The Cotton Spinning Experience

I have been playing around for some time with spinning cotton. I use a small wheeled spindle in a candle dish to do this.

I read in ( http://cottoncrop.blogspot.com/) that fibergal grew cotton and spun from the seed. I found a supply of cotton bolls on ebay from 1brentwood (69 ) I got good communication from the supplier and purchased a box of 25 bolls. She even included two pods that were not open, but did open before I got around to taking a picture. (my missed opportunity, but was wonderful for the grandkids to see.) I popped two of the cotton balls (if that is what they are called) filled with seeds off of the boll. One advantage that I found from spinning from the ball and not roving was that I didn’t have any noils, something that I have had a hard time keeping out of the prepared roving.
The fibers just pulled smoothly away from the seeds (there are many seeds inside each ball), and I was in control of how thick the fiber was fed into the spindle…I could make the fiber as thin as sewing thread, that was a bit too thin, but it was nice to know that it could be done.
I Andean plied the small amount of yarn that 1 ball produced, and was surprised to find that I had 3 yards of a two ply 22wpi’s just from one ball, and this particular boll had 5 balls. The next attempt will be to use a wheel, and see if I get the same results. Now it's back to the sock-a-month 4KAL http://samkal4.blogspot.com/ . I have these Gansey socks that I have been working on (they were planned for my November socks)…or un-knitting on, it seems for every row completed I seem to un-knit it. I am hoping it is because I have had a very cluttered mind for the past few weeks. I have done more intricate patterns in the past, with less frogging(if any). Oh well, that is how life goes sometimes…but the Gansey socks might have to spend a little while in a “time out”. Maybe I'll get them finished in January...maybe. :)