Wednesday 25 July 2012

Tour de Fleece wrap-up

So, much like my discovery that spinning happens when you work on it all the time, I've discovered that Tour spinning goes better when you focus on spinning things instead of photographing them.

Consequently, have a look at my most productive Tour yet!

First up, yarn from three batts I won on Ravelry.

Zombie Apocalypse 001

250 yards of true 3-ply, just under 100g. The fiber originally came as three batts, so I decided to spin them as they came. I stripped each batt into quarters and spun directly from the resulting strips. I was aiming for something a little chunkier than my usual sock yarn, and this worked up pretty evenly.

Second, the braid of Zombie Apocalypse I dyed with Weaving Friend a while back.

Zombie Apocalypse 002

This braid of merino was my personal challenge for the Tour. I wanted to see whether I could spin and ply an entire 100g braid in a single day. Turns out I can, but I won't be able to use my fingers for much for a couple of days afterwards! 150 yards, n-plied.

I did some sampling of the Gottland fleece I've been prepping forever. I hadn't decided whether I wanted to spin it from the lock or from combed top. So I did a few yards of 2-ply from each prep method to see which was better. Bizarrely, they were indistinguishable. I'll spin from the lock, since that's the case. No sense adding an extra level of prep if it's not adding anything to the finished yarn!

I also did a little work on the superwash merino sock yarn I've had on the go forever. Not much, though, because I wanted to work on something I'd actually be able to finish.

Finally, I spent a goodly chunk of time spindling. I had a second lot of fiber from my Ravelry prize, also orange. I've split it into three and am doing something that'll eventually be a fingering or DK-weight yarn, depending on how much it floofs on washing. And I've also been learning how to use my adorable little Turkish spindle. I've got a sample bag of tussah silk roving on that.

Final Day TdF 2012 001

Next up - getting ready for the Ravellenic Games!

Saturday 14 July 2012

Can't post, busy spinning

The Tour de Fleece is going on right now. Turns out the best way to get spinning done is to actually spin instead of wasting time taking pictures and blogging. I'll do a post of everything next Sunday after the TdF finishes!