Plying Fractally

This isn't turning out as badly as I thought it might. In order to have enough bobbins for the second half of my wool allotment for the fractal spin project, I needed to free one up (I forgot I had one of six filled with lilac-coloured singles). That meant plying the three singles from the first half, and y'know what? I think I like it. Okay, it's lumpier than it should be (that was me, fighting with the clotted Malabrigo), and I could have chosen a colourway with better distribution of the colours, but it'll pass. The second half is working out better insofar as the spinning is concerned. The Louët is my "ply wheel." Her name is Lily. She lives in the back bedroom behind a closed door where Merry is only allowed with supervision. He wants to play with (or eat!) the wool, and he thinks the lazy Kate is a cat toy.

Spinning My Wheels

Day 318: I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels, and for at least a portion of the day over the last several months have been doing exactly that in one form or another. The current project on my Louët is reddish-purple Corriedale top, spun at a fingering weight (i.e., 18-22 wraps per inch). That's kinda my default diameter for Corriedale, and I tend to spin Merino somewhat finer on this wheel. On the other hand, when I'm using a drop spindle, my default for Merino thins down to 26 WPI. I seldom spin heavier yarns these days, largely because commercially produced fine yarns have become prohibitively expensive in recent years. Besides, if you spin your own, you get double the pleasure of working with fibers, and I do prefer to knit with fine yarns. That said, I'd hoped to upgrade my spinning wheel for September Morn this year, but was knocked out by several hefty financial setbacks at the start of the year. Oh well, Louët and I have been friends for fifty years now, and as long as I am able to find replacement parts when the inevitable breakdowns occur, we'll keep the partnership alive.