Ravelympics 2010

Bara engelska i dag!

Tomorrow is the day of the year - so far. Ravelympics starts. I will spin and knit. Today I looked over the wheel and made a couple of tests. I will use my Kromski Symphony "Alma Mater" and spin with ratio 10:1. The fiber is German Jacob, Deutsche Jacobwolle. I bought 500 grams from Das Wollschaf. When I opened the parcel I thought I'd made a bad deal. The fibers are coarse and there is a lot of kemp. The wool feels brittle and itchy.
  Then I remembered the millspun chiengora that's been in my stash for many years. Maybe I could spin a jacobyarn I could use with it? An intarsia-knit immediately rose in my mind. I found the chiengora in the attic. And yes! They will go very well together. I will make a sweater or a cardigan for outdoor use.

Now I have cleaned Alma Mater, oiled her, given her a new driveband that I stretched by navajoplying some leftovers from a couple of bobbins. I started the whole thing by baking a yummy apple/rubarbcake with coconut, cinnamon and vanilla, and eating the first mouthful warm with a cup of caffe latte :)

I will spin with ratio 10:1 and try to spin as close to the millspun as possible. The fibers in the chiengorayarn are much shorter than the jacob, and there is a lot of very fine fibers among them. The jacobyarn will be different, but close enough to work in a garment. The spinningtest shows I will have to ply with slightly more twist than on the sample here. I'll knit an intarsia with small patterns, because there is a risk that the yarns will behave in very different ways over the years. With small patterns the risk is smaller.

I haven't started the socks I will knit yet of course. They need no swatching.