In Which the Pirate Has a New Blue Yarn.

The blue merino/silk/bamboo that I started earlier this month is all spun up and wound off. Here it is showing off its lovely sheen before calling it a night and heading into a nice, warm, relaxing bath!

I’ve had problems with my singles drifting apart when I chain-ply, so this time I thought I’d put in a little more twist. Well… it was a little too much, probably because I didn’t fully account for the fact that thicker singles need less twist in general, and as a result they had an obnoxious tendency to corkscrew up as the bobbin unwound. This made chain-plying tedious, as I had to stop after making each chain to assure that the singles were straight, unwind any corkscrews that had formed, hold everything taut, build up some twist, and let it all in at once before it could kink up again. If that doesn’t teach me to spin a little looser, I don’t know what will.

So the plying, which is never my favourite thing to do even when it goes well, took longer than I wanted it to. But it was worth the effort – it came out to just over 100 yards, and I’m rather pleased with the shiny, squooshy result. Spinning thicker was a good challenge, since my default is rather fine yarn, but many of my project ideas (mostly hats and armwarmers) would do better with a DK or worsted weight.

With this yarn checked off the to-do list, there’s just one more bobbin that needs to be plied in order to clear them all before the Tour de Fleece begins next weekend. I think I can, I think I can…