Roundabout

I know I already posted today, but I just had to post this with more and better pictures.  Not to mention that I'm entering into another spinning phase.  Yes, they have a way of coming and going.  I spin quite regularly for a while and then don't do it for far too long.  Well, we're back into the upside of the spinning curve. 

I did have a short phase around my birthday when the Fricke E-spinner arrived.  A spinner I very much like.  I'm ever so glad that I ordered the click on/click off pedal for it.  It spins very well.  I just wish I had known when I ordered it that it wasn't compatible with the majacraft woolee winder.  I'll be getting the level wind flyer for it, just not immediately.. well not this week anyway (I just ordered a new video camera but that is fodder for another post).  I don't remember what broke that nightly spinning phase, maybe it was the going away for the weekend that killed it and I just never got back to it. 

Recently though, I've been seeing a lot of beautiful spinning going on around blogdom and the siren's song of the wheel has been in my head.  I've even made some fiber purchases including one that shall be the heart of this post.  Finally on Saturday during naptime, I flipped on the TV and caught a program on King Cotton on the History Channel.  There were many sections devoted to the history of the cotton textile industry and when I watched the evolution of the spinning process, I just couldn't fight it any longer.  I pulled out my PB&J wheel, my first and beloved, the Lendrum Upright.  There was that reddish colonial roving that I bought at Modern Yarn still on the bobbin.  I did some quick weighing and found that I had approximately half the roving (there's that half thing again) left in the bag.  Time to change bobbins if you ask me.  Over the course of the weekend, I finished up that roving, plied it and then skeined it off.  I'm pretty sure my niddy noddy is in one of the storage units waiting for construction to end (though it is unlikely to start prior to October as we need a variance before the permit can be issued).  I need to do some googling to see what the longest length is on the winder and then count the laps and do the math.  Yeah soon ;)

As always, click to embiggen the pictures...

Anyway, all that was to empty the woolee winder bobbins for the Lendrum in preparation of this glorious fiber that I had ordered from Chris of Woolybuns fame.  What you see here (and it arrived today woo), is 6 wonderful ounces of Polwarth/Angora blend roving.  Not letting any moss grow under this stone, I broke out the wheel immediately upon closing the twins' door.  Chris warned me that this stuff wanted to spin fine.  She's absolutely right! 

I had a spool of standard sewing thread sitting nice and handy in my knitting gadget bag.  Yeah, I schlep it around for when I need to sew on one of the copious buttons I sew. 

Um yeah, not so much.  Anyway, it did prove handy for showing the grist of this single.  The white thread is on the left and the single is on the right.

This is how much I was able to spin in an hour.  Doesn't look like much does it.  I'm thinking this 6 oz is going to take near forever. While a project designation for the resulting yarn might be a tad premature, I don't think I'd be going out on a limb to predict a shawl for it.  Maybe a plain pi shawl.  Somehow I suspect I'll have enough yardage ;)

Craft on!

Comments

[Jill]

Oh my! I cannot fathom spinning any yarn let alone a single (is that right?) similar to sewing thread. You go girl! I have a hunch that you will have that 6 oz spun up faster than you think. ;o)

[Rachel H]

Wow. That sure is some thin yarn you've got there. Very cool. Can we see pics of the e-spinner action at some point please?

[Sara]

wow - that is THIN!

[Chris]

Holy smokes that's fine!! I'll have to get a comparison shot of the single I'm spinning. I always have to laugh when some of my spinning buddies gush that I spin fine. I think I'm gonna print that photo to show them - ah, no, not really when compared to you! :) Hmmm, now that the Wing of the Moth 1st place race is over, should we start a Polwarth/angora race of our own? Hee.

[anne hanson]

wow—just. wow!

[beth]

Whoa! That is some thin and I may say AWESOME yarn! Will you be plying it? Good job!

[Laurie]

Yeah, froghair takes forever, but boy, is it satisfying. Your looks gorgeous. And you will have some honking shawl yarn when you are done.

[JessaLu]

Nice! I wish I could spin that fine :o) My singles always end up a bit bigger than that.

[April Bangert]

(Ok first....the monkeys are adorable!) HOLY CATS thats a fine single! I'm almost wishing I could spin that fine. But then what would I do with it? I have problems enough knitting with normal yarn! Great job and at least I know it's a possible goal for the future.