Changing Strategy

So the Tour de Fleece has ended. My original goal was to spin enough for a sweater from 'A Fine Fleece' called Gaelic Mist. I didn't come close to this. I didn't have enough roving. On the 'Tour de Fleece' blog, the organizer posted about changing strategies mid ride (or spin as the case may be). Well, I'm changing strategies at the end. I'm going to make 'Leisl' - a gorgeous sweater by Ysolda Teague. She offers many different options for this little cardigan. It can be knit cap sleeves, 3/4 sleeves or full length. It can also be a shrug or longer cardi. So my problem is solved. Since I have about 900 yards it would seem I am good. Now I just have to change the colour. I want green! Green Kool Aid is hard to come by here in Goose Bay for some strange reason. I've been adding to my green kool aid stash bit by bit. Whenever someone goes out of town, I ask them to pick me up some green Kool Aid. I hope I like this colour. This would be alot of yarn to waste.

Nostalgic?

The 'Tour de Fleece' is ending tommorrow, and I have completed my goal of spinning all that corriedale. Sadly, there isn't enough yardage for the Gaelic Mist sweater that I had indeded to knit. Now, I have to decide whether I will use it for something else or if I will order more. There is about 600 yards of this stuff - which would make a decent vest. Trinity - a vest from the same book, is nice. We shall see, I'm still rumenating on it.

Cat Yak or is it?

I dunno about this. At first I thought I didn't like it, but now, its starting to grow on me. This was made by pulling 4 different carded batts into roving. (Which is a fun thing to do).

Atomic Watermelon

I think the name fits. Its superwash merino, about 66 yards and 8wpi. It will likely be a scarf at some point in the future.

Kev is still out of town, and I'm still spinning up a storm. The BSJ is almost finished. I'm sewing on buttons right now, and I'm debating whether or not to knit some cuffs for it.

I'm still knitting

You wouldn't know it by the abundance of spinning posts but I have been knitting a little. I've made some progress on my drawstring raglan and I'm just about finished the BSJ. Not in time for the shower that was last night, but since its turning out big enough to fit a 5 year old, I'm sure it can wait.



And not to totally disappoint on the spinning front, but I carded up these yummy batts to spin. I'm totally loving the drum carder. I wish I had started using it sooner, but c'mon - you saw it. It was disgusting.

Just keep spinning, just keep spinning

You know, like Dorie off of Finding Nemo. Well, she was swimming, but that little tune has been going through my head as spinning is all I seem to want to do in my spare time.

Here is some more proof of my productivity. I present to you 'Sour Candy' and 'Strawberry Slushie'. Why all my yarn seems to be named after food lately I don't know.




I am particularly proud of Sour Candy and this came from my first go at the drum carder. I must say as intimidating as that machine looks, it is alot of fun to work with.

I'm so tempted to give up on the natural corriedale and just start dyeing it and carding it and having fun with it. But, I did set a goal for myself. Arrrgh!

Drum Carding

Can you tell how enthusiastic I am about spinning. 5 posts this month. I blame it all on the tour.

So, I'm leasing a drumcarder from a lady who isn't sure she has a use for it anymore. She was doing some pretty funky stuff with it. She was spinning caribou hair (mixed with wool), knitting it up, then felting it. It was a giant experiment involving the Labrador craft marketers group. They ended up using a commericial felter in the end and forgoing the knitting part. Anyway the carder was a mess of caribou hair and gummy who knows what. So yesterday, I spent the better part of two hours cleaning the thing. Then, I carded my very first batt! I feel like a new mom.

Take a look!

Pretty filthy pre cleaning eh? I now have it on my kitchen table and there it will stay since Kev is out of town for at least a couple of weeks. I've had this carder in my possession since April and only now am using it. I really didn't want a big dirty drum carder on my kitchen table. Kev would not be amused.

The Twist is Set

And I'm pleased with the results. I can now estimate yardage more accurately too, since Kev made me the niddy noddy. So, I have 126 yards of this stuff. According to 'A Fine Fleece', I will need about 1300 yards of this stuff. My original goal for the 'Tour de Fleece' was to spin enough for Gaelic Mist. What the hell was I thinking? There is no way I'm going to be able to do that. (short of taking several weeks off of work, which is very tempting). I think it may become Gaelic Vest, or Gaelic Sleeves. Plus spinning stuff without colour is a real chore for me. I am so sorry I didn't dye first. But the yarn is very pretty. I'm getting so much better. I love it.

Finally, Some Colour!

So after plodding away on the ever so boring natural corriedale, I've finished a bobbinful. And hurrah for me because I haven't got loads and loads left over on one bobbin after plying. Usually I find it hard to judge if my bobbins are even and if the will equal out when plying. But this time it seemed to work very well. There was no method to my madness, just pure dumb luck. (See my post on the partridgeberry rag yarn to know how much I am ususally off).



I'm still hoping to spin enough for the Gaelic Mist sweater, but I'm not certain that I'll have enough yardage. Kev has promised to make me a niddy noddy tommorrow (keeping fingers crossed), so at least I'll have a decent way to estimate yardage. Right now my yardage estimation involves wrapping around a photo albulm (a la yarn harlot)

So, as my reward for all that boring stuff, I've predrafted this.



Lovely id'n it?

Boring

I am seriously bored to tears with this natural corriedale. I'm reconsidering my decision to dye after spinning, but its too damned late now. But I will perservere. Once I've finished two bobbins of this stuff and plyed, I've promised myself some colour. Don't get me wrong, it is a pleasure to spin. A very nice long staple, and it drafts very well. But .... wah! I want colour. In my colour depleted delirium I'm ordered a bunch of roving from the sweet sheep, and from two seperate seller off of etsy.

First Tour De Fleece Yarn

I'm hoping to finish off my pound (or so?) of corriedale to make Gaelic mist, but I did have some superwash merino on the bobbin that I had to finish. This was originally called raspberry triffle and as I was spinning it there was something about it that reminded me of picking partidgeberries. After plying, it reminded me of the old rag sweaters that everyone was wearing in the 80s. So this is my double ply 'partridgeberry rag' and abuot 100 yards of it in a single as well.

Tour De Fleece

It starts today. I joined up. The idea is to spin during the Tour de France. This is what I'm hoping to spin.

Its a pound of corriedale. I'm hoping to spin it all up and knit 'Gaelic Mist' from Lisa Lloyd's A Fine Fleece.

This is my first time spinning with a project in mind. I'm going to dye it after its spun. Wish me luck. I'm on the rookie team.