Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2021, part 5

This is the last week of this year's Tour de Fleece.

Friday, July 16

I decided last week that I would only need two days to ply this yarn.  So I spun a bit more today... 

I had a bit more free time today, so I focused on finishing the batt I was working on.

... and then wound off the bobbin.

TM: 1 hour 09:42 minutes

Saturday, July 17

The important question for today is whether I spun enough during this tour to meet the minimum quantity of 1oz for my upcoming County Fair entry.

If yes, I will ply from both ends of the cake.

If no, I will ply with the single completed before the tour began.

 

Good News!  At 1.75 oz, this single makes weight.  WooHoo!  So I am plying from both ends of this cake.

Since I tend to find plying less interesting than spinning, I listened to a few podcast episodes to keep my attention... and just about a half-ounce remaining for tomorrow.

TM: 1 hour, 11:40 minutes

Sunday, July 18

Fully plied!

TM: 29:26 minutes

Weekly: 

• Weekly Time:  1 hour, 50 minutes, 48 seconds
• Days with Spinning: 3/3

Epilogue:

I missed a total of 3 days spinning.  I spun on one Rest Day and took the second as scheduled.  For a net loss of two days spinning... and one completed yarn.

I started using the stopwatch on my phone last year to track how much time I was spinning in each session.  As an engineer, I always enjoy having data.  :-)

In looking at my record over the last few weeks.... It's apparent that I get distracted or interrupted frequently.  I had sessions as short as 2 minutes and as long as 35 minutes, for an average close to 8 minutes per session and about 21 minutes per day.

I do think part of it is because spinning allows my mind to quiet down and then creative thoughts begin to develop.  So I do stop frequently to take notes or write a few paragraphs.

I also prefer to spin in the morning when I'm making coffee/breakfast and tending to the dogs, so I am also frequently interrupted.  

It's sort of funny to look into this bag... At the start of this Tour, I thought I might run out of prepared fiber.  Of course I didn't (and usually don't).  I have five batts of prepared fiber remaining.  However, had my daily average been closer to an hour, it would have been close.

As always, I truly enjoy the Tour de Fleece... and now I have my first skein finished for a sweater project that was hatched last year.  :-)

Cumulative: 

• Total Time:  2:29:36 + 2:17:06 + 1:07:42 + 1:50:48 = 6:45:12
• Days with Spinning: 19/21
• Daily Average Duration:  21 minutes per day
• Average Session:  8 minutes per session

The finished skein in my office:  It almost looks like a black and white photo.

The finished skein in Natural Light:  The red undertone is apparent.

Some detail of the color variation:  This is undyed yarn.

I do love it and I'm excited to make more... only 14.25 oz to go for my long-term project.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!