Spinning My Wheels

I’m almost finished those little shoes, and let me tell you, I can’t wait to see the back end of them. It’s turned out to be one of those projects where my will to knit them has run out a long time before they’re finished, and they feel like a bit of a slog now – if you understand that by "a bit of a slog" I mean that every single time I look at them I think "Holy hell on wheels why is this not over." They are so last year.  To break up the monotony (and possible because I am really, really good at procrastinating)  I got to the wheel for the first time this year.

I had a braid of a beautiful BFL from Stone Edge Fibers. It was dyed in a pretty ombre – one that went from a dirty gold to a beautiful purple, and although purple usually isn’t my thing, this one spoke loudly to me when I saw it at the Fingerlakes Fiber Festival.

I’d been motivated by a really pretty sample that they had in their booth, a shawlette knit out of a handspun single, and I’d had it in mind that I’d do the same. (Note to people who sell fibre – samples WORK.) Thing is that when I sat down at the wheel, I remembered two super important things about singles. I don’t like spinning them, and I don’t like knitting them. Some knitters don’t mind the way that they bias, and are a more "active" yarn, but me, I like my yarn to do as it’s told, and I didn’t want to have a yarn with an opinion that big.  I settled on a two ply, but wanted to preserve the colour change from the braid in the yarn.  I split the roving down the centre (as equally as possible) and started.



When it was done, I was so excited that I ignored the rule about letting singles rest before you ply them, and did it straight away.  Mine were off the wheel for as long as it took me to take this picture.

I know, I know. I’ve checked, asked around and verified a thousand ways that it really is better to wait a day or two, let the twist in the single quiet down and go to sleep a little, but I’m seldom able to wait, and nothing terrible has ever happened.  Plying might be a little easier if you delay, but plying the "active" singles together has never seemed really hard to me, and I like my results,  so it’s a rule I feel free to ignore. Your mileage may vary. (This tendency I have to be disobedient if you can’t show me consequences is really not my best quality.)

I’m delighted with the result.  One pretty skein of a squishy, bouncy, fingering weight yarn that totals about 220 metres.

Like the braid, it goes from ochre yellow, through sage green, onto a cherry/grape, and winds up royal purple.

Only two things are stopping me from casting on with it right now.

1. I have no idea what to make with it.
2. Those damned shoes.

Comments are still down, my pretties, but if you have an idea about what it would be good for, and you use twitter, there’s a place to tweet to me over there —>