Posted under spinning
It seems as though my startitis has not been limited to just one hobby. Knitting with my own handspun yarn has inspired me to continue spinning my own yarn for future projects. Even though I already had a spinning project waiting in the wings, I decided that I wanted to spin yarn for another shawl. So I dug into my stash and came up with something different.
When I mentioned to a friend that I had decided to spin some thrums into a laceweight yarn there was some derisive laughter involved, but I decided to persevere and see what I could come up with. Even if I couldn’t come up with a laceweight, I thought a fingering weight would still be useful for a shawl.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though I couldn’t get the thrums to spin as fine as I would like it, it still spins into a consistently thin single. I’m not sure if I’m getting a laceweight or not, but the singles are about 24 wpi (wraps per inch). I’ll most likely use this as a 2-ply, so if anyone knows what weight yarn that will come out to, please share!
This fiber is soft to the touch and very easy to draft. There are little neps of different colors that I have to watch out for, but other then that it’s been smooth sailing. I got this quite a few years ago and I was afraid that it might have felted a bit like some of my other fibers have, but it’s perfectly fine.
All in all, I foresee many enjoyable hours with this delectable fiber and my wheel!
P.S. Thanks to all of those who have emailed me about Hurricane Flossie. It was never really forecasted to hit O’ahu/Honolulu, but I was still nervous! It’s now been downgraded to a tropical storm. The island that was most effected was the Big Island. Thankfully there hasn’t been any major damage and I can now stop worrying so much since I have family in Hilo. Thank you again for all your concern!
Debi on 15 Aug 2007 at 1:35 pm #
Ok now for the BIG question….what on EARTH are you doing with thrums in Hawaii??? :)
Kat on 15 Aug 2007 at 1:49 pm #
Wow, that looks awesome!
Glad to hear that the storm has passed you by!
Knitnana on 15 Aug 2007 at 2:56 pm #
Very very pretty! I love those colors (and know nothing at all about thrumbs or spinning..)
SO glad you’re fine! I worry about friends far & wide!
(btw…thanks again for your encouragement on Catharina!)
(((hugs)))
Shelly on 15 Aug 2007 at 3:27 pm #
So glad to see you are getting a nice yarn and having fun. I am also glad your family is safe and Flossie lost some power too!
Keep spinning and working on those projects.
Dare I ask how the blocking of the Lunar Moth is going??
Meredith on 15 Aug 2007 at 4:12 pm #
Good work, Opal! I think it will be beautiful for shawl yarn, whether lace weight or fingering weight. I didn’t even think to email you about Flossie because I was positive it was going to fizzle out. I’m glad I was right!!!!! Especially since I’d forgotten you had family in Hilo.
Back to the kitchen for me…gotta wash those dishes!
mm
Jeanne on 15 Aug 2007 at 11:00 pm #
Very pretty! It makes me want to sit and spin!
Christine on 16 Aug 2007 at 2:49 am #
Whew! I was thinking about you. I knew you were connected somehow to Hilo and I was worried.
You make me want to learn to spin!
textillian on 16 Aug 2007 at 2:51 am #
Glad the worry is over about the storm.
How do you like drafting Thrums? I tried it years ago, and I found it kind of difficult, so much so that I gave half of it to the guild auction. The buyer at the auction found it difficult to work with as well. (I was using my Louet S10, and she was using a spindle.) I will have to check to see if I still have the yarn that I spun, or if I gave that away, too.
Your yarn looks great. I love the color.
Susan Pandorf on 16 Aug 2007 at 8:14 am #
Glad to hear you are all ok. Hope the big Island didn’t sustain too much damage. My husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary on the Kona coast. So lovely…
Blessings!
Roseann on 16 Aug 2007 at 11:01 am #
I’m so glad you and your family are safe during this challenging weather situation. I love your handspun thrums. I am guessing that your resulting yarn will be Koigu weight and there are plenty of nice shawls knit from Koigu. Beautiful spinning! I think I am coming down with a case of Startitis, too, perhaps it is contagious and spread via inspiring blogs….
Hattie on 16 Aug 2007 at 12:05 pm #
Ooooh pretty! I don’t really know what thrums are tho…gonna go look that up. It looks like it might be a fingering weight when you’re done, you could make socks!!!
nova on 16 Aug 2007 at 2:32 pm #
Now that looks like some very fine spinning right there. Good work Opal! I am glad that storm worries are lessened too.
Jane on 16 Aug 2007 at 5:12 pm #
Thank goodness you were OK. I think the singles from your Thrums look great! I like the colors in it and I think with the texture, the yarn is going to be really fun to knit with.