PS. While I was in Jacksonville I met a knitter named Renee doing her thesis on knitting. (I bet some of you who were there remember her.) She needs volunteers to fill in her survey so that she can validate her theories. If you have a minute, can I ask you to help her out here? It's interesting work, and good for all of us.The reason I had to copy part of her post, rather than just paste in a link, is because I've already taken the poll and - apparently - you can't go back to the link and get to the first page of the poll in order to copy the link! Weird, but whatever... Anyway - the poll was fun and I urge everyone to help out a fellow knitter and go take it!
In the meantime, I've been working away on my carder, still fluffing up the 50/50 silk/merino laps I got from Leah at Yarn Or A Tale. I've also been adding a bit of glitz and glam, and more silk noils. So far, it looks great, even if it is blue (and I don't even like blue usually), and I've named the whole shebang "Winter's Day".
I wish the top layer showed up better - it looks kind of 'nothing' in the photo, but it's a very pale, pale blue. The next 2 layers are grey, and the bottom 2 are medium blue and bright blue. I still have to card up a plain white batt - wish I could find a brilliant true-white for this particular color mix. I'm afraid that a 'natural' white will just end up looking yellowed next to these clear, cool blues and greys. Any suggestions? Anybody? And don't say bombyx - I can't afford that (don't I just wish!). I also wish the opal, silver and blue Angelina fibers had shown up, but those are very hard to photograph. Oh, well. I tried. You guys know what a rotten photog I am.Funny, isn't it, how one's color likes and dislikes can change drastically after you start working with fiber? I still can't wear blue, grey, purple or black (they make me look like I should've been buried yesterday), but I kind of like working with them. It's nice to not 'hate' certain colors - I was never easy with 'hating' colors as color has been such a huge part of my World Perception ever since early childhood. Color really can affect my mood (big time!), so it has been so freeing to quit 'hating' colors merely because I don't look very good in them.
I don't know yet whether I'll be keeping it to make up or just sell the batts on Etsy. It's a great honkin' wad, whatever I do with it. I soooo want to spin it up, but... there's something else I want even more. It's this and I need to save up (a lot!) to get it.
I've also been playing a bit, finishing up some left-over stuff from the bobbins. I made my FIRST cabled yarn - and it's gorgeous! I made it from the tiny leftover ball of Z-spun singles I used to ply up for my Morning Surf Scarf (Finn top). It was so totally blah, I just about threw it away. Instead, a lightbulb came on and I thought: I've never made a cabled yarn - let's see what one looks like! I knew the original 2-ply was supposed to be really tight (and this was waaaay too loose), so I ran it back through (again, S-plying) onto another bobbin. Then, putting that tightly-plied 2-ply into a center-pull ball, I then re-plied it onto itself (Z-twist). Et voila! A gorgeous 4-strand cable yarn! I had NO idea it would look so lovely! The colors, rather than barber-poling (which usually doesn't look so wonderful), it becomes beautifully speckled and streaked - almost 'tweedy'. I never really liked cabled yarns before. I think I've found a new love ☺
Wanna see 'my first yarn'? It's in the photo, next to the cabled beauty. Actually the plain white strand was my first single I ever spun, and I later plied it with my 2nd-ever single, made from a colorful batt provided by my first spinning teacher, Dawn Jones of Custer Cottage! Dawn is a dear-heart and so very, very generous and kind.
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