Back before I started knitting, I was plying all of my handspun yarn Z, to work better with crochet. But, crochet is really hard on my hands and shoulder, so I do prefer to knit nowadays. This yarn was spun from roving I got a very good deal on years back, and really, it’s not soft enough for next-to-skin wear. But, I had about three pounds of it. What to do?
These are so great! I was on a chunky cotton yarn dyeing kick for a while and have a bunch left. I didn’t know what to make with it, but I think I’ll make some chunky baskets. Yours are great and I am so inspired. Thanks for the idea!
Wow! So many projects from one ball(?) of yarn! You definitely made the most of it. I love the striped look of the bag and it makes me smile to think that those three white bowls came from the same yarn as that black sheep bowl.
I went to a craft show before Christmas and there were some women spinning yarn. I think they used a spinning wheel that was pedal operated (does that sound right? It was not that long ago, but the details are now a little hazy, though I do remember, there seemed to be a decent amount of fuzz floating in the air). Is that what you used to spin your yarn, or are there different spinning methods?
The women were part of a group who participate in a spinning to knitting challenge that comes up once a year (I think - again, slightly hazy on the details). The yearly challenge is to spin yarn from the roving and then use that yarn to knit…something? I think the challenge was which group could spin and knit the most within a certain amount of time. It sounded really interesting (though apparently not interesting enough to concrete the details in my memory).
It was actually three colors of roving and a grand total of 11 balls of yarn (just shy of 3 pounds). But, all the same type of fiber from the same mill.
I used my big electric wheel to spin it all and I’ve only just started using a treadle wheel (the kind with pedals). I’ve managed one skein of yarn on the new wheel and it was not great. Still getting the hang of it.
Sheep-to-shawl competitions are pretty cool! Often they take a raw fleece straight to a finished object…shearing, carding, spinning, knitting all in one go.
There’s a few ways to spin… all kinds of different spindle set-ups (drop, kick, supported, etc.), treadle wheels, electric wheels. I like them all, but nothing beats the speed of an electric wheel. It’s nice that people are keeping such an ancient craft alive and relevant.
The tote is my favorite.