Spinning Knowhow?
I mentioned a couple of months ago that I got some more merino for my drop sprindle adventures, one in a "cotton candy" colorway. Here is a shot of what I had spun up then:
Today I was bored waiting for my mother and decided to knit it up to see how it looks. I have only about 4 oz of fiber so I can't make all that much out of it anyway, I was just wondering how the colors would work up in st st. I used size 7 needles to get a good gauge, and this is my swatch:
I think it's pretty cool looking, I really love the teal section in the middle. Knitting with my handspun is amazing on so many levels: I love single-ply yarn anyway, I love that I made it myself, I love the potential for different gauges in the same exact colorways,I love to dye yarn (though I didn't dye this myself). I think if I had more time and money, that I could get seriously addicted to spinning. Maybe I'll sell one of my knitting machines to finance more spinning knowledge/stuff.
Speaking of which, I want to put this out there to you more experienced spinners:
First, do you see how the strand coming from the spindle is twisted onto itself? I know I tend to over-spin in general, but should I untwist the yarn before knitting it? When I do remove the twist it feels like it's not spun enough (maybe that's because I'm used to it overspun?)
Also, I have never washed my spinning, because I know the twist will set as long as I keep the yarn on my spindle for a while before knitting off it. Would washing significantly change the yarn? As a general rule, is it preferable to wash before knitting?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. I really do want to get better at this.
Look for more content and pictures and knitting in general here, especially if I do get a city job (commute=knitting). I've been feeling the itch to tackle another "real" project, and it's about time!
