Socks at Home: Combo Spun

Rebecca

Jul 31

Well, I am super-duper behind! This month got away from me, and now the last day of July is tomorrow, and I haven't written a word about all the socks I've knit this month. So here we go.

First up are these lovelies.

These are from the Combo Spun Yarn #1 which was so enjoyable to make. Far from looking like mud to the maker, the many hues in three different colorways were very engaging. The same was true for the knitting. What color combination would pass through my fingers next?

As I discovered to my surprise in the spinning, the combo drafted yarn (top in the pic above) came out a lighter value than the combo plied yarn (bottom in the pic above). A slight difference, but noticeable. The same held true in the socks. In the pic below, the combo drafted yarn is knit up on the left, the combo plied on the right.

But, I think, what stands out to the eye more than the value difference is the level of blending. The combo plied sock has more of a speckled look to it, since the dots of color are at least the size of one single. It also looks more noticeably striped.

On the other hand, the combo drafted yarn drifts gently from one heathered hue to another, with less an impression of stripes and more of watercolor. The stripes that you do see are also longer, presumably because when you hold three strips together, it will take three times the length to spin them as one of those same strips held alone.

The sun was just setting below a hill to the west when we took these photos. The floor of the deck was in shadow, which unfortunately made a dull background for subtle socks.

But I could just get some golden light on them if I put my feet up on the railing.

Of the three braid leftovers that went into these socks, two were superwash BFL, and one was merino/silk. They made a very soft, pleasant yarn. Their wear should be comparable to the two pairs of superwash BFL which I spun in my default 3-ply way, as this yarn. I hope they last, though, because they are really lovely.