Salty.

Hi, Knitters,
I have been completely inspired by the spinning frenzy of late. As the Tour de France is going on, the spinners work on their own individual goals and spin along with the bikers for the Tour de Fleece. I am not officially participating but the photos of all of the handspun yarns and rovings have happily pushed me back to my wheel this past week.

I had started a Loop Bullseye Bump awhile ago. What a complete pleasure the Loop bumps are to spin. I think this is my second one. The fiber is smooth as silk and I love the way it pulls from the center of the bump. It's plain fun.

Click here to visit the Loop shop on Etsy!

(photo from Loop on Etsy)

Here is the bump before spinning. The fiber content is merino, nylon and angelina (that's the sparkle). The bump is a generous 5 ounces. You can see how the fiber is light and fluffy. I love the way the center pull bump starts with a light gray shade before moving into the greens. There is a very dark green section somewhat hidden in there.

I decided to spin the singles at a heavier weight. I knew I would Navajo ply the singles in the end to keep the gradient nature of the bump. I was hoping for something around a worsted weight yarn. 

The photo above shows the Navajo plying in action. I've become more pleased with my Navajo plying recently. I used to over-ply it terribly but I have learned to slow down the treadle so less twist comes into the plying. I have a dislike of under spun yarn, it seems so lifeless, but yet you don't want over spun yarn either. There is always a happy medium for most things in life and this is no exception. I am trying to hit that perfect spot and I'm getting there.

I soaked the yarn and let it dry outside for a day. There was absolutely no running or bleeding of the colors. When I brought it inside late afternoon it was still damp. I hung it in my studio and it remained damp for much of the next day. It's pretty humid here. Finally, it dried and plumped up beautifully. 

In the end I got 242 yards of a hearty worsted weight yarn. It is plump, squishy and soft. Yum.

Most of all, it is gorgeous. 

The colors are lovely together. How you could you ever go wrong with gray and green together? Steph Gorin, of Loop, is a color master. I am impressed every time. I have another one of her bumps still in my very small fiber stash. I'll have to get going on the next bump very soon. 

I'm pleased as punch with this fun skein of handspun. I am not sure what I will knit with it but I am thinking about a shawl that is wide and shallow.... we'll see what happens.

Now newly on my wheel is this Into the Whirled that I got from The Loopy Ewe (click here to see more!) It is 4oz. of Polwarth in the Chromatic Composition colorway. Here is my plan. I weighed the braid out into three equal sections. I am spinning each section into very thin singles and then I will make a traditional 3-ply yarn. Other than that I have no plans and I'll just wait and see what happens in the end.

I love the bright and unusual color composition in the braid. Buttery light yellow, magenta, brown and purple all jumbled together. I can't wait to see how this plays out. I'll keep you posted.

By the way, I am still stitching away on the Alabama Chanin Swing Skirt kit I started a few months ago. I have finished stitching around the motifs and cutting out the centers. This is reverse applique. There are four panels and I have finished two. I love it and the layered and textured fabric looks and feels so good. It looks tiny so I am slightly concerned that it won't fit me. I ordered the medium size thinking it would be generously fine but I'm unsure. I will keep my fingers crossed that it will fit (or at least stretch a lot) when I am done.

Have a great weekend! I hope you are getting in lots of fiber-y good activity this summer.

best, susie