On Plying and the Devil's Fiber this Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday

So, I haven't started to spin ... yet.  However, I have been admiring handspun yarn for quite a while now. Because I'm also starting to design, how fiber is plied is becoming more and more important. For me, yarn that splits is not so desirable (although I certainly have and will continue to use my fair splitty share). Z-ply, n-ply - this is all still on my learning curve.

Nevertheless, I know what I like when I see it. And when I saw the yarn to the left, I knew I liked it. I said I wanted it. The universe (in the form of the friend who spun it) said "ok" and sent it to me.

What a great gift, no? This is n-plied - and B's first attempt. I think she aced it. I have a project in mind for it which I hope to work up soon. Not only is the color just d-i-v-i-n-e, but it seems like a nice tight-yet-evenly-plied skein of heavy fingering/dk weight yarn. I'll keep you informed on the splittiness factor (or non-factor, which I suspect will be the case).

I received a swap package a few weeks back that also brought plying to the forefront. Check out the yarn to the right, at the top - is that not the wildest plying you've seen in a while? This is a Lana Grossa yarn - Croisette - and though it's discontinued, I will still enjoy playing with it. Oh, and that green mohair on the right? That's got another project in its future.

Finally, speaking of mohair or otherwise known as the devil's fiber depending on the person speaking, I took the following devil's fiber in my stash:



and started working up a second Le Chaud coffee cozy. (Note: I have eight great testers right now, and if anyone else is interested in joining in on the test, definitely feel free to send me an email. There's room for a few more.) Here's how Le Chaud - the devil's version is looking so far:



I love mohair. I also love how I am using up bits of left-over stash. I am extremely pleased with the subtle color changes and the right amount of bling this cozy is exhibiting.

Mepho never looked so good.

Please make certain to check in over at Andrea's blog and see what other devilishly good things everyone else is working on this Friday.