I just dunno…

So, I thought to sample the yarn as I wasn’t sure the three batts were going to coordinate as well as I first thought they would. I’d spun half a bobbin of each of the Eliade roving and the Enchanted Knoll batts, so I dizzed the Oldsheep batt with some natural brown alpaca (to give it some extra softness and also make it go a little further – this batt was smaller) and spun a quick sample on a Bristlecone spindle, then plied on a Tilt-a-Whorl spindle.

Left bobbin: Enchanted Knoll batt. Right bobbin: Eliade roving. Bristlecone Spindle: Oldsheep batt and alpaca

Plied yarn on Tilt-a-whorl spindle

Before washing

Then I skeined it up and washed it with a little shampoo in hot water, whacked it and set it to dry in the brisk wind.

Washed skeinlet

What do you guys think? I’m over the moon with the yarn itself – it’s about a sock-weight but very light and airy. The different colours have really come together well and the variation is so rich and deep. I just don’t think it gels right with my “vision” of what I wanted to say about Carrot. I think I need something less complicated, larger and perhaps chain-plied.

Please let me know what you think!

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Confession time

Ten days later, I’m back! Sorry. I’ve been working on the newest yarn, I promise. Life exploded and went nuclear on me last week, so I’ve barely had time to photograph the fibre, let alone compose a post about this yarn.

So, it’s confession time. Most of my good friends know me well enough to know that I have a rather unhealthy fetish for attraction to redheads. Yup, true story. Particularly if they’re short of stature and left-handed, but that’s another story. So. When we were introduced to Carrot Ironfoundersson in Men At Arms, I was head over heels in love straight away! I can’t help myself, what can I say.

He’s a stereotypical character. He’s a kind of repository for all that is ideal, or simply stated, or obvious. Nevertheless, he’s a paradox in that he appears completely naive while inside he actually understands in great detail the complexities of every situation . . . and then he goes ahead and behaves as though he’s naive anyway. And everyone goes along with it.

Clockwise from top - Oldsheep batts, Enchanted Knoll batts, Eliade roving

To represent his simplicity and naivete, I wanted to do a basic 3-ply yarn, straight and plain. The colour scheme is dominated by reds and oranges, because I can’t help myself. There are more types of fibre in this yarn, though, than I can name – including various types of wool, silk throwster’s waste, sari silk threads, firestar and others. I like this mixture – quite apart from the fun of spinning such varied textures, I think it represents Carrot’s strange patchwork upbringing as well as the melting-pot of Ankh-Morpork where he came of age. I particularly like the streak of that sort of faded, tired royal blue through one of the batt sets – I think that particular blue is synonymous with policemen and having it really ties the idea of Carrot to the city in the visual appeal of this fibre.

So there you have the fibre. I’m halfway through a bobbin of the roving braid, spinning quite fine with a supported long draw on my Ashford Traditional. It’s fun to spin and I hope to have some yarn to show you guys before long!