I’ve been pretty quiet this week (after my spam rant) but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy. I’ve been having an affair with L2 (my new wheel). It took about a week but I finally am starting to understand how to spin on this wonderful wheel.
I’ve also been supporting the local economy by signing over my paycheck to Julie and the Black Lamb. I bought the high and low speed whorls for the wheel. This means that now I can go from 3.2 to 19.5. So many options I don’t know which to stick with (this many choices is not alway a good thing!)
I am by nature a very thin spinner so that’s why I bought the fast whorl. My singles are now down to between 36-40 wpi. I decided though that the best way to get to know my new wheel was probably at a slower and thicker rate. So I took 8 oz of South African Top and spun a thick (for me) and fluffy yarn. I love love love South African Top, but it’s hard to find. According to some online friends, it’s actually a Merino blend, but the micron count is much longer – 23 microns (normal Merino is 17-22). This means that it’s a longer draw and easier (for me) to spin. I also used this when I spun the Houston colourway.
I decided not to dye it, but wanted it the natural shade. It’s a beautiful soft white and spinning it in a thick, lofty and squishy way was difficult for me since I’m used to spinning thin. I did fairly well, catching myself when I got too thin. The final wpi is between 10-12 wpi. I wish you could feel this – it’s absolutely scrumptious. Out of the 8 oz that was spun, I ended up with approximately 200 yards. I’m now looking for a supplier that can give me a price break on a pound or two of it. This is now my new favourite roving, so buying it by the 8oz bags just doesn’t make sense.
I also credit a lot of the success of this particular spin to the new Majacraft tensioned lazy kate that I bought. Here it is pictured attractively situated on Clancy’s scratching post. I found that I was able to control it better if it was elbow height and the post is perfect. There is a guide wire that goes across the front and sits in the grooves of the bobbins. I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth the price, but comparing it to the one that came with the wheel is like comparing a Porsche and a Lada. I can’t say enough good things about this gizmo.
I’m also happy to report that I’ve been winning the battle with the track back spam. Since no one was using it (besides them), I just turned the bloody thing off. I’ve gone from 10+ a day to 0.
Victory is mine!
Wow! That yarn is absolutely beautiful,in white. I’m not one to believe that yarn needs to be dyed all the time.
That is gorgeous. The sheen is unbelievable!!!!!!
Thank you so much. I’d gotten so used to dyed wool that I forgot how clean and simple plain old vanilla wool can be.
I also find that when I dye my roving it gets a bit crunch – not sure if it’s because of how I dye it or not. No way would this have been as soft if I’d have dyed it.
Simple is good.
Thanks Peggy – now you know why it’s my new favourite roving. It’s as soft as it is shiny
Hi, Sherrie
Nice looking yarn. I have a suggestion about your tensioned kate. see how a very small bit of each bobbin is in contact with the string? I think it’s designed so that the string should go behind the post in the middle (or the bobbin on that post) to provide more contact with the bobbin grooves.
My 2nd comment has to do with the font size on your blog. It’s tiny and frankly painful for me to try to read, even with my readers on. Browsers all have controls that allow one to change font size on the sites we visit, but that only works if you have not locked your fonts to the smallest size. I urge you to consider that there are lots of us old half-blind broads out here wanting to read your blog. 🙂
sandeleh@sbcglobal.net
Thanks so much for your comments. I’ve hooked it up as per the instructions, but will tweak it as I get more experience. I’ll keep your suggestion in mind for my next go around.
As far as the blog, unfortunately it’s driven by the template and I can’t change it. Font sizes are also driven by individual browser settings (trust me I’m a webmaster and I struggle with this all the time) so what’s small for you may not be small on another computer. If you’re using IE7, there is a feature in the bottom right to change the viewing size. Firefox always has smaller fonts, so it may be your setting there.
I’m one of the old half-blind broads myself, so I do sympathize. I find that I’m having to use a larger font on more and more sites.
That yarn is gorgeous! You can practically feel it just from the pictures. Yum.
I love the way the yarn looks. I can’t wait until I get the Little Gem myself. As for the SAF, I got a kilo of the stuff from http://www.knit-knackers.com/ NAYYY. I believe it is ike $4.95 per 100 grams or $8.50 per pound (CDN) but there is a discount if you get a kilo. The place is in Canada so you don’t have to worry about customs. If there is a place where you can get it for less I would love it being passed along my way so I can get in on the fun.
You also might consider polwarth. I love spinning with that stuff. Cheryl at http://geminifibres.com/index.html carries it and it’s about $47 a kilo.
wow sherri… you are getting so good at it – it looks amazing!
Good work! and congrats on the non-spam!
Just wanted to correct some minor misinformation: Micron count is a measure of fineness/coarseness, not length. So, your 23 micron wool is a little more coarse than 17 – 22 micron wool. The staple length doesn’t factor into the micron count.
Your spinning looks great!