2020 Tour de Fleece

Spinning outside on our first really nice day this summer. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, nor raining. The mosquitoes weren't even too bad.

I'm participating in the "Tour de Fleece" this year. For about three weeks spinners spin along, most years while watching the Tour de France bicycle races. The actual races were postponed until August this year but the Tour de Fleece will go ahead now, since for this event social distancing is entirely doable. 

I'm spinning wool and wool blends on my Majacraft Little Gem and cotton on my Mahatma Gandhi Centennial Charkha.  

Natural Green Up the Nose

A pound of natural green cotton arrived early this morning.

Of course I had to get spinning it right away! I must say it's a little different than spinning the Acada White or the Sarepta Brown cotton. I had more trouble getting started and my results, at least so far, are a little less consistent. I'm sure that will improve with practice and experience.

I also noticed that I'm getting a lot more airborne fluff flying about clinging to my face and getting up my nose. I think it would be wise to wear a facemask while spinning this. 

Of course with all this CoronaVirus hysteria going on the chances of being able to buy a facemask right now are practically nil. I guess I'll be looking up the home sewn variety before I continue.

Unusual Fibre Arts Tool

I've joined the ranks of power tool users. Though I can't grunt like Tim Allen of "Home Improvement" the thought is there.

This cordless electric screw driver is not borrowed from my husband. It's brand new and it's mine, all mine! It's a gift from a wonderful husband who understands that there are more thoughtful things than flowers.

Although perhaps my use of it is a little unconventional?

I'll be using it to speedily wind the cops of cotton singles from the limited capacity (about 0.25 oz) charkha spindles to a storage bobbin that will hold much more length. When the storage bobbins are full I can then place them on a Lazy Kate and use my wheel to ply two or more together.

Storage Bobbins

The cotton spinning continues but lately I've been transferring the singles to Bobbins-Up storage bobbins and allowing them to add up so that plying will result in bigger skeins rather than the tiny half ounce ones that come directly from the charkha spindles.

 

The protruding "bits" of these storage bobbins fit directly into a standard drill for faster, easier transfer from the spindles. Later the bit is removed and the bobbins can be placed on a Lazy Kate for plying on a spinning wheel.

Yakety Yak

Way back in May of 2007 I purchased some yak down and tried to spin it, unsuccessfully, on my Little Gem wheel.

Well now that I have a charkha I figured I'd give it another whirl (pun intended). Hmmm, still not too good, lots of thick and thin, but better than it was when spun on a wheel. I also have 12 more years of experience spinning! I'll ply the yak tomorrow and call that little experiment done, and happily return to spinning cotton on the charkha.

Wandering a Little

Though I remain committed to spinning up all of the pound of white Acala cotton before moving on to other cotton preps, a whole pound of beautiful natural brown cotton showed up in the mail yesterday, a gift from a very generous online friend and mentor. I couldn't resist giving it a try.

After a few minutes getting to know what the shorter staple length wanted of me, I found the brown cotton spun up beautifully. I spun two cops worth yesterday and plan to ply them together today before going back to spinning the white Acala Cotton.

Spindle Lazy Kate

Look at the great charkha spindle Lazy Kate my husband came up with for me. It works great! The weight of the spindles standing upright against the eyelets is just enough drag that I don't get backspin or pigtails when plying.

These kind of projects, whipped up without complaint, on request, are far better and more thoughtful than flowers! I'm a lucky wife.

First Cotton Skein

My first skein of handspun cotton. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.

I filled 3 spindles on the charkha (about .25 oz each), placed them on a charkha spindle lazy kate that my husband is making for me (not quite finished but I got to take it for a test drive), and then plyed them together using my Majacraft LittleGem wheel. 

The resulting skein weighs 20gr (.705 oz) and is approximately 80 yards long. I forgot to measure WPI before skeining it, but it looks to be about a fingering weight. So soft and cuddly! I love it.

Charkha

The Mahatma Centennial Charkha I ordered from New World Textiles has arrived. Let the play begin!

Spinning cotton on the charkha is much easier than I expected. It will take some time and practice to get good at spinning a consistent thickness and twist, but after watching the basic beginner portion of the "Spinning Cotton on the Charkha" DVD I was able to produce a passable cotton thread. 

Yesterday a friend dropped off a stash of cotton that she is no longer interested in spinning -- 

-- and I also received over a pound of cotton that I ordered. Lots to keep me busy for quite some time!