Another Day, Another Skein of Handspun

Another skein of handspun washed, dry, and ready for its close up. It was spun just to be spun. Well, kind of. When I first dug the fiber out of my stash, I wanted to see if I could spin a fingering weight yarn on my wheel using my current whorls. So far, everything I’ve spun has ranged from sport to heavy worsted. The skeins’ random thin bits don’t really count. The last intentional fingering yarn I spun was on a spindle during Tour de Fleece 2013. After playing around with the settings, I was sure I’d figured out how to spin a fingering yarn. I put on the smallest, fastest whorl I had, 11:1, and set a high take-up. The only thing left to do was start spinning.

What I ended up with is definitely not a fingering weight yarn. What it definitely is, is a sport weight with sections of fingering and worsted mixed in. The yarn is beautiful and soft, but not really what I was going for. Oh well. Might teach me to start spinning small sample skeins before starting a project. Who am I kidding? That’s never going to happen when I’m spinning a single 4 oz bump of fiber.

Those precious little bumps of fiber are one-off pleasures. Usually, I’m not spinning with a specific project in mind. I spin them to enjoy the process and do something with wool. I want to enjoy the color and the feel of fiber moving through my hands. Of course, I want the yarn too but said yarn is a finished object of its own. It isn’t just a step in the larger process of a shawl of a sweater. It needs to be appreciated as yarn first before it morphs into something else. Plus, I feel like I’m wasting that tiny little bit I’d be tearing off for a sample.

I’m sure I’ll be more scientific and detail-orientated when I start spinning for large projects that  require more than 1 skein. I’ll take notes and spin sample skeins. I promise. Until that happens, I’ll enjoy the process and the inevitable stash enhancement.

The Specs

Fiber: Spunky Eclectic Handpainted Falkland

Color: Diesel

490 Yards

Sport Weight; 12-13 WPI