Time? Chain Ply v Fractal Ply? and Other Questions

My dear son has been sick and home from school these past two days (oh dear me, and right before Halloween . . .) So, work has suffered just a little and therefore playtime has also suffered just a little bit. I have some commissioned knits to get started on, but, I need a bit of time and space to think about the gauge swatches I made and to put things into action. Plus, there is that sweater I swatched for and I just . . . can’t . . . seem . . . to  . . . find . . . time. You know how that goes, right? Oh, and did I mention I started teaching an online class for work. Whoo-boy, the times, they are a changing!

What I have managed: I pulled about 330 yards of fractal off of my Surf n Turf (yay) and I love the result, but I had a bit of the singles left over and so, I decided to chain ply the remainder–it was just a bit. Well, the results are in, and wow: such a difference! Here is a quick comparison of the two types of plying

Here, the chain ply is on the left; fractal on the right.

Here, the chain ply is on top of the two fractal ply skeins.

I have a full bobbin of single-ply white/black/grey and I was trying to decide how to ply it. My partner suggested chain plying–even though it eats up the fiber–and I like the results so far: I’ll end up with a couple of 3-ply skeins that will be quite fun to knit with.

Here, the singles are on the right being pulled off the bobbin; on the left is the 3-ply yarn

 

And . . . in the peace of this evening, I finally cast on for Steve’s socks!

And, finally, I’m happy to announce that the winner of the giveaway is . . . Cherie! And lookie-there! Your pattern is perfect for Halloween 🙂 Get in touch with me (I need your Rav ID or email) to claim your kitty! Thanks to everyone who shared patterns with me. I love seeing what captures your attention these days!

Happiest of Halloweens to all!