Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2012, part 3

Hi Everyone, Happy Fiber Arts Friday.  Today I share part 3 of my Tour de Fleece.  :-)


Friday, July 13
I was so excited about remembering to get my FAF post out this morning that I nearly forgot I was supposed to spin something. ;-)

So I squeezed in about 15 minutes of spinning time between the Day Job and Evening activities.

Saturday, July 14
I love Saturdays... This week I managed a leisurely morning at the Farmer's Market with Hubba and Lil' Miss Wonton, Farm Chores, Spinning and a Nap...

and another very energized single.  :-)

109.5 yards of Camel+Merino - camel and white
Unknown origin - purchased at the Estes Park Wool Market from Your Daily Fiber
1 7/8 ounces
~16 wpi

I then got a second wind.  So I spun

and plied 1 ounce of Corriedale.

I plied using the inside and outside ends of the same cake again.  I figured a little more practice wouldn't hurt.  ;-)

This one is softer than the grey Corriedale that I started the Tour with.

17.5 yards of Corriedale - white
Unknown Origin - purchased at the Estes Park Wool Market
1 ounce
2-ply
~9 wpi

Sunday, July 15
Yesterday I stopped by Your Daily Fiber to pick up some Alpaca Roving since I was out of prepared alpaca and was wanting to spin more.

This is a Medium Rose Grey Alpaca blended with silk into a lovely pencil roving.  I met the farmer while I was there.  She has been breeding alpacas and llamas for 20 years.  :-)

Monday, July 16
I finished spinning this morning.  Nothing quite like a 2-ounce bump to make one feel very productive.  ;-)

94 yards of Double K Diamond Alpaca+Silk - Silk Feathers
Wellington, CO
2 1/8 ounces
~18 wpi

Tuesday, July 17 - Rest Day

Wednesday, July 18 - Challenge Day
I have a small stash of unusual fibers in cloud form.  I've been nervous to spin them for fear of messing them up.  So I thought this 1/4 ounce of Paco-Vicuna would be a good thing to try on Challenge Day.

I chose my wheel over my drop spindle because I figured the less things my hands have to do, the better.  ;-)

This preparation wasn't skirted very well.  There was a lot of vegetable matter, some second cuts and I found a couple bits of fleece that were definitely not blanket.  It is also quite dirty so the color is dull.

The more time I spend thinking about it, the more I think this was raw Paco-Vicuna and not a cloud.  There were some clumps of fiber that I think would have been opened up if the fiber had been through a picker... and frankly if it had been through a picker, I suspect there would have been less vegetable matter.

All that being said, I did make something that looks like yarn.  :-)  I plied it since the gauge was not consistent and the resulting 2-ply is very squishy.  I think it will be nice as an accent on something... after a good bath.  :-)

7.5 yards of raw Paco-Vicuna - Dark Fawn
Unknown Origin
1/4 ounce
2-ply
~12 wpi

Thursday, July 19
A different blend with the same Double K Diamond alpaca from earlier this week... Alpaca + Bamboo.

Only a few more days to go with this year's Tour de Fleece.

I hope you will head over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder today, since you know it is Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)