Wool anyone?

I am spinning this yarn for my daughter.  It has been on the Louet S-10 for quite some time.  It came as very compressed top.  I tried to spin it that way with little success.  What I didn't realize at the time is that I like to spin woolen and top is for worsted!

I then began to make rolags, mixing the colors as I pleased, and I am very happy with the results.

You can see all the colors and some mixing of the colors too!  The finished yarn is in the first picture, with the rolags.  I hope to finish this up in the near future.

Here is an action pic of the wool after my first draft.

Here we are after I have added twist drafting the whole time.  This is the same bit of wool.  I use a supported long draw method, and I basically spin the same wt yarn all the time.  If I want to use a thicker yarn for a project, I just use a three ply.  I just bought a new book called "the Intentional Spinner" by Judith Mackenzie McCuin,  I am hoping to be able to vary my spinning on purpose, to get a different weight yarn when I want to.

Last fall  I demonstrated spinning at the "Blackberry Farm" in East Tn. during their Fall Festival.  I came away with 8 spools of unspun wool from the sheep there on the farm.  I have finally found a pattern that I think I can pull off and that will do it justice.  It is a pattern I found on Ravelry. It is one of Becky's Knitting Patterns,  "Transitions Yoke Cardigan".  She is interestingly vague about certain parts of the pattern, it makes it challenging.  For example, she says to increase 12 stitches evenly in the next row.   Most patterns will say, " increase one stitch after every 6th stitch"  or something like that.  Also when I go to separate the sleeve stitches from the rest of the yoke, she doesn't tell me even what percentage of stitches to use for the sleeves!  So I am really having to use the old noodle to work this all out.  I hope to have this top down sweater done for this fall when I go back to demonstrate at BBF.  I am using the yarn doubled.  The pattern has a garter stitch/st stitch pattern to the yoke, the body of the sweater is st stitch, and then you repeat the garter/st stitch pattern at the bottom of the sleeves and body.  I can see how you could do alot with this sweater, you could substitute lace for the garter stitch yoke, or you could do color work as well.  That is where the authors vagueness is a plus I suppose.

    Today, after I finish this post, I am off to the local farm store to buy more paint for the old shed.   It soaked up 2 gallons yesterday and is screaming for more.  I hope to finish all the painting this morning, since I am babysitting this afternoon for the grandkids, and it is supposed to rain tonight!

    Life is busy this time of year, I am keeping up with the blackberries. but the weeds are winning everywhere else.  I am busy with outdoor duties and family stuff, so that the weaving is not progressing much.  Plenty of ideas up in the studio, just not much time.  It isn't going anywhere though, I know where to find it, I just have to make the time!

Until next week, Happy Weaving, Tina

Logged 10.5 miles this week, one step at a time. (That first step is the hardest one every day!)