3 New Handspun Yarns

These yarns were all spun on a Louet Julia – not my wheel, but one of the wheels at my work.  I wish it were my wheel, I’m kind of in love with it!

I’ve been playing a lot with the drum carder (also at work, also in love with it) and I love the variety of effects I’ve been able to get through blending different colours and types of fibres.

Handspun yarn,100g, white and blue with green flecks, worsted/chunky weight single ply carded Merino and Corriedale wool.

This next skein will produce a beautiful striping effect when I knit it up. I think it’s really pretty but it’s just a small amount of yarn and I’m really not sure what to make with it. Any ideas? I’m not sure whether to use it by itself or to mix it with a commercial yarn.

This yarn was the result of carding together all of the left-over fibre “scraps” from previous carding sessions. I have a few secret hiding spots where I tuck away little bits of fibre that don’t get used for whatever reason. The resulting “grab bag” batts and yarns I get from these treasure troves are really cool surprises.

Handspun yarn, small tweedy skein, Many colours but mainly green, blue, purple and pink,  dk weight single ply carded Merino and Corriedale wool.

I really enjoy blending on the carder, but prepping wool fleece on a drum carder is also really fun, although it takes a lot of work to get the nice, smooth preparation that I prefer.  Once the fleece has been washed and dried, I pick out locks of wool and flick both the butt and tip with a hand-carder.  This fluffs and opens up the wool, releasing more dirt that may have gotten stuck in the fibres and makes it the perfect preparation to feed into the drum carder and get a nice batt.

Luckily, a friend has been visiting the store recently and scouring a ton of fleece!  Ana of Art-by-Ana is a super-sweet fiber lover who I really like to chat about carding and spinning with.  Thanks to her, I have access to piles of washed wool to play with!

This was my first time preparing and spinning Jacob wool and I really like the breed. The sheep are spotted so their fleeces contain a mix of white and brown patches. For this yarn, I picked out mostly white wool and am looking forward to using the brown sometime soon.

Handspun yarn, small (maybe 1 oz. -ish) skein, natural white with some grey-brown flecks, sport weight 2-ply flicked and carded Jacob wool fleece locks.