A Time to Ply

Yesterday, I decided it was time..... to ply! I had two spindles full of my first efforts, and it was time to move forward. So, I figured I had enough time to watch the Nancy's Knit Knacks video about plying, and work along at the same time. Viola - my first yarn!!

My camera is a low end model (maybe I'll make a step up this year for better resolution on those up close and personal yarn and stitch shots), so it's hard to see the detail. The gray/blue stuff came with the Learn to Spin Kit, and the green was Cestari pencil roving from Chester Farms. I know, pencil roving is kinda cheating. But I wanted to try it and it does work well if you don't want to draft. I wanted something reasonably consistent so I could actually knit with it. I'll go back to working on my drafting soon. I spun the gray with the kit spindle, which I like a lot. For the green I'm using my new Bosworth midi, which I also like a lot. I plied both on the kit spindle using the Andean method. After I got the circulation back in my hand, it went pretty well; I believe I produced balanced yarns at any rate. I now know first-hand why Nancy cautions you about wrapping too tightly and stressing your middle finger (not to mention cutting off your circulation!).


And for my knitting fun, I've been working on the Aran vest. I'm enjoying every minute of it, even fixing the mistakes. Charley suggested we'd be wise to look at every right side row as it's completed and he was right! I've found several mistakes along the way, and was able to correct them right away, BEFORE they became major surgery.