Goals Accomplished

For once the goals I set for the Tour de Fleece turned out to be within my reach....YAY!!

Goal 1:  complete the roving I'd started prior to the tour.

 

Goal 2:  spin lace.  First up......4 oz. of brown alpaca/silk top followed by 6 oz. dyed 100% merino.

 



 

Day 1 - 3:  completed the yarn I started before the tour....464 yds. sport

Day 4 - 12: alpaca/silk yarn complete....364 yds. lace

Day 12 - 21: merino yarn complete....just in time to cross the finish line!...508 yds.

My victory collage

Big, big thanks to Ms. Wonder Why for being our team leader again this year.  We had a very chatty group....lots of photos and information was shared and questions answered.....couldn't have asked for a better group of spinners.

What I learned on this tour....lace takes a l-o-n-g time to spin!...LOL.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!!

Unexpected Words of Wisdom

I'm starting my post a little different than usual today.  I've been on a healthy eating, weight loss journey for just about a year and a half.  Tuesday I needed to go for a weigh in and I was feeling a little concerned after being away for a few day over the July 4th holiday.  You know how it goes.....ate a few things I shouldn't have eaten, then a bit of a struggle to get back on track. 

Anyway....I was starting my day as usual, going through my emails, and found a new posting by Kate, aka Sparkle Tart.  I follow her blog and her post that day was called "Words of Wisdom - Comparison".  She is one of the art bloggers I follow and this post certainly hit a cord with me.

It was just what I needed to read (hear) to get myself back in perspective.  It made me stop being concerned about what the scales might reflect and look at all I have accomplished in this year and a half.

Her post is well worth reading if you have the time.  So often we short change ourselves on what we have accomplished and how far we have come on our personnel journey through life.

Just in case your wondering how that weigh in went.......I lost 2 lbs. That puts my total weight loss at 101 lbs....YAY!

Okay, enough....now on to what I've been creating this week.  My week has pretty much been filled with spinning for the Tour de Fleece with a little time carved out in my studio.

Tour de Fleece......

Boy....it doesn't look like I've gotten much done this year.  You can just see my first skein in my basket, second is the brown alpaca/silk lace and last but not least, working on spinning 100% merino lace.  Hopefully I'll be able to get this merino done by the end of the tour.

Wow......I didn't have a clue how long it would take to spin lace.  It's going to be well worth the time and it was just what I wanted to try spinning this year.

I've been looking on Rav for a shawl pattern for my first multicolored skein.  I'm thinking of Hitchhicker, Vendanges or Dragonfly Wings.  Must admit, right now I'm leaning towards Vendanges.  Only time will tell which one I'll choose.  Not even thinking about what I'll make with the lace I've spun. 

I can't post any pics of my current art project....sigh.  It's going to be another present for my step daughters birthday in August.  Just remembered I haven't shared the first present I made for her earlier in the year....same reason!  I'll be sure to post pics after her birthday celebration.

That's it for me...hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  To everyone one out there who's participating in the Tour.....spin on, the finish line is almost in sight!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!!

It's That Time of Year

What time is that?.......Tour de Fleece!  Of course I'm back on Team Wonder Why Alpaca Farm.......some really awesome yarns are being spun.

I spent my first 3 days working on roving I had purchased on our trip last October to Vermont.  First time going to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival.  Here she is.....

 

I now have 464 yds. of sport weight in this beautiful color way.  After the tour, I'll have to spend some time on Ravelry looking for a simple shawl pattern.  

 

My challenge for this year was to use my lace flyer.  I've had my Lendrum for 3 years now and decided this would be the year to give lace a try.  Looked through my fiber stash and decided to start with these.....

 

The brown top is a 4 oz. Alpaca/Silk blend that I purchased from Lady Peddler and the dyed roving was purchased last year at Michigan Fiber Festival from Winding Wool Creek Fiber in color way Peace -n- Love.  I thought they would go well together to make a two color shawl.

 

What I didn't think about was how long it would take to spin 4 oz. into a lace single.  There went day 4 through 12 (day 10 was a day of rest). 

 

Really proud of how fine I was able to spin even though the finished yarn did not fall into the lace range.  The wraps per inch turned out to be 25 and according to my WPI gauge that's probably a light fingering.......lace starts at 35+WPI......what?  I can't quite get my head wrapped around how fine the single would have to be. 

Day 13 had me starting on the dyed roving.  Now my challenge is to spin my singles the same thickness so the final yarn will be close to the WPI of the alpaca/silk.  I was worried the roving would be harder to spin this fine but am glad to say.......it is not....yay!

 

 

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, I only spun 0.4oz.  I really wanted to spend some time "shabby chic'n" a couple pieces of furniture.  Got my plant stand done....

 

and a little side table painted.  Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do to fix the top.  I have several ideas but just can't seem to make up my mind....this tells me I haven't come up with the right design yet!

 

Well that's it for me.  I need to read some of the other Fiber Arts Friday posts, get to spinning and hopefully get back to painting my next furniture piece.

 

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!!