Tour de Fleece Day 21

No spinning today. Instead I have been working out the wraps per inch (wpi) of the three yarns I've spun so far. Starting with the gorgeous pink mix of Polwarth, yak and silk. That has about 19 wpi, so comes out as a laceweight yarn. I have a perfect shawl pattern lined up for it.

Next, the BFL I was working on most of last week. I was surprised when I checked the wpi, because it came out as 14, which is a fingering yarn. I thought it was thicker than that when I was spinning it up. The colour changes are incredibly subtle.

 

Lastly, the BFL and Ramie mix I plied yesterday. It's dry now and feels lovely and soft. That too has 14wpi, so it's fingering weight. Now if only I had double the yardage, I'd be able to knit myself some really funky socks!!

 

If you've been admiring my cute sheepy spinner's WPI gauge, you can find them here! Only a couple of days left for this Tour. I'm not too sure what I'll be spinning next. I might have a little play trying to spin some art yarns. See you tomorrow! xxx

Tour de Fleece Day 20

I'm all done with the plying and the skein is currently having a soak. There's about 260 metres in all. Once it's dry, I'll have a better idea of the yarn weight. I love the colours, I only wish I had enough for a pair of socks, I think they'd look fabulous with the changing colours. Not too sure what this will become yet. I will see what it feels like when it's dry. Only three days left on this year's Tour. I shall have to go rummaging for some more fibre, ready for tomorrow. Call back and see what I've chosen xxx
 

 

Tour de Fleece Day 19

I've almost finished spinning up the second half of the BFL/Ramie fibre...........

In fact, I only have this much left and expect to finish spinning it this evening! Come back tomorrow for the great plying adventure! xxx

 

Tour de Fleece Day 18

I made a start on spinning the second half of the fibre this evening. Because I am spinning this in one piece, without breaking the length into narrower strips, you can see that the bands of colour are wider and the colour changes a little more gradual. I am worried that I might be giving it too much twist, so will ply it on the biggest ratio to see if that makes a difference. It's all a big learning curve. I was amazed when one of the comments the other night asked if I would be prepared to sell the skein. I never think my handspun is good enough to sell!! I can always see flaws in it - I guess that's part of the charm of being handspun though, isn't it? I hope to finish spinning this tomorrow. Then the plying can start on Thursday. I am excited to see how the finished yarn will look. xxx

 

Tour de Fleece Day 17

It's another rest day today and so far I have resisted the temptation to spin the other half of the fibre. It's calling out to me though! Not just me, but evidently Flo too, as I found her curled up on top of it on the table this morning! Nothing gets past her!!

 

We had a lovely day on Saturday. As I told you yesterday, we met up with Marianne and her husband Barry in Wells-next-the Sea. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the beach was packed!

 

Walking a little further down the beach, the crowds thinned. The sand there is soft and golden, perfect for walking through with bare feet!

 

We walked back through the pinewoods, the trees do make it a very magical place.

Then a stroll back down alongside the channel leading to the harbour. It was busy with people crabbing, eating ice creams or fish and chips. Perfect seaside pastimes

 

I knit my plain vanilla 'sanity sock' in the car there and back. To be honest, knitting has rather taken a back seat this last week. I seem to have been spinning at every opportunity. I'm on the foot now though, so I ought to have a finished sock to share with you very soon. See you tomorrow when I'll be back spinning again! Here's another glimpse of the gorgeous colours in the fibre. xxx
 

Tour de Fleece Day 16

Oh have I got a treat for you today!! I started spinning some new fibre this afternoon. Yesterday I met up with Marianne from Fluff-n-Stuff (more on that tomorrow when it's my rest day from the Tour.) I am a huge fan of her fibre, and I was lending her some of the items I've knit up using yarn spun from her fluff. They will be used on Marianne's stand at Fibre East in a fortnight's time. As a thank you, Marianne very kindly gave me a braid of a new fibre she's got in - it's a mix of 50% Blue Faced Leicester and 50% Ramie. Marianne has named this new blend 'Stinger'!! You see, ramie comes from nettles!! I didn't realise that ramie has been in use for thousands of years. It has even been found in the fabric used to wrap up Egyptian mummies. It adds a silky lustre to fabric and is very strong. Feast your eyes on this! It's in the 'Maddie' colourway, and is a gorgeous mix of blues, purples and greens with a smidgeon of yellow thrown in for good measure!

 

 

Don't you just love all those colours together? I split the braid in half down the middle, and then one half I split into 4 further sections, by halving and then halving again, so I ended up with 4 thin repeats of the fibre to spin. I predrafted the first length, but needn't have bothered as it pretty much drafted itself!!

 

My bobbin started filling up. I kept stopping to admire the colours lined up alongside each other!!

I'm spinning this on the middle ratio wheel again to get enough twist in the singles. I might try plying it on the biggest ratio wheel for a more floppy yarn. We'll see! Once I'd started spinning, I wanted to keep going and spin up the first half. It was surprisingly quick!

 

 

It's a rest day tomorrow, so I shall try to resist the temptation of spinning the other half!! Pop back and see if I managed! xxx

Tour de Fleece Day 15

Finished the plying today. I have around 225 metres of yarn. Tomorrow it will have a soak and will no doubt puff out a bit, so I'll wait until after it's dry to see how many wpi I get. I just love the magic of spinning. I would never have predicted that this.....

 

would end up looking like this.........

Just wait until you see what gorgeous fluff I've got to spin tomorrow! xx