Sunday, May 18, 2008

The perils of spinning to order

Just when I think I'm getting the hang of this spinning thing, the spinning gods manage to give me a light smack across the cheek to remind me that I still have a long way to go.

A while back I exchanged a few emails with Oiyi about doing some spinning for her. She had some merino that she had bought with the intention of learning how to spin, but she had never been able to find the time to do it. Nevertheless, she did want to see the wool spun up. We arranged a trade, and shortly afterward, I received these in the mail.

sc braids
We discussed the possibilities for spinning these up. It was clear that the two blue ones could be spun together to make a 4 oz. skein, but it seemed best to spin the pink one on its own. Oiyi said she would like the yarns to be in the sport-DK range. No problem, said I. (You can probably see where this is going.)

sc pf skein macro
Fiber: Skeintily Clad 100% merino, "Peacocks on Broadway" and "Aegean Fantasy" (plied together)
2 ply
250 yards
116 grams

sc ss swirl
Fiber: Skeintily Clad 100% merino, "Sonoran Sunset"
3 ply (Navajo/chain plied)
116 yards
65 grams

sc both skeins
If you look at the specs, you'll see that both of these yarns ended up closer to worsted weight than sport or DK. Oops. In my attempt to spin thicker than I normally do, I definitely overcompensated. While they're both nice yarns, I can't help being just a little disappointed.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my fingering weight spinning comfort zone for a while.

10 Comments:

At 5/18/08, 10:53 AM, Blogger peaknits said...

I think it is perfection - but I understand and appreciate your high standards. I think your spinning is amazing - as always! Do you arrange trade regularly? Just curious given my own little stash of roving...with no spining wheel - em.:)

 
At 5/18/08, 11:49 AM, Blogger Jodi said...

Just gorgeous! I love how the blues worked together.

 
At 5/18/08, 12:35 PM, Blogger aija said...

Oy, but they're gorgeous! I'm jealous of how round your yarns end up looking. I've been meaning to ask-- do you spin with a short forward draft, or...?

 
At 5/18/08, 5:28 PM, Blogger bockstark.knits said...

They look soooo squooshy! I think she will be happy with it anyways, they're gorgeous!

 
At 5/18/08, 8:06 PM, Blogger Jeri said...

We can't necessarily tell that they are closer to worsted by the weight and yardage. How are the wraps per inch?

Somehow my heavy worsted is very heavy as in grams per yard but only a bit heavy in terms of wraps.

 
At 5/18/08, 8:58 PM, Blogger Bea said...

They are lovely. I'm sure she will love them.

 
At 5/19/08, 7:13 AM, Blogger bookgrump said...

Those are pretty! Hopefully she'll still love them.

 
At 5/19/08, 5:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

They both look beautiful, but I can sure understand and sympathize with the situation. I've been smacked myself.

 
At 5/19/08, 5:44 PM, Blogger Elemmaciltur said...

I love both of them!

 
At 5/28/08, 12:01 AM, Blogger Oiyi said...

You should not be disappointed. They still came out great!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home