Whoo hoo!

My fuzzy little cloche hat won a blue ribbon at the county fair! This was in the crochet category, and I honestly was not expecting to receive a ribbon. After reading a story in the paper about some of the exquisite fiber arts, I almost didn’t even take it in… but, yay!

So, that was a nice result for my first time out. Will probably try again next year, if I can make something nice by then.

Here’s a scarf I started with some of my handspun:

"Arachne's Tears"

I spun this yarn during Tour de Fleece and started to make something else with it, but just wasn’t loving it. I think this pattern is showcasing the yarn nicely, though.

closer... closer...

Here’s what I started to knit with that yarn:

Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief

My knitting is so crappy. This pattern is really nice (and easy for someone like me who hasn’t really honed her knitting skills after all this time… derrrr…), but I think I would like it better in a thinner yarn. Still I am determined to finish this one.

Now I love it! Thanks to my friends at Ravelry for helping me figure out what to do with this fiber.

Also wanted to share this… I was randomly drawn for a prize on one of the days of the tour, and this is what I received:

I can’t wait to spin this! It is 4 oz. of South African Fine Wool from Yarnadoodledoo called “Orange Blossom Special”. I’ve had my eye on her Etsy shop for a while, so when I saw that one of the prizes available to select from was from her, it was my first choice!

So, I figured I should go ahead and wrap this up. Had fun, won a prize (more on that in the next post), and got lots of yarn spun! Without further ado, here are my final photos from this year’s Tour de Fleece:

Days 18-19 – No photos. Day 18 was a frustrating day and I didn’t really produce anything I wanted to take a photo of. Day 19 was officially a rest day, though I still spun. More frustrating stuff. Moving along.

Day 20

50/50 Merino/Bamboo from Creatively Dyed - corespun

I could not figure out what to do with this fiber for the longest time. It’s absolutely gorgeous, I love the colors and the shine of the merino/bamboo, but the color repeats were so small and it was so slippery that trying to spin straight-up yarn with it was not working out for me. Muddy yuck. So, finally, I thought of trying corespinning. This is only my second attempt and I thought it was going pretty well…

Day 21 – Hilarity ensues!

Corespun - way, way, way spun

Whoops.

Day 22

I seem not to have taken a photo on day 22. I started spinning something new, and the finished yarn is shown on the last day. But for day 22, let’s take another look at that corespun:

twiiiiiist!

So, so, pretty. But so, so twisty. I despaired.

Day 23

Merino/Tussah Silk from Dicentra Designs

This yarn was so shiny and bright, it was hard to photograph. It’s not my best… think I was getting a little tired of spinning by this time.

So, that’s everything for this year! Here’s a little collage of everything I worked on:

Thanks for following along! A couple of these are up for sale at my Etsy shop if you see anything that interests you.

Here’s my yarny progress for the last few days:

DAY 15

Beach Glass - chain plied (N-ply)

DAY 16

Maleficent - Polwarth from Abstract Fibers

DAY 17

Maleficent - 2 ply, 426 yards

Through July 25th!?

::thud::

I’m okay!

DAY 12

Raspberry Pinstripe - Targhee, hand dyed by me

DAY 13

Iris - Merino/Tussah silk from Dicentra Designs

DAY 14

Beach Glass - Merino, hand dyed by me

]]> http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/2010/07/16/tour-de-fleece-days-12-14/feed/ 1 http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/2010/07/13/tour-de-fleece-2010-days-10-11/ http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/2010/07/13/tour-de-fleece-2010-days-10-11/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:29:00 +0000 Kate http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/?p=1632 Day 10 was a day to rest from spinning, so instead I washed 13 skeins of yarn and dyed this Polwarth:

Except I decided I hated the chestnut brown color with the yellow – at least using this method for dyeing – so today I overdyed the whole thing with cherry red and golden ochre. Now it reminds me of those flames that get painted on cars. In a good way, though. Pictures tomorrow.

Day 11 – Didn’t get much spinning done today. I spun up a little sample of the above fiber to be sure I hated it (yep), and then I got started on this Targhee that I dyed:

Took me a couple of false starts to figure out what I wanted to do with it, but finally decided to split off three even sections, with the red by itself, and then do a 3-ply. Will probably finish this tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s a big day for Visitor Cat… she’s finally going to the vet. And if I get the green light on her health, she’s probably coming into the house. Yes, I’m nervous about it.

I kinda started calling her “Mabel” in my head, but its not set in stone.

Decided to take a break today (Day 9) and ply this fiber that I’d already spun. It’s merino that I dyed a while back with Easter egg dyes:

As you can see, the final picture is much too orange… took the shot in some bad light. The fiber is more of an overall pinkish-red as the roving photo above shows better. The final yarn is about 4 oz, 368 yards, and about 18 wpi.

Since I’ve been talking about Tour de Fleece here and have been receiving search hits on that term, I thought I would share a couple of books that may be helpful to anyone just starting out.

First, Abby Franqemont’s Respect the Spindle:

Abby is… well, I find her inspiring, and not just due to her spinning prowess. It’s her generosity. She freely shares information on her blog and through YouTube videos and elsewhere online — and yes, she runs a business and has a book, but there are no strings attached (ha ha, see what I did there) to the information she shares. Abby also has DEFINITE OPINIONS (and the expertise to back them up).

I swear, I’m not stalking her online. I’m NOT. We just hang out in some of the same places, honest.

Two other books I have enjoyed since starting to spin:

To anyone just starting out, I would also suggest joining Ravelry and seeking out the spinning groups in the forums… but with a caveat. Just take it all in, and don’t be discouraged. Apply the advice that feels right to you while you practice & learn. It’s the internet, you know?

Above all, to anyone just getting started… enjoy! And if there’s one piece of advice I have, it’s to allow yourself a little luxury in the fibers you spin when you’re getting started. Many of us have this instinct to “save” the pretty stuff until we are better, but I firmly believe that if you are spinning something pretty to look at, you are more likely to stick with it. Even if it’s full of lumps and bumps.

Day 4: Left, the plied results of the Day 3 spinning. Right, starting on some merino/Tussah silk from Dicentra Designs.

Day 5: Plied the Dicentra fiber from Day 4. I love how it turned out.

Day 6: Polwarth from Abstract Fiber. I think I’ll be working on this for several days. Have 4 oz. total to spin and am hoping to get at least fingering weight out of it.

Monday is a rest day… I need it!

I took the drop spindle to a party on the 4th. My technique hasn’t improved much from last year, and here are my fug results:

Much happier with day 3: