Huge skein of 2-ply yarn on one gigantic bobbin spun on Hansencrafts Mini Spinner

I have been going through a dry spell regarding spinning and weaving.  Purchased a new Bernina sewing machine last summer and have been exploring all of its many possibilities as much as I can.  Updated my Bernina software about a month prior to that and had many, many lessons to work through to get the hang of it.

Remaining Fiber with Inglenook Fibers Label

However, this past week, with sewing machine in the shop for an update and upgraded part, I returned to spinning and weaving.

To begin, I had purchased a couple of beautiful rovings from Inglenook Fibers, one of my favorite Etsy shops.  The first was almost entirely rust-colored, a Fawn Alpaca/Silk, 70/30 combination.  I plied that with a multi-colored singles yarn that was Merino/bamboo/tussah silk, 50/25/25 combination.  I used all 4.1 ounces of the alpaca/silk and about 4.2 ounces of the merino/bamboo/silk to create a 2-ply yarn that is 7.2 ounces - I know that does not compute, but after washing, that is the final weight of this skein of yarn.  This skein is about a DK weight of 562 yards, the longest skein I have ever spun.


This was a bit of an experiment, because my wonderful hubby purchased an electric Hansen's Mini-Spinner in walnut last summer at Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR, much to my surprise and delight.  He purchased it with their new lace flyer assembly, which has wonderfully lightweight draw-in. However, being used to my WooLee Winder on my Schacht Matchless wheel, I almost immediately contacted Nathan Lee of WooLee Winder, to see if he had one available in walnut for the Mini-Spinner.  He immediately shipped me off one.  When I received it, I was amazed at the size of the bobbin's almost 10-ounce capacity and decided to put it to the test, which is how this project came to mind.  I had about a fourth of the bobbin left that I could have filled with even more fiber and had absolutely no issues with plying from start to finish.  My only issues were actually since I hadn't spun much in a while, re-educating my hands to the art of spinning.


Now I have to find a project to use this yarn!





  

Finished Skein

For those who do not spin yarn, it is very Zen-like and meditative.  This skein, while not perfect, is so amazingly soft, and I have a feeling that it will bloom because of the alpaca fiber in whatever project I use it in, developing a soft halo of fiber over time.