I’ve been trying to learn to spin with the woolen long draw on my spinning wheel recently, and just finished my first full long draw spinning project.
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| From Spinning |
This fiber was a Rhinebeck purchase – 4oz of Shetland wool combed top from Gnomespun Yarn, in their Heart of the Green colourway. It didn’t like being spun worsted at all, and since I’d been watching Abby’s video recently, it occurred to me to try spinning it woolen, and that worked very well. The large skein is about 120 yards of very bulky thick and thin two ply — the small one is approx 20 yards, a sample skein from the end of my spinning, after I got better at the woolen technique. It’s a much more even 2 ply, and closer to a standard worsted weight. I don’t have WPI on either of them. Woolen is a neat technique, and very fast spinning. It’s well suited to wheel spinning, though now that I am getting a feel for the technique, I can see how one could spindle spin woolen. It definitely needs a great prep in order to spin well.
I also recently finished spinning this:
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| From Spinning |
It’s a BFL/silk fiber that I’ve had and been slowly spinning here and there for years. I finished the singles sometime this spring and finally got around to plying and washing it in July. Spindle spun worsted draw, about 350 yards of a light sport or sock weight. No WPI here either. It’s lovely stuff, and reminds me of ponds and marshes with the greens and browns and rusts. I cannot for the life of me remember where the fiber came from. A swap package, I think.
I’m still working out how to take good photos with my new camera. Or rather, *if* I can take good photos with the new camera. The evidence so far is inconclusive.
Knit-Write 