stage 20 ~ finish line

the ride into paris was delightful! after the heat and humidity of yesterday, today's cooler temp and frisky breeze was a treat. here is my ride. 38 ounces of yarn.

yikes! it does seem like a lot of yarn. i'll need to estimate my yardage at some point.

the wool /alpaca will someday be knit into a garment for honey. i'm not in any rush :)

the purple wool/ mohair blend remained a challenge to the very end. i'm glad the i navajo plied it, keeping the colors intact. the yarn is thicker that i anticipated, but i'll let it live in the stash for a bit until it finds out what it wants to be.

but for now.... congratulations to me for a job well spun!

stage 19

i made it! i can see paris as i cruise to the finish line. tomorrow will be all about pleasure, basking in the glow of my success and wearing the yellow jersey with pride.
today was spent at an artisans fair in the lovely finger lakes. it was HOT. really, beyond hot. i was there with amythefibergoddess as she sold her wares. i was able to sit back and finish plying that blasted wool/mohair blend. i did navajo ply it and i was very please with the end product. the yarn is thicker than i would have liked, but the colors flow together beautifully. here are my singles.....













and here is amy spinning her BFL and banana...... what a day!

stage 17 & 18

i finally got back on track. i needed to have these five bobbins spun so that i could ply this weekend. the decision now is how to ply. the intriguing part of this fiber was the way that is was dyed. long bands of color, all shade of purple (i'll get better pic in the sunlight). so, do i two ply this merging the colors together in random ways, or navajo ply into a thicker yarn that keeps the color bands intact.
hmmm, may need more wine.

stage 14, 15, 16

i've spun and plied all the wool alpaca blend from longmeadow farm. as i was plying away at this, i asked my dear partner if he still wanted a garment. from this yarn. as he was staring at the yarn and my hands are still numb from the plying i could feel my temper rising. time ticked on and just as i was ready to explode, he turns to me and states." i love it.... couldn't like it more" good answer.









i knew that i loved sandy's fiber, but having moved onto the next blend, my love is certain. i had 10 ounces of wool/mohair blend that i had kicking around in the stash for about a year. i loved the colors, so wanted to make sure i loved the fiber before festival season. that's one good thing about this challenge, it's forced me to start and finish fibers that i might not have stayed with. the purple roving is a pain. it's sticky and full of straw and slubs and it's not really a pleasure to spin. so..... onward i go!

stages 12 &13

i know i said fiber pics today, but this is much better. i'm still spinning along, got alot of plying done and seem to be back on track to finish in time.
yesterday was the monthly guild meeting and we took a field trip to a member's farm.

i'm still wondering what the passers-by thought of a yard full of women and wheels! the gardens were lush and breathtaking....
best every spinning meeting!!

stage 9,10,11

more of the same.... filling bobbins, trying to keep up the pace. the whole bobbin filling issue is a bummer. i find that i'm just into the roll of spinning a consistent single and bam....not an empty bobbin to be found. and i've looked.
this has been a big drain on my time... kayak camp! it is the coolest thing. held at a canal lock, they've turned the spillway into a whitewater rapids course. the five day program gets kayaker's in the water, familiar with the sport, and doing rapids.
sadly, i am not the participant.... eldest is. it's not really conducive to spinning

so i've been catching up on my knitting. fiber pics tomorrow.

stages 6, 7 & 8

i've fallen slightly behind. my plan was to spin a 2 1/2 ounce ball a day. did the math, checked the schedule ..... all seemed fine.

i forgot about plying. seems that i ran out of bobbins on friday and had to start plying. thought i could catch up saturday, but went to a local arts festival for the day (had a fabulous time) then today, well even the pup knew where i was spending the day! i've almost made up the difference, but it looks like i'll need to ply again soon.

stage 4 & 5

still hot..... still spinning! i've managed to stay on track, filling a bobbin each day. i had to take a break yesterday to take these two yahoos to the lake! the dog-days-of-summer were getting to them. it was the first time the pup has had swimming exposure and she took to it like, well ... a dog. she was leaping off the dock, splashing all over, having a grand time.

i've run out of empty bobbins, so today is all about plying.... must stay on task!

stage 2 & 3

staying with the peloton despite the heat. it was brutal here yesterday, topping out at 90 degrees, which makes spinning wool and alpaca seem kinda silly! i did my best spinning last evening after the sun set.

today was a day to find someplace to cool down. a quick call and i was on my way to naughty's yard. filled the required bobbin in between pool dips. and yes, i was dipping into the pool!

stage 1

the first stage coincided with independence day, so i had to take my show on the road! we celebrate the fourth each year at our family cottage on a lake. there is a cement break wall at the water and a large deck attached to the cottage, so there is always ample spinning room. with the forecast of sunny skies and HOT temperatures, i knew the i would be at the water. with a large family (and lots of years of practice) we have it down to a routine. i arrive early to do set up, then park myself to let the spinning commence. the neighbors are so used to seeing me spinning, they just wave and smile. (yes, i know they think i'm nuts!)
the spinning is much slower than i anticipated. great fiber, fabulous prep, but i want a worsted weight yarn, 2ply, so i'm spinning quite thin. it looks great, nice and even and taking me a while to get it on the bobbin.
my position is perfect as a swim monitor, so the little fishes spent the day in the water...and i ended the day a happy spinner with a comfortable start.

le tour defleece

sunny skies and gentle warm breezes mark the start of this years tour. my goal? i went into the fiber stash and sat. i pulled up the ravelry stash and pondered. i wanted to rotate out some fiber that i've had and just haven't made time for. i also wanted to try fiber that i would be encountering again at the upcoming festivals and might need to buy. so.... here is this years challenge~

28 1/4 ounces of longmeadow farms wool/alpaca blend. i love sandy's fiber and lust after her new colors and want more, but need to use up what i've got! the purple is 10 ounces of wool/mohair blend from steam valley fibers. the color way is purple stripes, long bands of colors that could be navajo plied into color bands or two-plied into interesting color mixes.

i was spun-out from wool/mohair blends and had a long hiatus, so this is just what i need to jump back in!

so there it is. 38 ounces of fiber just begging to be the challenge for the tour!