TdF, Days 7-8. A Fractured Fractal and Navajo Ply!

 Two great spinning days!


Finished my second project I call “Fractured Fractals.” I used separate rovings in red, gold, and creamy white. Broke the red and gold into two separate pieces each, the white into four. Alternated red, white, gold, white. Divided each one in two lengthwise, so I had two sets of eight pieces each. Spun one set “as is,” divided the other set in two again, giving me sixteen pieces, and spun those in the same R-W-G-W order.






The red and gold pieces were the hardest to draft that I’ve done, and I really struggled to get a consistent thickness. When I got to the white bits, drafting was so easy I got a little sloppy. Even so, I’m pretty pleased with the result and after a break to spin somethings non-fractal, I’m going to make another skein of this. Already have enough of all three colors and might as well get them out of my stash.  Got 96 yards out of this set.

I had quite a bit on my “short” singles bobbin from the tropical fractals set -- so I use the Navajo ply technique on it. This is where you take a singles, attach it to the lead on your bobbin forming a loop, then chain by hand - similar to the way you would make a crochet chain stitch.  The result is a three-ply yarn.  If you watch your singles carefully, you can control your color changes so you don't get barber-poles (see the closeup above for an example) if you don't want them.

The first time I tried to Navajo ply, I failed miserably and thought I wouldn't ever try that again. But this time it was incredibly easy and I actually enjoyed using the technique. After finishing, I have 63 yards of this yarn.  And  I like the result much better than the two-ply fractal skein I finished a couple of days ago.  Plus I think this is my best spinning to date.

This whole thing has been a very good lesson for me in envisioning how the spinning and plying methods used will create quite different results.

The icing on the cake was being able to go to my guild meeting this afternoon.  My friend Carol hosted it in her home and we worked on our projects while overlooking her reflecting pool and outdoor dining room.  A few hours to relax with friends, and enjoy a beautiful day.  It's the simple things like this that make life good.

Bunny Watson Enjoying the View

I started a new braid of fiber at Carol's - this is a merino called "Burning Bright" from Edgewood Garden Studios on etsy. You can see a little bit already spun on the photo above.  Think I will Navajo ply this one too!

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