Sunday, December 30, 2007

Yarns From the Shetland Rovings

I have three more yarns to add to my collection of Shetland colors. You may remember that I had three commercial rovings, leftover from spinning for my Rare Breed Sweater (which is almost done!!!) ....
3 Shetland rovings spun into........ which have become three yarns....

...3 Shetland yarns.I didn't make extensive spinning notes on these, but I can tell you that the black and grey are British Shetland. Their fibers measured five to six inches in length. I got both of these from Woodland Woolworks. The black had some interesting white fibers scattered here and there throughout. I bought the moorit from Paradise Fibers (way back when Kate owned it) and it's fiber length averages four inches.

All three were quick to spin (ah the joys of pre-prepared fiber!) They were spun to match the size of the rest of my Shetland yarns, so that their 2-ply WPI ranges from 14 to 16.

One thing that surprised me was that when I washed the yarns, the water was dirty! I've never had this happen with commercial rovings, but they washed beautifully as you can see.

So, at this point I have 14 yarns, each a different, lovely Shetland color. One more color to go, and then I'm ready to start swatching!

© 2007 Leigh's Fiber Journal

8 comments:

Laritza said...

I think I asked this before but can not recall a reply. How much of each color do you have? What is in your mind for it?

Leigh said...

Well, let's see. I have a little under 8 ounces each of the black and grey. Of the moorit, I have a little less than 4 ounces. (The less is what I used for the rare breed sweater.) At this point, I'm planning to use them with my other Shetland yarns for something Fair Isle!

Sheepish Annie said...

Just lovely...and I can't wait to see the Rare Breeds Sweater in its finished state!

Valerie said...

wow, nice color and beautifully even spinnning! You're inspiring me to get back to my wheels. They've been neglected.

bspinner said...

What beautiful colors!!!! Since I've never spun Shetland is the finished yarn soft or like any breed are they all different?

Wool Enough said...

That is gorgeous yarn. Shetland is a wonderful fiber, isn't it? So many subtle tonal variations. Can't wait to see what you will create from your collection.

Tina T-P said...

What color do you still need? I could probably smuggle a bat of something out for you without The Shepherd noticing it LOL - not like we don't have an endless supply!

I was surprised when I washed my yarn how dirty it was, too - Kathy said it would be.

I noticed on Rascal or CatZee's blog that you have some Pampered Chef Lemon Rosemary Hand soap. Was it a Christmas present? You will just love it - if you have been working with onions or garlic - use it and the smell is just gone. BTW, their Christmas posts were VERY cute!

Happiest of New Years to you all. XOX T

Kathy said...

Happy New Year to you and yours, Leigh!

Yes...many commercially prepared rovings will be dirty. This comes from a couple of reasons: scouring procedures might not be done correctly, or at a high enough temperature to remove all the grunge from the fleeces, but more likely is that after scouring a spinning oil may have been addded to the fibers for ease of the machine preparatons into rovings. I've noticed it more on Shetland rovings that come from England. That being said, I have bought "white" rovings that were just as dirty. I always wash any yarn I spin...even if I think it was squeeky clean..and still am amazed at the dirt that comes out.
I've tried telling my sheep to keep clean but they just won't listen!

Remember to drop your driveband and have empty bobbins tonight for luck in the New Year!