Step away from the plying head.

I have to admit a dirty little secret. It’s bad. You might want to cover the ears of younger children. Okay, and the ears of a few elderly folks. I’m quite ashamed to admit this to all of you… but here goes –

I can’t stop plying.

I used to be crazy for batts. I loved separating them out by color (almost in an OCD way) so spin up stripey singles. I love the drape of a single, I loved knitting with singles, and I adored the color changes. During my stocking up of batts, I purchased roving/combed top here and there but spun that up as singles also. Occasionally I’d sneak a plied (with itself) yarn in there, but not often. If I did ply, it was usually big, slubby yarns on thread.

Then a knit a long on Ravelry caught my attention. The pattern was called “Toasts” and people were using their plied yarns spun from Funky Carolina wool. I was mesmerized by the way the plied yarns knit up. The colors were undefined yet defined, all at the same time. They were organic, a kaleidoscope of colors, and I had to try them myself. I spun up some plied yarn, knit up the toasts, and fell in love.

Since the “Toasts” project in November, I’ve really only been spinning plied yarns. Okay, I lie, I spun a singles last week, but other than that, I’ve been plying.

It’s shameful, really, the amount of plying I do. Poor fluffy, lovely, colorful batts. They sit, unused, waiting to be spun. Soon, my friends, soon. But for right now, I ply.