I have found that the urge to go out to eat on my lunch break becomes null and void as long as I have an exciting knitting project with me. Knit AND save money? Cha-ching! That TV dinner that I brought to work with me suddenly seems A-OK.

I actually snapped this photo a few days ago, of the beginnings of the Fast Track Handbag by the lovely Nikol Lohr. I’m knitting with my corespun yarn from a few post back. I still have to handles to do and it is complete. Will post pics soon.

Next!

I’ve been experimenting with corespinning lately, and I’m just loving the effects. But I started to wonder whether all the extra time and effort was worth it. Let’s take a look:

First, what is a corespun yarn?
In my own simple way of explaining things – A corespun yarn is created when you wrap your fiber at a 90 degree-ish angle around a center core, usually a thin cotton or wool yarn. You can control how tight or loose and fluffy you want the wrap to be by controlling the amount of twist with your treadling. (something I am still working at.) The effect is quite lovely, as it takes on an appearance all on its own.  …or does it?

These 2 skeins were created by using one of my crazy batts, split in half. One half is spun into a super bulky single (left), the other is corespun around a cotton thread (right). As you can see right off the bat, they are quite different in appearance. Also, the corespun yarn is almost twice the size of the regular spun yarn. (the cotton core is the same yarn you see in the photo that I used to tie the skeins – not thick at all.) Nice! Now do remember that I am a beginner corespinner, so mine is not quite wrapped at the 90-degree angle it should have probably been. I kept finding myself trying to angle my fiber supply down as I normally would. Habits! So moral of the story, is that I’m sure as I practice I will get a more distinct wrap.

Before spinning, both of these batts weighed 1.6 oz. I was able to get 50 yards from the corespun, while only 26 from the regular spun. (Do note, however, that the regular spun is a tiny bit bulkier, so take these numbers with a grain of salt.) Corespinning does indeed stretch the life of your fiber while creating a lighter and fluffier yarn.

See the difference in the twist? The right (corespun) has more of a distinct barber pole effect than the left. (regular spun) If you were to hold these two skeins in your hands, you would be amazed with how soft and fluffy the corespun yarn is. It is just gorgeous!

Now the burning question? Is it worth it?
It took me about 40 minutes to spin the corespun, vs. a merely 20 to spin the regular. I’m sure as I spin more, I could get faster, but not too much. It does take a lot more effort and time to corespin, in my opinion. However, look at the yardage! Talk about being able to extend a precious fiber!  So YES, I think it is indeed worth it if you do not mind the extra time and effort. It creates an incredibly soft yarn with a nice round shape, and perfect balance.

I think I will spin some more!

(My freshly applied hair-dye head. That’s artwork behind me, btw, I really don’t have Medusa hair.)

So here is the story:
I used to dye my hair, like every week it seemed when I was in high school.  Red, maroon, purple and more red seemed to be the colors of choice. I dyed it so often that eventually my hair turned a fun brittle orange. It didn’t phase me however, because that gave me all the more reasons to cut my hair off short. Ahh, those were the days when a crazy hair color or a drastic hair cut was never an issue. Nowadays we have to make sure our hair choices won’t make people think lowly of us in the workforce, (in the professional sense, not personal). And then there is this thing called “time” and “effort.” Yes, I agree, what are those?

So with this said, I FINALLY got around to dyeing my hair today. The last time I dyed my hair was 5 years ago, when the hubby and I decided we were going to try to get pregnant. I decided then that my flavorful hair colors had to go, along with the other non-baby making friendly basic needs – diet coke, alcohol, and caffeine to name a few. In the meantime, this annoying thing showed up – GRAY HAIR. Little nasty silver, sometimes white ones. Of all the nerve!

So anyway, all the gray is gone, gone, gone for the next 4 to 6 weeks, and it has given me something to ramble about on my blog, mostly for the sake of rambling.

It’s all good!

I decided that, yes, I did want to lighten up the doll hair for the second skein. Since Theresa will be cutting it into lengths for the doll wig, this gave me the opportunity to change it up a bit if I wanted. What she will do, is combine the yarns randomly and have twice the amount of variation. I can’t wait to see it all in “action” !

I think tonight I will go hang out in the “fiber room” and perhaps get some inspiration. Either way, it is going to be gorgeous. I’m just too nit-picky this way. It’s a curse!

These are the batts that I drum carded for a custom doll hair order. They will all go in the same yarn, alternating colors.  It is mostly Merino wool with tons of sparkle and layers upon layer of color.  I will also be adding stripes of bright pink and yellow Coopworth locks to give some added texture.  I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Here are the two fabrics the doll hair is to match:

Fun!

Eventually this will be a neck warmer-type thing. I’m hoping I have enough yarn to get the length I need. Good stuff!

So I leave you for now with some eye-candy from my etsy shop. See you real soon!

Go have a looksie!  etsy/yarnrescue: