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The lazy kate type arrangement on my wheel is not really any good for plying, to be honest it is really just a bobbin holder, and only takes two bobbins anyway. I converted a sturdy shoe box into a nice alternative- finally a use for those bamboo straights that have not had a look in since I learnt about circulars! It also serves nicely to store my spare bobbins now I have emptied them.
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I managed to delete the photo of the singles, and obviously can't take another one as I spent a significant chunk of yesterday plying the lot. The two spindles on the right are filled with three ply (70g and 60g), the one on the left is the tail ends of the singles Navajo plied once one of the singles ran out (9g).
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sI am really quite ridiculously excited about these, they are not overtwisted or anything (this is a big achievement for me). Not quite as smooth as a commercial top/roving, but still reasonable.
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sThe photos were taken presoaking, it is all now sat in a big pot of water.
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The next step will be to dye it as it looks a kind of grubby grey and who wants a hat that looks dirty? I am obviously somewhat nervous about the dying step (non superwash is new territory for me), and to add to it I have a huge dilemma over what colour to go for. It needs to be a single, fairly plain colour. Currently I am toying with black or dark red, maybe with an undyed stripe. Annoyingly I have the perfect blue, but I have already used that on my brother in law's hat and I am not making them matching hats, would be odd.
ooooh, I vote for the red. I'm not a fan of dyeing black. Since the wool already has a natural gray tone, you should get a rich red and not that bright red that hurts your eyes.
ReplyDeleteTake your little skein and test the dye. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I'm your opposite because I dye very little superwash. Looking forward to the color you choose and the hat you knit.
Great job on the spinning!
Nice job on your plying. I personally find plying harder than spinning singles. Still haven't mastered it.
ReplyDeleteI too vote for the red. Wonder Gal is right, you should get a nice deep red with the grey tones you already have.
How incredibly gratifying to take raw fleece from sheep you know all the way to yarn. Your excitment is completly justified. And I am very impressed. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, how awesome! I also vote red. It's really hard to dye a solid black. Non-superwash is much easier for me, it takes far less dye to saturate it. I love it! GOod luck - can't wait to see the results!
ReplyDeleteJess
Definitely red. I love your shoebox Kate. I've been trying to figure out a way around buying one. Thanks!
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