The Bottomless Pit of Merino

I suppose that if you have to have a mound of fibre waiting to be spun that never seems to go down in volumn it could be a lot worse things than superwash merino. It seems like I have been spinning this merino forever! I kettle dyed the fibre last summer and I started spinning it about a month ago. I keep thinking that today I will get the singles finished, but when it is time to turn off the lights and go to bed I am perpetually amazed to see that there is sproingy mass of it still in the basket. Hopefully, I will get it finished today.

I forgot (again) to take a picture of the fibre after dyeing so will have to make do with a photo of some it after doing some predrafting. I separated it and predrafted to keep the colours a little more true. It is a mix of deep blues, burgundy-red and deep purple.

I started out with 200 grams of fibre and I have the fine singles on 2 bobbins.

My dilemma now is that I don't have a clue what to do with it. I chain plied a bit of it (bottom with more blue) and did a small amount in a 2-ply (top example). There really isn't a lot of difference in the diameter, but it is still unwashed. The chain ply is also spun a little tighter.

I haven't had the time to do a lot of knitting either, although I did get the Wensleydale I dyed cast on and started. I am finally getting a lot more adventurous with my socks and breaking away from all the stockinette. I have trouble finding a good pattern for my handspun yarns. Anything too lacy or with too much open work doesn't seem right with a 3-ply yarn, especially Wensleydale. This Wensleydale is knitting up quite surprisingly soft, however.

I ended up using the Socks of Kindess recipe and I am very, very pleased with how they are looking so far. I sacrificed a bit of the luster with the Navajo ply, but the colours are knitting up incredibly pretty - subtle enough that the pattern isn't lost, but with enough variation to keep it interesting.