We had a good time at the alpaca festival (Pacafiesta) today. Well, actually not so much. Ian liked the alpacas for about five minutes, then he was bored and acting crazy, climbing the decorations and trying to kick spinning wheels. I had to chase him to stop him from scaring the baby alpacas. But despite all that, I learned a lot. I got to see a spinning wheel in action (it was like oooooooohhhhh! I get it!) and a loom as well. No interest in weaving at all folks. Don't fret. There was a lady with a llama as well, with a baby. If you could milk a llama, it would be the perfect animal. I asked her about it, she said they have small teats. But she also said it is really close to human milk, and probably really good for you.
Hmmm.
So I got some nice stuff for spinning. I got this superwash merino custom blend (which I started already):
It is 100 grams, I am hoping to get enough for socks. At least that's the plan. I know to knit socks, you need 100 grams, so in theory, if I manage to spin it at about a sock weight, I should be able to make socks. Most sock yarn is blended with nylon, however. So I don't know how I will get around that. (ply it with Phentex, maybe? KIDDING!!!) Anyway, we will see how it goes.
I also got this, Pat's Colours hand dyed feltable Merino roving:
Which I actually don't think I am going to spin, I want to make thrummed mitts. It's hard to show the colour right, but it is like green and yellow and brown.
Finally I got a pound of this:
Which I forgot to find out what it is. But I think it is also superwash merino. There is A LOT of it. A pound is a lot of fibre. I don't know what it will be for. Maybe a sweater? Or a scarf? The colour is not quite right in this picture either, but it is dark grey with a hint of brown. They called it Earth.
All together, I spent $17. (well, $26 with admission) That's it. Cheap!! The big bag was only $5. I have spent more than that on regular sock yarn! Like, a lot more! Now if I had a spinning wheel and could make yarn, you know, efficiently, it would actually be quite a bit cheaper than buying sweaters ready made! Surprise! Who knew knitting could be cheap if you make your own yarn! Too bad I suck at it. Hopefully practice makes perfect.
Now, off to practice!
1 comment:
OOOOh! What a good little fiber addict you are! ;D giggle.
Thank you for showing us your recent purchase. I am so behind in writing.....I *will* get back to you!
What FABULOUS fibers you got... and all of it for such a great price! Wow!
I am so looking forward to seeing your spun yarns from them- and am SO PROUD of you for just getting right in there to spin your new purchase right off!
You can certainly make socks from your superwash- just know that without any nylon or 'stronger' wool fibers added or plied with it- it will wear out more quickly is all. I have not made sock yarn yet- but have read some about it. for longer wear you will want to keep the spinning tight-ish, but try not to compress it ( squeezing the singles as you bring the twist into it) too much so you can trap air in there and it will be springier which is what you want for 'memory' /bounceback in your yarn. :)
You will want to start looking for Spin-Off magazine for techinical help without the computer being on...it's a great source of information. I will find the exact issue where they had an article on making sock yarn ...... and check out the website at interweave.com/spinoff (or something like that)
as they have lots of useful information there too!
OK will hush and write a real email soon!
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