Well, its faults are legion, but still . . . As of noon, I had one bobbin of these mostly-woolen singles . . . As of dinner, I had two full bobbins (don’t ask me why they look so gray). And as of an hour after dinner, I had a 4 oz skein of two-ply yarn.

But, as I say, there are plenty of faults. The first of which is that when I started spinning this roving, it was as teeny-tiny, worsted singles, before I ever decided to experiment with the woolen thing. So the plied yarn at one end of the skein is rougher than the other. And there are a lot of these little, twisty, corkscrews that snuck past as I was plying. Because, of course, there were plenty of places where the thin spots were vastly overspun in order that the thicker spots might hold together. Obviously I need to work on that–but really, how DO you balance having enough twist to hold the thick parts together without overtwisting the thin ones? (I know . . . practice!)

On the plus side, though, the singles only broke once while I was plying, which was much better than I expected. The sections of woolen/woolen singles came together as a nice, fluffy yarn. And it doesn’t look horrible.

Also, well, the speed thing. I couldn’t believe I got that whole second half spun in just a couple of hours. That’s FAST. I forgot to count the turns on my niddy noddy, so I can’t tell you the yardage, but still . . . 4oz of yarn, of which I did half AND the plying in less than three hours? That’s definitely speedy.

Still, this yarn’s not going to win any prizes. And the over-twisted sections make for rough-feeling sections in the yarn, which may or may not soften when I wash it. And I haven’t dared to take it off the niddy-noddy yet, so I couldn’t begin to tell you how balanced it is(n’t). But still . . . it IS an entire skein of yes, amateurish, but still, woolen yarn spun by yours truly. So, I’m proud of it anyway. I WILL, however, be spinning my next batch of yarn in the nice, familiar worsted method (grin).

I’m not the only one who finished something today, either. Mom finished the wedding present she made for her friends. She and Dad met them on Martha’s Vineyard last winter when all of them were staying at the same inn for “Christmas in Edgartown,” and that’s when this couple got engaged. So, instead of just buying them something, Mom adapted the cross-stitch map of Martha’s Vineyard that she’s made any number of times. She stitched the whole thing in metallic blue and copper, left out all the cute little pictures like a ferry boat or the lighthouses, and instead just put one, big, red heart out by Aquinnah, where they got engaged, and then put their names at the bottom. How’s that for a great gift? (And, I promised her I wouldn’t put her picture on my blog, but, well, those happy eyes . . . how could I resist THAT?)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Wooly Thinking //