When the Tour de Fleece ended last month I thought I was done spinning for a while. My knitting projects were suffering and I had done enough spinning to make me happy.
However, last week (two weeks ago?) when these two small samples were thrown at me (quite literally, they hit me in the face), I figured "why not?"
They were just tiny little things to play around with, and since they were both fibers I had never worked with, I figured I would give them a try. The one on the left is a merino/bamboo blend and the one on the right is superwash merino.
I decided to spin them both up and then ply them together to see what sort of results I would get. Oh my goodness, spinning these samples was SOOO wonderful. I finally understand when people say that their fiber "drafted like butter" because this stuff... wow. It was amazing.
The superwash was a nice contrast to the merino that I spun for TDF because it wasn't at all felted together and I didn't have to fight it, however, it did have that superwash feel to it that I don't really like. I suppose I can't have everything, right?
I like that one of my plies was shiny while the other wasn't, and I think they really complimented each other.
Ok, sure, there may have been some nasty color combinations, but whatever. It's pretty.
Now, what does anyone do with a little mini-skein of handspun?
knit it up with a special something for a baby cap? Xmas ornaments?
ReplyDeleteoops about that ribbed sweater. By the end of the day it's hard to think about anything, work does that! And I had some trouble w/ that part of the sweater I did recently, the red lopi one.
Lovely spinning! No mention of that nasty filler air thingy on the tube? Your sis must have a fast action shutter or, oh crap, again with the work sucked things out of my brain, the word when you push the camera button down and it takes a bunch of photos.
Wow! I can't believe you spun all that yarn already! You are getting super good. Time for me to commission you for some hand-spun of my own! ;-)
ReplyDeleteVery cool effect! I love how your spinning looks so tidy. Baby booties are fast and don't use much yarn...
ReplyDeleteThose colours look great together, and very nicely done -- yippee for spontaneity!
ReplyDeleteBTW, merino doesn't have to be superwash to draft like butter, but it does have to be in good condition.
The yarn is beautiful! Use it as an accent yarn. That way it can get some play in a larger project, even though there isn't much yardage.
ReplyDeleteI like making tiny sweater ornaments out of fingering-laceweight. I also just keep my mini-skeins and figure I'll do colorwork or some crazy hat project with them some day.
ReplyDeleteFun! It looks great - and gave you a chance to try out some new fibers. Couldn't be better!
ReplyDeleteIt's so pretty...the random color pairings, the slight sheen given by one of the plies...it's looks really, really great!
ReplyDeleteWell done, you! You made a lovely little skein.
ReplyDeleteI think the bamboo content is what makes one ply shinier.
I vote you love it, cuddle it and call it George.
George is a great name for it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy accident spontaneity can be. As for what to do with it...I'm leaning towards baby nhat as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty! I wouldn't have thought to do that. Hmm... you could knit an iPod cozy, I guess?
ReplyDeleteVery pretty!!
ReplyDeleteYou do what Cookie said... ;o)