Saturday, December 6, 2008

More fat yarn

I've filled a few bobbins with singles since my spinning class, and I finished plying yesterday. The yarn is no thinner than before, but I did these as three-ply rather than two-ply. So, even though my final yarn is the same size, my new singles are 33% smaller than the last set. I'll consider that an improvement. It's more even than the last batch, too:





And, I'm very proud of the fact that it came out perfectly balanced. Right off the spinning wheel, it hung straight and relaxed. I haven't set the twist yet; I think I'm going to wait and do it all at once.

I love the color. I fall hopelessly in love with every dark natural brown that I see, so this isn't surprising. But I particularly like this one. I don't know yet what I want to make with it. To be honest, I'm tempted to get more roving and go for a sweater, but that's a lot of spinning. I've made it through about 6 ounces so far, and I got just over 200 yards. So this is definitely a super-bulky yarn.

I've knit sweaters out of Cascade Eco Wool before, and that's 500 yds/8oz, so about the same grist, or a bit lighter than mine. At that weight, I'd need a little over a pound for a sweater. Depending on whether the handspun gives 3 or 4 st/in, my handy-dandy sweater calculator sheet says that I'll need between 930 and 1325 yards. Which would mean that I have a lot of spinning left to do if I want a sweater, considering that I'm only at 200 so far.

I find all of these sensible calculations really hard to believe. Doesn't this look like a lot of yarn?



In terms of yardage, that's the same as one ball of Cascade 220. I just can't wrap my head around it.

But wouldn't it make a beautiful sweater? (If I ever actually made it through that much roving.)

And the real question: Am I crazy enough to try? (Or maybe, should I let myself be crazy enough to try...I have no doubt that I could muster that kind of craziness without batting an eyelash...)