Spinning up a storm

It's funny. When I started spinning yarn for a sweater, I thought that spinning would be a long, slow process. Turns out, it's not.

Two pounds of Coopworth top turned into this in almost exactly a month:


I finished washing and drying the sweater yarn last weekend, and then managed to wait until Wednesday before breaking into the new fiber (self control...ha!). I said last week that the top looks felted when it comes out of the dyepot. Does that not look felted? But, a little bit of fluffing, and it turns into a beautiful, puffy fiber, with no signs of felt.

I tried the bigger drive ratio, and the yarn is coming out a little bit finer than before (8.75:1 vs. 7:1), but I still have a ways to go before I'm producing fine yarn. I think (hope?) that this will be a little heavier than DK once plied. I guess we'll find out for sure when I set the twist!



I started spinning this on Thursday. I could finish tonight if I wanted to. I have 2 and a half bobbins full, and I only have fiber for three bobbins.This spinning thing is suddenly producing an awful lot of yarn. Not that I mind more yarn, of course, but it's a little scary for the non-stashing side of me to see this much yarn piling up so quickly.

I suppose this means that I should actually get some knitting done. I do intend to have some knitting content to show you soon, this being a knitting blog and all. Actually, I would have had some tonight, except that I forgot to take pictures earlier.

It's been a little easier to sink into spinning than knitting lately. I'm not sure why that is, except that spinning is a little newer and therefore requires a little more concentration. Maybe I need to pull out the lace knitting again, but that's a different kind of concentration. It's a counting and thinking sort of concentration, not a feel-fiber-run-through-your-fingers sort of concentration. Just a little bit different. Since I am in need of a little escapism through fiber, spinning seems to be a little bit higher on the to-do list lately, but I'm also looking forward to using the yarn I'm spinning, so hopefully there will be some interesting knitting to talk about soon.

So, the big question: what do I make with it?