Wednesday 21 August 2013

Lock Spun Yarn



The next yarn off my Spinolution Mach11 Wheel.   This is spun straight from the locks no carding or combing.  I just tease out the locks and spin them using the slowest ratio on the wheel.  I then plied them to give a nice even spin and to strengthen the yarn.  Wensleydale wool is very smooth and the locks can pull apart after spinning but once it is plied it is a strong yarn. This yarn has a natural boucle effect.
I then kettle dyed the yarn using a rainbow method to give these rich colors.  I am going to call it  Markree Woodland , here in the North West of Ireland we have the most wonderful Temperate Rain Forests which are darkest green at this time of the year.  Very little bark showing as the trees are covered with ferns and mosses.
 I am not listing this yarn on Etsy as I am making very small amounts

Tuesday 13 August 2013

A Soft Morning



Starting to get the hang of my new Spinolution Mach 11 wheel and have spun this yarn using the high ratios.  It is 12 wpi  and this weighs 130 grams and has 270.5 meters.  It still takes much longer to spin than a thicker yarn but it would take hours if I tried to do it on my lovely old Donegal  and my leg would have to work really hard.  The yarn is a soft grey/purple with Sugar Plum Angelina through it.  It would knit up to make a beautiful evening wrap.   I have more to spin but each skein takes me at least 2 evenings to make.
I have listed it on Etsyhttps://www.etsy.com/listing/159496704/a-soft-morning-wensleydale-x-yarn-130?ref=shop_home_active



Sunday 4 August 2013

Is this Suitable for Doll's Hair?


These are samples of some locks that I have teased from my latest washed fleece.   I have taken photos of them to send to a client to see if they are suitable for dolls hair.  They are very long, that is an A4 sheet of paper so they are about 11 inches long but are they curly enough.  They should be super to lock spin and they will be very easy to flick card for worsted spinning.   I find it really difficult to get fibre suitable for locks.  Some fleeces work really well and this one looked perfect until I washed it