Tour de Fleece 2008

With my work conference last week, I haven't really had much time to post about my progress. I had been spinning every day of the tour. The only day I missed was the first day 'cause I thought it started the next day. I didn't take the rest days to make up for it. So that is even an extra day.

First the goals:

• Spin at least 15 minutes a day, but aiming for an hour or more on days when I have more time

Done. I did spin at least 15 minutes per day. Most days were an hour or more if I had the time.

• Work on getting more consistent quality to my spinning (still a newbie, getting better but not there yet)

Getting there. I definitely am improving a great deal. I have been able to spin some superwash wool really thin and hoping to make 3 ply sock yarn with it. So I have gotten much better.

• Spin some of the superwash wool, merino top & wool locks I have

Spun 2/3rds of the superwash wool. Nice and thin so it should be good for doing a three ply sock yarn if there is enough elasticity in it. *crosses fingers*

I got to the merino top on Sunday, the last day. And spun all 10 oz. of it! Super easy to spin. And very soft. I did it thicker as I want a chunky scarf out of it I think.

Wool locks were interesting. I have only spun up 3 oz of the 8 I have. It is definitely a novelty yarn. But it was interesting intentionally doing thicker & thinner bits. I also left the tips of the locks and spun them so they stick up from the yarn, like little tails. Not what I would usually want, but I like it. Though combing the locks takes a good deal of time. So I don't think I will be buying any more again anytime soon. I will complete the remaining 5 oz. but it may be after a while honestly given how long the 3 oz. took.

• Try Navajo plying... *gulp*

I think I did it right. It looks right. And it is holding together. I really have to thank rexenne's You Tube video for this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOVXCHzDRKM It helped me figure it out how to do it in a way that makes sense.

I really thought I put getting to a spinning meetup as one of my goals. I am glad I didn't as I wasn't able to get there. With conference last week, I have had to work late for the week before and the week of conference. So I wasn't able to make it. Yesterday I wasn't able to get there either. *sigh* Ah well.

I was trying to do a day by day report. But I can't given I don't recall what I was doing what days at this point. Ah well. But here are some highlights.

Day 15 & 16

I was visiting some friends who just moved back to the East coast. Hooray! I have missed them terribly. So it is great to have seen them.

I brought along my spindle and the silk hankies I have. I actually got a fair bit done with this (an hour and a half to two hours both days).

The silk is beautiful and the colors look amazing. I am happy that I have gotten a lot better with a spindle. This is much thinner than it was in the past.

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The silk hankie is from The Yarn Tree - http://www.theyarntree.com. It is dyed in beautiful colors. I really love it. And it is silk, so I adore it all the more of course.

I am thinking I will keep this as a single and use it as trim on something. There is only 1 oz.

This did teach me that I really need to buy some silk hankies undyed. It was $19 for the 1 oz hankie I got. Undyed is significantly less.

Day 18

I finished the second of the three singles I need to complete with the superwash wool. I want to create a three ply for socks.

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I divided the fiber up into roughly thirds. I am hoping that it will work out evenly. But I am betting it won't. *chuckle* I seem to excel at having a bunch left on a spool when I am trying to do a 2 ply. I don't suspect a 3 ply will be any easier. *grin*

Day 22

I started the Icelandic locks on Wednesday, the 23rd, day 19 of the Tour de Fleece. Working with locks is definitely interesting. These have been washed. Though there is veggie matter in them for certain. When combing them I was left with black flecks of dirt as well as some other bits of hay and such. It was definitely time consuming having to comb the locks, separate out the ends I wanted to work into the yarn and all.

It is also interesting working on *intentionally* doing thick & thin when I have been trying to get more consistent yarn. The texture in this fiber certainly makes that easier. But it is still odd making sure not to smooth out the lumps and bumps.

I finished the single on Saturday (Day 22). It turned out to be 3 oz total. It is about 140 yds. (I measure the skein length and then multiply by the # of strands. I really don't think a yardage counter would work on this stuff anyhow! *chuckle*)

I am leaving this one as a single. I am hoping it is strong enough. But I just don't think it would work well plied.

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I did wait and washed them the next day along with the Decadent Fibers plied stuff I had on the bobbin since day 11. Yah. I know. I wish I knew why skeined plied yarn & washing it was my sticking point! *laugh*

I also tried Navajo plying with some remaining Decadent Fibers. And I have to say, I think it looks pretty good! I wish the picture really showed it up close. But I didn't get close enough & this fiber is very dark in color. I am surprised. It looks pretty good. However, it was *definitely* overspun. It was very kinky when I washed it. I used a bottle to weigh it down when I let it dry. So it seems okay. But hey, for a first attempt, I am thrilled to death with it.

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And here it is with the rest of the yarn which is 2 ply.

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Day 23

Super productive day. I spun & plied 10 oz. of merino comb top! Admittedly, I was spinning it pretty bulky. But I wanted to try something more bulky. It goes faster and I am leaning towards a scarf for this stuff.

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I definitely want some more Merino combed top. It was easy to work with and drafted very nicely. It would have been easy to make it thinner as well. I just wanted something a bit faster to spin up after making very thin singles with the superwash & dealing with the locks. Sometimes you want to see some results more quickly!

I spun all 10 oz. of this and only ended up with 160 yards! *laugh* So that is definitely different than other things I have been spinning. *grin* The Decadent Fibers I spun was 6 oz. and came out to almost 290 yards. And that is with some of it being Navajo ply! *chuckle*

Overall, I am pretty happy with the final results of the Tour de Fleece. I think I did a good job with my spinning. I met my goals which is good. And my ability has definitely improved a great deal. I am really glad I did it.

Though I will confess, I haven't touched the wheel since Sunday! *laugh* I just wanted a break at this point. I didn't spin at all yesterday and didn't do any so far today. I suspect I will go back to it very soon. But I was kinda happy to not *have* to spin if I don't wanna. *grin*

I definitely have a great appreciation for handspun yarns. And I am learning a lot. Though I also have a feeling that I am not going to be doing a lot of lace & sock yarns. I don't know. I just have this feeling that you can get most of those commercially with much greater ease. Mind you, I might change my mind about that. But at the moment, I am no seeing it. Perhaps when I finish my last ply and actually create the yarn for socks, I may feel differently. I am not sure. (Honestly, I am really worried it won't be elastic enough for socks and that I will be frustrated. But I am trying to stay hopeful that it will work.)

Tour de Fleece Progress - Days 1-7

Here is my progress report on the Tour de Fleece as it nears the end of week 1.

Day 1:

The big oops. Thought day 2 was day one. Ah well. I will work on a rest day or both to make up for it.

Day 2:

This is 4 oz. of natural colored wool sliver roving. This is the stuff I picked up at the Adirondack Woolery.

http://www.adirondackwoolery.com/

I spun it all 4 oz. in one day. Which as a novice is a major achievement.

It really spins amazingly well. It is so easy and just really is beautiful to spin. I want to get more!

It is mostly grey, but there is some brown in there too. My husband loves it. So I suspect it will become something for him.

I am going to see about buying some more from them. I love sliver roving!

Days 3-6:

I got this roving from Decadent Fibers. It is the Jelly Roll. I should have order Spun Sugar as it is already in strips. Whoops! But it is teaching me a lot about the fiber to doing the pre-drafting. So I was probably good.

I have a hard time getting the colors of this. They are terrific. I used the flash to take this one which isn't ideal, but it is better than no flash!

Day 7 - Today:

So, I need a larger ratio bobbin free before I can spin any new fibers. I only have four of the large ones.

One is filled as you can see by the day 3-6 pic. I have a second with some more of the Decadent Fibers on it. I want to try something else as all the fiber came out of the freezer yesterday. So of course I want to play with it.

So here are the other two bobbins I have.

Left:

Merino/Silk Blend (fairly certain it is Ashland Bay in the Pewter colorway)

Purchased at the Yarn Tree in Brooklyn

http://www.theyarntree.com

Right:

Mixed Wool Sliver Spun on Day 2 Tour de Fleece 2008

4 oz. of natural colored wool sliver roving. Purchased at the Adirondack Woolery.

http://www.adirondackwoolery.com/

I was looking at these two and trying to figure out what to do. Looking and debating. It dawns on me that they are both grey blends. They can be plied together. Thus, freeing up two bobbins at the same time. Good news! And I think it will look good together.

So I set up to ply. But I study the merino/silk blend again and again. I can't find the end! I pull out tape, trying to find the missing end. No luck. *sigh*

I decided to break off an stand and start working. I did it with the first batch of the Decadent Fibers singles. It will work this time, right?

So I am working along for a while. It is going well. Then I find the stand is buried in the yarn and I can't pull it out without tightening the whole thing. Okay. So I try to get it out. Nope. That isn't working. It is pulling the strands tighter around stuff that it shouldn't.

I will just start another strand. It worked before, right? I try. Break. Nope. That didn't work. Try again. Nope, that is deeper in the yarn than I thought. This is bad. The more I am pulling on strands, the more it is tightening around the base and making things worse. So it is getting worse, not better to get strands off. So I am trying to take off pieces. Hoping to get them through. And I don't know how, but the end of the bobbin popped off again. Whoops. (The bobbins I got with the used Babe had ends that popped off. I have crazy glued them and they seemed fine.)

So I decide to slide it off onto a knitting needle. This way the parts that were pulled tight won't be as bad. That is the theory. So I move the single off the bobbin (and re-glued it).

I tried to work some more pieces off the mess I have made. I am able to do it, but not without a lot of effort and attention, trying to thread it through the mess. *sigh*

So I am left with a couple options:

1) Take the bit of yarn I have plied and make it into a ball. Save it for edging or something. Take half the natural wool sliver single and move it to another bobbin or ball. Ply the natural wool together.

2) Continue to try to sort out the ends of the merino/silk single and keep plying it with the natural wool single. It does look good. I like it, but it is a lot of effort.

If I go with option one, that leaves me to decide what to do with the merino/silk single. Do I take it as a loss and just toss it. Or do I keep working at the ends to get some pieces out of it. I really do not know about that one.

It is commercial roving so it was only $5.30 for 2 oz. Though ummm. I just realized I messed up anyhow! I thought I had 4 oz. of the merino/silk. That would have been about the same as the natural wool. But it isn't at all close!

It looked the same one the bobbin. But it isn't the same amount at all. So the yardage is probably very short. I think that may make my decision much easier.

I think that has decided it for now. I will put it into a bag for now. I might try sorting it out later. I may just decide it was a learning experience.

I am definitely putting something on the ends of my singles in future. I really do know *how* I lost the end. That is the first time that has ever happened.

I do feel like I am making progress on the Tour de Fleece. Though this is quite a start to day 7.

I think I am pulling a Scarlett O'Hara. "I'll think about that tomorrow." *grin*

Okay... Maybe I Am Crazy...

I decided to sign up for the Tour de Fleece.

Basically, the point is to spin every day of the Tour de France. That means July 5th though the 27th. There are two days of rest just like the real one.

The nice thing is that there isn't set requirements. It isn't do X numbers of hours or yards or ounces. It is about challenging yourself.

I did write the group moderator on the Ravelry group to ask if missing days was okay. I will probably be in the Adirondacks when it begins. I can't commit to do anything while I am up there. I will try to make an effort to do something (bring my spindle and some fiber). But I won't commit to it by any means. The point of being up there is to relax and do whatever I want. I refuse to commit to schedules or anything when I am there.

So I signed up! *shake head* Ah well. There isn't any sort of elimination or such like Sock Wars. So it is just focusing on spinning. I probably would be anyhow, right? *chuckle*

I found another one earlier in the day. It is a smaller group that is devoted to stash busting. Given I do not have a fiber stash yet, that didn't make sense to me. But this one is the larger one with a Ravelry presence.