Spinning some John Arbon fibre - Wooden Bobbin - multicoloured version

As I mentioned in my last post I had bought some fibre in May 2022 from another spinner that was de-stashing.  

This is an interesting blend, both in in terms of fibre content and colour combination.  The fibre content is 40% Corriedale, 30% Merino, 10% Exmoor Blueface, 10% Zwartbles, 5% Bluefaced Leicester, 5% Wensleydale.

Having spun up the first braid and whilst being happy with that yarn I decided that I would spin up the second braid in a completely different way.  There are a few options available to me. 1) Pull apart the colours and create some kind of gradient yarn but I can't see this working as I can probably isolate the green and the white but the rest, nope. 2) Fibonacci Spin, this has potential as I can isolate the green and the white and then the rest would probably have to be blended together to make one browny-grey shade.  I don't think I want to make a Fibonacci Yarn. 3) Pull off chunks and spin-over-the-fold to keep the colours together and then I have two options: a) spin two singles like this and ply them together for a barber-pole yarn or b) spin one long single and then chain ply to make a 3 ply yarn but pay attention to the colours coming through and adjust the loop lengths each time to try and keep the colours clean and together. 

For this braid I decided to spin it over-the-fold, as per option 3, but I didn't initially decide on which option to take for the plying so I halved the braid in length to give me options and started with the first smaller length.  Once I saw how it spun up I was able to make a decision on the next step.

I liked the way the colours were isolating and into various shades of the brown so I decided to continue and spin one long single and then chain ply it.  I spun it quite finely, like the first yarn, but as I was making a chain ply 3ply this yarn was going to spin up thicker than the first yarn.  I had to adjust the length of the loops when plying to accommodate the colour changes as best as I could.

The finished yarn is double knit weight, 106g/262m, and it's nice and soft.  It has turned out really nice and interesting with lots of colour blocks but there are also some sections that are a bit barber-poled but this couldn't be helped and I don't mind it.  I am glad I went this way and not with the option of spinning it over-the-fold and then making a 2ply barber-pole yarn.

Spinning some John Arbon fibre - Wooden Bobbin - blended version

I bought some fibre in May 2022 from another spinner that was de-stashing.  She had got this fibre from an Open Mill Weekend event held in June 2020 by John Arbon Textiles who are based in South Molton, Devon, which is about 180 miles away from where I live.  They hold this event every year and they also sell online, I've bought some fibres directly from them, most are still waiting to be spun but I have spun a couple of them.

This is an interesting blend, both in in terms of fibre content and colour combination.  The fibre content is 40% Corriedale, 30% Merino, 10% Exmoor Blueface, 10% Zwartbles, 5% Bluefaced Leicester, 5% Wensleydale.

Before I started spinning I had an idea that I may want to spin each of the braids in a different way, handle the colours in a different way for each yarn, but I wanted to see how the first one turned out before I made a final decision on making two different yarns or making them both in the same way and having a larger amount of yarn that could be used on one project.

For this first one I undone one of the braids and put the two ends together and run it through my hands to find the middle and broke the length at this point to make two shorter lengths. I pre-drafted each of these shorter lengths before spinning and I tried to make sure that a little bit of each colour was pulled into the draft each time I pulled on it.  I forgot to take photos of my basket full of pre-drafted fluff but it was a kind of mousey grey-brown with a hint of green, the colours have blended together and the white has completely disappeared.

I spun each single from the end of the pre-drafted fibre using the short forward draw/short backward draw method, spinning quite finely, and I plied the two singles together. A simple and straight forward spin.

The finished yarn is sport weight, 106g/410m, and it's nice and soft.  It has turned out quite a drab mousey-brown-grey colour, lifted by the tinges of green.  I do like it but I have decided that I want to try and make something a little more exciting, colourful, different with the second braid of fibre.  I have a few options and I need to think about which way to go with the second braid.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2023 Stage 15

The Cycling: Stage 15 is 180km of a mountain route that starts in Lets Gets les Portes du Soleil and ends in Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc.

The Daily Challenge: Take a picture of something you've spun so far, from the highest point you can find (but stay safe)

Suggested Fibre: Mont Blanc

What I did

Well, I did do the photography challenge, or should I say Hubby did it for me.  I arranged everything I've spun so far on a towel on the patio table (it had been raining and the table was a bit wet) and hubby leant out of an upstairs window and took the photograph for me.  I scooped up the skeins using the towel just as it started raining again.

As for the spinning?  Hmmm the only thing I have that is remotely height related, and this a really tenuous link, is called "Moon Bloom".  It is from John Arbon Textiles and from their range called "Devonia" which is 50% Exmoor Blueface, 30% Bluefaced Leicester, 20% Wensleydale.  Exmoor Blueface is the result of crossing an Exmoor Horn with a Bluefaced Leicester.  

I expected this one to spin up in all shades of blue but I'm very pleasantly surprised by the look of the single that I've spun so far.

The colour looks pretty even and not variegated as I expected it to spin.  It's a little confusing to me given the number of shades and colours in the braid.  It's lovely to spin though and I do have a couple more braids from the Devonia range in different colours.

The finished yarn is 50% Exmoor Blueface, 30% Bluefaced Leicester, 20% Wensleydale, fingering weight and 319m/100g.