Month: July 2012

 

Remember when I posted about my first Phat Fiber box? Well, for the second week of the Tour de Fleece, my goal is to spin up all my colorful little samples into a fun tea party yarn.

First I laid out the fiber in a gradient spectrum to go from the darker colors to the lighter colors, which means I also plan to navajo-ply this so I can keep it as a gradient yarn.

For Day 9 (yesterday) I was able to get the first color on the wheel, a grey shetland that I’m mixing with a mulberry silk to get a marble effect (first picture). I have enough of the cream silk to carry it through most of the darker fibers. The solid colored mini braid in the photo is 100% bamboo that I think I will try to carry through most of the lighter colored fibers. This spinning project is such a fun opportunity to mix and blend. I’m looking forward to seeing what the finished yarn will look like.

I think my goal at the beginning of the Tour was a bit ambitious, now that I’ve considered all the other projects I need to complete in July, so I think I’ll cut it in half and aim to spin up 3 different projects. That would still be more spinning in 3 weeks than I did earlier this year in 3 months!

This summer is a busy one for me. I’m still in shock that it’s already July! Where did June go? Oh yeah, I spent it packing, unpacking, and repacking as I went to Prescott, to house-sit, and to California about a week apart each. I’m hoping July will be a slower month (which it should be), since this year I’ll be participating in the Tour de Fleece (Ravelry link).

For those not aware of this “event,” it runs simultaneous to the Tour de France (and if you don’t know what that is, it’s an intense cycling competition in France) for those who spin yarn to “spin-along” with the Tour. I’m excited to be doing this, since I missed the event last year, and this year I’ve had very little spinning time. Tour de Fleece is quite simple: spin every day (if you can) that the cyclists ride their bikes, and if you want to, challenge yourself with goals and special projects.

My goal is very simple: spin as much as possible. I’m hoping to spin up at least 6 braids of roving, with some of the finished yarns being ones that I can sell in my etsy shop for the first time. I’ve been wanting to reach the point where I can sell my handspun, and I feel confident that I’m at that place now. The problem is just finding enough time in the day! That’s why it’s helpful to have a spin-along that will push me to be on my spinning wheel every day. First up is a peach/brown/yellow/green/white roving that I’m hoping to spin up into 2 fingering/sock weight yarns to sell (as pictured above).

I will try to refrain from posting pictures every day of my spinning progress, but check back for periodical updates (which should be more frequent than my posting in June).