Going for Socks

Remember this roving? It's a superwash merino/nylon blend. I braided it, soaked it and then spot dyed it while it was still braided. I mixed up three different colors (an earthy green, an earthy blue and chestnut) and poured them on the braided roving randomly about 2-3 tablespoons at a time. Tied it in a plastic grocery bag and microwaved it in 2 minute increments. After it cooled overnight I rinsed it well and let it dry.



Here you can see I've split the roving up. The top right braid is half of the original roving. The top left pile is part of the first half i'm spinning. The bottom pile is part of the roving that has been pre-drafted in preparation for spinning. I love how the colors pull in spot dyed roving.



Here is the (slightly overspun) single i'm working on from the first half of the roving. I blame the fact that it was 6am and I had not had any coffee yet. I was also spinning in low light so as not to wake up the kid sleeping on the couch right next to where I was spinning. I didn't even realize how overspun it was until I saw this picture on the computer. I'll just have to be really careful when I ply so that I don't end up with coils in one of the plies. I play to ply this tightly so it shouldn't be a problem to get that extra twist out.



I'm super excited to finish this yarn and start knitting myself a pair of socks from it. It spins so easily ... just like buttah! I'm aiming for a DK or Sport weight yarn. We'll see how that works out. It might end up a little bigger than I was planning. :)