Yarn Along - We've Got Yarn

20 and I are ready for the Iknitarod!  What's in the bag?

1,454 yards from 31.4 ounces, averaging 740 yards per pound of light aran weight Maisie yarn. There is still about 3 ounces of roving left tucked in the corner of the bag.  I've pretty much talked myself into spinning up about 2 more ounces before the Iknitarod just to pad my yardage a little more.  I'd like to keep just a tiny bit of unspun fiber, just for a keepsake, but it will be there if I need it.  Surely not...but it is Maisie after all ;-).

Before we got to a big bag full of yarn, let me back up and share a possibly handy tip.  I ply from center pull balls all the time, especially for big projects.  I've never really had much trouble with that...until Maisie.  Anyone who's done any plying from a center pull ball can see what's fixin' to happen next.

A big twisty tangle of yarn is getting ready to flop out of both the middle and right hand balls.  Some of those clumps are very, very hard to untangle.  When I first started plying Maisie's yarn, I found that out the hard way.  Over and over and over.  Talk about slowing you down!

I'm not sure what possessed me to try sticking my water bottle down inside, but it worked.  I guess the bottles gave just enough extra tension inside the rapidly emptying balls to keep the single ply yarn moving smoothly.  Probably everyone already knows this trick and I'm just late for the party, but just in case...file it away.

Here's a picture of how I pulled the yarn straight up from the balls and fed it through my right hand, using my fingers to tension each strand as it spun into a three ply yarn and wound onto a new bobbin. Did you catch that?  A picture of my right hand?  Taken with my big girl camera.  I'm pretty proud of that one ;-D.

Let me share one more near "disaster".  All together now, "I just don't know how this stuff keeps happening to me."  See that black oil coating a section of Maisie's yarn?  I've never had this happen - the yarn flipped over the side of the bobbin while I was winding it off into a skein.  Twice.

I tried washing it out with Dawn, thinking grease cutting, but no dice.  Then I remembered some weird stuff Auntie Reg gave me called Grandma's Secret Spot Remover.  It took it right out.  Whew!

Here is the yarn before it was washed.  See how it's rumpled and almost stiff looking?  Like the three strands really hadn't gotten the chance to "know each other".  A good soak in warm to pretty warm (depending on the fiber) fixes that.  I use a little detergent as well.  Mrs. Meyer's Lavender is my favorite, give it a couple good rinses and add a little Mrs. Meyer's Lavender Fabric Softener to the last rinse.

Tadaa!

This is actually closer to the actual color than the golden shot above.  The clouds were starting to move in by now...but that almost always give you a better photograph.  See how much more relaxed and smooth the yarn is?  Much softer.

Here's closer view.  Quite a bit of the VM (vegetable matter) worked it way out during the plying and washing...

...but there's plenty more to spare.  Sigh.  I should have caught that before I sent it to the mill, but I mostly think it's funny now.  Classic Maisie, just the way I wanted it.

If you've stayed with me this long (Thanks so much for all the very kind comments on the very long story from yesterday!) you probably look much like Kate, who was trying hard to stay awake with me on that warm, sunny Sunday morning.

"This yarn stuff is really boring.  Really. Boring."

Do you remember how fast Maisie ran as a little lamb?  She was very fast, crooked legs and all, probably the fastest lamb I've ever raised.   She still digs in and "gets it" (she's in the lead here, as usual ;-) and that tail still spins around like a propeller.  Here's a link to an adorable video.  No super fast running. but some great bouncy running.  Baby Maisie playing in the yard.

Speaking of bouncy, here's a very short video showing how bouncy/stretchy Maisie's yarn is. I've never knitted a big project with yarn this springy.  You good knitters out there - is there anything I need to take into consideration because of that or is it just going to be super comfortable sweater because it's knit out of "elastic"?


So what am I reading this week?  Yep, another Mrs. Murphy mystery.  Tilly and I are hooked on them ;-).

Joining in with Ginny...