I'm having some issues with not living up to my own expectations. My sock fiber spinning was less than what I hoped for. Yes it was at 19 to 20 WPI but the plying was not very even or as even as I felt it should be. I don't really feel like showing pictures of my failures so you will have to wait for some better looking yarn. Some of you are thinking "Well, if you plied more you would improve" Accepting my short comings are like a double punch to the gut. First the fantasy in my head didn't live up to the outcome. It takes the drive out of wanting to spin more singles because of the fear of making less than perfect plied yarn. I know it's just a matter of slowing down and gaining the consistency I insist on for myself. I have a mountain of fiber to spin and all the projects in my head are on hold until I can resolve the inner demon. OK here is the plan, spin some Corriedale singles and ply ply ply. Two ply and three ply until it looks like it should. I'm hoping that the pound and a half of Corriedale will be enough to work out the kinks.
The red was gifted and the yellow is half spun, so bring on the pink and magenta.
The new project on the knitting front is a pair of socks. Simple socks but in a fun color yarn. Purchased last year at Stitches West.
Toasty Toes superwash merino soon to be some size 15 socks.
Sometimes it sucks to be such a perfectionist, doesn't it? You are WAY too hard on yourself hon. I plan to practice dyeing on that first skein of yours and then knit it up into something so you can see that its beautiful and your plying skills will only get better.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that you are being way too hard on yourself and that the yarn came out just right. Keep on practicing and inspiring me for I'm getting a wheel come the fall :-)
ReplyDeletePlying is tricksy, precious! No, seriously, it can be - and there are so many factors that you have to take into account with each fiber/project. Practice really does help make perfect if only because you become so acutely aware of the imperfections and resolve to learn how not to make certain mistakes. But it is so important to enjoy the process and also enjoy using the yarns that you might classify as "imperfect" as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is supposed to be fun, you know? :-D
Math can save your plying! Okay, so it's kindergarten math... I count the number of treadles it takes to get the plies twisted the amount I like. So 1,2,3,4,are often the counts I use while the spin builds up between the orifice and my tummy. Then 1,2, are the counts for feeding in the yarn that was just plied. The beauty is that no matter how fast/slow you treadle, the ply twist is the same.
ReplyDelete-Dizzy Ruth