It's That Time Of Year Again

It's that time of year again. The Tour de France started on Saturday and so did the Tour de Fleece. This year I am just going to try and get as much spinning done as possible. I have 360 grams of this fibre and I don't think I can get it all spun by the end of the tour but I hope to get at least 200 grams done. I like to spin as fine as possible so things take a while. This is the first 100 grams done. I have just a tiny wee bit on the second bobbin and will get back at it this afternoon after work. Crock pots are great. Soup is cooking in the crock pot so I can get to spinning not long after I get home.

I'm not just spinning. I'm also knitting. I've got quite a few projects on the go. I'm in the middle of February Lady but no photos yet. I am still in the garter stitch section but almost done with all the increases. Also working on a pair of socks for my daughter's doula. Finally, I'm working on this. It's the Alaskan Dreams by Sharon Winsauer. You can just see the tail and the beginning of the fin. I'm almost done with charts 2A&B. I should begin charts 2C&D tonight. I am loving this pattern and it isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The most difficult part for me is that the charts are on multiple pages.

Tour de Fleece Done!

Here's the finished spinning challenge I set for myself in the Tour de Fleece. I wanted to spin a minimum of 10 minutes per day and finish the 225 grams of fibre. Well, I spun 225 grams of the Northern Lights in colour cotton candy and did spin at least 10 minutes per day except one rest day because my knee was really bothering me. The picture on the left is the skein I finished yesterday. The picture on the right is both skeins. I took Maggie's advice when I plyed the second singles and didn't bother to count treadles and just watched the yarn as I plyed. I am very pleased with the final result. I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be but this was some good spinning (IMHO) There was one curley "q" from a single that managed to skip past me but that's alright. I had one in the first skein as well so now they match. I want to work on getting more consistent singles. I need to keep playing with the drafting methods to see which one works best for me to spin fine yarns but I am trying not to be so hard on myself. This spinning I am proud to say I spun.

Spring Forward

Not much knitting has gone on around this place lately. I've been busy with the Tour de Fleece and when I am not spinning I've been too hot to have this alpaca shawl in my lap. Then it dawned on me that if it's too hot I should go back to the doily I was working on. That's cotton and not in my lap. I brought it with me to snb on Tuesday but I wasn't able to concentrate so I put it aside and cast on a sock. I wasn't sure what pattern I was going to do but since I do it toe up it didn't really matter. Yesterday I decided I would knit the Spring Forward socks. The yarn is something I had never heard of before. It's called On Your Toes by SRK. I was attracted to the colours so I bought one ball. So far it is knitting up nicely and it's easy to work with.

The pressure is on to finish the Tour de Fleece. I have very little singles left to spin but I have to ply as well. My right knee is bothering me a little today so I am not sure if I am going to give it a rest tonight or not. Everything has to be done by Sunday. I just hope I finish.

Joseph has been telling me for awhile that his braces will come off soon. I was sceptical because he hasn't had to use those bands some kids need. He had another appointment today so I asked. It might not be more than another 2 months or so. That's pretty good considering it is just the 2 year mark next month since he had them put on. He's not a happy camper because they want one of his bottom teeth to move another millimeter. To him if that's all that's left then he could forget about it and have the braces off tomorrow. To be honest, I can't wait until they come off as well. We are going to have some soft of party when the are removed.

One Skein Done

Yesterday I finished plying the first two bobbins of the Northern Lights Cotton Candy. The results are so so. Overall I am pleased with it. There are still a few spots that look either underplyed or underspun. I am going to bring it with me to the spinning class I have on Saturday and see if I can figure out what I am doing wrong. Having said that, it's been such a long time since I've been spinning that it could have been much worse. I think I just need lots more practice.

Bobbin One Done

I've completed the first bobbin in my le Tour de Fleece challenge. So far I think it's pretty good. We'll see how it looks when I ply it. The single could be more consistent but on the whole I am happy with it. I've been checking the twist pretty often and I am hoping it has enough twist. When I ply I never know what to expect.

I didn't fill the first bobbin to capacity because I want the yarn to fit onto one bobbin when I ply it. We'll see if I manage that soon enough. I've started the second bobbin and I hope to get it done by early next week.

Aren't these two skeins of yarn gorgeous? It's laceweight that I bought from Oceanwind Knits. I bought one skein of lace at the Frolic and I've been waiting for more stock ever since. Kimberly knit the Oyster Bay shawl with the Ice Blue colour and it is gorgeous. Purple being my favourite colour I couldn't resist the Vino as well. Now I just have to decide what they want to become.

On the knitting front, I've started tier 16 on the Forest Path Stole. I have a spinning class this Saturday and I'll probably hang out at the Purple Purl after the class so I'll take the stole along and see how much knitting will get done.

Let The Tour Begin

I've been working on the Forest Path Stole as often as I can and I've made some pretty good progress. I went to The Purple Purl yesterday and brought it with me. I finished 1 and a half tiers while I was there. I am now in the middle of tier 15. That means I am well past the halfway mark.

I might not get as much Forest Path knitting time over the next 3 weeks because I am starting the Tour de Fleece today. I just am not sure what fibre I want to use. It is going to be from my stash. I just don't know if I want to do a semi-solid or not. I'm going to decide soon because I have to get some spinning in today. My goals for the tour this year is the same as last year. I want to be able to spin between 10 and 30 minutes daily and see if I can finish the fibre in the colour I choose.

Speaking of The Purl, they are having two spinning classes on July 12 and July 19th. The first is spindle spinning and the second is wheel spinning. When I was up at Gemini Fibres Wendy Whelan told me if I had the chance to take a class with Lorraine Smith I should grab it. Since Lorraine is going to be the instructor, I did just that. The wheel class is going to be limited to only 10 people because of space limitations when everyone brings their wheels. I am really looking forward to both classes. Now to decide which wheel to bring. Decisions, decisions - could be worse though - I could not be attending the classes at all.