Turkish Spindle Reunion

Ever since I met the spinning wheel, me and the spindle have not gotten on so well. Spindle paled in comparison for speed and control. I also worked my self into a frustrated frenzy on multiple occasions trying to spindle a cashmere silk blend that was, um, challenging. Slippery as all get-out. With a relatively heavy spindle. No happy ending.

Last year (or the year before), I took a step back towards the spindle by buying a turkish spindle at the Black Sheep Gathering. It sat for a while. Then this LOVELY Bluefaced Leicester roving appeared in my hands courtesy of my sister-in-law, and the twain met.



I'm having fun with it! Finally! If I'm too antsy to sit down and spin at my wheeel, I can stand and pace with the spindle. I can bring it to work and spin on my break. I can bring it to knitting night!

It was rather key to match up a compatible fiber and spindle. Long staple and grippy wool is a good match for my kinda heavy spindle.



Does anyone else remember making grade-school craft of yarn wound around popsicle sticks? And weren't they called turkish something-or-others?

Creamsicle plying

I missed my knitting group this last week, and I think that has something to do with finally being motivated to post. Poodle had a toe amputated (he had a squamous cell carcinoma in his nail bed, = cancer), so I came home to coo at the drugged up dog instead.

The Black Sheep Gathering this year was fun, I watched hours of fiber arts judging. The skein of pygora blend that I entered garnered the comment of being underplied, so I have been working on overcompensation. To wit:




This is a silk/merino 50/50 blend, and I was so sure that it would end up fatter than this. I set out to spin this fiber quite consistently, and did a pretty good job. This is the first skein that I have plied of it, and it has a big section where I was overspinning one of the singles. And the plying is not very consistent. Next one will be better.

I was taught to ply by drawing out a long section, adding twist, then letting it all take up at once. Then I saw my friend April plying by letting the flyer pull the fiber on, slipping through her fingers, adding twist and feeding it simultaneously. I've been experimenting with that, and I do like it.




Unwashed skein, see all of that twist writhing around? I wonder how much this will bloom when I wash it.

I'm itching to do a thick/thin yarn now to balance all of the precisedness (one of my favorite words that is not a real word) of these singles. I should finish plying this stuff, but I've plied for like 3 or 4 hours today, and I'm going to scream if I ply any more.