spinning mohair loops and faux pearls

Long ago I spun a mohair single and plied with a thin black silk. It was awful. I found it recently and made this. First I un-ply plied it with an ugly batt thick n' thin single, really loosely. The mohair unspun and looped. Then I re-plied the other direction with another silk single threaded with beads. I'm calling it "low tide".

More ugly batt spinning

From the mostly blue batt. A slightly felted single at ~14wpi...I'm not done with it yet, just documenting its journey.

Knitt'n & Spin'n

A child's hat for Warm Woolies. Lately I only knit at work or in bed, so my projects are limited to thoses w/out patterns to learn. The top isn't really pointed, the jar underneath is.
My second attempt at coils. Kool-Aid pink lincoln wool over handful-of-marigolds lincoln wool. I keep finding little balls of singles that I wound in balls and forgot. Usually because there was never a plan for it, and I needed to clear the spindle or wheel for something else. This is how it looked right off the niddy-noddy.

Here it is after I set it with a bit of steam.

Now I think I should stop trying to coil over my own singles and use thread instead. It may be the only way I'll get continuous coils.

Ugly Batt Spinning Adventure Begins

This is the first single that I spun from my batts. Both batts are multi-colored, but one is mostly blue/purple and one is mostly green/brown. I alternated large chunks from both.
My first yarn from the single was plied with a thin mohair yarn. Even though they were the same thickness, the fuzziness of the mohair and the consistancy of the brown overwhelmed the single. I don't really like it.

Next, I try my hand at coil spinning. I read directions from various sources online. The strand that it is plied with is a cotton single that has been sitting in a ball for over a year. I made a coil, then plied normally for 6-8 inches before the single had time to unspin itself. At this point, I am so in love with what I see on the bobbin that I stop to take a picture.

The finished skein on a niddy-noddy. Tha picture is darker, but I don't know how to adjust such things.

Dogs on Thursday Attitude Conflict

Trixie says "Spring is here. The grass is green. Why aren't we frollicking?"

Gus says "I think we should consult the groundhog again. I'm just not ready."

"Will YOU come play with me?"

Rainy Day = Spinning Joy

I joined a group on Ravelry called Ugly Batts.

NO...bats are lovely and eat mosquitoes.

Except for this guy, who will bite you and lick your blood.

Here are my Ugly Batts from Abi at High Prairie Fibers ( http://prairiefiber.homestead.com/fiber.html )

I've sampled a little today. Tomorrow is calling for rain and rain and more rain. Tomorrow it begins in earnest.