Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day Spinning

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone got to enjoy a day off as much as I did! It was sooo gorgeous out... nice and warm.. and no clouds in the sky. I figured it would be a nice day to sit outside with my wheel and play with some of the new fibers from MA Sheep n Wool.

Of course, after 4 hours in the sun, with spf 30 sunscreen, I still ended up burning to a crispy red shade. Yay for being pasty. =(

I also somehow managed to get purple dye all over my hands and under my nails from the silk cap I was spinning. (I swear there wasn't even any purple in it!)

I started with the merino/cashmere from Spunky Eclectic in the mermaid colorway. I'm trying to spin it finer than i normally would. I love the bright hues of the green and blues. Not sure if I want to ply it back on itself or chain ply it. Will have to decide when I'm done.


And while I was working on that, I noticed I had a little visitor. I dub thee Charlotte. Checking out another spinner's work I see. Usually i would freak out and smush a spider. But we were outside and she wasnt' bothering me.. so I let her live. I mean, she was probably there for some inspiration right? Too bad she can't spin in such gorgeous colors.


I took a break from the merino/cashmere to try out a silk cap. It was calling to me, I swear. And look at the color difference in the sun! Yes this is the same dark colored cap I got from A Touch of Twist. (and do you see purple in there? I see blue, but no purple! I'm still trying to figure out how my hands got that color)

It was recommended to me to spin a cap from the end as opposed to peeling off layers like you would do to a hankie, so I attempted to do that. It drafted nicely but after a while I noticed no longer held a cap, I held a fluffy mas off fiber. I wondered if I was doing it correctly, but I figured I wasn't hurting anything if I wasn't and continued.


And just look at the colors that shone out! Ambers and brown and copper.. So pretty!!



While I was working on the cap, I heard voices behind me and a "what kind of animal did that come from anyways?" I peeked over my shoulder and saw both my parents in the window staring at me. "It's from a silkworm!" I replied, to which I got some confused looks. So of course I proceeded to inform my parents of how a silk cap is made. Haha. Shortly after my mother appeared in the yard wielding a disposable camera and began taking pictures. "What are you doing?" I asked. She said, "I want pictures! This is so different.. like in old times! And it looks relaxing..." I laughed at her and said "It is.. when there aren't cameras in my face!" I swear there's a spinner in her somewhere.. she looked too interested. lol

I finished spinning the cap.. it was only.. hmm.. well I'm not sure how much there was.. the label said "weight... 05" I dunno what that means? Its sitting on the bobbin waiting to be plied. I think I'm going to make a plying bracelet and ply it back on itself. I won't get much yardage out of it, but that's ok. Not sure what's going to happen to it yet either.

Now to apply more aloe to my poor shoulders and try and sleep!

1 comment:

Lilith Parker said...

I would guess that the "weight... 05" probably means half an ounce. As for the color, you have rusty red, you have deep blue, and they combine to make... purple! :)