Spinning gray scale gradient yarn

A while back, I was playing around with some tapestry techniques. There are several ways to introduce gradient effects to a tapestry, but the book's method was a big fail for me: separate plies from (commercial) yarn and combine the plies of different tones to create gradients. The yarn I was working with snarled and snapped at me when I tried this. Then it occurred to me that, since I'm a spinner, I can create my own gradient yarns. Taking a workshop on spinning gradient yarns didn't hurt, either.

Starting with a range of roving, from black to white, I 3-plied a bunch of combinations:

• black-black-black
• black-black-dark gray
• black-dark gray-dark gray
• dark gray-dark gray-dark gray
• dark gray-dark gray-medium gray
• dark gray-medium gray-medium gray
• medium gray-medium gray-medium gray
• medium gray-medium gray-light gray
• medium gray-light gray-light gray
• light gray-light gray-light gray
• light gray-light gray-white
• light gray-white-white
• white-white-white

Yes, this was a bit tedious, but I am very pleased with the results. The plan is to weave a tapestry using these yarns. But first, I have to show them off a bit.