Spinning FO: Rose Grey alpaca 2-ply
Finished my first alpaca skein in my favourite colour of undyed alpaca fleece. I have some leftover singles to demonstrate Andean plying with Laura.
Fiber: Rose Grey alpaca from Prairieland Peruvian
Construction: 2 ply
Amount: 290 yards, 3.5 oz
Tool: Majacraft Rose spinning wheel
The singles snapped a lot during plying, I think I was afraid of putting too much twist in and left it too loose. Conventional wisdom says you put the same amount of twist in the plying as you put in the spinning. I think conventional wisdom is lying on this one, I way over-ply and let the finishing sort it out. It looks much better to me, the "balanced" yarns I've made look loose and horribly under-plied.
Working on some deep red Falklands wool now, from Dunnose Head Farm, via Crafty Notions. The Falklands sheep are a merino cross and the wool is produced without herbicides, pesticides, dips, or foot-baths. It's spinning crazy thin, so I'm going to try for a true 3 ply yarn.
(NB: Argentina seems to have gone quiet on its claim to ownership of the Falklands after the British oil rig didn't make a big find off the coast.)