I have these three hand dyed tops. I'm not sure what fiber, but I think it's a merino silk blend. The one on the right and bottom are rather similar, the left one isn't quite the same but has a lot in common with the other two.
All are about 100g each. And from experience they will default to a very, very fine single.
I think I'll spin each top into a single and then make a 3-ply combining those the singles.
Chose next spin randomly by color and it turns out to be Falkland, coarser and crisper than what I've been spinning. I thought I'd spin the same grist but this wants to be fatter so I'll let it. I might manage four braids in September. There's still a few days left...
Now all finished. Top picture is post washing, bottom is pre washing.
It's uncurled quite a bit in the finishing process. The skein is now 15 cm shorter than before so the yardage is a bit more than 800 m.
The yarn bled turquoise while soaking but it doesn't look washed out. So it obviously was just remaining dye - it's sometimes hard to really rinse that out without the fiber starting to felt.
Spun and plied, waiting to be soaked (happening at the moment) and dried.
I'm on vacation and forgot to bring my scale, but I counted the turns on my niddy-noddy - about 650 - so the unfinished meterage is 975 m and I expect between 5 and 10% shrinkage.
It's Corriedale, died by Frau Wöllfchen and it was a great pleasure to spin and turn it into a 2-ply. Now I just need an idea of what to do with it. @spinning@fiberarts#spinning#fiberart
Spinning update: started bobbin 2! I don't know if I should count this for #FallFinishAlong since it's highly unlikely I'll finish this one for quite some time, but it's progress on a WIP nonetheless!
@knitting Then we were driving along and saw a sign for a “handspun yarn and knitted items”. So we went in. I drive, I decide where we stop. We stopped in an amazing crofter’s studio and I ended up as a demonstrator showing how drop spindling worked. I’m feeling incredibly inspired. #skye#sheep#spinning#holiday
"Spinster" denoted unmarried women who spun wool. Highly skilled spinsters were paid enough to afford not to marry. Despite later applied derogatory connotations, it's origin is a word that included independent women who rejected marriage and male partners entirely.
At his #greenbeltscandal presser this morning, Premier #DougFord simply regurgitated a list of talking points being fed to him by a teleprompter.
Then he deflected every question with some version of:
'Folks, the buck stops with me. I have done the most ever for Ontario. I work 24/7 folks. I have done more than anyone. More than anyone else. Ever. Folks.'
#DougFord refused to answer and couldn't articulate exactly HOW his #greenbelt selection process was flawed.
Instead, he went on to say he will strip even more greenbelt lands "using a better process."
If his previous process was so flawed that his housing minister was forced to resign, what makes Ford think we'll believe for a second that his new "better process" will be flawless and not corrupt?
@consumableJoy@knitting@fiberarts and that’s not counting all the fleece that’s waiting to be washed/carded/dyed/spun … and those in various states of the above ⬆️ …and all the spun yarn 🧶 stash waiting for a suitable project … never mind the baskets 🧺 full of stuff waiting to be mended …. Oh dear. Best not think about it and just have a go at what’s in front of me 😊. #SheepOfMastodon#Defaidodon#Spinning#Spinnrad#Yarn#Knitting#KnittersOfMastodon
made it 8 days before needing to reset the counter. Better not buy anymore yarn for a long time because I just bought 3 sweater quantities of DK all at once - garlic, apricot, and wine grapes (I think that one is not pictured here) #yarnaddict#knitting#fiberarts@knitting
What's my favorite material? I think I'll go with #wool - and not just any wool, I especially love naturally grey shades of wool - like Gotland, Shetland or Corriedale.
Those greys are so rich and beautiful and they are a great canvas for dyeing as they take the dye and transform it into lovely, saturated jewel tones.
Here's the next stage of the experimental cat yarn. I've spun a bit, and plied it into some lace weight. Next, I'll put it in a small skein, wash it, thwack it (technical term) and let it dry. Then I'll knit up a sample piece, and see what I've got. So far, it seems nice and soft.
Today in saving energy: why turn on the hot water inside the house to finish my #TourDeFleece yarn when the hose has been sitting in the sun all day and will get me just what I need? 😁
#TourDeFleece2023 yarn is plied! Pretty happy with how this turned out. It needs a bit more finishing but I couldn't resist putting it on the niddy noddy to see the rainbow tonight. 🌈
Norns are among the most mysterious and powerful #Norse deities. They are women deeply linked with the fate of every human being (and maybe every living being, in general).
They are said to draw water from a sacred well Urðarbrunnr¹ to nourish Yggdrasil², the #tree at the center of Norse cosmology, the Nine Worlds.
Norns are best known to spin the thread of life, which determines the life or fate of all individuals — #spinning is a very common topic in many legends and tales, check out this link³ from @IcySedgwick!
They represent the past (Urðr), future (Skuld) and present (Verðandi).
They have #runes on their nails, and they carved runes on wooden pieces, too. Furthermore, they could be benevolent, but also could cause tragic events. Pre-Christian Scandinavians attested to Norns who visit a newborn child in order to determine the person's future.
In Slavic #mythology, there are three goddesses who watch over pregnant women, and decide the baby's fate three days after the birth.
At last, let's focus on the term Wyrd⁴. It was the name of a silent Anglo-Saxon goddess who had the control on women and men's fate. Nowadays, it is a concept to indicate the destiny. It is quite certain that the modern word "weird" has the same, old, meaning.
Shakespeare, in Macbeth, refers to the Norns as the "Weird sisters".
So I've finally done it. I'm spinning the cat fur. No idea what kind of fabric this will make, if it will be scratchy or soft. You can't always tell by just petting the animal. A lot depends on how I spin it. We'll see. #spinning#catsofmastodon#cat
#TourDeFleece2023 is done, but I'm still spinning .My goal for this year was to be careful about setting a timer and listening to my body, and it's worked out really well! And since I'm not sore, that means I can keep going without taking a break after the event (and losing my spinning mojo). Win!