Grrrrrrr! Mk2.

Having realised that I will not have quit enough of the yarn I spun from the 'Storm' silk/merino blend I bought another 200 gms which I have just started spinning; and now I have another grizzle.  The original 500gms was very badly blended and the silk came in lumps which were impossible to draw so I ended up with a very uneven yarn.  Surprisingly, with the pattern I chose to knit, the roughness actually enhances the vest and I am very happy with the results.

BUT ... the new lot is properly blended and no longer do I have lumps of silk mixed with the wool.  The silk is well blended and integrates well with the wool.  So  -  the last few centimetres is going to look different  -  which I am not very happy about.  To add insult to injury, the roving looks as though it has been randomly put together with strips falling off the sides and one chunk which was not attached in any way but looks as though it was put into the package to bring the weight up to the correct amount.  So I have stripped it down to its component loosely attached pieces.  This will not matter, of course but I am not sure what the New Zealand supplier thinks it is doing.  I have started buying my rovings from USA and South Australia.

However, I have not yet tried spinning any of that bit of my stash  so I might find that it is just as difficult to handle as the New Zealand lot.  Actually the black corriedale from NZ is fine and I am very happy with my first skein.  But I need to get the Storm out of the way before I get back to it or my knitting schedule will be disrupted.

I asked the Ds to give me some time with them instead of presents for birthdays and Christmases and D3 treated me to a matinee of South Pacific yesterday.  The story was changed around a bit to bring it up to modern thinking, it was rather raunchy and most of the cast were dancers so it was fairly spectacular but definitely not a kids' show.  The star, as always with that production, was Bloody Mary who was brilliant.

D3 has also, for an early Christmas present, given me a subscription to PLY magazine.  Any spinners out there who haven't come across it yet ... you need to check it out; it is full of useful stuff and a great read.  D3 and I did spinning classes together when she was still at school and not supposed to gatecrash adult education and we have both taken it up again just recently  -  she because she stopped mourning the broken and unreplaceable flyer on her Camelot wheel and me because I bought E.Roberta.  

However, as with her fabric collection, she seems to be buying more yarn than she has time to knit  -  but what the heck; she is happy.  :)