First, the WIPs. Durrow is moving along. It is slow, but enjoyable. Just need to pay lots of attention and follow the row by row instructions. Really, the stitch by stitch instructions, as it is not intuitive, but amazingly elegantly designed. This square is about halfway done. There are 6 more, plus two triangles before the simple stockinette body.
Then there is the Hitofude sweater. That pattern is easy to memorize, and I am chugging along on it. But the rows are very long and the yarn is thin, so I could knit all evening, and maybe have an inch of progress done!
It’s a little farther along than this shot shows, but not half way through this section yet. It will get there. No hurry.
The big finish since we last talked is the spinning. I really had fun with this spin, and it really flew, for me. Less than two weeks from first fuzz to finished skein! I bought this braid when I was in Wisconsin last fall, and I purposely chose colors that were outside my comfort zone, wanting to see how this whole spinning color thing works. I also wanted to see what all those white chunks did to the color. I have told you before how I divided it up, planning on spinning three roughly equal sections that would then be plied together.
I did everything according to plan.
Before too long, I had three bobbins full, ready to ply.
I thought the colors were interesting as I spun them, they blended, and the way the fiber was dyed lent itself to lots of marling and shifting colors. The three bobbins look very different, and the one that I thought would have long color runs, looked really different from the other two. (It’s the one on the left in the photo on the left.) Look at all those yellows and browns! I could not wait to see the skein of finished yarn
Here it is on the bobbin after plying.
The colors are really mixed up now, and so pretty!
Then I wound it off and skeined it, and washed it and I was astounded to find that I had made
Green yarn.
This was totally unexpected, by me at least! There are pops of other colors in there, for sure, and a healthy amount of blue, but very little yellow or brown.
Color me befuddled. I never expected this result. I am happy with it, and will experiment with colors again, but it is clear to me that I have a WHOLE LOT to learn about colors and drafting and spinning.
Take another look. It’s still hard for me to believe.
I can’t wait to see what happens when I knit it!
Surprising! I love the way it turned out though. Yes, I’m keen on seeing it knit up.
It will be a while but I will post it!
That yarn is just gorgeous! 🙂
Thank you!!!
Gorgeous yarn! I never would have guessed green looking at the many colors in the fiber.
Me neither! I am glad though, I like green. 😉
It is amazing to see how different the fluff looks from the yarn. I did a fractal spin but with two ply and the color changes are much more subtle than I expected. I often wonder what the dyer has in mind when they dye the yarns.
I know I have a long way to go in figuring things out with planning color changes in a larger item like a sweater. Have only knit a hat (almost finished)with my fractal spun yarn.
Your Hitofude will be beautiful!
I think that having the color repeats over lap each other when I ply accounts for lots of it. And the white just drafted into the color on two of the plies, making them lighter. One the ply with the most parts, I think I ripped it to 4 smaller pieces, the white stayed white. But it doesn’t show much in the finished yarn. I think this will be a hat or a cowl for sure. 😉
Goodness me, this is so exciting, one colour to another when it is spun, you are so clever. That knitting pattern in the first picture, how do you do it, so hard looking.
I am not sure about being clever, but it was fun! The Durrow shawl is very fussy but not really hard. It is done working one color per row, and slipping stitches. Of course there are increases and cables to make it interesting, but I just blindly do what the designer says and it seems to be working.
Wow I would have thought you would get a lot more yellow! Still it’s beautiful
I thought so, too. I think it blended with the blue and green to make more green. Not sure where the brown and orange went, though!
All of your projects are beautiful and amazing. You make me proud! Do you ever sleep? 😁😉
Lol yes I do! 8 hours a night. But I work on fiber every day. 😉
As do I, but you sure get a lot done. Good for you!
Thanks, Kendra!
It’s beautiful. It is also very surprising as there is very little white. I’m wondering if one or two of the dyes were not fixed properly…?
Oh, I think they were fine. But when I drafted, the white was pulled into the color, and the color into the white, so it made those sections a paler shade of the color.
I love reading about your spinning. I know zero about it and some of the terms, but with repeated exposure I’m learning. 🙂
Thanks, V_Lo! Keep reading, we will make a spinner of you yet! And FYI, I love reading about your life in SoCal, all that DIY and those cats, such fun!
Wow that is so cool how it turned into a completely different colour! I would not have expected green!
It is cool and makes me want to spin more like that, to see what they become.
Those color changes are a lot to get one’s head around–I wonder if you ever get to the point where you can predict what you’re going to get. It’s lovely at all stages but I simply would never guess that the finished yarn came from that roving (or whatever you call it at the unspun stage!)
I don’t know if I will ever get to the point of predicting, or of controlling how it comes out. All I can do is keep messing about, right? And yes, it is roving, or technically, top. But commonly called roving.
your home-spun yarn has turned out delightfully !!
thank you, Claire!
Lovely, all of your projects are lovely! Glad to hear about all the projects you are working on!
Thanks, fernwoodnursery! They seem small compared to all that you do at your place, but they fill my evenings. 🙂
I’d have been tempted to keep the braid just as is, like a little animal to pet in my lap – hah! The finished skein is gorgeous! I love the muted olive/green tone to it. Beautifully done!
Thank you! I do have some braids I can’t bear to part with even to spin! Bit I am glad I did this one.
Oh, I know those super long rows of the hitofude so well. So well! But, it almost feels like two separate projects. You’ll be pushing to get through those long rows, then you’ll connect them and feel like you are starting fresh. It’s pretty cool.
As for your spinning, I must admit I would have expected a far more gold toned yarn than a green toned yarn! But, that experience is absolutely why I keep spinning.
I know that the hitofude will be so worth it, but I do wish I was slimmer! Fewer repeats!
I am glad I am not the only one who thought this might be an autumnally shaded yarn, lol. Maybe when I knit it he yellow will show more.😉
Never met a person who didn’t wish she were slimmer! You’re just right – fewer stitches might be nice, though! 😁
Lol ain’t that the truth! This pattern has you knitting a long rectangle that gets folded to a tube of sorts. So the bigger around it has to go, the more inches wide it has to be.
We’ll just call them “beauty inches”! 😊
lol Sounds good!
Oh boy that Durrow pattern is somethin’ else. I like how roving is like a caterpillar. You don’t know what it’ll turn into until you metamorphosize it.
Ahh, good analogy!! I like that and will remember it when I knit it up. 😉
One of my friends told me I’d get much more into colour once I started spinning – your post shows me exactly why. 🙂 I’m currently diligently working on single colours working on getting nice even singles, but can’t wait to get to experimenting with colour. I also can’t wait to see what happens when you knit that skein 🙂
I agree with your friend – I am learning so much about color!
🙂
Your WIP’s are looking beautiful. I just love seeing that shawl come to life. So beautiful. It is amazing to see the difference in the wool after you have spun it. What a difference. Can’t wait to see you knit it up 🙂 Happy stitching!
thanks, Ginny! The shawl grows so slowly. But I do love it, and can’t wait for it to be complete so I can wear it. I am already thinking about what I can knit with that magical yarn. 🙂
Very interesting effect! It’s lovely, even if unexpected.
Thanks! I think it will grown on me.