Over spun, over plyed, scratchy

The title describes the alpaca that I have been spinning and finished today. I was having a lot of difficulty getting right this time. I spun two bobbins of alpaca the first one was very uneven. When you look at the second there is a massive improvement.

First bobbin spun

Second better bobbin

I didn't really feel like plying them together when I felt the quality was so different. I decided that it would be more like an art yarn and anyway all spinning for me is good practice as I am only a beginner. I plyed it and it is the most horrible yarn I have ever spun it is hideous to touch, so scratchy!

I asked people on ravelry about this, there are three possible explanations, all of which I think did add to it coming out bad.

1. The tops I used was very soft and fluffy to begin with (so next time I should use a different supplier)
2. Dyed alpaca can also lose some of its quality becoming more rough
3. Over spinning the alpaca can make it stiff and scratchy

I think they definitely all had a part to play (maybe number 3 more than the others!

Anyway after that disappointment I quickly got out my jade merino/silk blend and started spinning it. Now this is so soft and smooth! It also spins like a dream!

I love the colour, its very me!

To add to my week of disappointing projects is my latest weaving project. I got the yarn, it was beautiful, the colours were bright and reminded me of spring and would be perfect for my car! (It was to be my car blanket for the back seats)

So I spent ages setting it up! When I was finally ready to wind the warp up I was tired, I cut corners and messed it up. When winding it on I use a roll of brown paper to separate the layers. My roll doesn't cover the width of my loom so I used two rolls. I didn't fit them in very well.

This was the result, a very unevenly wound warp. Which caused mega problems with tension. The yarn was an issue as well, it was well sticky I guess, it stuck to each other which made weaving very difficult. I wove 4 inches before I decided the warp was to uneven as I wound the blanket on. I tried to fix it but I didnt manage to. So now my loom sits there empty. Until I get the guts to try it again.

Sad times. Hopefully next week will be a better week for my crafting.