Spin a little bit, spin a little bit of that yarn for me

Now If I haven't told you yet, I have quite my gig as a knitter for hire. I decided that it was time for lace. I also purchased 5 skeins of cashmere silk blend from Personal Threads. Lastly I have started knitting a lace shawl I will talk about in another post.(when I stop wanting to cry every other row!)

I have decided to "spin a little bit" every day and reduce the stash. I have learned something already. a) split roving into thin strips. b) pre draft strips c) if you want thicker yarn, spin slowly and don't draft so much. D) warm soaks after plying make for better yarn. I can now make pretty much any size yarn I need as long as I have an example 1/2 the finished size.

You'd think I'd know this already. And I did. I forgot and just now remembered. I had one yarn a California Variegated Mutant dark chocolate that when I spun it, it just sucked. Fiber was short, there was oil/grease in the wool and it lumped and bumped no matter what I did. Frustrated, I plied it, skeined it and washed and rinsed it in warm water. Then I let it dry unweighted. I fell in love with it! Thick spongy perfect for an afghan or cozy sweater. Too bulky for a cap or scarf. It took size 13 needles to knit it and holds cables just great!

I'm spinning some plain brown Corridale now. I have about 6 oz left to spin and 2-3 oz on the bobbin. I think I may fill all the bobbins and then spend a good while plying. (2 wheels= 7 bobbins-1 to ply and 1 that's busy=5 bobbins to fill.) Hmmm maybe I should rethink that.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna be in the guild show this year. I will be demonstrating knitting at the Children's art Museum on Saturdays. Anyone who wishes to join me feel free. They have no knitters for demo- ing and have several knights open, so if you want to demo, please contact me and I'll send you the info.

Lastly I went clothes shopping this weekend and have fallen in love with long skirts.
So if you see something that looks like me but in a skirt...It's probably me.
Tooddles!