# Mission accomplished (pics)



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I have been wanting to spin a fine enough yarn to use on my circular sock machine, Cranky Sal.

I finally got my highspeed whorl for the Kiwi wheel and decided to have a go at it.
Boy, a faster wheel sure makes all the difference!
I can spin a whole bobbin full (about 3 oz) in less than a day now.

Here is the singles. 
I got this fiber from WIHH and I dont know what it is exactly.
It is shiny like it has tencel or bamboo or something in it. 










I could tell that I had a lot of fiber on those bobbins by the fact that it took over 4 hours to ply them together. 










That is over 600 yards, 2 ply.

Then today I got Cranky Sal hitched up in her casting bonnet and made this pair of socks.










I had no trouble at all cranking through this yarn, it was amazing.
The finished socks are not washed yet, so you can really see the stitches still.
The fabric is pretty even, I am a little surprised and happy with it.










You know what that means? Now I can totally make socks on this machine w/ my OWN yarn!. :nanner:

Next I am going to try it starting from raw fleece.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Woo Hoo!!!! That is so exciting :dance: That almost looks like silk or like it has a lot of silk in it, maybe silk and bamboo? Pretty stuff! Those socks look fantastic. CONGRATULATIONS!! I know this is a huge accomplishment for you.


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## Mrs. Homesteader (May 10, 2002)

Way to go!! GAM, you constantly amaze me!!


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

GORGEOUS yarn GAM! Gorgeous socks GAM! w

oohoo - cross one off the bucket list and keep on going! :banana:


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

:grin: Those are awesome!!!!! Might need.to look for one.of.those sock machines myself!
Fantastic job!!!!!


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## JDog1222 (Aug 19, 2010)

O WOW, GAM, you're having SO MUCH fun!:happy:


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## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Great job! Woot!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Beautiful colorway. I love the fabric it knit in to!

Are you spinning it worsted? I love spinning long drawl but it puts so much air into the yarn so the yarn is more woolen once I soak the yarn to set the twist.

What is a good drawl for spinning worsted??


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

Beautiful socks!!


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## jd4020 (Feb 24, 2005)

oh my GAM, those are just simply exquisite!!!!! I love the color. 
Excellant!
jd


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

wow, your socks turned out great, and very even stitch pattern too.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Am I spinning it worsted or woolen? Uhm...

I still am not good on answering that one.

It is roving and I am just going from the end of that.
I suppose I did it with a supported longdraw. 
~Let the twist into the triangle while giving the fiber in my holding hand a gentle backwards pull, once I feel the twist gripping.
~Pinch off the twist with my forward hand for a second while I feed the finished yarn forward.
~Repeat until your bobbin is full. 

The staple length with this was 5 or 6 inches and I got a good fast rythym going with it.
Working with the lace flyer whorl, 14:1 ratio.
I was using the whole range of my arm to make yarn, and it was wonderful!

I could never do this yarn with Annie. 
That wheel only goes half as fast (or even less) and since it is bobbin lead the singles yarn is what makes the flyer go around. 
If there is nothing on the hooks and through the orifice only the bobbin will spin.
The flyer just sits there.
She has no breaks what-so-ever. 
The only tension is to lift the MOA up or down, which tightens the driveband.

Annie has her uses though! 
I wound all this yarn onto her bobbins and cranked it through the csm from her lazy kate.
She has lots of bobbins! 12! I only have 3 for the Kiwi.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Love the socks! You are all going to have to help me learn to dye like that --- eventually.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

The yarn does look pretty, if you are up close to it.

From a distance though, it is pretty much olive drab. LOL

These socks seem kind of military issue, until you FEEL them.
:teehee:


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

The color of the yarn is so beautiful; such delicate shadings. Wow!


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## PollySC (Jan 17, 2006)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> I seriously think you need to submit your application for a scholarship to SOAR.



Beautiful, GAM. What WIHH said, and have you considered writing this up for Spin-Off? That's the kind of article I'd really be interested in reading.


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## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

Wow, GAM. Once again you are amazing--such a quick learner. The yarn and the socks are beautiful. Just goes to show that spinning CAN be learned on one's own.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

You betcha, GAM! Apply for the SOAR scholarship!!!

That isn't BriarRose fiber. It's Merino Top. I bought the same stuff from Karen Poulakos at the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair last year. I can't remember where she said her & Bill buy it from.

Karen is a real hoot. She's a blind spinner that wears a name tag that says, "I'm not ignoring you, I'm blind."

Hmmm, you spin the same way I do. I wonder if I just need to add more twist?? It seems like after I soak my skeins to set the twist, the yarn always get so fluffy.


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## TNnative (May 23, 2004)

Beautiful!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Pfffhhhhtt! I'm self taught, so things I learn are from reading and experiencing.

The 'horseshoe' patterned hat is from the same top that GAM used & spun the same way (supported long drawl):










The yarn looked about 'baby weight' before I washed it and it plumped up to worsted weight.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Cyndi, I think I just spun mine much finer and with a higher twist in the singles.
I got it really REALLY skinny.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

For the pic of the hat, I agree. 

But this single (take a look on the bobbin, not at the stray end of the bobbin yarn)









It was very fine. Each bobbin was about 1.5 oz (or less)

After being plyed and washed, it was 304 yards sport weight.










Never could figure out the grist (but then I haven't applied myself to learning it!!). 1.5 oz to produce over 300 yard single is pretty.darn.fine


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Cyndi are you not happy with that? Are you feeling it is too poofy? I'd say as another twist or two per-inch or may be a bit more. You may need to add just enough that it is almost ready to ply back onto itself. especially if it is to be plyed later.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I was looking to spin/ply a sock weight yarn, so no, I wasn't happy with the poofing of this yarn for knitting socks. Overall, I liked the yarn ... just not what I was shooting for. Our 'Click & Cluck' fiber guild decided to put together a basket of yarns & such for one of our members that has aggressive cancer. I put this skein in the basket for Deb.

I'll try again with the Merino Top that I have, and ply a bit tighter.

In these photos, I was using carded roving, so I expected some poofing but not as much as I got.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I am finding it plenty challenging to spin a consistently fine and even sock yarn.
Sure, I can always make a thicker one 'work' for handknitting, but that Cranky Sal is much more picky.

There has to be a lot of twist in the singles, then again in the plying. 
Your yarn came out beautifully though!
I bet it would have knit up into lovely socks.

Most sock yarns are 'around' 450 yards / 3.5 oz (100 gram skein).
So for a 2 ply you need to get somewhere about 450 yards per 1.76 oz. 
I know! It is freaking HARD! 
The thing that has helped me a LOT is to knit with those single-ply sock yarns like Noro and Chroma and Mini Mochi (there are others too)..
It is easier to translate the 'grist' from 1 ply to 2, rather than from commercially spun multi-ply stuff.

Just an idea: Maybe you should buy some new sock yarn. For research purposes, you know. :angel: :grin:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh, and I KNOW it can be done and even in a 3 ply, because Pakalana made me a beautiful sock yarn and n-plied it and everything!

It was so beautiful and smooth and even. <sigh>

I am feeling a HOPE that I will one day be able to do the same thing, now that I have more speed in my wheel. :teehee:


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

See, that's the thing I don't understand!! Any leftover yarn from plying, I N-ply and often after washing it comes out thinner than the 2-ply.

Most definitely points to more twist in the ply, eh?



> Most sock yarns are 'around' 450 yards / 3.5 oz (100 gram skein).
> So for a 2 ply you need to get somewhere about 450 yards per 1.76 oz.


I can't be too far off, another .25 oz and another 150 yards ... hmmm, let me think about that for a bit (math isn't my best subject).

300 yards for 1.5 oz 1.5 / 300 = .005 and that means ... what??? .005 oz per yard?? maybe?? If so, then for 450 yards, I would need another .75 oz or 2.25 oz per single (spun the way I did) or 4.5 oz for the 2-ply ... not that far off.

Grrr ... need to spin just a tad bit thinner and ply just a tad bit tighter, me thinks


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> GAM -when are ya gonna post some pics of your peacock blue gradient dyed wool?


I have half a bobbin full.
Not sure it wants to be sock yarn.
I dont think so. 

I will show you all when I get something worth posting.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

What kind of wool was it again? The Peacock stuff.


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