Wednesday, January 25, 2006

While the wheel has been turning

I might have been learning.

There hasn't been much knitting past few days. (There was a sock... but that I don't want to talk about and to tell the truth there isn't any sock to talk about anymore.) But there has been more spinning. Spinning better yarn has troubled my mind a lot, so there is only spinning to talk about.

Here we have a skein of Merino/Kid mohair, 114 g and 381 m which means there are 167 meters in 50 grams.

The Koigu KPM - pure Merino - I'm holding in my hands has 160 m in 50 grams. So I'm close. But the Mohair content is having its impact here. So I can't be too happy about this yet. I will compare pure Merino handspun next time.

Here yarn comparison.

My handspun at the top then blue Koigu. There is a difference. My yarn is sort of messy and has more loose fibers. Could be the mohair.

And again the two at the bottom of the picture in the same order. Here both yarns are stretched to their maximum. This difference is got by stretching abt 35 cm of both yarns, Koigu stretches almost 2 cm longer... and it makes a big difference in the yarn quality.

Can it be so simple that the more twist the more stretch. I'll try it next time. Because usually when I'm done plying and washing and hang the skein to dry I don't need any weights and this can mean that the yarn is well balanced or that there is not enough twist!!

But now that I have made that clear to myself it doesn't feel overwhelming ... This I have learnt also: when I hit a spot in the sliver that is not perfect I have to slow down to get the fibers sorted out but can have the wheel turning very slowly... No need to stop completely. All along I have sort of realized this but add to the foot hand and eye cordination a brain which is set in a slower motion than the wheel...

So, the spinning will continue.

Here the blue sky during noon today, see how the sun touches the trees...

And the Finnish. There are lots of blogcats, blogdogs, blogchildren, bloghusbands but so far I have only seen one blogbird, beautiful little Alice.

The pronunciation. I'll just say that every single letter is pronounced distinctively and the emphasis is on the first syllable. If you want to hear Finnish spoken, you could watch Aki Kaurismäki-films. Or couple of years ago there came out a movie called "Kukushka" - there you have some Finnish too.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous19:12

    Oh! The Cuckoo (that's the English title) is one of my favorite movies - I actually own it.

    I'm really impressed with your spinning determination. I just kind of spin and see what happens.

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  2. Are all Finnish words accented on the first syllable, or is it just the case with the ones you're showing us today?

    And when there are two vowels in a row, do you mean that you pronounce both, so that "aa" is "ah-ah" and not "aaah"?...

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  3. Yeah! You are getting more sunlight!

    Your spinning is very beautiful, with your determination soon it will be better than the Koigu.
    :)

    I love todays Finnish Lesson. I just ordered some Finnish Language tapes from the library to help me hear what we are learning. I have heard Finnish spoken before and it truly is a beautiful language.

    minä vielä rukoilla aikana lumi miten lintu kaunis vihreä ja hopea hulvi

    Did I say that right?

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  4. Anonymous20:34

    Slow spinning adds more control. You can draft more consistently. Let the yarn twist back on itself frequently to see how you are doing. Ply the same number of treadles for each length of singles going together. Other than that, yes, it is trial and error. I can't find any science.

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  5. Anonymous21:30

    Hi Lene! I have also this kind of problem with my spun wool that is less elastic that I would expect. I think I spin too much my singles, then I am obliged to spin again too much my yarn. But also I think it depends of the yarn. With merino you are a little obliged to spin more, aren't you?
    (good for you to have more and more light!)

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  6. Anonymous22:52

    Interesting oberservations Lene - I don't think I have thought of my spining so much - so you have made me think about it now!

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  7. Anonymous15:50

    I love the nautre photos. How long is the daylight now?

    The spinning is interesting. But still something I can only admire. I cannot picture myself doing it. The kids and I have only seen spinning in person once, on a tour of an alpaca farm. Making a little felt ball of alpaca trimmings is also our only experience with felting so far. But that will soon change. (A friend sent me a pattern for some adult size booties and a lovely tote bag, both felting projects.)

    One family among my school friends have begun keeping sheep. They are doing so for both food and fleece. I'll have to check in with her and see how it is going!

    Marie N.

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