Friday, September 12, 2008

FO: Orphans

I've opted for the double dose on the last two rounds of Adrian's Fiber Club, which has left me with gobs of fiber lying around. I managed to spin up parts of two batches of fiber but had about 5 oz leftover that have been sitting in the cupboard for the last few months. This past week I finally got back to them.

Orphans

Specs: 214 yds/2.4 oz of Maldives (18 micron merino) , 124 yds/3.2 oz of Verdant (70% merino/30% mohair)

Spun/plied at 10:1, both chain plied

Maldives: 14 wpi prewash, 13 wpi postwash; Verdant: 10 wpi prewash, 10 wpi postwash


Both were somewhat overplied and went through fulling finish - Maldives was balanced after finishing, Verdant was still slightly overplied.


So now I have two new skeins of stripy yarn. My plan is still to make the girls some mittens with the Maldives, lined with some commercial yarn, and I think I'll actually have enough to do hats or scarves as well.


The Verdant - this was a different experience. The first batch of Verdant I spun as laceweight. This time around I wanted to end up with something bulky weight (I think I had subconscious visions of Stephanie's Unoriginal hat), so I had to focus on spinning a thicker single then I usually do. It took a bit of work - I didn't predraft very much, just snapped the top to loosen it a bit, and the mohair made it quite sticky. So I ended up with some thick and thin bits due to drafting malfunctions. It seems to be quite a bit softer at this weight however, then as laceweight - less twist means less wirey maybe? In any event, it's now balled up in its little nest of handspun, happily waiting to be knit up for a Christmas present. As a hat, it will probably have to be lined because it's still a bit itchy. Maybe I could just go on a mitten knitting binge?

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