Monday 24 January 2011

Trying to spin lace yarn

I have two alpaca fleeces, one is black - or near black, and the other is cream.  Last week I experimented  spinning the cream fleece as fine as I possibly could.   As the fleece is not overly mucky I have been spinning it without pre-washing. (or in the grease, my only irritation with these fleeces is that the these alpacas have had a lovely time rolling in the grass and moss!)   I first handcarded it into rolags and have spun it using a woolen technique, finally I plied the singles together to create a stronger yarn. The result is a very soft and light yarn which I am very happy with. 
However, I am sure I could get this finer and I am also curious to know how the singles would stand up on their own.  I am wondering if my next step should be to create a mix with the black or continue with the cream.... decisions decisions!

2 Ply

After spinning two bobbins of the gray BFL I plied it up and have ended up with a soft subtle coloured  2 ply yarn.  I have not done the measurements yet!

I am not sure what to call this yarn, for some reason it seems to bring to mind birds such as pheasants!

Sunday 9 January 2011

On the wheel

I recently dyed some grey BFL a mix of  inky blue, plum purple and burnt orange, leaving some of the wool undyed to create grey gaps. I have spun up one bobbin and it is waiting for its other half to make a two ply yarn.   For some reason the grey reminds me a bit of the colour of boys socks! 

Thursday 6 January 2011