A couple of weeks ago, the Boyfriend bought me a lovely Ashford Traditional spinning wheel for a very early combined birthday Christmas present.
I’d forgotten how fun spinning can be, and I’ve been a little obsessed since, trying to spin a little every day. Finally, on Friday I finished plying my first wheel spun yarn!
100% pure merino wool. It’s a little uneven and running thick and thin in places, drifting between a lace weight and a heavy DK, but it’s wonderfully smooshy and I love all 290 yards of it. Strangely, I think the first single I spun was more even than the second. I weighed both singles before plying, and although they were the exact same weight, I had quite a bit of the first single left over.
Overall I think I’ve found it a little easier to spin on a wheel compared to using my drop spindle. I certainly spin faster on the wheel, although I have found it harder to gauge how much twist I’m putting into the fibre with the wheel. I suppose (I hope!) that that’s something that comes with practice. I don’t know what this skein is destined to be yet. I’m a little in love with the natural colour of the wool, so I’m going to leave this undyed, but I’ll be experimenting more with the next one. I haven’t decided whether to dye up some fibre to spin, or spin the undyed fibre and dye the spun skein. I’m leaning towards dye first, then spin. I also want to give navajo plying a try. So much to do!
wheel spun and spindle spun
