Tagged: blending board

875 grams of handspun yarn

I got a blending board a couple of months ago. Now I’ve finished the first yarns spun from rolags made on the board. This is a very fast way to use odds and ends from your stash. I now have 875 grams of 3-ply Merino yarn, WPI 16, spun with a double long draw. The real challenge is to use this yarn in a way that shows it without blurring the colours. I’m thinking moduls or stripes with a contrasting colour.

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New year, new tool

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I got a blending board for Christmas. I bought a piece of card cloth, and hubby took an old book shelf and turned it into a board. I love it! For a long time I thought I don’t need yet another tool, but now I know I did. This is a wonderful way to turn fibers you don’t like, or left overs, into something new. I’ve already started spinning the rolags. While spinning I’m thinking of what colours I want the two other strands to be. Bright green-blue-turquoise perhaps?

As you can see I use two rather thick dowels. I want the rolags to be lofty, but also sturdy enough to be handled. I have several of these dowels for different kinds of fibers and tools, as I use dowels with hand carders also. The fibers I now work with are Merino and Merino-Silk tops of good quality for a smooth yarn. But the blending board is perfect for making the most wild and unruly art yarns batts also. Lots of videos on Youtube!

I’ll oil the wood one day when I don’t feel like I want to make rolags.

This new year’s eve isn’t particularly tempting if you want to take a walk. We have no snow, it’s raining, and more rain is promised. This time of the year we usually have lots of snow. The red sticks  are for the gigantic tractor with the snow plow to help it stay on the road even when it’s pitch dark. That tractor is so big and comes with such a speed that I always think it’ll move our house to another spot in the garden if it comes off course, and I have to take a step back from the window just in case. The sticks have been in place for two months now. But now snow. Maybe next year… 🙂

Happy New Year to you all!

Vägen nyårsafton 2013-1