I toted the Ladybug and the Spinolution to the office/studio so that a new spinner could try them out. She’s hoping to add a wheel to her bridal registry (a lot better idea than a toaster!).

I haven’t been blogging because I’ve been finishing projects started like this De Colores knitted shawl. (Note that the shawl was knit from commercial yarn [same one as warp for De Colores scarves], not from hand spun shown below.) It’s the bottom up pattern with one stitch and then the yarn over instead of three stitches.

I’ve also been doing some spinning. More faux (in two weights) and some blue sparkle. I’m planning to start listing hand spun on my Etsy site next weekend. I’ll be including the purple beaded yarn and some complementry yarn without beads. Watch for the grand opening of the yarn shop!

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Tropical Twister

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I love the look of hand-painted yarn but while I’ve begun to experiment with dying, I lack the confidence to risk sacrificing my handspun to the dye pot. So, I’ve come up with faux hand-painted yarn.

I used Louet Lollipops space dyed roving.

I divided the roving by pulling it apart, the length of the roving. I then hand balled the roving being careful to start at the same end for each ball. (That way, the sequence of the color striping is consistent.)

Next I spun one length of roving and then the other. When I plied the two singles, I began with one length at the start of the repeat color sequence and the other at the mid-point of the color sequence.

The resulting yarn is a calliope of color which appears random and doesn’t repeat on itself. If you favor softer colors, you can use the same technique with softer colored roving and achieve more subtle color nuances.

Spinning is joy. I love lots of color and texture. You’ll see I’m not a purist. I mix commercial yarn with handspun, Easter egg dye and cake frosting coloring with natural plant dye. For me, it’s both the journey and the destination but not so much the mode of transport.

Upcoming blog entries will include Two Looks with the Same Yarn. Come back and visit often, SeabreezeSpinners.com.