Sunday, July 4, 2010

I Actually Did It!

It took me a little while to remember how to adjust the wheel to spin just right but I actually did it. I filled an entire bobbin last night and got a second one started. I'm going to keep going with a one day at a time mantra so that I don't get overwhelmed. Last night was successful because my only goal was to figure out how to spin again. It was wonderful.

Tonight, I'd like to fill another bobbin and then start plying the yarn. I'll have 6 full bobbins and that's plenty for now. It will be a good feeling to get the yarn off those so that I can fill them again. Still no clue yet what I'll eventually make with the yarn but that isn't the point. I'm just going to spin this month and figure it all out later!

No pictures because it wasn't anything special to post. It was a bit thicker than I've done in the past but by the end of the night I was getting the groove back. My overall goal is to get spinning lace weight yarn once it's plied. This Tour de Fleece is the best thing ever to take on. I've having a great time and it's only day one. Now I just need to work on my posture so I can make it to the end . . .

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Tour de Fleece

I signed up about a week ago and organized by spinning fibers and supplies yesterday. Today is the official start of the Tour de Fleece but since my parents are moving into a new home today my start won't be until later tonight when my son is in bed. I signed up for 2 teams on Ravelry:

Rookies
Stashbusters
Wild Card

I probably could have joined several more teams but I wanted to keep this simple for my first year. I think it's so cool to have prizes in the mix as an incentive to join up. I'm really looking forward to getting back into spinning again.

My goals are super simple:

1. Spin every day
2. Finish up the alpaca roving I started 4 years ago and ply it into yarn
3. Start one of the luxury roving in my stash

I don't think it's possible to spin up everything in my stash this month so I'm mainly hoping to get the feel for it again and figure out a way to spin about once a week after the Tour is over. Here's some pictures that I uploaded to Ravelry of my stash:

My spinning wheel, fiber stash and supplies


Alpaca fiber that's in process (5 bobbins full already)