Monday, June 11, 2007

We've got - yarn!



Corriedale: Ram (left) and Ewe with Lambs (right) photos by Graham Meadows Photography

I wanted to thank the Corriedale family for their contribution (made in fiber) to my finished hand spun yarn. You have the best fiber for beginning spinner like I am! Keep up growing those fine locks!


4 oz of hand painted roving by Amy Spunky Eclectic

two bobbins full with single spun yarn

So, what happened here is the following: I thought I had separated the roving into equal halves, but that was not so. As you can see in the above picture, one singles bobbin has more on it than the other. As I was plying, I crammed it on the bobbin until I ran out of singles on one of the bobbins. The other one still had some left (quite a bit). I made a center pull ball, weight that (19g) and made another center pull ball from that until I had about two equal balls (wrong again). With all the winding the single yarn lost a lot of twist. I then plied it on the (right above) bobbin, and once again had some single yarn left. On the right bobbin we have ~ 73 yds and on the left bobbin are ~ 457yds. Generously speaking, since I recorded the lower numbers, we've got ~ 530yds!!!! My all time best so far. Isn't that something?
WPI: 20 - that's lace weight, just had a look at a chart ;o), (wouldn't believe it otherwise)


Altogether now: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah .....

One things for sure. Making yarn is NOT something you can do fast. I've spun the singles in about 2 weeks. Getting better every day, and I can sit longer now, without getting cramps in various places. Plying took forever! But there was no tangled mess. It went smooth. I think I've got "balanced yarn" here! Wow!


At first I wanted to make Teresa's wonderful La Dentelle belle scarf (still on top of my to do list), but when I saw how much yardage I've got, I was thinking maybe a small shawl after all? The obvious choice would be the Shetland Triangle shawl or the Swallowtail shawl, but I'm still looking for something else. I made those already, and even though I love them, repeats are not as much fun as something new.
I might throw my principals over board and put the cardigan in a corner for some time out, and start knitting a shawl (if I could decide which one).

27 comments:

Michelle said...

Wow! I love your yarn! The colours are fantastic! So much nicer than store-bought yarn!

Teresa said...

That's awesome! 530 yards!! You definitely have enough for a shawl. I know that the large ones from Victorian Lace today can use about 900 yards. I know that the basket weave shawl uses about 400 yards. Have you tried the sagittaria shawl?


http://vilman.blogspot.com/2007/03/sagittaria-shawl.html

This is on my to do list! As soon
as I get some ink for my printer that is!

Kirsten said...

Monika, I am so impressed with how quickly and beautifully you have spun your yarn. The color is gorgeous!

I'm looking forward to watching the progress of your shawl.

Anonymous said...

Hallo Monika

wow - das ist ja ein tolles Garn geworden, das hast Du aber auf dem Rad gesponnen oder - wunderschön!!!

Liebe Grüsse - Manuela

Lacefreak said...

How about the Flower Basket Shawl? You can knit until you are happy with length and then finish off with the edging. Very nice job with the spinning and very attractive colors

Bea said...

Wow, no tangles from plying? I still haven't achieved that! Your yarn is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

That is gorgeous yarn - I'm so excited for you!! (I almost feel like I spun it myself)
Can't wait to see the shawl!

Anonymous said...

Oh, gorgeous! Definitely a shawl.

Anonymous said...

Monika, beautiful yarn!! I can't wait to see the shawl you pick and make.

Anonymous said...

Your yarn is totally awesome! Amazing colour - it looks great! Give yourself a hug for me!

Pinneguri said...

Thanks for your comment in my backyard ;)
I have not written the pattern in English yet, maybe I'll find time to do it. It is very easy, the pattern so I think you can almost figure it out just by looking at it.

I will take a look in your backyard as well, and maybe I see you around again :D

Hattie said...

What about the spring things shawl? Here's the link, I've made two and they turn out sooo gorgeous.

http://knittingasfastasican.com/2007/spring-things-shawl/

Kris B said...

That is absolutely beautiful yarn! Yeah, yeah yeah :).

Margaret said...

Your spinning has come along so quickly! This yarn is very pretty and will look so lovely in lace!

Anonymous said...

beautiful, can't wait to see that shawl.

Strickfimmel said...

Super! Super! Super! Dein Garn ist ein Traum geworden. Die Farbe ist himmlisch und sooo viele Meter. Bin schon auf den Schal gespannt, den Du daraus stricken möchtest.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if there is such a thing as "sheep dyed yarn." It would be filthy, but wouldn't rainbow colored sheep look nice in a field? Especially if they were all tht tealy green you made, yum!

shannon said...

in a word: gorgeous

Anonymous said...

Awww, your yarn is totally beautiful - love the colors, and you spun it up so quickly and beautifully!

Anonymous said...

That yarn is just stunning. It's the best looking hand spun yarn that I've seen in blogland.

Anonymous said...

Hallo Monika,
ich bin total begeistert von Deinem Garn. Das ist ja ein Unterschied zu Deinen ersten Spinnversuchen. Ich bin ganz erstaunt, wie schnell Du die Technik gelernt hast. Hut ab!

viele Grüsse von Heike wollball

Anonymous said...

Beautiful - what about the Swallowtail shawl? I don't think it uses a lot of yardage?

knititch said...

your blog is lovely monika. i love all the slip stitch you do. it is beautiful. i thought maybe you could use one of donna druchunas' patterns from arctic lace for example the skeleton scarf for you wool. i think her arctic patterns are very graphic and form what you post it seems you, too, have a penchant for that.

Violiknit said...

Such gorgeous yarn! Wow! Can't wait to see what you knit it into!

Beverly said...

Lovely! The colorway is awesome. What will you spin for next?

Anonymous said...

Those have to be some of the cutest lambs I have ever seen!

Susanne said...

Liebe Monika,
eine absolut wunderschöne Farbe und so fein gesponnen - da bin ich echt sprachlos. Die Farbe erinnert mich sehr an unseren Griechenland-Trip, da hat das Meer auch in solchen türkisen Nuancen geschimmert. Strick' bloß bald den Schal, das Garn kannst Du unmöglich lange liegen lassen.
Liebe Grüße
Susanne