Summer into Autumn
Ply | Single
Yardage | Approx 224 m/100 gms
WPI | 12
Fibre | My own handdyed merino roving
Tool | Spinning wheel [5:1 ratio]

I read somewhere that once you start spinning up fine singles, it can be hard to churn out bulky weight singles; on the spindle, this theory has been proven to be true. I can’t, to save my life, spin bulky singles on a spindle (perhaps it is the weight but even with my heaviest spindle, it ends up being laceweight and such). So needless to say, when the wheel arrived, I pulled out my first handdyed roving and decided to get some bulky action going on.

Of course, at first it was crazy trying to figure out how to get the fibre into the orifice and some action going but after googling and watching some videos on the Net, things started going smoothly…

A night later and after 24 hours of skeining, washing and drying action going on, the Summer into Autumn yarn is finally ready. It is safe to say that this yarn is considerably thicker than the others I have spun up with a spindle and it is still overtwisted - something which I’ll need to work on. But otherwise, it is a nice combination of even and thick-thin in some parts and suitably thick as well as long enough for a hat.

The colours were a surprise - I hadn’t anticipated the colour change and intensity - but still, it’s a good yarn.

Now while this was drying, I started working on one of my recent handdyed superwash merino. I know I started one on the spindle but I didn’t want to work half on a spindle and half on a wheel so I pulled out another colourway instead. As so far, it’s turning out beautifully. So beautifully that if it goes well, I might just use this for a handwoven scarf but we’ll see…

In the meantime, there is laundry, brunch/lunch and assignments like mesothelioma to put up with…

After three weeks of waiting (and technical errors with the supplier), my biggest birthday present - big enough to rival what I got from Nil - arrived!!!!

It’s an Ashford Traveller Single Drive and completely assembled already with four bobbins and an integrated lazy kate. I had to pull out my spinning reference book to check on a couple of things but otherwise, it’s all good to go for some practice session and in time, some good old-fashioned wheel spun yarn! A great addition for the store really…

The real people to thank for this awesome gift are my parents, actually. They sent over some money and I used a portion of it on this wheel. This baby is not huge at all…in fact, it’s about 45 cm wide and less than 20 cm deep. So, Mum & Dad, thanks heaps!!!!

I’ll have a contest soon for picking a name for this little baby. I just need to think of a prize (probably one of my handdyed yarns or rovings)! What do you guys think? Should I have a contest or not?

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Nearly 50 years after giving his speech, “I Have A Dream”, Martin Luther King can probably rest at ease in his grave. His country have come a long way. From the time of the segregation to the last lynching of a black man in 1981, today is a defining moment in American history.

Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan economist and a white Kansas woman, will be inaugurated on January 20, 2009 as the 44th president and the first African-American black president of the United States.

A man raised in Indonesia and then Hawaii, Obama is a lawyer by training and clearly a passionate man throughout his presidency journey. Around the US, this man is a culmination and juxtaposition of the various cultures and beliefs of the country, and has chosen to focus more on changing the country than his ethnic/racial background.

Around the world, many people watch with bated breath as to who would rise as the next superpower leader - this is a change that goes beyond just the person’s race and name. This is a change that will see new trends in global world politics, foreign policies with regards to Iraq and naturally, a change that will have an impact on the current global economy…to say the least among many other things.

Indeed, Obama represents a country prepared for change, a country that is not afraid to embrace new beginnings.

Looking at the long road American has taken to reach to this stage, I wonder when too will be Malaysia’s turn? Are the people and the government ready to embrace a leader who is more about change than about his faith? Will we ever stop hearing the “race” card being played at every religion? Will the political parties realize that no matter what ethnic group we are from, we are Malaysians first above everything else?

I can only hope that while Americans can celebrate how far they and their country have come, Malaysians will take stock and learn from this journey of theirs…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to work on some assignments (like this one I got about CLAs (stands for Conjugated Linoleic Acid))…

…that’s right. I went from zero to close to 40 sold items, 2.5 kilos of wool to 8.5 kilos, from three different items to almost 15…

The shop is over two months old and I’m amazed at how much it has grown. The journey hasn’t been easy - the competition, the slow sales (due to a global slowdown), criticisms & ideas from all sorts of people about the prices/photos/profit (what profit?), and sometimes just slow braindead days where I can’t seem to come up with any new colours or combos - but I’m glad I never gave up.

For more of this journey of mine, please check out the shop’s blog!

With winter fast approaching, I thought I’d knit up some socks for Nil since he did mention that I never seem to knit up anything useful for him. He doesn’t think scarves are very useful…o’well…he doesn’t need them, actually. XD

Anyway, I’ve decided to work on these with one of my own Merino-Bamboo handdyes named Mountain Blue. It’s a two-coloured yarn and so far, it’s showing up as self-striping but I’m anxious to see how the colour blends on as I progress further up the foot length as well as cabling.

I’m actually loving the colourway - the bamboo gives it a soft heathery look and it’s still very masculine - and I plan on replicating this colourway for regular superwash sock yarns.

So yup, time to spin, spin and knit, knit!!!

While I’m busy with my spinning and stuff, the gerbils are busy with their own stuff, especially warming up the wheel the old-fashioned way. I just want to go snooze after looking at this pic!!!! XD

I’ve decided to save the merino-soy-bamboo roving for another day and work on my own superwash merino rovings instead…

So it’s being transformed from this…

…to this!

Not to toot my own horn but the superwash merino is ultra yummy!!!! It’s quite smooth and easy to tease apart compared to the other blends that I’ve been spinning up. The feel is very sleek, not quite slippery compared to the alpaca-silk mix and less fuzz like the merino-soy-bamboo. I think I might ply this - I figured this colourway would look really good on a pair of socks! - so I put in quite a bit of twist into the spin itself.

So far I like how the colours spin up - I’m actually amazed at how the colours spin up - from dark to bright and then light/white. Plus, due to how I have dyed my rovings, I get a mix of candy cane (barber pole, anyone?) and solids all in one which would stay as it is if I were to do a navajo ply but we’ll see how it goes…

YUM-MEH!

Just to side track a little, Las Vegas strip map, anyone?

*runs off to continue spinning up this dream*

**Cross-posted on the shop’s blog**

And just when you thought the spinning madness would be over, I had to go and spin up some Merri Merric (Merino-Soy-Bamboo roving)!!!