![\"IMG_20151012_130402_clr_trm_sm\"](\"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_20151012_130402_clr_trm_sm.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTo this:<\/p>\n
Dad’s skein winder came in handy yet again.\u00c2\u00a0 These were really big, full jumbo bobbins!\u00c2\u00a0 And they made really big hanks of yarn.<\/p>\n The next day I put them into a hot soapy bath to set the twist and wash away the lanolin and grime from the fiber milling machines.\u00c2\u00a0 My fingertips were coated with stuff after each spinning session, so I knew the yarn would be a little grimy.\u00c2\u00a0 Lets just say the bathwater was not pleasant after each soak.\u00c2\u00a0 But the finished yarn was!\u00c2\u00a0 So soft and springy!\u00c2\u00a0 The sun cooperated for a bit, so I hung the yarn out to dry in the (relatively) warm breeze.<\/p>\n Here’s the finished yarn.\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t it a lovely neutral?\u00c2\u00a0 (I can hear Mom groaning from 1000 miles away.)\u00c2\u00a0 No, I don’t wear neutrals exclusively.\u00c2\u00a0 But if I’m going to spend all of this time to spin and knit a sweater, I want it to hang around for more than a couple of years.\u00c2\u00a0 Right?\u00c2\u00a0 Right.\u00c2\u00a0 So, no trendy colors in this particular project.\u00c2\u00a0 The final yardage count comes in at 738 yards of DK weight yarn.<\/p>\n Ready to get knitting then?\u00c2\u00a0 Not quite yet.\u00c2\u00a0 The yarn turned out exactly like I planned… except in one of the critical areas.\u00c2\u00a0 The yardage is not as much as I hoped and needed for the particular sweater pattern I had picked out.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently I need some practice with estimating fiber quantities for spinning projects.\u00c2\u00a0 File that in the Lessons Learned folder.<\/p>\n What to do, since I’ve got about half of the amount of yarn needed for my sweater?\u00c2\u00a0 My goal was ~1500 yards.\u00c2\u00a0 1) I could supplement with another yarn, making the sweater multi-toned or multi-colored.\u00c2\u00a0 2) I could pick a different sweater pattern, based on the yardage I have.\u00c2\u00a0 3) I could spin more yarn.\u00c2\u00a0 In this case, I picked the third option.\u00c2\u00a0 The mill where this fiber was processed is local, and I knew they would be at the local fiber festival this past weekend.\u00c2\u00a0 So I popped into their booth, did a quick spot check for color, and acquired an additional 12 ounces of fiber.\u00c2\u00a0 Crossing my fingers that I can replicate my work to produce two more hanks that will match closely enough to the first two that they can be used in the same project.<\/p>\n Whew!\u00c2\u00a0 Ready to do it all over again?\u00c2\u00a0 Not yet.\u00c2\u00a0 I think I need a palette cleanser first.\u00c2\u00a0 Next up, more fiber festival adventures and an exploration of color.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plying those 12 bobbins of singles was quick (ish) work.\u00c2\u00a0 In one industrious evening, staying up late to cross the finish line, I plied everything up into two large hanks of yarn.\u00c2\u00a0 I was too excited about how it was … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n