I’ve been knitting more socks this year and really love making them with handspun. Normally I’d spin a sturdy, twisty 3-ply for socks, but since I only had a little over 5 oz of fiber, I spun this as a 2-ply so I’d have enough yarn. I decided to spin it on my Starling V3 e-spinner, which is a fun little tool that I am still trying to get used to.

The fiber for this spin came from deep-ish stash; I’ve had it for almost two years. This Allons-Y! Fiber Arts colorway was named Donna Reed. The fiber content is a lovely soft blend of 50% superwash merino, 25% baby alpaca, and 12% each of tussah silk and nylon for strength.

I broke the fiber in half (not lengthwise) into two lengths of 72 and 73 grams respectively. Then I split each half into three narrower strips. I spun two bobbins beginning at the green end and matching end colors from there. Then, I plied the two bobbins together. After finishing, I ended up with a little over 440 yards of 14-15 WPI yarn.

I really love the soft, summery colors in this fiber. Partway through spinning, I looked up and realized that the colors flowing through my fingers exactly matched the print on my wall! Alphonse Mecha’s Éclat du Jour is one of a series of 4 panels he painted in 1899 to depict the times of the day. This print is one of my favorites and was given to me by a dear friend. As soon as I get around to knitting the socks (I am considering Joji Locatelli’s Beachgrass Socks), I’ll be able to wear the Light of Day on my feet.