Tour de Fleece 2016

This TdF was so much fun for me!!  I went into it happy if I got one finished skein .. I have THREE!!!  I have a Sport, Worsted and Bulky.  I spun two new to me fibers.  I have a 2-ply and the others are chain plied.  And I split up one colorway into a gradient of sorts (I didn't bother with blending the transitions, so its not a true gradient).  And I continued with my supported spinning.

First up Corriedale - a new to me fiber.  It was pure joy to spin, especially thick.  I typically spin fingering weight and my goal for TdF was to spin thicker to get more done.

Into the Whirled

Corriedale - Flounce

110 yds

Bulky

Then I went to a known to me fiber and did a two ply in BLF.

Into the Whirled

BFL - Eureka

198 yds

Worsted/Dk

And lastly another new to be fiber Targhee which I split into a psuedo gradient.

Into the Whirled

Targhee - Winds of Change

236 yds

Sport

I am glad TdF is ended, but I enjoyed this one so much!!  I am looking forward to a new outlook on spinning and getting more spinning done.  I was also happy since I went through physical therapy not too long ago for shoulder/neck pain I was cognizant of posture and repetitive motions and I didn't hurt myself spinning!!  Towards the end I was feeling it, but nothing too outrageous.  In the past I have not spun very much because of pain ... no more issues with that!!!

I also finally got over my not spinning because I didn't want to "ruin" the fiber ... I now have at least (I stopped counting) 48 club shipments of ITW ... so I have no problems using this for "practice" spinning.  I have pounds and POUNDS of fiber in my stash ... no more waiting until I get "better" or this or that to use up this fiber ... its taking over the house, LOL!

Besides, last time I checked, you don't actually get BETTER at something unless you DO IT!

Hand Spun: Into the Whirled Corriedale

My first Tour de Fleece success! I wanted to spin thicker, so this was a challenge. It took about 4 hours to spin and 2 hours to ply. I was pleased with the results and the final yarn.

And I definitely hit my goal - its BULKY!!! At 7 WPI I exceeded my expectations of Worsted weight if I was lucky. Its consistent and the final yarn is balanced!!

Into the Whirled

Corriedale 4 oz

Ashford Traveller Sliding Hook Flyer

Singles S 7.5; Plied Z 5.5

Bulky 3-ply (chain plied)

110 yds

Tour de Fleece Day 1

I'm off to a good start 4 oz of Into the Whirled Corriedale spun up!  Hopefully plied tomorrow.

Spinning with beautiful tools

Mirkwood Nimrodel spindle and an amethyst bowl I got recently.  It works wonderfully as a spindle bowl.  This is for the Mirkwood SAL that ends at the end of the month.  I am a little behind here, so will be trying to spin a bit each day and hopefully finish this one by then!

FO TdF Spinning

I made my goal with time to spare this year!

Finished the singles and wound them onto a plying ball.

Plied up a 2-ply yarn on a Turkish spindle ... it almost didn't fit on there.

154 yds 2-ply - ranges from laceweight to very, very fine fingering.

Tour de Fleece 2015 Update

Spinning is going well ... hoping to wind these off in the next few days and start plying!

Tour de Fleece 2015

I don't have such lofty ideas for this year as I have in past years.  Just getting some spinning done is my goal for this one!

I have a small batt (0.9 oz) of Coopsworth, Alpaca and Silk that is a lot of fun to spin.

I joined Team Mirkwood and am using my Mirkwood spindles.

My lovely Mirkwood spindles!

Spinning in the Sunshine

These are some of my beautiful Mirkwood Hand Crafts spindles. 

Shelob & Nimrodel pictured here.

They are topped with shiny crystals or gems.

I took them outside the other day to spin a bit.  I found some old cigar boxes for $3 ea recently, they are perfect for the spindles.  I put some felt in there for protection, when I have time I plan to actually line them and cut/glue the felt on there.

It was a little windy out, but otherwise very enjoyable.

I just spun up a little bit of sample fiber that came with one of the spindles.  Then wound on to a plying ball.

Then plied it up on one of my mini Turkish spindles.

Here's the finished skein .. very much lace weight.

Penguin Pieces & To Dos

The Penguin Pillow is looking more like a penguin ... well parts of one anyway.  The body is done, its soaking now.  I am going to attempt to block the edges to make seaming easier.  Both wings are done, a foot and half the scarf.

I had a list of things I was trying to get done yesterday that I am still working on today.  They are just things that I should get around to.  

For example, I got a new supported spindle recently and the maker has notes on the receipt ... on how to store them ... and how NOT to.  I was storing them in the NOT to category previously.  This new spindle has NO WOBBLE whatsoever, so I want to keep it that way.

It is better to store them upright with no pressure on the shaft, this avoids it bending over time.  For now I found a box and poked some holes in it.  I hope to make something more permanent and out of wood, like a shelf I can hang on the wall.

I also took pics of all my supported spindles to add them to Ravelry.  Don't ask how many ... ok I'll tell you ... 25 ... yup.  You can see them here, I'm still working on adding them, but more of them are up.

Hopefully I'll get some yarn wound today, that's last on my list ... because the one other notation left on the list, I don't entirely understand what I meant, LOL!!

Practicing Supported Spinning

I haven't been practicing supported spinning for a while ... I say practicing because I am still fairly new at it, even though I own over a dozen spindles now ...

I was practicing for a while minutes here and there to build up the muscle memory, which is pretty much set. Now I just have to practice, practice, practice to finesse my technique.

One reason I'm pretty sure I stopped spinning for a while was that I got this beauty of a spindle and dropped it on the hardwood floor and broke it ... YUP, RIGHT ON THE FLOOR. Didn't even get to spin on it yet or try it out and smash. Not to mention these spindles are fairly expensive ... OUCH in so many ways!!!

I repaired it and it has a slight wobble, but nothing that stops it from spinning or still being a beautiful spindle ...

FO: Manos Merino

Manos del Uraguay
100% Extra Fine Merino
100g
Color: Dragon

This was a lovely fiber to spin.  I love the colors (plus, its called Dragon, so  .... duh!).  Some parts of it were a little difficult to deal with, uneven staple lengths, but for the most part it felt like butter in my hands.

I decided to try a traditional 3-ply.

I got 306 yds of a fingering weight 3-ply.  I tried navajo plying the left overs, but it just fell apart, so I did a 2-ply for 53 yds.  It is super soft and squishy, as a 2ply its a little uneven, but the 3 ply rounded out nicely.

FO: ITW Merino - Follow the Butterflies

SPINZILLA!!!  Well, I am happy that I accomplished an entire skein during Spinzilla week.  I did not however accomplish my goal ... BUT spinning up this was WAY MORE than I have ever spun in that time frame, so I am happy.

Fiber: Into the Whirled Combed Merino Top

Colorway: Follow the Butterflies

556 yds of 2-Ply

Fingering

I spun up 556 yds of 2-ply for Spinzilla that equals: 1 ply 556 yds + 1 ply 556 yds + plied 556 yds = 1668 yds spun!

I started it on 10/6 and finished it on 10/12.

I remembered this time to switch to my sliding hook flyer to ply, that made life so much easier (the bobbin is bigger and can hold all the yarn).

This photo is more representative of the colors (the skein above looks more blue that it is).  

Its super soft and squishy.  I learned that Merino is best spun without pre-drafting.  It drafts fine on its own and pre-drafting just makes the top drift apart in some spots.  It was so nice to spin and I didn't over spin or ply it (I over did everything in the past).

Impatiently Waiting ...

I am soooo impatiently waiting for Spinzilla to start!  Technically it starts at midnight ... but I don't think I want to stay up all night spinning, so I think I'll go to bed early (for me that's 11:30pm ...) and start in the morning.

My plan is to spin up each of these 4 oz and then ply them together.

And for the Spindlemania Group on Ravelry, they are also having a challenge Oct 6th to Nov 8th ... 

Silver Lining

I got this lovely Russian spindle on Ravelry in a de-stash.  Up til this one I have been pleased with all of these types of transactions.  While nothing is always perfect, people listing items are usually VERY clear if there are any defects.

The metal spinning tip looked completely mangled and there was a divot/chip in the flicking tip.  The photo below is AFTER I fixed it - I really wish I thought to take a before photo.  It had gouges all over it (tool marks) and a very large burr on the tip that caused it to wobble all over and barely spin.  Knowing my husband has some metal files, I put this away for a little while - DON'T file angry (see below). Today was a day off, so I tackled this, and it really only took 5-10 minutes to fix it up.  

It could still use some fine filing to get it ultra smooth, but I've learned when sanding/filing things, its best to do it in small, short sessions ... I did once sand a hand sander right through the wall trying to fix a really bad, old paint and plaster job from the previous owners of our house ... oh and by hand sander I mean a MANUAL hand block sander, you know a flat piece with a handle that you clamp sandpaper onto ... not an electric one.

Now I am confident in tackling some of my other spindles and sanding the flicking tips / making minor adjustments.

I am quite pleased with how this turned out and happy that I didn't waste $40.  It spins incredibly now that it has a smooth surface and I fixed the divot in the flicking tip too. Its a gamble when you purchase things like this from other people, but generally knitters/spinners are good peeps.

Spindles Anonymous?!?!

I've become obsessed with support spindles as of late.  And each new one becomes my favorite.  Pretty sure I have an addiction going on here ...

More supported spinning

Do I knit anymore?!?!  I'm not sure ...

More supported spinning "practice" its getting better every day!

What I learned during Tour de Fleece

For starters I learned TdF is like one big spinning festival and there's lots of eye candy and lots of opportunities to get more spindles and more spindles ...  I stopped counting, but I've added quite a few to my stash this month.

I also learned that if you are navajo plying with a tensioned bobbin, trying to finish 100s of yards on the last day of TdF and your fingers hurt ... you might wants to stop and check ... the yarn is CUTTING you (this is 2 days later).

But I have a 400 yd skein of 3-ply fingering weight yarn.

I taught myself how to Ply on the Fly and made a video tutorial for others.  It really is a cool technique.

I learned how to spin supported.  This is a work in progress, but its getting better every time I practice.

And its good that its getting better ... because I might have purchased a few spindles ...

And there might be a few more coming in the mail...