The other night I went to my first spinning group at my local yarn shop. I got to see some people I've not seen in a while and talk about making yarn a tad. I was the only one there without a wheel. I brought my beautiful Golding spindle. I really do need to think of a name for her. Wait that raises another question for me. All my cars are female does that mean my spindle is a female too? Argh I don't know I guess I will decide when I find a name that suits her.
Anyways I spun up my first bump of fiber and plied it. I used Knittina's suggestions and wound it into a center pull ball and plied the two ends together.
It worked well till one strand started pulling faster than the other. Once I got them matched up again I was careful to keep it that way. I did make a mistake early on that was easily fixed. When you ply you spin in the opposite direction from the way you spun the yarn. I of course started to spin the way I've been spinning.
Well it is clear that my camera does not take pictures of yarn very well in this case. Too much flash not enough natural light. But hey look I'm making real yarn for the first time.
I can tell you that my spindle was so full by the time I was done plying. I don't think I could have fit anymore yarn on it.
At the spinning group I started the brown bump of fiber and finished it a few days later. It was not as smooth as the cream roving but I managed to twist it into submission. I am letting it sit on the spindle for a few days in between spinning and plying which helps the fibers relax into their new arrangement. Good thing I read that on Ravelry the first couple of days I thought I was just being lazy letting it sit.
So there is my first and second yarns, well first and halfway to being yarn second. My first yarn is in a skein form now awaiting a bath. It was really neat to feel the difference in the thickness of the yarn. A true beginners yarn thick and thin all in the same skein. D was surprised when I told him I don't plan to make anything out of my first yarn. I want to keep it for comparison with later yarns. Because you know I don't have enough yarn laying around the house, now I need some for decorative purposes.
It's my yarn I can do what I want. (As long as I keep knitting him socks.)
I still have my first skein of yarn, too! It was a single, and I was so proud of how even I managed to get it. A good trick to keeping one strand from plying faster than the other is to hold the two strands with your thumb and your middle finger with your index finger in-between the two. It helps you to keep an even tension while it all starts going faster than you want!
ReplyDeleteLooks GREAT!!!! And yes, save the first yarn. There's magic in it! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the back up ladies I will make sure Hubby sees it is ok to keep my first yarn .
ReplyDeleteAdriene, I did figure out the positioning thing once I evened them up but thanks for the advice!
I welcome any advice or hints to help me. Hey I will even take here is what I did wrong stories so I may learn from other's mistakes.