more plying

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with thoughts and suggestions about my 'pig tail' plying issues. I think I know where I'm going wrong! The main problem seems to be the lack of tension on the spool I am plying from. Too much yarn comes out at once, and it twists back on itself. So I need to play around with that some more.

One friend suggested that I practice plying with store bought yarn rather than my hand spun. That made perfect sense to me. So much time and effort goes into producing a spool of hand spun, it seems a shame to mess it up 'practising' your plying technique.

Of course, I don't actually do the 'store bought' yarn thing... but I do have a plentiful supply of yarn here, which would actually benefit from being plyed. Especially some of the cottons I have reclaimed. So I will definitely give that a go.

In the meantime, I had a play with plying one strand of handspun with one strand of reclaimed yarn. I love these colours together.

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a little bit of plying

I decided to jump in at the deep end and teach myself to navajo ply. I must have been feeling incredibly adventurous! I figured that I understood the concept... and really... it couldn't be all that hard, could it???

I know that some of you have no background at all in the world of spinning... when you take the raw fleece, and twist it into a single strand of yarn... that process is called spinning. When you take two or more strands of yarn and twist them together (in the opposite direction to which they were first spun) to make a thicker, stronger yarn... that process is called plying.

With navajo plying, you take a single strand of spun yarn and work it into giant chain stitches (just like crochet) with your hands as you ply it... the result is a three ply yarn, created from a single bobbin.

Sounds a little bit complicated, doesn't it?

Well... as I was saying... I was obviously feeling incredibly adventurous... and I just ploughed straight into it. The process felt fairly simple and I seemed to be in control of what I was doing... but I'm not convinced by the results.



Obviously, like any new technique, it will take practice... but can anyone tell me what these little 'pig tails' are about??? I know they're not supposed to be there - but I have LOTS of them! In fact, my yarn is pretty much full of them.

Am I putting too much twist into my plying? Or was there too much twist in the original bobbin? Have I even understood the navajo plying concept correctly? These are the questions I need to find answers to...

My yarn is also a little tough. I wouldn't quite call it rope, but it doesn't have the softness to it which I was hoping for.

Not that I'm disappointed. Please don't get me wrong. I'm just looking for how I can learn from the experience. Good golly... that was my FIRST ATTEMPT... and it actually looks like yarn... I'm delighted and encouraged by that!

And it has fabulous character. Those 'pig tails' will make an interesting feature when the yarn is worked up...

Now to decide... knit or crochet... and what shall I make?

and now for something a little bit softer

Working with wire was fabulous fun, and I certainly intend to do a lot more of it... but just for the moment, my fingers need a little break.

So I was tempted by this basket of fluffy softness... merino tops...



I'm such a novice when it comes to spinning. But I'm keen to immerse myself in it!

My wheel had been playing up. There seemed absolutely no reason why she wouldn't operate correctly, and yet the wool was being pulled in and onto the bobbin before it even had a chance to be twisted. I actually got so frustrated with the whole thing that I had to walk away and ignore her for about six weeks. I was at the point where I was ready to use her for kindling...

Then the other day, I decided to give her some love. It was a glorious afternoon. Sunny, warm, bright, and only the slightest breeze. I took her outside and started out with a thorough dusting. I then oiled all her moving parts. And named her! Apparently one should always name one's spinning wheel... I had been very negligent. So I have now christened her Molly.

And guess what??? She works!

I suspect is was probably more a result of the oiling, than the dusting and the naming... but woo hoo! She works!

When it all goes smoothly, spinning is wonderfully relaxing. It's rhythmic and soothing and mesmerising. You can only spin if you are in a state of calm composition. If you're antsy, or cranky, or worked up about something... it all goes to pot. So, I like to consider it therapy...

spinning lesson

Very exciting day ahead... I have a spinning lesson.

I first learned to spin when I was about twelve years old... but that's more than a few years back now! I am in desperate need of a refresher course, and Lyndy has kindly offered to share her knowledge with myself and a couple of others this afternoon.



Mr Goldfish bought me this traditional spinning wheel for Christmas last year. I have been having fun using it to spin plarn, and also to ply together different recycled yarns. But now the time has come to use it 'properly'. I'll take it with me to my lesson today, and hopefully pick up some pointers on how to care for it, and keep it running at it's best.

This is going to be so much fun....

defining insanity

What is insanity?

I quite like being odd, even eccentric and a little bit quirky...

I'll happily spend hours scouring the local op shops for the perfect jumper. Take it home and air it for a couple of days in the sunshine. Undo the seams, unravel the jumper, skein it, wash it... then hang it out to dry. Ply it, then wash and dry it again to set the twist. Then roll it into a neat little ball and add it to my collection of reclaimed yarns. One day I might even knit it into a jumper again!

It's a long and fiddly process. Not for the faint-hearted. But intensely satisfying, and therapeutic. Way more enjoyable than buying ready-balled yarn from the store.

But have I crossed the line?

For months I have been collecting plastic bags and cutting them into strips. Supermarket bags, bread bags, fruit and vegetable bags. Collecting and cutting. Collecting and cutting. Then I spun two strands together, and plied those with another two strands I had spun together. I ended up with two balls of plastic yarn. Much less than I would have anticipated. A little disappointing, but an interesting experiment all the same.

Now what will I do with this plastic yarn... or 'plarn' as those in the know would call it?

Why, I will crochet it into a plastic bag of course!

Insane? possibly