Hi’s and Lo’s

With the Summer Olympics in full swing, I’ve been doing a lot of knitting and spinning while watching coverage of the Games on television. The Spider Queen is almost 4/5s completed. I have started the edging of the 3rd border and the edging should be done by the end of the week. Then there will be just one border to go.

The lovely turquoise Corriedale fiber is now spun into singles. I spun half of the fiber on my beautiful Kundert high whorl spindle, but the second half I spun on my new Schacht Hi-Lo spindle using the spindle as a low whorl.

Schacht Hi-Lo 1.1-oz spindle used as low whorl

My verdict on this spindle is that it works very well as a low whorl spindle. My verdict on low whorl spindling in general is that I absolutely love it. My verdict on Corriedale is that it is a wonderful fiber and an excellent choice for a novice spindler. It is easy to draft and easy to control. All that’s left to do is ply the singles and set the twist.

Corriedale singles awaiting plying

The Wool of the Andes in Sapphire Heather is nearly all spun. The first half of the fiber was spun on the little guy–the .75-oz spindle I bought that is made from a wooden dowel and toy wheel. The second half of the fiber is being spun on the 2.2-oz Schacht Hi-Lo.

Wool of the Andes Sapphire Heather in progress

Once again, I’m using the Hi-Lo as a low whorl spindle. The heavier spindle definitely spins longer than the lighter one, but it spins slower, so I sometimes have to give the yarn an extra spin before winding it onto the shaft to ensure that it has enough twist. I don’t have much of this fiber left to spin and will probably have it finished before the day is over.

Not much left to spin

The Sapphire singles are pretty thin and I’m considering leaving them unplied and using the yarn for a lace shawl or scarf. This yarn had a lot of depth in the color as well as a beautiful shimmer. I’m thinking that it wants some beads. What do you think?

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