Sunday, April 1, 2007

There is no bad wool

I ran out of the Finn/Angora Blend that I was working on last weekend. Actually, I didn't run out of it, I just have to card up more. But I do have a lot of something else ready to go on the Ashford to keep me busy in the meantime:


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Farmer Dave's special blend, comprised of at least 3 (maybe more) different (mystery) breeds of sheep. They were all mixed together and processed at Gurdy Run Farm and Woolen Mill.


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I have been spinning it in modified long draw, making a woolen single, z-twist. I managed to fill 2 bobbins this past week and decided to ply them today.


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I plied using a Hand-over-hand method. I wound up with 4.5 oz with a wpi of 13 or 14.


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At 244 yards so far...it's going to be somewhere between a sports and a worsted.


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If you could pick one of these stats to describe your yarns ...which one, as a spinner, do you think would be most important? Weight, yardage, color, wpi, breed of sheep, or other? Just wonderin....

3 comments:

Fiberjoy said...

Cyndy, What is the hand over hand method of plying?

Since I'm a relatively new spinner I think at this time wpi and yardage seem the important factors.

cyndy said...

Cathy- I think I agree with you...it would have to be "what" the fiber is...that and yardage..I need to know the yardage..

Wanda- The hand over hand (the way I know it) Hands together at an equal distance from orifice and lazy kate (or whatever holds your bobbins), then as you ply, one hand moves towards the orifice, whilst the other moves away or towards the source...then both of the hands come back to the middle again. The advantage of this, I am told, is that it always keeps the yarn in motion. One hand, or the other, is always moving towards the wheel, and the bobbins are always moving as well...giving you a more consistant ply. It is one of those things that is easier to show than explain!

Artis-Anne said...

I too would go with breed firstly then yardage.