarzuela’s Fibers at the Garden State Sheep Breeders Annual Sheep & Fiber Festival. I started spinning it up and was having difficulty drafting for some reason or another and then put this fiber on hold after a little less than 1/4 through. Then at the end of December, my friend Jesh got a drum carder. Naturally, I asked her to card up the remaining fiber when she has time. The  fiber is awesome and the colorway is really pretty, so I’ve been sad that it was giving me trouble.

Last night, after finishing other fiber that ended up not being enough for a Quill cowl, I thought I’d see what I have that could work instead. I came back to this fiber sitting on the bobbin still in singles and thought I could wind it off to see if it would be stable. I washed it up soaking it in hot water, then cold, then hot, and cold again as I’ve heard is a good way to set singles.

This is the final result. 140yds of laceweight singles at about 30wpi. It seems to be holding. When I get my fiber back, I plan on spinning the rest up with a little more twist. I can’t wait to get started and should probably swatch to see how this holds up.

The above experiment led me to wonder about the merino/silk mill ends that I purchased from Twisted Fiber Yarn, also at the same festival. I expected it might need some better prep, but was in a mood to just try it. I grabbed a handful of fiber, put my wheel to it’s highest ratio, and went! The result is this super thin (for me at least) yarn. My plan is to spin until the bobbin is full and decide whether or not to ply it. It would be a good idea to weigh and divide the fiber before that happens. We’ll see.