Different fibers

I have to say that I was really happy about my participation in the Tour de Fleece. Most of the time I sign up for something and then don't do anything about it. Either I lose interest or get so insanely busy that I don't have time to participate. This time, I spun everyday at least 10 minutes though it usually turned into much longer. I used lots of roving from my stash. In fact I hardly have a stash any more. Just some unskirted alpaca (4 oz black and 4 oz light brown), 8 oz of 100% merino, 4 oz merino/tencel, 4 oz (I think, it might be 8 oz though) black Corriedale, a little bit of silk, a little bit of merino, and some roving I've been using to make cat toys and other felted objects. Oh, and 4 oz of merino, silk, alpaca, and bamboo I bought after the Tour ended. This slight falling down is sooooo pretty. It is like air and so warm!

Anyway, back to the last of my Tour spinning. I bought a couple of ounces of dyed soysilk at the beginning of the summer. Originally it seemed like this would be one of those things of roving you just look at and pet but not actually use.


One of my goals for the Tour was to use many different types of fiber. So far I've used alpaca, silk, merino, Finn, llama (technically this was used the day before the Tour started), and tencel (also right before the Tour but the Tour was the inspiration for using it). I had a lace bobbin open (note to self: buy many more lace bobbins!) and rummaged through the stash to see what I should use next. That soysilk roving came bobbing to the top so I started spinning.

Someone said that spinning soysilk was like spinning cobwebs. Let me tell you, they couldn't be more right! People recommended spinning it with a high twist so it holds itself together. I thought that the alpaca I spun up a while ago was thin but I was wrong. This stuff sticks together so much that I don't have to work hard at making it thin. This yarn, once I ply it, will definitely be laceweight. I spun for hours and hours but I only made it through 2 color changes (the ball of roving goes through all of the colors of the rainbow starting with purple).


The next morning I started on the green section. I spun during my lunch break down in the staff breakroom. It definitely confused some people :)


That night I made it through the green section and into a little bit of the yellow.

Now, as you can see by the pictures, the bobbin was getting a little full. Well, I just kept going because my other lace bobbin was full still. This Tour definitely made me think of getting some more bobbins! The following day, I got through the rest of the roving (the rest of the yellow, the orange, and the pink). Let's just say by the end of the orange I was getting a little nervous about getting everything on this bobbin.


It was a tad bit packed! Everything made it but just barely. If I had had even 1/16 oz more, it would definitely not have happened.


When I wound all of the soysilk up on the ball winder, it definitely made a statement! Talk about all of the colors of the rainbow.


What do you think, should I ply it back on itself or should I ply this with a completely different color? A different color would definitely make the yardage better and make the color transitions very apparent. But I have no idea what other color would look good. White? Black? Any suggestions?