Tweed Chronicles: Opalescent

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© opalescent mix 1

From these pastel primary & secondary colors,

each one like mouthwatering fruity candy floss . . .

jenjoycedesign© pastel primary and secondary

into these fluffy rolls . . .

jenjoycedesign© opalescent mix 10

Magically transforming, while colors fuse

and melt into these opalescent silvery grey rolags to spin !

jenjoycedesign© opalescent mix 13

I have been thinking about this mix for a year now, and finally was able to do it ! It is a pastel variation of my original recipe mix “Color Saturated Neutral” , an experiment I did over a year ago. I am amazed at how the colors just melt into each other , and these pale pastels washing out into a silvery opalescence ready for spinning. This is how I did it . . .

♣ ♣ ♣

Techy stuff for Opalescent…

Equal parts of pastel primary colors: pink, pale yellow, light blue — plus — pastel secondary colors: pale green, lavendar, pale orange. These were 6g each, for a total of 36g.
Layered very thinly one color at a time, alternately. using this technique: Blending for tweed simplified
Lifted batt, layered again, total of three times.

NOTE: Each time you blend the mix, the colors become less distinctive and magically the all-over color becomes nearly a neutral. These were blended 3 times, then a 4th before drawing out rolags. Blend only once or twice for most colorful results, 3 or 4 times for very subtle and subdued ” neutral ” results.

Lifted bat, and sectioned into strips of about 3, layered again, loosely.
Drew off rolags.
I’m naming this colorway blend ” Opalescent ” .
See ALL color blending experiments & recipes archived in Tweed Chronicles

(( Click 1st image in mosaic to go to slideshow with commentary. ))

6 grams of each color

pastel primary & secondary colors.

Ready to blend!

First pale blue…

then pink…

then pale yellow…

then pale orange…

pale green…

and pale lavendar.

Combed fiber into teeth after each color is added.

Lift batt with comb.

Section into three pieces, and rolled for photograph.

Repeat for a second blend

And a third. Colors are washing out dramatically!

One last blend, then rolled off rolags on to knitting needles.

Stack of opalescent rolags!

Spinning seashells…

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© spinning seashells

This fiber “Optim Ultrafine Merino” is just so luxurious, and in a way, effortless to spin, yet really takes some practice. I posted the blending recipe the other day when I made the rolags “the color of seashells” , I remark how the fiber base Merino Ultrafine is incredibly downy soft, and fine….

jenjoycedesign© seashell detail

But let me tell you, it is slippery and not easy to manage without breaking it a lot while spinning, that is , until you get the hang of it. I am practicing sort of three new things at once; long draw drafting from rolags, fixed my wheel so it can go high speed, and also spinning this new gorgeous slippery fiber.

This woolly confection is inspiring me to put up a shop on Yarnings just to sell a few little luxury ultra-handmade things ~~~ knitted things that I’ve knit from yarn I’ve spun from art rolags I blended on my super nice blending board that I made, and in my own designs of course. A little too much in all directions, yes, I’ll agree, but oh boy these tasty wool sausages are sweet nectar to my eyes, and deserve as much publicity as I can muster up!

Life is good and Autumn is near!

Voila!

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Jen

Voila!

In this post I show you the blending of fibers for this handspun yarn,

and the recipe I am calling Fiber Blending 1.

59 grams of yarn; relaxed, slightly slubby, infused with jewel tones.

I’m off to town, see you on the flipside with a more in-depth look at a little trick I discovered while blending the fiber for this yarn!

Woolen or worsted?

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Jen

Spinning from rolags is a different experience for me. Especially these tightly rolled sausage-like ones drawn off of those nifty blending boards, and from which I posted about a few weeks ago. Raw, dirty & weedy alpaca is what I’m practicing this woolen technique I am learning, from rolags. In my spinning past, I’ve spun from locks, from picked fiber ‘clouds’ , from bats, had also tried a badly produced rolag or two and gave up ~~ but mostly all the years I’ve spun its been from roving, sliver, and combed top. I am learning that although I was getting better at spinning a fine even single, the yarn I’ve been spinning has been dense, tough type of yarn. I think I was unconsciously aspiring to spin worsted (or semi-worsted) , however there is true woolen style of spinning which is done this way, from rolags I am learning, and ‘long draw’. Okay, I’m getting this…

I must say, this rolag thing is where it is at! Its fascinating, long-draw spinning method, and as yet I am far from being able to do it, and I must resist the urge to pinch the twist too much and let it compress through my fingers into tight even yarn, for that is what is to spinning, like knitting yarn with too small of a size needle I think. It creates a dense compact yarn, that squeezes the life out of the fiber. Just look how the yarn pulls out of the rolag in a line all by itself, with really very minimal fussing if you do it right…

Well, I’ve got this pile of rolags that I made from my first carding on my board, a loosely carded alpaca, and when I’m done with this, I will wash it very well as it is dirty. Hopefully it will bloom and be fluffy & beautiful.

As I’ve been ordering & collecting a bit of fancy fibers to play with and blend, and even ‘processing’ some bits of yarn I have on hand to incorporate into the tweed mixes which I am envisioning for art rolags! For now I’m glad to be taking a break from knitting as the previously posted yarn was not very nice at all, and I sent it back only to have to start all over with nicer yarn that I enjoy knitting, and more important, that my nieces will enjoy wearing! So I’m waiting for new yarn to come in. In the mean time I’m spinning! All you spinners out there, I invite you to share in the comments about your preferred spinning methods, and anything you might be able to say about woolen vs worsted spinning ~ thanks!

I’m closing with a posting of a video from 1970’s that I found about sheep & spinning in Donegal Ireland, I hope you love it as much as I do!