Tour de Fleece - June 30th - July 14th Update

I had a bit of a slow start for Tour de Fleece. For a recap here is all that I was planning on spinning for the Tour de Fleece.

1&2 - All Spun Up BFL/Silk Roving 13 oz
3&4 - All Spun Up Superwash Merino Roving 10.4 oz
5&6 - Woolgatherings Fancy Pants Club April 2012 50% Merino/20% Angora/30% Silk 7.3 oz
7 - Woolgatherings Fancy Pants Club June 2012 85% Mixed BFL/15% Tussah Silk 4oz
8 - Woolgatherings Fancy Pants Club May 2012 Silver 70% Alpaca/30% Tussah Silk 4 oz
9&10 - Woolgatherings Suri Alpaca 8oz
11 - Ms Gusset Optim Wool 8oz

I also purchased these three right before I left. Polworth/Tussah Silk (85/15) dyed by Woolgatherings

 Day 1: The first day June 30th I was spending at my Grandparents for Grandpa's big 80th Birthday. Had a great time with all my family most of which I hadn't seen in over a year, some a year plus. I had brought with me all the fiber I was planning on spinning on my Jenkins Turkish Delight and I thought I'd start off with the Suri Alpaca which ended up being the most difficult fiber I've ever spun with. Now that I look back on it I'm glad I picked it but I sure struggled along the way. The biggest trouble I had was I can't draft a long portion of it.. only a few inches which expands to 5-7 inches. The predrafted bit loves to fly around and stick to everything. Also while spinning I had to find the fine line between over spinning just enough to keep it together but not too much that it started to feel like wire.

Here's my photos on the way to Kokomo.

This is the fiber before spinning

Spinning on the way back from Kokomo.

Day 2: We planned a trip up to the Butterfly House in Whitehouse Ohio so I didn't get too much spinning done. I did however get a photo of a butterfly with my spindle. With the difficulties I've been having spinning this I'm a bit concerned about how well Navajo plying is going to go.

Day 3: Getting on much better terms with the Suri Alpaca and making quite a bit of progress. At this point I had spun .36 oz out of the 1 oz I was planning on spinning. This was my first day back to work so my progress is slowing some down.

Day 4: Was only able to spin .07 oz this day. it seems like such a miniscule amoutn when I think about it. Spun a total of .43 oz up to this point almost half way there to a total ounce.

Day 5: Spun a total of .57 oz up to this point. I'm loving the slow gradual color transitions and can't wait to see how it looks once it's Navajo plied.

Day 6: I got a lot of spinning done while over at Leslie's. Spun a total of .21 oz on this day for a total of .78 oz so far. The small bit of fiber left is all I need to spin in order to hit a complete ounce.

Day 7: Hit .93 oz only have .07 to go before I hit a full ounce and get to start Navajo plying. I wasn't anticipating getting much done the next day as it was the day before I was flying out. Knitted item it's sitting on is my Weekend Shawl.

Day 8: Finished the whole ounce with time to spare to start Navajo plying. I've noticed I'm having some problems making sure my turtle of singles behaves itself. I had to unwrap the top layer and wrap it around to make sure it didn't unravel and a mess of things.

1 full ounce completed (ended up actually being .95 oz)

 

unraveling turtle

Day 9: Managed to ply quite a bit while I was on the flight back home. I'm extremely pleased with how things are going so far at this point and I love how super soft and squishy the singles ball is. The plied yarn feels really nice and makes me feel so much better after all the trouble I had in the beginning with this fiber. I finished plying this later the same day.

Day 10: Finished plying this the night before but couldn't skein it until Day 11. I asked Leslie for recommendations on what to spin next for my first Aura TdF project and she recommended the Optim Merino dyed by Ms. Gusset. I've had this January of 2010 and had been to nervous to spin it hearing that it was difficult to spin plus liked to be spin really thin. I was hesitant at first but I'm so happy Leslie suggested it as it's been a breeze to spin. I think with all the fine spinning I've been doing on my Delight and the difficulties I had with the Suri is making this Optim so much easier to spin. I have a total of 8.5 oz to spin of this beautiful Copper and Blue beautifulness. So far I've spun .65 oz and it feels great to be spinning on my Aura.

Optim Merino dyed by Ms. Gusset. Copper and Blue

Day 11: I was able to skein up my gorgeous Suri Alpaca. I ended up with .95 oz 77 yards. This small skein of Suri Alpaca is absolutely irresistible. I can't help but pick it up and give it a gentle squish whenever I see it. I should have approximately 640 yards total with the complete 8 ounces spun. Not sure what I'll knit it into. All I know is it's going to be lacy and gorgeous!! At this point I've spun a little over an ounce of the Optim. It amazes me how versatile the Aura is. I hadn't imagined being able to spin this thin on my Aura before I purchased her. I had never been able to spin this thin prior to having this wheel. I had come close with my Wee Peggy but spinning on the Aura is such a breeze.

Day 12: Spun .35 oz of Optim Merino. I also started spinning more Suri Alpaca but not a whole lot on there to be photo worthy. I'm loving the copper tones on this Optim... it's so shiny and brilliant just like actual copper.

Day 13: Spun half an ounce of Optim Merino and working on some more Suri Alpaca. I've found the most difficult part of spinning the Suri Alpaca is starting it. Once the spindle gets some weight on it, it seems to be a lot easier.

Day 14: So far I've spun a total of 2.6 oz of Optim Merino so far and will spun another 1.65 before I start on the next bobbin.

That's all for now. Will update more soon. :)

EWM