Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece, 2023, part 1

Prologue

It really took me a long time to get my focus figured out for this year's Tour de Fleece.

I began my initial planning while in our temporary housing, on a snowy March 1st... by looking thru my stash listed in Ravelry (since the actual stash was packed away for our remodel).

Now that we're back in our home and I've done some unpacking and organizing... I've confirmed that I could take a Tour of just Silk.  Then after last month's Estes Park Wool Market, I also have many batts, rovings, and now rolags prepared from my two Clemes and Clemes Drum Carding Classes.  I still have several Shave 'Em to Save 'Em samples to go, and there is quite a collection of rare and fine fibers, as well as a few really unusual fibers.

BUT

I have agreed to give a presentation on the use of Chiengora in Fiber Arts to a local Kennel Club in August, so I have decided to focus on Tibetan Mastiff and spin it multiple ways.

As much as I want to be able to work on other things during this Tour, I think being able to accomplish the items I need for my presentation and hopefully something for the county fair has to be the priority... and acknowledge the fact that I don't (yet) have as much time available to allocate to this event as I want to.

So I have committed to only the Chiengora Team.  It looks like we will be a smaller than usual group this year.  Which will be a nice experience.

This year's Tour de France includes the second edition of the Tour de France Femme

So there are 21 Stages, with 2 rest days for the Mens' race and 8 Stages for the Womens' race... or 29 total stages and 28 total race days between July 1 and July 30.

I'm very much looking forward to spinning this summer.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!  The Tour begins Tomorrow.

Fiber Arts Friday: New Tools, Drum Carder

Back in March of last year (2022) Hubba ordered a Clemes&Clemes Elite Crankless Drum Carder for me.

He talked me into the electric version, which I thought was extravagant.  However after taking their class Exploring the Drum Carder at the Estes Park Wool Market in June (2022), I am very glad for Hubba's insistence.

The manual crank is smooth and easy, but having the motor really frees the mind up to focus on batt composition.

Due to material availability, order backlog, and their show/travel schedule, we knew it would take a while for the carder to be built.  Then Henry called right before Thanksgiving 2022 to let me know it was getting ready to ship.

She arrived about a week after Thanksgiving, just as we were getting ready to move out for our remodel, so I didn't fully unpack her until recently... actually just after completing the next level Clemes&Clemes class, Adventures in Drum Carding at the most recent Estes Park Wool Market.

Can I just tell you how much I love this packaging?  

The packaging is carefully thought out and everything has a place.

It makes this engineer who appreciates LEAN Principles and Thoughtful Process and Tool Design very happy.  :-)

Perhaps even most important, is the well-documented manual, right on top.  :-)

I'm so excited to have this exceptional Carder... she's been on my To Acquire List for quite some time and I am even more happy to have completed our Maiden Voyage last weekend.  :-D

Once set up, I began with some washed Chiengora from our boy Ramen, who passed this realm about 18 months ago.

After 4 trips thru the drum carder, I have a uniform and aligned batt. :-)

I'm so excited to play with this tool more.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Estes Park Wool Market, 2023

Last weekend was the Estes Park Wool Market.

For 2023 I took only the Adventures in Drum Carding Class, which is the next level after the Exploring the Drum Carder class I took last year.

I did do a thing that is abnormal for me... I turned my phone to silent, put it in my bag, and didn't look at it until the end of the day.  Which also means that this is the only picture I took...

We made five batts, mostly focused on blending techniques.  Three of them are in their storage sleeves, and I don't want to remove them, since getting them back in would be difficult... So you'll just have to wait to see them until I decide to spin them...  ;-)

We also made pencil roving and a batch of rolags.

Shopping:

As a student, I was granted access to the Market Preview on Friday evening.  I was looking for Sock Blockers, Stitch Markers, and a yarn complimentary to an in-work project.

I also found a steel-purple yarn (they call it periwinkle) and a Yak/Silk roving in a beautiful metal-like colorway.

I do enjoy the surprises that come up at this Market.  :-)

FACE of Fiber in the Rockies:

The Arts Center of Estes Park was also hosting their annual FACE of Fiber in the Rockies show.  So we stopped by to see the opening.  Spoke with a couple of the artists and enjoyed the display.

I did not take photos... again.

Sometimes it's just better to enjoy the experience, and not interrupt it with technology.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Inigo Socks, part 1

This project is being set up to test a few things...

1. Record the actual time it takes me to make a pair of socks, using a new-to-me pattern.
2. Gain experience with the Jamieson & Smith yarn on a small project before I embark upon a Fair Isle Sweater.
3. Decide if a selection of this yarn is appropriate for next year's Sock Madness.

Given that this is a 100% Shetland Wool yarn, intended for Fair Isle Sweaters, I'm not certain that it will be comfortable in the next-to-skin situation as socks.  However, since it is intended for color-work, I think it will be interesting to work with.

The pattern I am using is called You Killed My Father, and is part of a set of patterns inspired by one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride.

This pattern also provides a few other new things for me to practice

• Top-Down Socks
• Two Yarn colors

Status at the end of our Temporary Housing stay at the end of March 2023

At the end of a recent road trip, I had both legs completed.

The second leg took about 1 hour less to complete than the first.

I miscounted the rows on the heel flap, so I TINK'd out the Heel Turn and added the remaining rows...

I switched to dpns on the gusset.  It was a bit easier to manage this way...

Tried on the first sock after the gusset was completed... I think these will fit nicely...

While I work on the second gusset, I'll be thinking a bit more about when to start the toes.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Minty Mitts, part 3

Since casting on Mitt #2, I finished the second wrist at a recent dog show,

 and finished the second palm on May Day.

At this point I have just shy of 6g remaining on the first skein.  So, plenty of yarn for the thumbs.

And the thumbs only used about 1g.

Modifications made were to make the wrist longer, stop the stockinette early, and keep the thumb and palm areas shorter.

These fit snuggly, which was the goal... So now I'm ready for more-comfortable computer work next winter. :-D

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!