Friday, January 15, 2016

Spinning Sentinel

I love starting a spinning project with an intention.  I have a newborn hat I want to design for my little boy.  I loved the bright colors of the June 2014 Superwash Bluefaced Leicester "Sentinel", the blues and oranges are bright and vibrant, perfect for a newborn photoshoot hat.  The colors are happy and the name is clairvoyant.  

 

I am hoping to get a really thick, possibly bulky, 2 or 3 ply yarn.  I am waffling over whether I should create a 2 ply from a center pull ball or if I should make a N-plyed yarn.  I think I'll wait and see how the singles come out before deciding how to ply this up.  


I'm going to spin Z singles (spinning the wheel clockwise as I spin)  I'm using the largest whorl setting (1:5 or 1:8, I can't remember).  I was having to treadle too fast to keep up with my drafting so I switched to the second largest ratio. My singles are thin enough (dk/worsted by look) that I think I will end up N-plying.


This yarn is pretty thick and thin.  I'm watching a republican presidential debate (I think the 4th one?) and it is streaming online so I can't use my TV in the living room, so I'm stuck in my knitting studio.  I can't sew since the machine is too loud for my puny laptop speakers.  Therefore I'm spinning. I've been meaning to do this project for ages anyway so having a chunk of time upstairs in the evening is perfect.  (I've been afraid to bring my wheel downstairs because it would be a prime toy for Lucky and I don't want a toddler to destroy my wheel!)


1 hr and 21 min into this debate and I'm done with my singles.  I'm ready to start N-plying... but I think I'll wait until the morning.  I'm pregnant and tired so I'm going to take this debate to a couch and lay down.


I started plying while watching Star Wars Episode 5.   The new movie is coming out and I am SUPER SUPER excited.  This is a perfect plying activity because N-plying doesn't take as much focus as the sweater I'm working on for Lucky right now.  I switched back to the slowest whorl to makes sure I didn't over ply and I'm getting a nice and thick yarn.  Maybe not super bulky, but certainly greater than worsted.


I finished the plying 20 minutes into the move, just as the imperial march was playing.   Pretty epic music to stop the end of plying!  I'm happy this project went so quickly, but wish that I had more to ply.  Now my hands are feeling really empty!


I transferred the yarn to my niddy noddy and washed with warm water to set the twist and then let the yarn dry.


41 wraps * 4 feet /wrap = 164 feet = 54 yards.


Apparently I didn't record the WPI of the singles or the finished yarn, but it is heavy worsted - bulky weight by eye.  I have an idea of something I can use this for the new baby but first I have to finish up a sweater for Lucky. Wish me luck!  


Spinning  begun and singles completed 11.10.2015
N-plying started 11.11.2015