Tour de Fleece - Finale

 
  
 
 

Well, another TdF is over, and as usual the extreme heat made it very difficult to spin. However, I did manage to get two more projects done.

Tour de Fleece: Day 19
 

This is the finished Polwarth/Silk blend from Two Sisters Stringworks:

The skein on the right was spun and plied during the Tour; the other two were done beforehand. Spindle spun worsted and either spindle or wheel plied (chain ply) these three skeins total approximately 360 yds of 3ply, 1,080 yds of singles (112 grams/3.95 ounces). TdF spinning portion was 204 yds.

Tour de Fleece: Day 22

I plied the last skein Saturday morning (July 20) of the RDC (Ramboulliet, Dorset, Corriedale) cross fleece. There are five skeins wheel spun/plied during the Tour added to the previous eight skeins. This is a traditional 3ply yarn from either hand combed & hand carded rolags or hand drum carded batts, woolen spun then plied on my wheel (Hansen mSpinner). I'm estimating 726 yds of woolen spun 3ply yarn (2,178 yds singles) for the five skeins, which I will confirm after skeins are dry.

I didn't get to the blue-green braid at all, but that's okay. I'm not really feeling it right now so it's going back in the stash bin. Maybe it will float back up for next year's Tour de Fleece.

In the Midst of Spinning, Knit Happens

 
 
  Off My Needles/Hooks:
 
  Summer Mystery shawl closeup (unblocked) 
 
 

The 2013 Summer Mystery Shawl KAL by Wendy Johnson is done. I really liked this pattern and will make at least one more, probably two.  I did the large size, using 957 yds of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Sock II (Merino, Cashmere & Nylon 80/10/10 blend). That's two skeins plus 20% of the third skein.  I tried it on hot off the needles and it was wide & long enough unblocked, so should be nice and cozy when blocked. Unblocked dimensions are 74 inches wide and 35 inches deep at center.

   This is a quick picture right off the needles (forgive the dangling ends & messy bed)
 

On My Needles/Hooks:  
 
 

With all this lace knitting, I needed a pair of vanilla socks to freshen my palate, so I went stash diving and came up with a skein of Lisa Souza Sock! In the Newtown color way, which looks like this (pic from her website):

Newtown was one of the first sock yarns I bought when I started making socks, oh so many years ago. I'm about three inches down the first sock leg. I'm a little tired of afterthought heels so the Newtown socks shall have Sweet Tomato Heels.

 

I also cast on the Cauchy socks by Cookie A using the Garnet colorway of Lisa Souza Sock! Another long ago sock yarn purchase. For this one I'm about five inches down the first sock leg.

Also on my needles/hooks are some odds and ends for the Hogwarts at Ravelry games: preemie hats, hexipuffs and coasters.

 
  
 
Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks:. Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead                
  DVDs etc:  NCIS; Bones; Angel; Charmed;                        
  Pod/VideoCasts:  The Knit Girllls; Round the Twist; The Knitmore Girls; Knitting Pipeline; The Anatomy of Knitting; Cast On; Two Tangled Skeins;                          
 

Tour de Fleece 1st week

 
  

 

The Corriedale Ewe I plied on Day 1 has dried, and it shrunk a bit.  Instead of the 200-220 yds I was estimating, I got 179 yds of traditional 3ply (537 yds singles) from five ounces of drum carded fleece. Average wpi is 16.  

  
 

The ten mini-batts of the Rambouillet/Dorset/Corriedale fleece I drum carded on Day 1 have been spun. I still have lots more to drum card so this is ongoing.

I'm spindle spinning the Polwarth/silk blend from Two Sisters Stringworks. This is what I spun for Day 2. The spindle is now twice as full and ready to be moved to a bobbin. I've got about two ounces, more or less, left to spin. I'm hoping to get to that this weekend.

This is today's (Day 8's) progress: Abstract Fiber "Chocolate Rainbow" alpaca/silk, 190 yds 3ply yarn (570 yds singles). Picture taken before twist set (it's drying now). Spun worsted/semi-worsted and chain/Navajo plied.