Like The Queen
Whatever happens to strike my fancy, but surely some sort of fiber content.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]



Friday, April 11, 2003  

It's plied, washed and hanging to dry - about 200 yards of something that feels like cooked angle hair spaghetti. I'm so pleased with it. It's so different from what I usually spin. I forgot to measure the wraps before I washed it and it's wet right now so I'll do that tonight when I get home. Gonna be interesting to see what it comes to in yards per pound. I don't have the most accurate of scales but I have an idea it will be about 1,700 ypp.

I am ever amazed at what washing does to newly spun yarn. There are still a few very thin spots (at least, I found one) and I suspect I'll also find some places where a thin tight single wrapped around a thicker less twisted bit, but all in all it is a very pretty even looking yarn. So - I wonder what in heavens name I can do with it - or if I ought to spin up more of this thin stuff. For sure, if that's what I decide I will finally have to put the new drive band on my wheel.

When I bought HeyBaby last summer, in my ignorance, when I set the drive band on the larger whorl, the tension block was so far from the wheel that when I tried to put the drive band on the smaller whorl it was too loose to turn the wheel. But the knot was too tight to untie and I didn't want to cut it, in case there wouldn't be enough band left to work the wheel at all. I ordered a new drive band but in the mean time, I've been spinning very happily on the larger whorl, making yarn I like that knits up at a respectable 4 stitches to the inch. No need to change what's working, right?

Once I got the hang of drafting out this fine yarn, though, I had to pump like crazy to get up any speed. I didn't really feel like going all that fast while spinning the single- though I could have done so fairly comfortably. But when I came to ply - ahh - then I really wanted that smaller whorl. HeyBaby treadled very fast but I didn't like the tense feeling both of us got as I pumped away. It would be far more efficient to get more turns on the flyer for each treadle - for both the wheel and my leg!

So now, up comes a familiar bessbogeyman. I hate to upgrade technology. I only just updated my office computer from '95 to XP. I know, I know, every macine in the library had already been '98, 2000, and XP. But my computer was working just fine, thank you very much, so why should I change? I drive ancient cars. I have rake handles made from stripped saplings. I just hate to change my machinery till it truly no longer works. And unless I'm going to spin more fine yarn there is no reason to change the drive band. The new one can sit patiently in my cabinet. Besides, what if I make the change and it doesn't work and I've cut the old drive band and it doesn't work anymore either. Then what do I do? It'll all be ruined, ruined! Just because I just wouldn't be satisfied!

Heh. harumph. hrmmmm.

Makes me sound like BigDarling who won't go to the doctor because doctors make you sick. (not "doctors identify your illness, mind you - by naming it, they give it to you)

Okay. well. Everybody has his quirk. I could be a clean freak or something. There are worse things than being a Luddite.

Coda:
I can't tell for sure till I swatch, but I think this new yarn wants to be a lace christening cap.


posted by Bess | 7:43 AM
links
archives