Sock Summit Spinning

Camel / Tussah combed top
Originally uploaded by Project Pictures

Yes, here we are nearly a half year later and I have finally made it around to spinning my Sock Summit loot. Miss Babs was the first up with her merino/silk blend in Oregon Cellar and it was a dream to spin. But my next project was to take this beautiful 50/50 blend of baby camel and tussah silk made by Sliver Moon Farm in their colorway "Cahoonzie" and spin it into something lovely and knitable.

The preparation of this top threw me for a bit of a loop. I bought it because it was pretty, shiny and soft. I had no idea what baby camel was like and didn't really know what to look for in a blend. The silk was not well blended throughout, and the camel was lightly felted (very lightly, but still had to be pre-drafted to loosen it up. I hate listening to top fizz and crackle as I pull on it). The silk's staple was 3-4x as long as the camel. Up until now I've only spun merino/silk and apparently the silk had been cut to a somewhat-similar staple as the wool. With the camel having such a short staple, it was really easy to draft out all the silk and suddenly have to carefully long-draw the short camel down. If you have spun similar blends before, do know if this is pretty typical? It certainly isn't on part with Miss Babs' fiber.

It still spun up pretty, tho. I was able to get 240 yards of light fingering weight 2-ply yarn. It's plenty for a cowl or small scarf/shawlette. And it it gloriously shiny and soft at the same time. Camel, as a down fiber, is supposed to be quite warm, even warmer for its weight than wool. So I expect that whatever this turns out to be, it will be hard not to want to bury yourself in it!