Well, hi there! I started this post about a week ago, and since then have finished a second spinning project, so I’ve got to add a bunch more pictures. It seems that there has been more free time around here than spare brain power for writing blog posts. But here we are, and I’d like to start with a cute-kid pic before I jump in on the spinning.
I don’t really have to explain that one, do I?
Okay, so on to the spinning. I worked on this project for most of December, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I started with about four ounces of tussah silk top from Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mills that I picked up from Anne Bosch when I saw her at the knitting retreat I went to back in October. It was actually two two-ounce chunks in similar colorways, but I didn’t think two ounces would be enough for a good-sized project at the time, so I thought I’d combine them in a two-ply.
Unfortunately, its seems to be practically impossible to get a good picture of the true color of this stuff. Maybe it’s the time of year with the bluish winter light. You’ll just have to imagine a combination of all the pictures with a little less blue.
As I was spinning this stuff, I could not believe how thin the singles were coming out. Almost automatically, I was turning out what looked only slightly thicker than sewing thread. Once I plied it up, it came out to about 18 wpi.
Yeah, and then I finished it, and I realized that I really had no idea how to treat silk to finish the yarn. I read a bit about it on Ravelry, and decided that I should maybe either steam it lightly or wash it in cool water.
And then it occurred to me – hey – I have three skeins sitting here – perfect for a little experiment. I washed one in cold water, steamed one over a whistling tea kettle, and left the big one untouched so I could compare.
I’m such a nerd. Really. Well, the cold water bath didn’t do much at all for the yarn. The steaming was extremely gentle, and did seem to relax and straighten it a bit. And it was kind of weirdly fun to stand there over a whistling kettle watching the yarn do its thing. I guess you’d have to be there.
And now I have about 1200 yards of awesome laceweight yarn waiting for me to do something fabulous with it. I’m thinking maybe I’ll knit something out of that Estonian lace book with it.
On to project number two – this one started with four ounces of merino/nylon superwash pencil roving from Fiber Optic Yarns on Etsy. My plan was to try to make a chain-ply fingering weight sock yarn. I split the roving lengthwise and put it on two bobbins in an attempt to make kind of equal skeins.
I started spinning this stuff, and I couldn’t keep myself from making it tiny-skinny. Too skinny at some points I was afraid. I think I have a problem. I’m going to have to make something nice and thick on my next project just to prove I can. Here’s the singles.
And then I chain-plied it and realized that I am not. very. good. at chain plying. And, um, I couldn’t keep myself from putting a little too much twist in the stuff. I finished the first bobbin, shoved it in the office and went to bed. When I got up in the morning and looked at it, I wondered what I’d been smoking the night before.
Yeah, pretty scary. The second bobbin looked a little better. But still, after I’d wound it off on the niddy-noddy, the relaxed skeins still looked like something I’d be afraid to bother knitting with.
But I had my handy teakettle out still. I don’t drink a lot of tea, and I normally don’t use my teakettle very often. But steaming new yarn is fun, so I steamed the mess and it turned into this…
which looks a whole lot closer to useable.
Up close, that first bobbin’s worth has some problem spots…
But overall, it’s not entirely bad.
At something like 20 wpi, it’s a thin fingering weight. The superwash wool/nylon, it really is perfect for socks. And even though it’s a bit overspun, I might actually make some socks out of it. They’ll wear well.
I find it’s easier to deal with chained singles if you let the single relax for a week or so before doing the chain-plying. Then you’re not fighting extra twist during the plying and makes it easier to see how much twist you are [or aren't] putting in.
You're awesome!!! My friend who introduced me to her spinning wheel actually showed me the steaming thing straight away & I think that it's amazing to see the yarn sorting itself out in a haze.
In Spin Off’s fall issue, Judith MacKenzie McCuin, had great article about using steam to finish a skien of yarn. I now steam all my handspun yarns. First I wash it. To get out any extra stuff, hand lotion, spinning wheel oil, etc. Then I use my garment steamer to finish it. The difference is stunning. The yarn get softer and blooms and the plies even out more. It also sets the twist. I just love to finish my yarn this way.
Fascinated with steam finishing yarn now…
I’ve never heard of that technique before.