Yes, the Tour de Fleece is coming to an end. Reflecting back on the past three weeks, I feel proud of my accomplishments. I met every goal I set for myself at the beginning of the Tour:
✓spin 4 bobbins of singles (Sunset Fibers)
✓ply singles into 2-ply
✓ply the 2-ply yarn to make a cable yarn
✓spin alpaca on spindle
✓spin alpaca on wheel
✓July 18th-spin samples using long draw (from the fold)
Here’s a picture of everything I spun and plied during the Tour except for the alpaca. I forgot about it when I took the pictures, and I’m too lazy to take another picture that includes the alpaca. 🙂
The final totals are in. I spun 38 ounces of fiber and plied 32 ounces of singles. My spinning and plying includes:
4 oz. Sunset Fibers BFL June 2013 ROTM spun and plied
4 oz. Sunset Fibers Polwarth Berry Crumble spun and plied
8 oz. Sunset Fibers Polwarth Pink Elephant spun and plied
4 oz. Sunset Fibers BFL July 2013 ROTM spun
4 oz. Wonder Why Alpaca Farm alpaca/Merino spun
4 oz. OnTheRound Merino (blues) spun and plied
4 oz. OnTheRound BFL (yellows) spun and plied
4 oz. BohoKnitterChic SW Merino/mohair/Nylon (blues)spun and plied
0.5 oz Loop samples (long draw)
1.5 oz BohoKnitterChic SW Merino/mohair/Nylon (orange/purple) spun
I learned my way around a new spinning wheel, spun some fibers I had never spun before, and tried some new techniques for spinning and plying. I know that my spinning and plying skills have improved over the past three weeks, and I’m left with a whole lot of amazing handspun yarn that I will have the pleasure of knitting up. I love the Tour de Fleece. 🙂
Did you start out having any specific plans for the yarn you were spinning ?
Only general plans. I wanted to make a lace weight 2-ply out of the Pink Elephant for a shawl, but I don’t have a specific shawl in mind. I spun a couple of them to be sock yarn, but I haven’t decided on a sock pattern. I haven’t yet spun yarn for a specific project, but I think that might be next on my list of things I want to accomplish. 🙂
Congratulations on your hard work and beautiful yarns! I’m in love with the polwarth pink elephant — name and color. 🙂 It will make a beautiful shawl.
I’m in love with it, too.
Beautiful yarns – now you’ve just got to figure out what to use them for!
What to use them for–that’s the question. Since I started spinning a year ago, I have accumulated a substantial stash of handspun, and I’ve only knitted up two skeins. I must start knitting my handspun if only for the sake of stash management. 🙂
🙂
Wow! Impressive!
Wow, look what you did! That is some gorgeous yarn there; congrats!