A couple of weeks ago a great friend took me on a road trip to Ottawa, Ontario. We visited the Byward Market, had lunch in one of the cafe' stores and then we went to knitknackersyarnwarehouse. This place is a spinners/weavers dream come true. Wall to wall yarn, knitting supplies, patterns, and at the very back of the store a lineup of spinning wheels just sitting there for anyone to give them a spin. And even a line up of different fibres to test spin with. I don't remember anything else about the store because as soon as I rounded the corner and my eyes saw the bins and cupboards of fibre on display, I was awestruck, and I quickly made my way to the back of the store. My friend was interested in yarn, which was there also and at great prices but I was interested in the the spinning fibre which was priced at unbelievably low prices. For instance Suri Alpaca $7.25/100 grams, I bought 400 grams. There was mulberry silk in bins which I also bought, with a relatively long staple length, South African fine wool which the clerk tells me spins beautifully. Black alpaca for $12.50/100 grams, purple corriedale which cost $5.95/100 grams. There was so much more, love that store. We were like two kids in a candy store!
I couldn't wait to get home to start spinning. I wanted to try spinning the suri alpaca first, it has a long staple length and is very fuzzy. I'm spinning it worsted which means keeping the twist out of the fibre zone. Hoping to keep the fuzz down and also there is cabling in the project that I have in mind to make and I want the stitch definition to stand out. It really wanted to be spun woolen, which means letting the twist enter the draft zone, but this made it too fuzzy. I'm not an expert at this and this is just trial and error for me at this point. After Spunning/plying and setting the twist I have 280 yard finished for this sweater. My yarn turned out a bit heavy, wondering if maybe I should have spun it woolen. Can't seem to find that middle ground!
Thanks for visiting!
I couldn't wait to get home to start spinning. I wanted to try spinning the suri alpaca first, it has a long staple length and is very fuzzy. I'm spinning it worsted which means keeping the twist out of the fibre zone. Hoping to keep the fuzz down and also there is cabling in the project that I have in mind to make and I want the stitch definition to stand out. It really wanted to be spun woolen, which means letting the twist enter the draft zone, but this made it too fuzzy. I'm not an expert at this and this is just trial and error for me at this point. After Spunning/plying and setting the twist I have 280 yard finished for this sweater. My yarn turned out a bit heavy, wondering if maybe I should have spun it woolen. Can't seem to find that middle ground! Thanks for visiting!
