In Which the Pirate Begins Anew.

Yesterday I started spinning, tearing off chunks at the color changes (or near enough). The first chunk I split into thirds to spin, and found it difficult. Perhaps it was partly because the end of the fiber had gotten a little tangled. The second chunk, I split into half and had no trouble, so the third chunk I just spun without splitting at all. I’ve been stopping every so often to check the singles against the plastic yarn gauge, and to let it ply back on itself to check twist. I don’t want to spin wire, but I do want a relatively high-twist yarn if I’m going to consider spinning socks with it. And that is the goal, if the yardage allows. I have heard that BFL is much more dense than Merino. This is the first two-ply fingering weight yarn I’m spinning, so I don’t know what kind of yardage to expect. I’m sure that if it’s not enough for socks, it will be put to good use in another project.

Grace is lovely. I am really enjoying the double treadles, and the ease with which I can get started. Not to mention, it’s so much easier to stop when I need to, without having to grab at the drive wheel! I am trying not to feel guilty, but I think I may like Grace better than Patience. Time will tell, and so will the next step of plying this yarn together. Plying on Patience is a pain; treadling is difficult and the bobbins are tiny. If I decide to keep Patience, I will be looking into getting one of the new jumbo sliding hook bobbins.