Friday, January 25, 2008

great wheel plying continued

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I'm finished, all that remains are the empty quills.

For the most part, the lazy kate I made for the Great Wheel is functional..but it is not without it's quirks. It needs tweaking. I ran into problems with removing and replacing the cops. It was humorous to me that my husband noticed this before I even started plying, and warned me that I should make adjustments to the kate, least I run into troubles. He is not a spinner, but I suspect that he watches me and observes what I am up to when I'm not looking. The kate will have to be modified before it works properly.

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It was not just the lazy kate that gave me trouble, sometimes it was the original construction of the cops. Several of them would snarl on themselves as I would unwind. I expect that with more practice, I will perfect my cop construction. Now that I know the size and shape that is desirable for plying, I will know what to shoot for when I am spinning. Being self taught has many disadvantages and time is lost on trial and error activities, but there are always lessons learned.

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Once I filled the spindle with the plyed yarn, I released the tension on the drive band from the wheel, and wound off directly to the nod. I then washed the skeins and blocked them to dry.

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Stats... Romney wool roving from Two Wool Crazy Ladies, one pound purchased at Endless Mountains Fiber Festival September 2007 ($28.00)

approx 1250 yards per pound of a soft woolen spun yarn with a wpi of 12 to 14

It is impossible to figure an accurate tpi..my plying is very inconsistent at this point in time (as is the overall yarn!)

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Not sure where this yarn is going from here...I think it needs to marinate in my wool basket for a spell....

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can say it's inconsistent all you want - I think it looks fabulous! And SOFT! but I thought Romney was fairly scratchy.

judy said...

Looks beautiful to me. That last picture with your very special needles, that was a show stopper. Did you burn the pattern?

pacalaga said...

It looks good to me! Like maybe a nice cabled sweater.

vi said...

looks wonderful
i have never spun on a great wheel
it looks so interesting

vi

Judy said...

Beautiful yarn! Can't wait to see what it becomes after it "marinates"!

cyndy said...

Elizabeth-
of all the longwool breeds...Romney has the finest fiber diameter. ...(the count may run from 40 to 48 which is 38.0 to 31.0 microns)..not next to the skin soft, but certainly nice enough for a sweater, hat or mittens...

Judy- yes, those needles have the pattern burned into the wood.

Pacalaga-oh my, i fear there are too many slubs for a cable!

vi-Great Wheels are interesting, by all means, give one a try if you get the chance.

Judy C- it may be destined for Audrey's shawl pattern!

Valerie said...

Beautifully done! Take a look at Jared's Pi Shawl. You may find it inspirational.

BTW...that top picture w/ the spent quills would make a great jigsaw puzzle!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Yummm, one of my favorite colors.

Those husbands often like to "fix" things. He must be mechanically minded. I am sure he keeps an eye on your progress he obviously thinks you are interesting.

Donna B said...

Hope you find a worthy pattern for your lovely yarn.

How do you know how to change your cop formation so that it doesn't tangle? I often have trouble with tangles.

finnsheep said...

Your yarn looks great! Do you have enough to do Audrey's shawl?

cindy said...

The quill picture is stunning as is the yarn. Pray tell what is the Audrey shawl?

Unknown said...

Hi! I really like your first picture, very interesting ;0)

The yarn is a beautiful grey!!!

Sharon said...

Your yarn looks great. Yes, it is hard when you are self taught, learning things takes longer, but I think the lessons are better learnt than if someone just tells you how straight off (although its easier that way!)

Anonymous said...

I'm still amazed at the scope of this project. Look at all the yarn you made, and without the convenience of a treadle or flyer!

I agree wholeheartedly with the earlier suggestion of a pi shawl, or maybe the hemlock ring blanket, if there's enough yarn for the project. (Have you seen Jared's? *sigh*...) There are also plenty of patterns in Folk Shawls that would be very appropriate for this beautiful handspun of yours. :-)

pacalaga said...

ps - you made my day. :-)

annmarie said...

you were admiring the blue and purple shades of the Shetland wool on my blog, and I've been admiring the greys, whites and browns in these photos. The colors remind me of the drive upstate to take my son back to school last weekend - all the rocks, bare trees, especially the birches - just lovely. :)

Joanne said...

So gorgeous! I love this yarn. You may also be overestimating your yarn's unevenness. Take some time to swatch with two or three different skeins. Just try out the cable pattern, or lace pattern you're thinking of. Handspun looks much more even when knit up than it does in the skein, in my opinion!

Anonymous said...

What! Has it really been this long since I last read your blog? And look what you've accomplished! The yarn looks very uniform from the first skein to the last. It'll be fun to see what it becomes.

Anonymous said...

PS I love what you've done with your needles! How were you able to burn the letters so neatly???

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