Purple People Eater

Day 85: In 1958, Sheb Wooley released a novelty song called, "The Purple People Eater." It went straight to the top of the charts, and stayed there for six weeks (a phenomenon in those days). It became my all-time favourite song, so when I found a blended Corriedale top colorway called "Purple People Eater," I simply had to spin some. It's not quite as purple as you might expect from the name, but spun off the fold, it is producing a wonderful tweedy effect as the colours shade into each other. Spinning from the fold (i.e., bending a staple length of fiber over your finger and drawing it into the wheel from the mid-point) creates a yarn which is neither true worsted nor true woollen, although it is closer to a worsted by virtue of the fibers remaining straight for most of their length. The crimp created by drawing the fiber from the center point gives a bit of loft which, although not as "fluffy" as woollen, still makes a softer yarn. You might say that spinning from the fold is the best of both worlds, with advantages derived from both woollen and worsted methods.