I picked up Bug from camp this morning, and she heads back tomorrow. Of course, that means that we’ve got about 24 hours for the insanity of washing all clothing and bedding, just to repack it all for tomorrow. And, this means that Miss Bug must catch up on her chores and work on her room. Thankfully, we seem to be doing pretty well. Unfortunately, this has left very little time for spinning.

However, I did have a brief half hour to spin on the porch with my coffee this morning. So, I’ve got a progress picture. Hopefully I’ll have more spinning time tomorrow. And, maybe I can finish the first half of this current project.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve chosen my next fiber and project from A Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs. I focused on a beaded chain ply. I split the fiber in half, assuming that it would be easier to handle that way, but there’s no telling, I might need to split it more once I get started on the chain plying. For now, this seems like a good start.

After a somewhat crappy day at work yesterday, I left work only to realize that the day was glorious! Not as humid, significantly cooler, and sunny. So, I grabbed my wheel and a glass of wine and did a bunch of spinning on the lawn. The above picture was where I started, and I worked all the way back across the bobbin through two more colors. After that, I decided to head inside and be a bit more productive, before Mr. Ink made me dinner. Spoiled, I am.

I also managed to finish my latest drop stitch scarf, which should be appearing on the blog once it is washed and blocked, and I wound the hawser ply yarn because I just cannot wait to play with it! Exciting summer crafting days!

I am done! Done done done! And I think it went pretty well overall. 8 oz of The Dyeing Arts superwash merino duos in Goblin Seas. I ended up with 360 yards of hawser 4 ply yarn.

I washed it and finished it yesterday, and then hung it out to dry. I couldn’t stop going outside to look at it, so bouncy and beautiful was this skein of amazing and unusual yarn.

I’d call it a smashing success.

In fact, I am almost done knitting the second drop stitch scarf, and I am fairly certain this yarn is going on the needles next. I’ve managed to even find a fabulous cowl pattern for it.

This whole expanding my spinning horizons really seems to be working for me!

Well, not precisely. But, a day of being in my own space, quietly, no matter how busy it got. So, it is restful.

My plan was to get up fairly early and mow, then do yard work, while the weather was still cool and comfortable. But, we got a major surprise storm that just sort of sat over our area most of the night, causing massive amounts of water in basements and some flooding in various areas. The rain was intense! I had to run to my car in it when it began, and I ended up looking like I’d just jumped into a pool. I wasn’t even out in it 30 seconds.

Needless to say, it was still far too wet this morning to consider mowing. Instead, I decided to tackle the yard work. I had some vines growing, and Mr. Ink was concerned one of them might be poison ivy. He’s highly allergic, and I’ve never had it. So, I yanked those out. Then I proceeded to yank out all sorts of weeds and grasses in my garden, and some junk trees trying to take hold around the yard. It was the perfect day for it, the ground being so saturated that those junk trees came out roots and all (and I measured, some of the roots were 3 feet long!

But, because I didn’t have to mow, I had extra spinning time! And since it was still cool and comfortable, I could do that spinning on the porch. So I pulled out the hawser ply project. When I’d left it, I was working on the final 2 oz. of a total of 8 oz. I had to finish that, then ply 4 of the oz. together.

Since this plying was in the same direction as I spun the singles, they are all squirrely and difficult to control. But, then, I ply both those two plies together in the other direction to create the hawser ply yarn. Do you want a sneak peak? Because I’ve gotten one bobbin finished.

Of course it still needs to be washed and set, but I won’t be bothering with that until I am done plying. Hopefully tomorrow. My observations thus far? It’s amazing to me that a 4 ply can so closely resemble a 2 ply. The 2 plies are so comfortably meshed that they resemble just one ply. Of course, this could all change during a washing, so I’ll wait to see how it all shakes out.

But, I must say, it’s pretty exciting! I am loving trying something new. It inspires me to continue to along these lines for added inspiration.

Awhile back I won a hipstrings spindle and some cotton. It was quite a surprise! And a lovely one at that. While I’ve been using the spindle quite a bit, in fact, it’s turned into one of my favorites, I’ve not been using it to spin cotton. Until now.

I decided that since sometimes lately spinning feels “old” to me, or at least doing the same type of spinning over and over seems stale, I need to expand. Of course, the hawser ply project is part of this, but I wanted something that wasn’t wheel spun as well, since sometimes I just want to kick back with my feet up and spin.

I know, I know. What is on the spindle isn’t much. However, my inexperience with cotton has me spinning quite slowly. I decided right off the bat I am ok with slubby, as cotton tends to be. However, even with the amount on there, I can already see it evening out into a better yarn.

Of course, last night, there was no crafting time, none tonight, and none tomorrow night. So, sadly, the blog may be a bit sparse until I have some crafting time this weekend.

I finished plying the first 4 oz of singles for my Hawser ply. Again, these are Z twist singles plied with a Z twist, so they look a little funny.

I do think you can get a pretty good idea about the colors though. I love them. I had been so reluctant to ply this as a duo, but in the end, I think it is fantastic. Another odd thing happened, I had the most even singles I think I’ve ever spun, as I had just a tiny bit left of the second 2 oz.

That’s it! I did, of course, add it right into the plying bobbin because you know I cannot waste yarn. It’s not possible.

I’ve had a very rough couple days at work. Not that they were intentionally busy, but between dealing with people who are difficult by their very nature, and a little helpless, paired with a time that just seems busy in general, it has felt overwhelming. So, my goal last evening was to finish the plying, start the second set of singles, and drink beer outdoors. It was a lovely evening, not hot. I did a few other things like weeding the garden, and making dinner, but for the most part I was outdoors enjoying the fresh air, the solitude, and the crafting time.

By the time my evening was done, I had more than half of the 2 oz of predominately blue singles completed. I’ll be able to finish this tonight and hopefully start on the final set of singles. Then maybe next week I’ll actually have a Hawser Ply yarn.

I am almost done with the first bobbin of twisty squirrely 2 ply for my Hawser Ply project. But, not completely done. Hopefully I’ll have a picture tomorrow. It’s been interesting, and fun so far.

In the meantime, it is time for me to start a new project. I know I’ve mentioned her a number of times before, but as a reiteration, my friend Marja is a spinner. She is not a knitter. She doesn’t knit at all, but I taught her how to spin on spindles because I thought she’d love it. And she does. She is also now the proud owner of a wheel and has been spinning for more than a year. It is amazing to me how much yarn a person who does not knit can produce in spinning. Meaning, ALL her craft time is devoted solely to spinning, which means she produces tons of yarn. That she, have I mentioned it? Does Not Knit.

Which means it is time for me to start knitting her yarn. She’s an insanely helpful person in general, but specifically, she watched Miss Bug while I was in Utah. And I am hoping to return the favor by knitting some of her yarn into finished objects that she can wear or give away.

I am starting with some yarn that she has identified as being the preferred colors of a person in her life, and she wants a scarf to give away. I am eager to have a new project. While I should have taken a picture in skein form, I forgot. So, now I’ve got 3 balls of yarn to show off, and they are indeed gorgeous!

I can’t wait to get started!

In other news, it was just over a year ago when I was headed out on a camping trip with Miss Bug, all stressed out because I don’t camp. I felt entirely out of my element and while I knew I’d get through it, I also knew it might be really hard work. I’ve camped as an adult, but just not in a form that was particularly difficult. For instance, I camped on RAGBRAI, but I didn’t have to carry stuff with me and cook meals over an open fire. I just slept in a tent. The setting up of the tent, the using it, and the breaking it back down was the full extent of my adult camping experience.

Well, I took Bug on that weekend trip, and while it was difficult, we had a good time. And, I’ve camped quite a bit since then, in various capacities. I’ve finally decided it is time to get my own tent. This camping thing has decided to stick. I enjoy it too much to stop.

We set up our new tent for the first time last evening. It is huge. It is awesome. We are happy.

Heh, I was going to end the blog post here, but just noticed how large Miss Bug’s hands look in the middle picture there. Someone is growing up quite quickly.

Yesterday was quite cool, weather wise, for this time of year here. I couldn’t help but spend a good portion of my day on the porch spinning, while it rained. This gave me the opportunity to finish the first two ounces of the duos I am working on for my hawser ply and start the second two ounces. Here’s where I am as of this morning.

This is where things get difficult for me. I mean, all in all, I’ve got 4 oz. of each duo, and I really like them! I’ve spun them nice and evenly, and the temptation as of right now is to just ply them together, as I would normally do, and have two very nice looking yarns. Apparently it’s a leap of faith to ply them as duos AND to try a hawser ply. The familiar is almost always a temptation, but that won’t gain me anything but one more nice yarn I probably won’t use for years. S

So, I am determined to do better. To do different. To try the new.

Thankfully, as it is another curiously cool morning today, I got my yard work done and can now spend the remainder of today spinning as well. Hopefully I’ll be into my third bobbin by the time the day is done.

I’ve decided that while my spinning mojo is strong, it is time to expand my horizons. I pulled out my The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs, looked through it, and identified a few yarns I’d like to try. I am hoping, in the upcoming months, to work through them.

I started with my braid of Color Bot from Spun Right Round fiber club. I posted about this two days ago. I made a slub yarn with the intention to ply it with metallic thread. After spinning it, Bug and I headed to the store to get the thread and I looked up the method of plying I was going to use.

The technique in the book is called Spiral Yarn. The idea being that you ply with one ply having a good deal more tension than the other. In this case, the metallic thread had the tension, and I had very little tension on the slub singles.  I have 285 yards of this yarn.

The problem I encountered with this method and the metallic thread is that the thread is too slippery. Which makes the slub yarn move about on the thread. So, it ends up being a rather delicate yarn. I don’t think I’ll be trying this again, but it is a rather interesting looking yarn. And I am glad I tried it. I think using a thin handspun wool would work as it would be more grabby and stick to the slub wool.

In the past, when I’ve made slub yarn singles, I’ve had trouble with the slubs flattening out after washing and finishing the yarn. But, a friend of mine told me that this is due to the handling of it after it is immersed in the water. She said I should use a salad spinner instead, and I did. It worked so well! The trick is not to criticize the yarn before it is dry. It fluffs up so nicely when just left alone.

I also used a tip in the book, which was to shock the yarn as a finishing technique, to get it to felt up a bit to hold together nicely. The idea was to set it in hot water initially, let it get completely wet, and then plunge it into cold water to shock it. I did that. It is supposed to take away the need to felt it using agitation, since the slubs are a bit delicate. However, I am not sure how this went, I can’t really tell if it felted down or not, I’ve nothing to compare it to.

Anyhow, interesting experiment, I won’t do it this particular way again, but I am glad I gave it a try. As soon as I was done with this project, I pulled out 8 oz. of wool in order to start a Hawser plied yarn. Can’t wait to tell you more, this should be fun!

I started plying on Sunday evening during a storm. I did not go to work on Monday. In fact, beyond cleaning the house and hanging with Miss Bug, I didn’t do much else beyond plying. I finished up late Monday night. That’s more than 24 hours of plying, excepting sleep time, eating time, and a few breaks for cleaning. I am afraid that may have made me less than thrilled with the resulting yarn, despite its beauty and my anticipation of amazing yarn. Seriously. It was Too Much. In fact, I was kind of happy it wasn’t dry yesterday so I didn’t have to figure out yardage and take photos. It seriously needed a day of rest. Or I did.

I brought it outside this morning, after some pretty serious storms in our area, and grabbed a photo quickly. It’s going to be a very long time before I do another laceweight two ply, so enjoy it now! A grand total of 915 yards.

I slogged through the wool/silk laceweight two ply all day yesterday, with breaks for working on my house. It took until 9 p.m. It was a long slog, but I got through it. However, this morning the yarn was not dry so I was not able to take a picture.

I promised myself to do something a little out of character for me next, so I pulled out my March fiber club from Spun Right Round. This is Color Bot, in polwarth.

I decided on a rhythmic thick and thin yarn, using the techniques learned at the Taos Wool festival last year. It did take me awhile to get back into the swing of it, even though it felt simple while I was in the class in Taos. It’s been awhile! That being said, this is certainly an immediate gratification project as it spins up in no time flat.

I intend to get some thread to ply this with, as I’ve wanted to do that for awhile now too. Then I’ll have a nice crazy yarn to play with.

I’ve decided to take a couple days off and spend some quality time with Miss Bug before the insanity of the summer begins. She’s already done with school, but she leaves for a good portion of the summer, and if that doesn’t leave her lonely, it does leave me lonely! Even though it is a pleasant break where I get to do all the lovely activities all week long that I would choose to do if I were someone without a kid. Namely, biking like, almost every day.

Anyhow, we have big plans! Our plans are to clean up the house, but to spend our mornings sitting on the porch before the day gets hot. I spin, she plays.

Last evening we had a storm roll through. While the storm was coming in, I enjoyed a beer on the porch, watching it arrive. This is one of my favorite activities this time of year. I also love watching everyone still driving rush around madly trying to get home or to their destination. Once indoors, I spun. And I finished the singles for the sanguine gryphon wool/silk top I’ve been working on all this time.

So I began to ply. This morning we got up, had breakfast, did a little clean up, and I then continue to ply with my trusty cup of coffee by my side.

This is a 2 ply laceweight, and so it may take a long time to finish. But, the act of plying is quite pleasant on a day such as today.

I am on track and in keeping with my desire to finish my spinning projects before starting new ones. My current project is a wool/silk blend from a very early Sanguine Gryphon update on Loopy Ewe. So many years ago now! I’ve been spinning it thin on my spindles in order to make a 2 or 3 ply. But, since I am now doing a bunch of spinning on my porch now, I decided to use my wheel as well. It does seem to go quickly that way. I’ve been making decent progress and am hoping to be done in a few days.

The weather here has finally gotten into early summer temps, which makes sitting on the porch fabulous in the mornings. We’ve been traveling so much that I decided to take a few days off this upcoming week to get my house back in order and to relax and do stuff like spinning on the porch in the mornings with a cup of coffee.

We’ve certainly made the most out of this weekend as well, with bike rides, really amazing food, and homemade pecan sticky buns this morning! It’s a bit like we are trying to immerse ourselves in our favorite parts of home life after so much travel.