A Yarn Yarn
This yarn started with a lunch date with
my cousin, Jackie. We meet in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, which is about half way
between where we live, she in Barrington, IL, and I just north of Alaska,
WI. This is a semi-regular, semi-annual affair. I arrived early in order
to check out the Cedarburg Woolen Mill. I entered the
shop where I inquired about purchasing some wool. The clerk made a phone call
to a lady who met me in the back hall and led me down into the basement. There
were the milling machines and piles of fleece to be carded, and piles already
processed, and wool related tools. A cloud of wool lover’s heaven in a
basement! The lady showed me what she had available and I selected some merino
roving. Putting the large ball in a container near the ancient scale, she wound
a smaller ball from it and weighed it until it was the amount I requested. She
repeated the same process with a beautiful natural dark brown roving.
Since that lovely afternoon with my cousin, I have been working away at
my merino roving, 2 ounces here, 4 ounces there. Two examples can be seen in my
April 28th post, “Friday is Dyeday.” The yarn I’m writing about
today was spun from a little over 4 ounces that were dyed with Greener Shades Dyes. I presoaked the roving in a 3:1 solution of
water/vinegar for 30 minutes, then gently squeezed out the excess
liquid. I placed the roving in what I call a snaky arrangement in the bottom of my dyepot
which contained enough water to make the wool “squishy” (a technical term
meaning not covered, but enough to prevent burning while the steaming process
takes place).
My dye record indicates that I used equal amounts of GS’s, Ruby Red, Sunshine Yellow and Sunset Orange. I poured the dye solution randomly over the yarn, and with a gloved hand gently pressed down on the roving to make sure it had contact with the dye. I covered the pot and steamed the wool for 30 minutes at 170 degrees. When the water was clear, I knew that the fiber had absorbed all the dye. I let it cool, and rinsed it without agitation, for I try to make felt only when I want to.
When my roving was dry, I divided it into eight long
strips of pencil roving, being careful to mark with a knot of yarn the
beginning of each strip. I spun four pencils each on two bobbins. As each
pencil was ending I attached the next section at the yarn knot end. I thought
that would help produce a more coordinated stripe when I plied the yarn from
both bobbins. It would have, if each pencil had been the exact same thickness, and if my spinning had been very precise. Since I’m not a machine, it didn’t
happen. I really didn’t expect it to, and I’m glad it didn’t. I love the effect
I achieved.
I designed a simple lace and bobble scarf for the yarn
and I’m very satisfied with the result. The 4 ounces was enough to make the
scarf which measures 5 ½ inches wide and 55 inches long. I was glad that I
decided, from the beginning, to use a lifeline at each repeat of the pattern. I
ended up having to use it twice. It was well worth the minor inconvenience.
(See a lifeline in my May 12 post, “Mellow Yellow.”) I kept an eye on the amount of yarn I had left, and when I thought that I would not have enough for another repeat and the end rows, I ended the repeat I was working on, knitted the end rows and had a small ball of .2 ounces left.
My ball of merino roving is shrinking fast. I think I
need to email Jackie and see when she’s free to “do lunch.”
Happy stitching and dyeing and spinning.
