November and December this year have been a blur of activities, work and lack of sleep. Our family was quite sick for a couple of weeks, seeming to just pass our cold back and forth to each other. Slowly, we were becoming more and more rundown and yet? Here we are at the end of year, celebrating with our family and community. My husband and I love this holiday season and particularly love the end of the year, as things begin to wind down and there is a sense of calm anticipation before the New Year begins.
During this spin, I found myself reflecting on the events throughout the year. I thought of a couple of highlights in relation to SweetGeorgia that I would like to share with you:
- I started teaching at SweetGeorgia started back in January with an awesome group of people who were keen, excited and eager about learning how to spin. We were able to offer another class in the fall that was, again, full of energy and excitement. I am excited to be back in the studio teaching in the Spring – stay tuned!
- September celebrated my “One Year Anniversary” of spinning fibre club each month for SweetGeorgia. Spinning club has stretched my spinning skills immensely! Also, having a plan already set by Felicia each month on how to spin the fibre meant that I always go onto autopilot with the actual spinning. I don’t think about colour or fibre management because each month, I follow the spinning instructions which has made for interesting spins! Many I would never have spun the way it was recommended and yet, I have liked every.single.month. That just in and of itself has been illuminating for me.
The fibre for December was Silk Puff, a 40% Merino wool, 40% superwash Merino wool and 20% silk blend. It is a very interesting fibre to spin because sometimes it feels like spinning Merino, sometimes silk and sometimes, it is just plain slippery! Merino has a shorter staple length than other fibres that I tend to spin often, like BFL and Romney. Often, I find it helpful to remind myself of the distance of draft. It is easy to ‘break the staple’, which is simply pulling a little too far forward or backward (depending on your drafting technique) and thus, creating a thick and thin yarn. I spun slowly, being mindful of how far forward I was drafting, and created a very consistent yarn. It was slightly tedious as this wasn’t an autopilot spin but the results were worth it!
Because a speckle-dyed technique used in this braid of fibre created a lovely pastel yarn. Areas in the yarn preserved the dark navy blue from the original fibre but much of the yarn is pale blue with areas of muted pink, purple and coral. Felicia had recommended chain (or Navajo) plying this yarn. I spun one large 4 ounce bobbin on my Sidekick and plied one evening. I love the results! The colour in the finished yarn, in comparison to the bobbin above, is gentle and soft. I’m very curious to see this knit up.
Have you delved into December’s club yet? How are you spinning it? Please share over on the Ravelry group or Instagram, and tag your projects with #sgyclub and #sweetgeorgiayarns.
Until next month – Happy spinning!
