In Which the Pirate Introduces Grace.

Meet Grace. She is a walnut-finished Kromski Sonata. I got her from Copper Moose, who was offering an included bonus of a lazy kate and two extra bobbins. The bobbins are significantly larger than Ashford’s, but I’m still considering picking up the jumbo flyer/bobbins for plying at some point, if I find that the regular-sized ones aren’t enough. Right now, I think I’m pretty well set with five regular bobbins.

I love the turning on the spokes. It’s not too complex, just elegant enough to be appealing. The walnut color complements the wood perfectly. Kromski’s mahogany finish, a new offering on the Sonata, didn’t quite look right to me. I’m glad I got the chance to see the mahogany stain in person, rather than in pictures, or I might have ordered it!

Yesterday I finished the third bobbin (on the Ashford) of the potential sock yarn, and today I will ply it together and give it a wash. Pirate-Husband is amazed that I have been so firm about not spinning with Grace until after I finish what I’m working on, but I know myself and if I let myself start a new project, I’ll never finish the old one! And I’m so close to being done, I can’t stop here. I have to make myself finish – extra-difficult because I am not at all certain that what I’ve spun will resemble what I set out to spin! It’s a learning process and I’m not going to be too hard on myself if it doesn’t come out the way I wanted; I’m just going to have to knit something other than what I planned.

I also had to resist the temptation to buy new fiber to go with the new wheel, but then I looked through the fiber I already have and decided to save my money. Instead I made up a list of what I plan to spin from each fiber in my stash. I’m noticing that a lot of my plans involve fingering weight yarn for socks, or as heavy as DK weight for gloves or a scarf. Right now, I’m not at all tempted to spin anything heavier than that. Maybe one day I’ll get annoyed at how long it takes to spin fine yarn, and spin up a worsted weight for an instant-gratification project!

This is the first fiber I plan to spin with Grace. It’s BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester) from Freckle Face Fibers that Pirate-Husband bought for me. I’m aiming for a two-ply fingering weight; with 4.4 ounces I should be able to get enough for a pair of socks. I just have to remember to put in lots more twist than seems right. The colors aren’t in any particular pattern or order, so I don’t think I’m going to try the fractal spinning method this time. I’m just going to split the fiber in half and go from there.