knitting neels

So. This Flying Camel event. It seems to have started something quite unstoppable. This is the first of my Ashford merino-silk batches. Remember how I was telling you that I spun the second bobbin in contrary motion to the first? And how I only realised when I was plying them together? This is what I ended up with.

The really small skein at the front there seems to have responded well to being washed and stretched out. The other skein was maybe a bit too big; some parts in the middle seems to have been unaffected. I am considering re-washing and re-skeining it to see if it can be redeemed. Kind of a rookie mistake, though, that I was determined to avoid with the next batch!

Now this stuff turned out well. It’s a fairly consistent 2-ply double knit. To be honest, it really didn’t look very good but when I washed it, it fluffed out and settled nicely. I have about 100g of this. For both batches, I spun them worsted-style with a forward short-draw (well, I think I did!).

And do you remember the batt I showed you mid-spin? Since it was only a 40g batt, I only filled half a bobbin. I figured I should challenge myself to learn something new so instead of andean-plying it back on itself as I would normally do, I decided to chain or navajo ply it. It’s a little funny but it works really well, even though I ended up over-twisting some parts. I don’t mind too much though, it was just for a bit of fun.

I got a massive kick out of spinning this, as little as there is in it. It was my first time spinning from the fold and using a long backwards draw. There will definitely be more mixed batts in my future! This one was called Clara and (I found the wee composition tag under my mountain of handspun…) it’s made up of merino, bluefaced leicester, angelina, tencel and bamboo. Mmmm.

When I ordered that batt from Laura, I also got two plaits of roving with this in mind. Altogether I had 240g of bluefaced leicester. It’s the first time I have ever spun alot of something with a sweater in mind and I figured it would take me ages. In fact, it only took me a few days.

The biggest drawback was that, when I was plying, my bobbins kept filling up very quickly. This also explains why my skeins are pretty small! This is the first batch that I spun, plied and washed. The second batch – three more skeins – is on the line. Like the Ashford stuff, I spun it using a short forwards draw. I ought to have enough for the sweater but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

My problem now is that… I don’t have any more fibre to spin. I found a wee ball of roving that I bought in Chicago two years ago and have gotten a bobbin of lace weight out of it that I am going to have to ply back on itself. I am trying to eke it out, though, and frankly am feeling a bit bereft at the thought of no spinning next week. Of course, I am drowning in handspun… it never rains but it pours!