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.