A Mystery Spin

 

A hot mat doing it's job nicely at breakfast!

I've had this bit of roving for some time. I can no longer recall what breed of sheep it comes from, but if pressed, would guess Cormo. It is, when decompressed, very spongy with lots of spring. Although Targhee comes to mind, I'm pretty sure it's not that. So I'm saying Cormo, for now.

This picture was taken in natural light

The roving is pictured at right. After carding, the rolags are fluffy and light as air pictured top left. I spun two samples on the Country Craftsman wheel, both of which ended up more like string than yarn (bottom left). I tried to lessen the amount of twist on the second sample, but it still was not enough. Then I moved to one of my Kundert spindles (bottom center) and tada! Got the yarn I was seeking.

This picture was taken in artificial light

It spins up like a soufflé, so much loft! That's the first skein of 45.5 yards. Again, I'm chain plying on the fly, so I can only get so much into a skein. That's OK though, I don't mind smaller skeins; it's faster to wind them into balls!

In general, my spinning is improved from the days of NYC spinning. I am not adding so much twist, resulting in yarn that has a better "hand", in my opinion.

I have a movie that Norman Kennedy made, called "From Fleece to Wool". I rewatched it last month and it sunk in that less twist can result in a better yarn.

Norman Kennedy is a well-known spinner and weaver from Vermont and started a weaving school there. He hails from Scotland, where he learned his trade. The school was called the Marshfield School of Weaving in Marshfield, Vermont. It has since relocated and goes by the name The Newbury School of Weaving. I recently discovered that it's not too far from where I live. Oh, boy!