RJ

Apparently it really has been a week and it’s day 16? Dyscalculia doesn’t help my counting abilities!

TdF day 14- plied up these two bobbins! 492 yards. They are beautiful! Plying is still my nemesis and I’m going to have to reply these again but I’m still very excited about the outcome.

You can just put it back on the wheel and just add more or subtract less twist!

TdF day 14- finally finished off these bobbins! My drive band shredded the second I started plying lol. Plying is my nemesis and I can never get my balance right so this skein is going to have to be replyed. Hopefully tomorrow I am more on target when I work on the next one! #tourdefleece #knitsky

TdF day 13- It’s been a week. I’ve not lost motivation, it’s been one of those weeks. I come home from work drained and I barely have energy to eat dinner and get to bed. Hopefully I’ll have some good time this weekend to start the second third of this spin! #tourdefleece #knitsky #handspinning

TdF day 11- no bobbin pic or weight. I did spin my 10 minutes today but I did not do much more than that. I was hoping to get a lot spun up but that’s just how it is some days! #tourdefleece

TdF day 10- Not too much spun today. I have been really into Breathing Yarn’s wardrobe series. As someone who’s always had a contentious relationship with clothing, it feels really good to set a plan for conscious consumerism and a way to make sure I like the clothes I make. #tourdefleece #knitsky

Obviously time is an illusion and it’s TfD day 9

TdF day 11- I totally forgot to weight my fiber pre spin BUT I have blasted through all the black/navy that took me two days on the first bobbin! I am unbelievably excited to get this second singles done so to see how this piles up!!
#tourdefleece #knitsky #handspun

I am so interested in how this project is going to knit up! This is going to be my first bottom up project, my first steeking, AND my first project with this much seaming! Not to mention my largest project with handspun. I can’t wait.

knitty.com/ISSUEw20/PAT...

That is too much tinkering for this first attempt, however, so my elegant solution is to add another steek column to make this into a cardigan! I’m very happy with this compromise and I could not be more excited to get this off the wheel and on my needles!

The issue I have is the body of the sweater ends up being the same length as the sleeves. I am tinkering around with the idea of making another sweater in this style but top down, and then casting off the body hem, and continuing the sleeves knit flat to be seamed after the steeks are cut.

I had planned to knit this into a sweater. My problem is that this yarn has a defined gradient that I want to through the entire piece. A lovely person directed me to the Halmstad, which is knit entirely in the round, steeked, and seamed, which was a beautiful solution to my problem! #knitsky

TdF day 8- yet another wildly spectacular day with 34.6 grams spun up AND the completion of this bobbin AND I finished the first two ounces of the purples! IF you want to know what I’m making with this yarn, I’m going to post the plan next! #tourdefleece #knitsky #hanspinning

Yes! I love that there is only one piece of plastic in the entire wheel and I’m a big sucker for the saxony style. I’m really loving it so far.

TdF day 7- just a casual 28 GRAMS spun up this afternoon! I have finally hit the purples and oranges! I can’t wait to spin the other half of this and see how it plies up! My other rambo came in today and I’m excited to get that dyed up for this sweater. #tourdefleece #knitsky #handspinning

That was the one I was also looking at, but I’m a sucker for the saxony style wheels.

I oopsied when I checked the date. I’m very tired 😅 it’s TdF day 6!

TdF day 10- I have somehow managed to spin 23 grams which is a miracle with how tired I am! I have blasted all the way through the purple/grey section and tomorrow and I am starting the braid that started this whole project! I’m very excited! #tourdefleece #knitsky #handspinning

Yes, it’s a Kromski Symphony. I love it! The only thing I have just ran into is that I was going to try cross lacing my flyer and I realized that the hooks were not on the same side. I’m a new spinner so I don’t have much experience but I am really enjoying it.

TdF day 5- 13.3 grams and I’m done with the first section of color for these singles. I’m now onto the grey/purple section. Pretty consistently hitting between 16-12 WPI. As long as it’s “about DK” weight, I’m not too worried. Looking forward to the coming color changes! #tourdefleece #knitsky

Spinning wheel bobbin with blue/purple/black singles

TdF day 4- spun 18 grams of the beginning colors of my sunrise sweater project! After yesterday’s frustrations I have finally got my wheel and hands dialed in and I am working on getting this project on autopilot. I’m hoping to get a sweaters worth spun by the end of July! #tourdefleece #knitsky

I am also finding consistency difficult, but I’m also trying to embrace that handspun isn’t supposed to look like factory spun yarn.

I have a very specific pattern and project in mind so I’m very determined to make it work!

I think failure is a fantastic teacher if we’re willing to put ego aside!

TdF day 3 has been frustrating! It’s all been beginner issues. Bad tension, wrong ratio, not getting my target WPI, not getting a clear answer of what WPI sport is supposed to be. I have finally gotten my wheel dialed in and I’m finally getting the yarn I want! #handspun #tourdefleece #knitsky

First skeins of TdF off the wheel! Approx 272 yards of home-dyed cheviot. Spun supported long draw, hot soaked and thwacked to finish. It’s definitely thick and thin, I wanted this on and off as quickly as I could so I could focus on my main project! #handspinning #tourdefleece #yarn #knitsky

Listen to her explain this situation

I did find it funny, the problem is I live in Indiana. Indiana is a huge military target. We have the entire military payroll offices in Indianapolis, not to mention Lilly, and a huge portion of the Midwest power grid runs though Indianapolis. Not just heavily populated areas are a target.