{"id":595,"date":"2015-08-13T13:34:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T20:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/?p=595"},"modified":"2015-08-13T13:34:09","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T20:34:09","slug":"fiber-sampler-corriedale-cheviot-jacob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/?p=595","title":{"rendered":"Fiber Sampler – Corriedale, Cheviot, & Jacob"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once all the traveling was done, I took a short break from knitting to spin a few more of the fiber sampler bundles.\u00c2\u00a0 These are quick little spinning adventures designed to help me learn about the different sheep breeds and their fiber characteristics.\u00c2\u00a0 One of the Ravelry groups was hosting a little spinning contest where folks could gain one entry per single breed spun during the given time period (no fiber blends, no yardage requirements).\u00c2\u00a0 This sort of thing is wonderful for lighting the fire of enthusiasm.\u00c2\u00a0 For this adventure I chose the Corriedale, Cheviot, and Jacob fiber samples.<\/p>\n

First up was the Corriedale<\/a> sampler.\u00c2\u00a0 My sample had a longer (4-5″) staple length and medium-soft feel.\u00c2\u00a0 It spun up easily and beautifully into very strong singles.\u00c2\u00a0 I chose to try a mix of plying techniques with this one to see which would be best for the fiber type – 3-ply, 2-ply, and chain-ply.\u00c2\u00a0 All of them are soft and bouncy, but I prefer the 3-ply over the others in this case.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_20150724_103129_clr_sm\"<\/a>Next out of the bag was the Cheviot<\/a> sampler.\u00c2\u00a0 My sample was medium-soft and fluffy, but not as sticky to spin as the Cormo.\u00c2\u00a0 It made a nice fluffy single, which I spun onto 2 bobbins.\u00c2\u00a0 The 2-ply retains the bounce and fluffiness of the original fiber.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_20150728_152758_clr_sm\"<\/a>The smaller skein is a chain-plied bit from the leftovers on one of the bobbins.\u00c2\u00a0 I can’t seem to load an even amount of yardage onto each bobbin, so I nearly always end up with a bunch of leftovers.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s likely that using a scale to weigh my fiber when I split it might help, but I have yet to try it.\u00c2\u00a0 (Silly me!)<\/p>\n

Last out of the bag (for this adventure anyway) was the Jacob<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Jacob sheep are always multicolored, but my sample must have been pulled from one section of a fleece or multiple fleece sections of a similar color, because it was a uniform medium heather grey.\u00c2\u00a0 I finished this one just prior to the close of the contest, so it may have suffered from a small bit of hurry-up-will-ya!\u00c2\u00a0 That doesn’t seem to have affected my happiness rating with the fiber.\u00c2\u00a0 This was another super easy fiber to spin.\u00c2\u00a0 It made three bobbins of strong, rustic singles.\u00c2\u00a0 The resulting 3-ply yarn retains the rustic qualities, and has much more yardage than expected.\u00c2\u00a0 (These are all 1 ounce bundles – it’s amazing how some fiber is heavier than others, and therefore doesn’t go as far.)<\/p>\n

\"IMG_20150728_152610_clr_sm\"<\/a>And then it was a good thing that the contest was closing, because I lost steam with the spinning.\u00c2\u00a0 Time to return to the knitting!<\/p>\n

For the fiber folk:<\/p>\n