I don't think I can stop...

We went cycling today for the first time in over a year. That was not a good plan, especially since I'm still recovering from a cold. Managed about 3 miles though, which is better than nothing. Celebrated with a glass of summer fruit squash.

In other news... Well, it's not news is it? I've been spinning again. I've finally plucked up the courage to spin something which isn't a plain colour. I still haven't done anything with the alpaca singles, but that will be dealt with.

So, back when I learnt to spin on a spindle, I bought some lovely fibre. I then put that fibre in a box in my craft room, the box stayed there before moving briefly to a friend's house while we moved, and then it moved back in with me. At last, I bought a spinning wheel, and the fibre could meet its destiny of becoming yarn.

So, the fibre (see previous post, I have no new pictures of the fibre itself) was spun over the course of a couple of evenings. I spun it pretty fine, I thought. I haven't measured the wpi (that's wraps per inch for the uninitiated) yet, but by length-to-weight ratio, it's around worsted weight again. I would have liked slightly finer.

First I spun two singles, I was hoping they'd be the same length as teach other, but it wasn't to be.

The colours look great, don't they?
Next, I plied the two singles with each other (and Andean plied the remainder with itself) to produce some pretty yarn.

which wound into a very pretty skein too.

 

Overall, even if it is thicker than I planned, I'm pretty pleased with this. I think it might be enough for a cowl or a hat of some sort, especially if it's lacy. However, before I jump in on that I need to measure the actual wpi of the yarn - to see whether it's different to what the average weight calculation I've done suggests. If it is, I might have to consider a different method, like actually measuring the wpi!

I'm back to the Corriedale now, but it feels rough compared to the Merino I have just spun. I have one more ball of Corriedale after this, but I do not love the colour at the moment, and I want to enjoy the spinning. So, much like with knitting I believe that even at the beginning you'll get further using the nice stuff. After all, I'm not going to knit with something that's rough either.

{edit}
So I measured the wpi and it comes out at about 12 - or "sport" weight - somewhere between DK and 4ply. How odd.