In Ravelry we like to hold several different spin along or knit alongs throughout the year. We just wrapped up a huge one that lasted 4 months. It was productive and all inclusive and we all got something out of it but for me it felt a little disjointed. It covered too much. I like the ones that really hone in on subject.
The Southern Cross Fibre people are doing an Extreme Ply Along. If you want to advance your plying and see some crazy awesome yarns, that’s where you need to go. I’ve done some crazy plying in the past.
9 ply cable. 3 different yarns were navajo plied separately and then they were cable plied together to form this:
6 ply cable. I made 3 different 2 ply yarns. 2 were both red singles and one was 1 red single and 1 black single. The 3 yarns were then cabled plied to produce this:
The Spunky Eclectic group started a spin a long for the new 2013 limited edition colorway Friend’s Forever:
I spun a bunch of samples before the fiber ever was released. The rainbow goodness intrigued me and I had to see what it would produce.
Left to Right: South African Fine Singles – BFL 2 ply – Shetland N-ply
Our group is also just starting a Combo Spin Along on the 15th. Basically a combo spin is when you spin 2 (or more) singles from different colorways and then combine the different colorways into one yarn through plying. This is a yarn I made in 2011 when we had a Combo SAL before:
I call it “Grouchy Piglet”. It used 2 Helloyarn colorways of “Grouch” and “Piglet”. Grouch was spun into a thick and thin yarn while piglet was a fairly even sport weight single. Plied together it’s a funky awesome super bulky yarn.
That one is one that I did because I wanted it and it wasn’t connected to a Spin Along at all. It used one ply each of a Spunky Eclectic, Southern Cross Fibre, and Helloyarn colorway. It’s all BFL silk and it’s all knit into a sweater now.
I am not sure what I plan on doing for these Spin Alongs but I’ll try to remember to come back here and mention it.
I love the SALs, even though I usually fall off the wagon at some point. I’ve been mulling over some potential combos… and I also want to dip my toe back into the Extreme Plying, because it’s just too much fun, even if I’m not sure what to make with any of those extreme yarnz.
Looks like a lot of fun. I don’t have any roving, though. Just lots of grubby fleeces.
SALs are fun and they give you wonderful challenges. I’ve never done extreme plying, and not too sure it’s something I would want to try. I do love mixing colors though and have a project that I plan to do in the future.