Bead it

A few months ago I dabbled briefly in knitting with seed beads.  I really liked that but I just haven't gotten back to the other projects I planned using those techniques.  Beads kept calling my name though so I decided to try something else...

Left bobbin: plied yarn; center bobbin: alpaca with beads; right bobbin: Rambouillet

Beaded yarn!

One strand of cinnamon alpaca, on which I pre-strung beads as I spun it, 50 beads or so every now and then; and one strand of the fawn Rambouillet from the fleece that won't end (actually at this point there are only a few ounces left).  Each was spun at about 13:1 with a short forward draft.  Then I plied them at a slower ratio so I'd have plenty of control, and voila!  I have 877 yards of beaded 2 ply lace weight yarn.

The beading took much less time and effort than I'd always imagined it would, so I would definitely do it again soon.  In fact I have a gorgeous white fine wool fleece and about a pound of grey Cotswold, and I may experiment with this with both of them.