Taking My Lumps
Even though it's been unbearably hot - alternating with deluge rains - I have been happily spinning my way through some really lovely fiber! I have a few in my stash that I really loved when I purchased them but after they sat here for a bit the shine really fell off them. Previously I would have probably sold them through one of my Yahoo groups but I have had a bit of a yen to try my hand at some funky yarn. I figured if I used stuff I wasn't too fond of and wrecked it I wouldn't have any regrets. Trust me for that!
My first victim was this 4 ounce bundle of a blend of 3 blues and some purple thrown in. Bear in mind I have read some books on this and watched a couple of videos but for the most part, as you've seen, I have diligently worked at my spinning to produce even, fine yarns. It took longer than I expected to spin up this lot, having the odd notion that chunkier spinning should go faster. I suppose in some ways it did go faster than spinning fine singles but the end result was not quite as lumpy and chunky as I had hoped.
I call it Blue Riot and it marks a real departure for me as it is the first fractal spun I have ever made - really! Fractal means it is a multi-colored single that was plied with itself irregardless of the colors that paired up. It came out a chunky weight superwash, approx 3.8 oz and 225 yds and I put it in my Etsy Shop as soon as it was dry!
The next lot I almost finished spinning up before I remembered to take a picture of it but you get the idea. It's sort of a bog green combo that doesn't quite make it to neon. I think I learned the most on this one because the slubs were quite big and very irregularly spaced. I also found it was too easy to over spin the fine parts between them mostly because I was still trying to spin this too quickly.
This time I spun some dark green into very fine singles to ply with it. The result was much more satisfying!
The next lot I almost finished spinning up before I remembered to take a picture of it but you get the idea. It's sort of a bog green combo that doesn't quite make it to neon. I think I learned the most on this one because the slubs were quite big and very irregularly spaced. I also found it was too easy to over spin the fine parts between them mostly because I was still trying to spin this too quickly.
This time I spun some dark green into very fine singles to ply with it. The result was much more satisfying!
I called it Reptile Green. It's also superwash, approx 4.9 oz and 206 yds. i posted it in my Etsy Shop and it sold in about 6 days. Amazing!
The last batch in my experiment was also superwash in a pure neon lime green. It wasn't so much that I disliked it but that even spun up I would never likely use it myself. It was part of some 4 oz bundles of mixed color superwash. I fished out all the pieces of this color from the bags and found I had a nice batch to play with. I found this batch to be much smoother than the last two so I had to be much more careful trying to draft the fat slubby lumps as they liked to shred. I had to keep reminding myself I was (again) a rank beginner with this technique. It "sort of" helped as I fished the end off the bobbin and back through the orifice for the 10th time!
For this yarn I spun some light green singles very fine and plied it with that. Lots of the finer parts of the neon were over spun so I drafted out fiber from the slubs in places to help ease the excess twist. I was still very pleased with the resulting yarn. I think it looks like the entrails out of an intergalactic caterpillar!
This skein came out at 3.8 oz and approx 95 yards. It's incredibly soft and such a rich vibrant color! I also posted it in my shop but it hasn't sold yet.
So this was my Fiber Adventure for July! I learned that I was able to apply some of the fiber control I have learned previously to this technique but it is certainly is an entirely different method to what I have previously done. To produce the yarn I want to I have to slow down a LOT! It's the only way to keep from over twisting the thin parts and really control the size and placement of the slubs. I will definitely be doing this again! I have a whole box of fiber braids from a certain Etsy Shop with dye that bleeds and I think this will be the perfect application! I won't have to worry about the excess dye ruining my carefully 3-plied yarn and the lovely colors will lend themselves well to slubby lumpy art yarn! Cheers all!
For this yarn I spun some light green singles very fine and plied it with that. Lots of the finer parts of the neon were over spun so I drafted out fiber from the slubs in places to help ease the excess twist. I was still very pleased with the resulting yarn. I think it looks like the entrails out of an intergalactic caterpillar!
This skein came out at 3.8 oz and approx 95 yards. It's incredibly soft and such a rich vibrant color! I also posted it in my shop but it hasn't sold yet.
So this was my Fiber Adventure for July! I learned that I was able to apply some of the fiber control I have learned previously to this technique but it is certainly is an entirely different method to what I have previously done. To produce the yarn I want to I have to slow down a LOT! It's the only way to keep from over twisting the thin parts and really control the size and placement of the slubs. I will definitely be doing this again! I have a whole box of fiber braids from a certain Etsy Shop with dye that bleeds and I think this will be the perfect application! I won't have to worry about the excess dye ruining my carefully 3-plied yarn and the lovely colors will lend themselves well to slubby lumpy art yarn! Cheers all!
Posted by Gloria Patre at 8/3/2011 7:55 PM 
Categories: Yarn, Spinning, Fiber
Tags: handspun yarn art yarn etsy shop items
Categories: Yarn, Spinning, Fiber
Tags: handspun yarn art yarn etsy shop items
I love the names youcome up with for your yarns! Reptile Green was my laugh for the day because it so aptly described the yarn! I thought it looked reptilian also! Your writing talent is definitely showing through!
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