Topic: Handspinning
Shelia (of new blog fame!!!) wanted to know if I finished spinning and plying all the yarn for my handspun sweater.
Yup:
AND...I am almost to the underarm in the knitting of it:
I've learned a lot so far.
1. No matter how well you weigh your fiber, when you include angora you have to mix and remix all the batts together to get identical results. My yarn has a lot of (not unattractive) variation, and I am holding my breath that it will please the judges next month atThe Columbia County Fair.
2. My Norman Hall wheel likes to put a lot of twist in the final yarn in double drive even at the lowest twist ratio. This is all well and fine and my handspun/handknit sweater will wear very well as a result of this, but I want less twist on a day-to-day basis. I will explore the scotch tension setting next on the wheel, and maybe even call Mr. Hall to see about another whorl (!).
3. My 8 (!) skeins had a variety of yards/ounce variation. I stacked them up from 37 yards/ounce to 67 yards/ounce and am using them in order of thickest to thinnest, with the thinnest doing all the edging details. I had a couple of plying anomalies when I forgot to change the ratios I had decided on for plying, and those skeins are looser. Hmm. I have 3 extra skeins around and one became the gauge hat for the sweater calculations. That, too, will be entered at the fair.
4. This sweater will be seriously warm. I can't wait for January so I can live in it!
