Friday, March 15, 2013

A Denim Spin

I've been scouring my studio, determined to spin much of my stash in readiness for the fiber lovers favorite season, spring shearing! So very, very long ago I bought a pound of roving, it's main recommendation was that it contained shredded denim fiber. This caused me to be blinded to the flaws of the roving as a whole...it happens. I've used bits of this roving carded in with other batts for texture and for the nice, dark denim color. I came across this in my stash, and found a small, partially filled bobbin. Good enough for me, I'll finish this spin, I thought. Wrong, the shredded denim fiber and color is the best thing about this fiber, otherwise it is quite coarse feeling, I hope it is only that the dye was not completely rinsed and that it will soften up when I wash the yarn to set the twist. Along with this, the other fibers blended with it are very short. After filling one small bobbin, I took the remaining roving and carded it with some super soft fibers that I had processed and dyed myself, some alpaca, merino, and finnsheep, plus gorgeous, luminescent rivers of pure white silk and of course angelina. It's spinning up beautifully. I am working on my second large bobbin, intending to ply this as a two ply. But what to do with the small bobbin spun from the original roving? I think I will first reel off a small hank and wash it to see how/if it improves the hand of the fiber. If it has softened up enough to feel, close to the skin soft, I will dye some silk to thread ply it as a balanced two ply. If not, I may have to pair it with a super soft single to compensate for any roughness. Either way, it will make a nice companion yarn for my current, uber soft spin, presently in the works.

I can hardly wait to read what you have all been working on this week! 
Blessings Friends!

2 comments:

  1. It sounds like a clever way to manage the texture. The color is delicious!
    XO-

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a pretty yarn! Happy Spring!

    ReplyDelete

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I'm a crafter, knitter, tinkerer, who always seems to have a project or two on the launch pad. I love to share what I'm working on and I love to see what other folks are working on too, so please comment and let me know where I can see your latest creation!