Tour de Fleece week 2 + Camp

Week two begins with more of the red fiber. I am really enjoying spinning this.

I finished spinning the first single on day 9. I also started on the second single. Monday, July 11th is a rest day so I don't know if I will spin or not.

I was at Meg Swansen's Knitting Retreat 2.75 last weekend. I only spindled when I was there.

I was also working on a class sample while I was there. It is called 'Here Comes the Sun'. I just finished binding it off and wanted to show it in its non-blocked state. It is blocking that brings out the magic in lace and you'll see that when I post the blocked version.

A close-up of the stitch pattern follows but the color is off in the photo. It is more accurate in the photo above. The yarn is Madeline Tosh sock in Glazed Pecan.

Tour de Fleece week 1

I actually spun every day this week and I got a lot of spinning done.

I started with this lovely green BFL/Silk batt from Corgi Hill Farm. I spun it woolen long draw for the first time. You can see little pigtails hanging off the bobbin if you look carefully. This is my day 1 photo.

Single # 2. Much better. More even and no pigtails. Day # 2.

Day # 3 was devoted to spindle spinning. I am way past park and draft now.

I finished the second single on day 5. Work got in the way and there was no spinning on day 4.

I plied the singles on day 6. It is a lovely yarn and is hanging in the bathroom to dry now.

I am so in love with BFL/Silk that I began spinning this gorgeous red on day 7. Worsted spun so you can see and feel the luster of the silk.

I am posting this for the first time from my iPad. Next week I will be at Knitting Camp so I am practicing.

The Tour de Fleece

Those of you not on Ravelry or not into spinning are going to be completely amused and befuddled by this entry. The Tour de France (a bicycle race) starts tomorrow. Since many of us work on wheels of a different sort, someone came up with the idea of having a parallel contest for fun. It is for spinners, i.e. those who spin. The whole thing is a play on words but it is a way to challenge oneself, try something new and make a commitment to spinning for the duration of the Tour.

There are teams on Ravelry. You pick a team based on any or all of the following criteria: your friends, your tools, the fiber you want to spin, your goals and objectives, and potentially any other criteria that make sense to you. I am on a number of teams besides the big team of everyone who is doing the Tour de Fleece.

The first is for Spindlers. Spindlers are people who spin on a hand spindle. Here you can see my fiber - baby Icelandic roving that I got at Rhinebeck last year. The picture also has my new spindle that I am inaugurating for the Tour this year. It is also from Rhinebeck, from Golding.

I am also on Team Footloose, which is for people spinning on the Hansen mini-spinners. I will be spinning on the Hansen when I am home and on the spindle when I am on the road as I will be for part of the Tour.

The other team I'm on is Team Corgi Hill Farm, which is the source of the fiber I will be spinning on the Hansen. This is the luscious loveliness that I am going to be working on. I will start with the two green batts on the top left. They are wool/silk and I am going to teach myself to spin them woollen.

The top right fiber is a Blue-Faced Leicester/silk blend in a color called Poppy. The bottom right is yak/merino/silk in a color called Copper and the bottom left is camel/silk in Purple. I will be spinning in that order and we'll see how far I get.