twinset.us

Dear Jan,

I had asked folks to estimate the yardage of the fiber I’d spun; perhaps I should have asked them to estimate how many armsful I’d end up with.  The answer: one, but a very full one.

In yards, the answer is 1396.  This means Jocelyn, with a guess of 1430, came in very close indeed and is our winner.  Nicely done!  Joce, I don’t seem to have your address, so if you would, send it my way and I’ll get something fun in the mail to you right away.

I got it all washed tonight, too, and it seems to be well balanced.  It pudged up just a bit with the wash - see the before (left) and after (right) to see how a dip let the woolen yarn bloom with a nice little halo.  I’d estimate this to be a light worsted weight once it finishes drying.

Washing 10 skeins and keeping track of which label goes on which skein takes some doing.  I wash them all at once in the washing machine set for no agitation, soaking them and then spinning them out without rinsing.  I used Kookabura woolen wash - no rinsing required.  To keep the labels matched with the skeins, I letter the tags A, B, C… and then tie a light colored yarn around the skein and knot it with 1 knot = A, 2 = B, and so on.  After they are dry I’ll replace the labels and will know just what yardage is in each skein.

On an unrelated note, except perhaps for the streaks of dark brown on their sides, this week’s bean is San Franciscano from Rancho Gordo.  They cooked up into a fudgy texture mass - the beans mashed easily as they were stirred and just beg to become refried beans.  They would also be awesome baked beans if you like yours to be thick and squooshy.

Kind of like my new yarn.

Love,

Ellen