True worsted

I'd been meaning to try producing some 'true' worsted yarn, and today actually started.  The intent is to spin enough for a skein to enter into the Maryland Sheep and Wool competitions.  Instead of making batts with the drum carder, this involves a little more manual labour in combing the locks before drawing out the top with a diz.

Until now the locks were flicked open and then run through the drum carder which, while doing a very nice job of aligning the fiber does not produce the real true worsted wool, which has every single fiber running in the same direction for absolute consistency when spun (using, needless to say, a worsted draw).

Now that Anne has sorted the locks, post washing, into the very best, and then the rest, I have a large supply at hand.

Locks, diz, and comb ready to go

Comb loaded

First time through (locks reversed)

Second time through (tips now out)

Top ready for spinning

Spun singles

The competition calls for a skein of 2oz minimum (for the typical weight of my three ply yarn), so I'll need to produce at least another 5 of this amount.

New Project

We have a combined baby shower and housewarming to attend next month so I decided to weave a baby blanket as something a little out of the ordinary (they may get other blankets, but I'm guessing no other hand woven ones).

I took the easy option by ordering a 'kit' from Yarn Barn (see: www.yarnbarn-ks.com).  They supply the yarn, in this case 8/2 orlon (very washable), and the pattern/loom dressing instructions.

'The kit' as it arrived.

It took a day to wind the warp (684 ends) as per the instructions, and once I started dressing the loom I found only one wrong count, but it was easily fixed by balancing the other same colour stripes!

Warp on the frame - counting off the colours.

Putting it on the loom took a few nights (an hour at a time after work - the fiddly work/number of warp threads meant that was about all I could handle).  Then it was sleying the reed (two further sessions) and finally some weaving.

The first inch (light green) as a test

Now I can get stuck into the 'easier' part of weaving the 50" or so of blanket, then finishing.

Dyeing with food dyes

At the last Third Thursday spinners meeting one of the group brought along some Clun Forest that had been spun and then dyed using food colouring.  Something I will have to try myself.

Red white and blue with knitted sample

Fine dining

All weaving takes energy - luckily I am being fed well so there isn't any danger of running out of steam.  Guess which day this meal was on.

Starter with Berry Blast Rum daiquiris

Main: Branzini & red lentils, onions, beets.

Desert: sweet risotto

Back to washing

It's been a while - but we've started cleaning (scouring) the raw wool again.

2 lb of clean wool

 The wool we are scouring is from the 'No.1' fleece - by far the cleanest fleece of the 30+ we received.  Some of it could almost be spun directly from the fleece - making a naturally greasy yarn (waterproof jersey?).  Probably not!

Typical lock (washed)

First knitting

A little while back I spun some 3-ply variegated wool from mixed batts of white, light blue, and dark blue - random amounts into each single and then the three together formed the 'mixed-up yarn.'

My last knitting experience would have been at about 9 or 10 (or maybe earlier?); taught by my mother who knitted constantly all her life.  Needless to say I didn't actually remember anything other that it took two needles and some wool!  Ignorance is bliss, so after a quick visit to an internet site to find out how to cast on/off and knit and purl I was away (I had a pair of needles that I had bought at an op shop to hold bobbins while winding singles of wool onto other reels).  Coincidentally they were about the right size for the guage of wool.

The test swatch

While not the neatest knitting - at least it proved that the wool can be knitted.  I think the slightly more 'relaxed' two ply that I am making should be even better. The next test will be with it, and will hopefully be less painful than this effort.  Then on to something practical - a hat perhaps?