You know, it's Spring Break this week at UT-Austin. I should get out and do something, especially when it's in the 80ºs outside and sunny as all get-out. But I just learned how to spin and I want to practice while I have the chance to. So I went over to Hill Country Weavers and set up shop in Knit Buzz. There are six wheels in there free to use, so I spent six hours today with a Louët Julia (which I am in love with).
I spent the first two hours spinning up the roving I get during Spinning 101, and then decided to branch out and trying something new. I went over to the shop and picked up 4 ounces of a merino/silk blend. It was tricky at first to get it started because it was so smooth! I had to use some scrap roving to get it started, and then I joined the merino/silk blend to the wool roving.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="375" caption="Pomegranate"]
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The colorway of the roving was labeled "Pomegranate" so that's what I'll stick with. I tried to get a thin yarn out of it, so I really focused on a fine and tight twist. I may have put in too much twist, but that's something I'll get better at with time I think. It gives anywhere from 15 to 20 wraps per inch, which puts it somewhere around sport weight or fingering weight. I skeined it, washed it, and hung it outside to dry. I'll take some skein pictures once it's dried up. The color above is a bit off; hopefully some pictures of it dry will be more color accurate.
Now I'm on a hunt for a good deal on a wheel. I'm looking mostly for a Louët, because I've worked on three different Louët wheels (Julia, Victoria, and an S10) and I loved them all. Particularly the Julia, but there is no way I'll ever have $750 to drop on a wheel. I don't even have $300 to drop on a wheel. If I sell off my video game stuff (which I've been contemplating anyway) I might be able to afford a wheel. We'll see what happens.
I spent the first two hours spinning up the roving I get during Spinning 101, and then decided to branch out and trying something new. I went over to the shop and picked up 4 ounces of a merino/silk blend. It was tricky at first to get it started because it was so smooth! I had to use some scrap roving to get it started, and then I joined the merino/silk blend to the wool roving.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="375" caption="Pomegranate"]
[/caption]The colorway of the roving was labeled "Pomegranate" so that's what I'll stick with. I tried to get a thin yarn out of it, so I really focused on a fine and tight twist. I may have put in too much twist, but that's something I'll get better at with time I think. It gives anywhere from 15 to 20 wraps per inch, which puts it somewhere around sport weight or fingering weight. I skeined it, washed it, and hung it outside to dry. I'll take some skein pictures once it's dried up. The color above is a bit off; hopefully some pictures of it dry will be more color accurate.
Now I'm on a hunt for a good deal on a wheel. I'm looking mostly for a Louët, because I've worked on three different Louët wheels (Julia, Victoria, and an S10) and I loved them all. Particularly the Julia, but there is no way I'll ever have $750 to drop on a wheel. I don't even have $300 to drop on a wheel. If I sell off my video game stuff (which I've been contemplating anyway) I might be able to afford a wheel. We'll see what happens.
Those colours are just gorgeous! It looks so lush and silky.
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I can't wait to see how it is when it's dry ... deciding what to knit it up as will be difficult!
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