Shawl Project Update..

I was sure I had enough Perendale for the whole warp, but I didn't.  I am so glad that I picked up another pound of fibre last October, "just in case".  I've been washing locks.  Of course washing them in January seems to take twice as long than in the summer.  It's not the washing that takes twice as long really, but the drying.   This bag is a little more compacted, with the lock structure less defined in places, so it's taking longer to separate them.  Add in the kitten who is desperate to find out more about the "stinky" fibre, and it's been making for a very slow process.

Longdraw from the fold - commercial roving

Not being able to spin the rest of the warp, I started spinning the weft.  I'd have preferred spinning each one in turn, to keep the rhythm going, but it would feel like wasted time putting off spinning until enough locks were washed and dried.   So while there are still about 400 yards of warp to spin, I started spinning the weft.  This is a commercial roving that says it's light grey/silver, but it spins up more of an oatmeal colour.  The roving is soft enough I guess but nothing spectacular.  It has a few tiny neps which I can't see until I actually come upon them while I'm spinning.  However, it has surprised me at how nicely it spins and what a nice yarn it makes, even with the few little neps which seem to spin in before I catch them. 

Colourful warp chains

I'm winding the test warp.  I've added a bit of extra length for testing and to make sure there is enough left to tie on.  It's a colourful warp, to be certain.  My stash yarn left me only one option and that was a slightly thinner wool/silk blend.  Lovely, lovely yarn but that sett would have been off enough to affect one or the other shawls and the idea of re-threading the reed unnecessarily, defeats this particular purpose of the test shawl.  At the guild, they had some 2 ply wool yarn which had been for sale for a while.  All the more subdued colours are gone and only a few skeins of each colour of the remaining yarns are left.  However, while it is a slightly firmer yarn than I'm spinning, it is the same WPI, so I think it will be a better choice for a test item.  I have some grey for the weft and also have 1 skein of bright yellowy/orange which I'm debating using for an "accent" stripe, just in case these colours need something to help make them pop.   I've got only two more chains to wind and then I can start dressing the loom.  I do have to hide the warp from the kitten when I'm not around as he's very interested in them.

Right now, I'm dithering over weave structures and trying to decide whether I want to dye the weft or not.  There is only a small contrast, but the warp is a clear grey while the weft definitely has a brownish cast to it.