Day 2

The second day of the Tour de Fleece was quite productive. The family was hiding out from extremely hot temperatures by staying indoors in air conditioned comfort. I spun through a movie and then a long visit with family and got quite a bit done.

I finished the first braid, all of it on bobbin one, and I'm now about 1/2 way through the second braid. 

Even with central air conditioning running constantly it is 80°F (26.67°C) in our house this evening! I feel so sorry for those suffering through this extreme heat without air conditioning! We've only had it ourselves for the past few years. 

Before the Start

Before the start of the Tour de Fleece yesterday I needed to clear my bobbins of another ongoing project. These two skeins are the result. They are 3 ply Superwash merino (of about a fingering weight I think) spun up from batts I made from mill ends I purchased years and years ago.

I have way more batts to spin and a lot more to card -- pounds of the stuff~ I'll get back to it after the Tour de Fleece. 

The Tour de Fleece 2021 Begins

I began the Tour de Fleece 2021 at 10am, spinning outdoors in the (hot) shade, but by noon I had to retreat indoors to air conditioned comfort. It's 40°C, (104°F) out there and will be getting hotter as the day progresses! 

My goals for the 23 day tour are to spin every day, and to finish up with enough handspun of this colourway to make something worthwhile. 

I have six of these vibrant BFL braids, all dyed by Jude Pilote of Ewesful Creations.

Tour de Fleece 2021

I'm stocking up for the 2021 "Tour de Fleece" which runs in conjunction with the Tour de France bike race from June 26th to July 18th.

This is the most recent acquisition. A blue faced leicester wool roving hand dyed by Jude Pilote of Ewesful Creations. The pile above is actually two different colourways -- the vibrant lime green that I love, and a very bright yellow. 

This large colourful lot was also dyed by Jude, at my request. I'm pretty sure that between those three batches I'll have enough to keep me going through the entire tour, since I don't spin all day long like some participants, but ---

--- just incase I come to the end of all that glorious colour I have been carding up some superwash merino mill ends. I'm not saving these prepped batts just for the tour though. I've begun spinning these up and will continue until June 26th when the Tour de Fleece officially starts. I won't run out -- there is plenty of this white yet to be carded.

Spinning the Rosebush

I've been spinning outdoors nearly every day, at least for a little while, ever since I received my Electric Eel Wheel spinner. Even on rainy days, as long as it's not too cold, I am able to sit out on our covered patio. I'm really enjoying it! 

This lovely stuff is made from rose bushes of all things. I can't claim to know the process to get it to the roving stage, but it was a lovely spin and resulted in beautiful, smooth, silky, fine yarn with a gorgeous sheen .

There have been other spins too. I just haven't been keeping up with the posting. This next one is a jet black kettle dyed merino. It's been in my fibre stash long enough that I no longer remember how I acquired it.

As the label clearly indicates, this purple one is a merino top that I purchased from Brooklin Brothers. This is the first project of any size done on my e-spinner. I was just getting used to the feel of e-spinning so the resulting yarn varies a bit in grist.

I'm loving the Electric Eel Wheel 6.0! I haven't spun this often, or this much, in years! More to come.