The Tour de Fleece ended yesterday. And I wore my [figurative] yellow jersey — I won, I accomplished my goals and then some!
What I made since the last update
I’ve been busy!
The first of two skeins made from the wool I was in the process of spinning last time. I'm calling this colorway (dyed by me) Celebration.
The second skein from that 8 ounces of Celebration. One is 276 yards, the other 280 yards.
On Challenge Day (July 22) I pushed myself to make this, my first singles yarn. I also spun all 4 ounces in one day. Wensleydale wool, from Spunky Eclectic, colorway Cold Front; 665 yards
This is merino, from Art Club (purchased at Yarn School); 4 ounces yielded 350 yards of super-squishy 2-ply.
After all those long wools — the Wensleydale, plus the Norwegian are both definitely long wools — going back to merino was a bit of a shock and definitely required some adjustments! The color on that pink one isn’t very true; I love the variations in the yarn!
Final stats
All my Tour-de-Fleece-spun yarns, all stacked up.
Totals: More than 3,054 yards of finished yarn, spun from 2 pounds, 4 ounces of fiber.
Observations, notes
- I started looking at new spinning wheels. I don’t have the money, and I don’t need a new one yet exactly, but in the last couple weeks I did come within sight of the point where my current wheel won’t keep up with me. This is both exciting and disappointing. I still want a drum carder more, though.
- I fit 8 ounces of singles on one bobbin [very carefully, when I didn't know it was 8 ounces]. This is a very pleasant surprise, but I’m not sure I’ll attempt that again.
- I think I’ll have to spin a sweater lot next time.
- I’ve had great fun, accomplished more than I even hoped.
I’ll leave you with this video of my noisy four-legged helper:
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ-Y5osbE4w]
My Tour de Fleece starting line post
My Tour de Fleece day 11 report
My Tour de Fleece day 15 report
All the yarns stacked up are absolutely beautiful! It truly inspires me to take a knitting class!
I have thoroughly enjoyed all the Tour de Fleece posts. This definitely falls in the category of “things I will never have to opportunity to do in life” – and so reading about your experiences has been so satisfying – and educational.
There is something quite perfect about the sheep dog barking at the spinning wheel that is creating yarn from a sheep’s wool. So idyllic for a suburbanite like myself.
Glad you’ve enjoyed them!
It’s like Maisie the sheepdog knows you’re working with wool! The colors are gorgeous.
It seems like it, doesn’t it? :p