After Leo went hiking, I unraveled the throw once again and put the Taiwan soap opera that Sandy gave me in the DVD player. And there I was stuck for the rest of the day. The yarn I spun from the Coopworth on the wheel didn’t come out very well in the ply. I was still doing trial and error and by the time I got the hang of it, the ply was done. So there are lots of overspun singles that got tangled up in the ply. Not a pretty yarn. My spindle spun yarn was even better than the wheel spun one. So I just can’t find the right pattern to hide the defects and yet produce a smooth enough surface for a throw and have a decent size also. Very high order for the yarn from the first try. Hopefully, I’ll find a pattern that would be good enough so I won’t have to unravel yet one more time.
I have to finish two bobbins full of the Border Leicester roving and make a ply before I can move onto the alpaca roving I bought at the Alpaca show. It’s amazing that there was very little fiber being sold at the show, I was very disappointed. But man those alpacas are so cute and they walk like noble people with head held high and long dainty legs. Leo met Don and Nancy who raise alpacas in Kansas, I think. They haven’t seen each other for years, so it was a great surprise that Leo saw them at the show and I chatted with Nancy who promised to send me samples from her alpaca when they are ready.
Anyway, I did finish plying the brown yarn and skeined and washed it. It’s hung to dry now. This second roving has turned out a lot better. The singles are more relaxed and the ply is more balanced. I’m pretty happy about it. I still have more than half left to spin but I can start on the alpaca a bit now I have three empty bobbins. Maybe tomorrow I’ll give it a try. I’m a bit nervous, after all, it’s only the third roving I bought and it’s alpaca. I was told to stay away from alpaca as a new spinner, but I just can’t wait any more. So we’ll find out..