The Tour de Fleece – The Finish Line

The Tour de Fleece ended on Sunday (July 25), and while I didn’t get as much done during the tour as I had hoped, I did manage to finish plying this yarn.

This is 100g of Louet Coopworth roving, spun and plied on spindles into about 131.8 m of yarn that is about a DK weight (11 wpi). I have another 100g in a dark grey/brown that I hope to spin to the same thickness, which should give me plenty of yarn to knit up a nice, warm hat for winter.

Here is a close-up shot.

I’m pretty happy with the consistency, although I did have a bit of trouble with this roving. It doesn’t draft smoothly – the fibre really sticks together. But still, it was great practice.

I had a great time participating in the Tour de Fleece. I learned a lot, and was greatly encouraged by seeing what other people are able to do with their spindles (and wheels). I feel so inspired to try different fibres and techniques, and to see where I can go using such a simple tool. And although it’s unlikely that they will see this, I want to extend a thank-you to the people who organized and ran the Tour de Fleece this year and made it so much fun. And to the other people who participated and shared their beautiful work.

The Tour de Fleece, Week Two

Well, it doesn’t seem like much, but I have made progress. I finished spinning up the full 100 grams of the Louet Coopworth roving.

Next up is to ply it into a 2-ply yarn. I think I’ll roll both plies into a single plying ball, and ply from that. It’s supposed to be a pretty easy way to go, providing I manage to keep both plies even and kink-free while rolling the ball.  I’ll be happy to have this one finished, and move on to something else, even if it’s just another batch of coopworth. At least it will be another colour. I have to admit that looking at the pictures of all of the lovely yarn that people participating in the Tour are spinning has given me a bit of colour envy. There are some very beautiful rovings out there. Once I’ve used up the roving I have at hand, I hope to indulge myself by buying some.

The Tour de Fleece, Week One

One week into the Tour de Fleece, and I can report that my progress has been slow but steady. But that’s me all over, so this is no surprise at all. I started off spinning up a 100 gram packet of Louet Coopworth roving in a natural light brown colour. It’s going well. I’m not terribly impressed with this roving – it has quite a few little slubs in it, as well as regular bits of hay (or what people generally refer to as VM – vegetable matter). I am picking out the hay bits, but leaving in the slubs. I suppose it will become a somewhat rustic looking yarn, but that’s okay with me.

Here is a picture of what’s been spun so far:

Half of the fibre (50g) is finished and rolled into a ball. The second half is still being spun. I’m pretty happy with the consistency I’m getting, which is my goal in this Tour. My arm is feeling a bit sore, though, so I’ve taken it easy today to give myself a break. I suspect that I grip the roving a little too hard so I’ll watch for that in the future. By this time next week I hope to have this spun and plied, and be well into the next batch of roving – another 100 grams of Louet Coopworth in a dark grey.