I told myself that I would not touch my Knit Picks roving order until after I used up all of the roving in my kit, but I finally caved the other day. I am so, so tired of gray roving! Not that I do not like gray. In fact, I actually bought some with my order, but after doing 2 ounces of gray, 2 ounces of white, and then about 1 ounce of the other gray roving, I just had to touch the colored stuff!
I decided to start with the Dill Heather colorway. Each is 5 ounces, so needless to say, that is way more than the small 2 ounce pieces I’ve been working with. I divided it a few times in to sections, and I have a fat and tangled cop (notice the use of the spinning lingo there) on my spindle. It became extra tangled because I dropped the spindle a few times. Yes, it is called a drop spindle, and I know why now.
I have tried plying already (more on that later), and it turned out okay. So I will probably ply this with another color from my new roving stash. I am still loving the spindle!
January 25, 2013 at 5:58 pm
It sounds like you’re getting hooked on the possibilities of spinning your own yarn, Tammy. I’m beginning to see the allure. Now I have to go look up “cop” in the context of spinning!
January 25, 2013 at 8:34 pm
Tammy, this sounds as if you are about ready to try dyeing with food dyes, to get rid of the winter blahs. You can use drink powders like Kool Aid (some colours are better than others), Wiltons icing dyes (expensive) Easter egg dyes (should be around now in the continental delis) and the good old food dyes from the supermarket. Its fun, and you can do it before or after you have spun up your roving. There are loads of instructions on the internet, Google “dyeing with food dyes” or “dyeing with Kool Aid” and start playing! The only other thing you might need, apart from the dye, is white vinegar, unless you are using Kool Aid which already has acid in it.
And yes, spinning is very addictive, lol!
January 26, 2013 at 9:19 am
I’ve seen stuff on kool aid dying, which makes me glad I don’t drink that stuff!
Yes, Eileen, I’m hooked. I can’t wait to make a skein and then crochet or knit up something with it.
January 27, 2013 at 8:46 am
I can’t wait to see what you make from what you’re spinning!