Monday, March 30, 2009

Green Tailed Jay

Still no knitting to show, since there's still no knitting going on to show (although the bug has now nibbled and I'm feeling the itch), but I did finish a spinning project that's been in the works for a while now.

I'd taken out a three-month membership in the Butterfly Girl Designs spindle and fibre club, and this was the first batt I received. It's in her Green Tailed Jay colourway, a mix of one-third black merino, one-third green merino, and one-third green bamboo. There's more black than appears in the picture below and the colour is a bit off, but it's the best I could do to capture the shine of the bamboo. The spindle I started with was a Ledbetter with a lacewood whorl, .95 oz., although I later switched to a Bossie.


I liked all the colourways I received in this club so much that I actually went back and ordered a double dose of each one that I'd received: Buyer beware. :-)

This was my first time spinning from a batt, and it was quite interesting. Not exactly relaxing, more so ... absorbing. Each fibre drafted out differently and it was difficult to keep the singles even, so much so that I eventually gave up and went for "even enough." The green merino felt what I could consider to be normal, the black merino wanted to be extra floofy, and the bamboo was sticky and slippery and wanted to be very, very skinny. It took a lot of park and draft to play with it. It was kind of like one of those video games that sucks you in and you play and play and play and next thing you know, hours have disappeared.


I ended up with 470 yards from 6 oz., about 400 of which came out to 20 wpi and 70 yards at one end about 25 wpi. I'm not sure what happened there. I know that I drafted some from the end and then switched to spinning from the fold, as I seemed to get a better mix of the fibres that way, but one end of the skein is definitely different and I don't think the difference is all attributable to that.


In the end, I'm happy enough with it, although it is really hard to get a picture that shows the shine and drape from the bamboo. The finished yarn has a nice shimmer and hand to it, but I'm wondering if the colour differences might be too much for lace. A swatch is the only way to tell for sure.

So, where did I leave my knitting needles?

25 people had something to say:

limedragon :-: Harriet said...

That's a handsome spindle!

I love the yarn, it turned out wonderfully. Socks?

Unknown said...

OMG I love it! Excellent job Dave - I definitely think you should swatch for lace. Do you have a pattern in mind?

lexa said...

Green is my favorite color, I love it!

fleegle said...

That's handsome spinning from the handsome spindle!

Monika said...

That's lovely yarn. I think you did an excellent spinning job here. I can't understand how you can get such an amount of yds done with a spindle and have it all in 1 skein? My last experience spinning from batts has confirmed my dislike for them. I'll stay away from buying batts in the future. :o)

Sarah said...

Oh, drool! That is beautiful yarn! It might might some very pretty lace, provided you stick with a simple pattern. In my opinion, this yarn should be the star of whatever you decide to knit!

Paula said...

You never get yarn from playing video games and that is some beautiful yarn. You're good!

Carrie K said...

Somewhere in the batt?

Pretty yarn you've made there, Dave!

tiennie said...

That is very beautiful!!

Yarndude said...

You never fail to amaze me. This is beautiful! And you finally finished!

Jean said...

You just seem to be having so much fun with your spinning, I've really liked the yarns that you have created. I know there are a few pattern out there that deal with the thin to thick for homespun yarns, one was a cowl on knitting central. Great job as always!

Bea said...

this green yarn looks so great, I love it.

still not thinking of a spinning wheel to add to your living room?

Bea

Unknown said...

Someone appears to be suffering from Fiber Club Disease. It is hard to spin those mixed batts but yours looks great. Never saw lacewood before, very neat.

bwilliams said...

I just dont know which is prettier, the yarn or the spindle. Both are just gorgeous. Definitely lace, with a leafy stitch pattern, maybe something that meanders through the fabric rather than being regimented. I have fiber and spindle envy; gotta make some time for spindling!

Micki said...

Stunning yarn! And spinning is even better than video games...because you have something tangible at the end. :)

Alwen said...

I love greens - I could seriously lie down & roll in that!

Marlene said...

Very nice. I came close to joining that club myself. I was interested in seeing the stripy batts to get a better idea of how to do them myself. I have a beautiful drum carder and make nice batts, but when I blend fibres together I tend to really blend them...so much so that they become solid looking. Not entirely the effect I want.

The Revontuli shawl would show case that yarn quite nicely.

Anonymous said...

Being a bit of a green addict, loving this is not really surprising for me. It does look luscious with the bamboo component. Bet it will look gorgeous knitted up. :)

sgeddes said...

beautiful! I love the green. I wish I liked spinning batts. I'm dean to how they look, but it never turns out well. But seeing yours makes me want to try one again.

Linda said...

Gorgeous yarn. I've GOT to get back to my wheel now that the shoulder is improved.

missalicefaye said...

ooh--lovely yarn!

Sarah said...

beautiful color!

HPNY KNITS said...

lovely greens! like a wonderful green tea leaves.
very lush!

Opal said...

beautiful yarn!

i'm so tempted to join that club. but really? as much as those spindles tempt me, i'm not a spindler. luckily, i get to spindle vicariously through your blog!

Moggle said...

Lovely green yarn!