Merino & Shetland

Hello Yarn Fiber Club March 2008
Colorway: Red Velvet
Shetland Wool Top 4 oz
2 ply, 120 yards

I should get a wpi tool and get a better idea of what weight things are turning out when the fiber is allowed to be whatever it wants to be. At 4 oz and 120 yards we are definitely in bulky territory. After reading Aldon Amos on plying I was plying the living daylights out of my yarn for a while. I decided to back it down on this batch and just ply until the yarn acted balanced. It looks good to me, but the final judgement comes in the knitting.



Pigeonroof Studios
Colorway: Verbena
Superwash Merino 4.2 oz
2 ply, 70 yards

I snatched this roving up because I wanted to try something from Pigeonroof Studios and her stuff sells out so fast. However this fiber really stretched my novice spinning skills. Merino is notorious for being soft, and the superwash process just makes it more soft and slippery. I was afraid to strip the top into smaller bits since the fiber was flyaway and seemed easily tangled. Next time I will try predrafting more as that will minimize the need to strip and also pull the stray fibers back in alignment. It amazes me that I could get so little yardage out of 4 oz - especially since side by side with the Shetland skein Verbena is smaller although it weighs more. Obviously I have a lot to learn about merino and loft.