New Handspun from Pencil Roving

The loveliest pencil roving that I have seen is from Crown Mountain Farms. It is made from Corriedale sheep, which according to the Crown Mountain website, is a Merino-Lincoln-Leicester crossbreed. It is a nice long fiber which feels springy to the touch.

Corriedale pencil roving is fun for a beginning spinner because it is easy to turn into yarn. You can lightly draft it for a lovely single, a bulky two-ply or a worsted weight yarn. Once you learn to draft a little better, you can easily turn it into sock weight or even lace weight yarn.

I really recommend this roving, not only for its hand but also for the beauty of the hand-dyed colorways that are available. If you are a knitter, but not a spinner, you can knit up the roving itself for a chunky scarf or for a felted bag project. 

A couple weeks ago, I sat down with some of this pencil roving in the colorway called From Dusk to Dawn.  On the right are two skeins of bulky two ply created from 5 oz and on the left is a 3 0z skein spun in worsted weight. 

Notice that the finer you spin the yarn, the more blended the colors become. In a sock weight or lace weight, the color would appear even more solid. 

The next photos are of the colorway called Ghost Dance. The first photo shows some some of the roving that was given to Amelie for her work in the studio. It will really look different after it is spun.

Here's how it looked on the bobbin after Amelie spun and then plied it:

Here are two Ghost Dance skeins after the twist was set and the fiber was dried. It is gorgeous with blues, greys, pink, lavender, cream and more.

The next photo shows the two Ghost Dance skeins next to two skeins which have one ply from the Ghost Dance roving and one ply of a solid-colored lavender from combed Colonial top. Isn't it amazing what the addition of a solid color ply will do?