Tour de Fleece

There's something called the Tour de Fleece that goes on in the fiber world at the same time as the Tour de France. The idea is that you spin fiber the same days the bikers ride (because they're spinning, too, get it?) and you can set goals for yourself and join teams on Ravelry, etc. After watching oh so many podcasters talk about it, I decided I would try it out this year (I joined the Must Stash team) and it was a lot of fun.

Starry Starry Night Art Yarn

I spun most of the days, although not necessarily every day I was supposed to...but that's okay.

Sonic Screwdriver handspun

I did get to practice on my drop spindle a bit (even at the airport!) which was one of my goals for the tour.

 

Sample from Hobbledehoy

Another sample from Hobblydehoy

I even spun up some Mohair during the tour, which was exciting and really fun to spin.

Mohair from Flying Goat Farm

I'd say it was a pretty productive month for my first time participating in the tour. I definitely would do it again next year, since it's super motivating and I went through a lot of my fiber stash (but I also bought more, so I think it about evened out). Now I just want to sit at home and spin all day...

FO: Handspun - Rotten

What a misleading name for this fiber. Isn't it so pretty? And so different than the roving it started out as. Spinning this fiber made a lot of the colors more muted and heavy on purples and greens.

A picture from Etsy because I fail at taking pictures before I start spinning...

I bought two braids from Pigeonroof Studios, which added up to about 8.6 oz of Falkland roving. I spun each into singles and plied the two together, after much debating because the color changes were so pretty as singles.

I spun it a little bulky, too, and I predrafted the fiber to make it easier to spin, which was good because the Falkland was a little harder to draft than other fibers I've spun.

Plying was super easy, though. I got about an aran to bulky weight yarn.

Although that was before soaking and thwacking, so I think it might have puffed up to a fully bulky after it dried.

I really need to start knitting more with my handspun, it's starting to add up.

2012 FO: Handspun Cabled Headband

Project: Aeline's Wreath by Leigh McDonna

Yarn: Handspun single ply Merino/Cashmere/Silk Blend

Needles: US7

This is my first project out of my handspun. It's a small one, but so soft and squishy (I have a feeling I'm going to be using those adjectives a lot). 

I love the colors in this yarn, the contrast of the teals and pinks...

And it's thick enough to wear over my ears. 

You know the merino, cashmere and silk is sooo soft against the skin.

Hand Dyed 60% Merino Wool, 20% Cashmere, 20% Silk from Creatively Dyed in the Bangles colorway purchased at Vogue Knitting Live 2012.

I'm going to have to make something else that goes next to the skin with the remainder of the yarn.

Spinning!

Last year (almost exactly a year ago), I made one of the most expensive craft purchases in my crafting life. I bought a Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel.

After I first put it together, gotta love that yellow lighting...

Since then, I have been going crazy. A whole new world opened to me (read: I could buy so many more things) and I quickly bought as much roving as I could from Stitches West, VKL, and occasionally online.

The last thing I spun was a light fingering 3 ply yarn out of superwash Merino I bought at last year's Stitches West. It was so soft and squishy. I don't have a project for it in mind yet, but I'm always searching Ravelry.

8oz of Crown Mountain Farms superwash Merino from Purlescence Yarns bought Stitches West 2012.

The finished product

The leftovers spun into a 2-ply

I'll be posting some of the other things I've spun and the projects I make out of them (yay!).

Ashland

A couple of my friends and I drove up to Ashland last weekend for the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Our senior year of high school, both of the honors English classes went up to see 4 plays. We loved it so much we promised ourselves we would go back, and after two years, we finally did! Unfortunately, we only got to see one play (and it was not one of Shakespeare's) but it was very good.
It's called The Clay Cart and it's about a man and a courtesan who are in love but the king's brother-in-law wants the courtesan for himself. Things happen and I won't spoil the ending for you but it was a very enjoyable play. And the set was gorgeous! The fabrics they used were so pretty and they had really cute lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

When I last went to Ashland I didn't know too much about yarn shops (I got most of my yarn from Michaels and the like) so I did not visit the yarn shop downtown. This time, I got to stop by The Websters and got my first drop spindle (and roving)!

As you can see, I've already tried spinning. What's on the spindle is some wool roving from the store which I got 2 ounces of a pinkish color and 2 of a tealish color. And then there's the lovely merino silk roving - I heart the colors! I'm afraid I will mess up whilst spinning...which is why I'm practicing on the less expensive wool stuff.

So that will be all for now. I'm trying to finish a cross stitch piece for my aunt before she comes out to visit so I haven't been knitting/crocheting as much. And my internship is starting soon, then summer classes...I haven't had a real break yet! I'm sure I will make time for it somewhere.