FO Friday: the Tour de Fleece Edition

Happy Friday!

Yes, I realize I owe you an FO Friday for my dishcloth and the Gex sweater and I might get around to that someday.....but today, I have the Tour de Fleece 2016 edition of FO Friday, because I did a lot of spinning and it's glorious and the world (well, whoever winds up reading this) needs to see it!

Sooooo, we should probably get going on this post because it's going to be a BIG one. When in doubt, start at the beginning......and continue through in chronological order (as I have).

Fiber: 50% purple merino/silk from Bonkers Fiber & 50% white merino that I probably picked up at Lambtown in 2014, possibly Wisconsin Sheep & Wool in 2010 or 2011
Singles (purple): TdF 2015; finished January 29, 2016
            (white): started July 2, 2016; finished July 3, 2016
Plied: 2-ply on July 4, 2016
Yardage: ~ 540 yds
Yarn Weight: DK or light worsted
Skein Weight: a little less than 200 g

Of course, I had bits and bobs of the purple left on the bobbin but we will get to those in a minute....

Fiber: 100% merino from a sampler box I bought at A Verb for Keeping Warm about two years ago (the colors used were pink & navy blue (the bottom) and hot pink & grey (the top))
Singles: all were spun as singles on July 6, 2016
Plied: both skeins were plied (2-ply) on July 6, 2016
Yardage: both skeins are around 50 yds
Yarn Weight: probably worsted for both
Skein Weight: both are just under 25 g each

And of course I had bits and bobs leftover on bobbins, in addition to the purple leftovers and some kelly green merino leftovers from TdF 2015....which led to this:

Fiber (hot pink & purple - bottom): 50% hot pink merino & 50% purple merino/silk
Singles (purple): started during TdF 2015; finished January 29, 2016
             (white): started July 2, 2016; finished July 3, 2016
Plied: 2-ply on July 6, 2016
Yardage: ~ 10 yds
Yarn Weight: DK
Skein Weight: didn't weigh it

Fiber (kelly green & purple - middle): 50% kelly green merino & 50% purple merino/silk
Singles (green): started during TdF 2015; finished sometime last summer
             (purple): started during TdF; finished January 29, 2016
Plied: 2-ply on July 6, 2016
Yardage: ~ 20 yds
Yarn Weight: DK
Skein Weight:  didn't weigh it

Fiber (hot pink & navy blue - top): 100% merino
Singles (hot pink): started & finished on July 6, 2016
             (navy blue): started & finished on July 6, 2016
Plied: 2-ply on July 6, 2016
Yardage: ~ 10 yds
Yarn Weight: DK
Skein Weight: didn't weigh it

With all the bits and bobs leftover, I made a bunch of minis and I'll probably make a hat out of them, along with the hot pink & grey and pink & navy blue. Who knows. Maybe I'll use them for decorations. Whatever.

Fiber: 100% merino from a kit I picked up at A Verb for Keeping Warm about two years ago
Singles: started & finished on July 6, 2016
Plied: 2-ply gradient on July 7, 2016
Yardage: ~ 220 yds
Yarn Weight: Worsted
Skein Weight: 100 g

I knew when I bought the kit that I wanted to make a rainbow gradient but I wasn't sure how I was going to go about it, which is why it took me two years to actually spin it. I initially thought I would chain-ply to keep the colors together but I realized I didn't quite want it that way (because I am not good at chain-plying) and the idea of a 2-ply gradient came to mind...but I'd have to be a little diligent about my spinning. It's not quite how I imagined it would be but it's pretty close.

The purple merino/silk & white merino and the rainbow gradient were the only plans I really had for TdF this year. I wasn't sure I'd have time to spin or that Stormageddon, in particular, would let me spin. I really didn't know what was going to happen if I brought Viktor down and tried to spin in front of Stormageddon.

Because of that, I was caught with my pants down after less than a week of TdF and I had to go digging in the yarn closet for things to spin (and yes, I have plenty of fiber...meaning finding something wasn't an issue).

I came up with a few things...

Fiber: 50% merino/50% tencel from Fat Cat Knits in Razzmatazz (purchased at Purlescence Yarns about two years ago)
Singles: each 100 g braid (3 total) was spun onto it's own bobbin between July 8, 2016 and July 11, 2016
Plied: 3-ply (for the two larger skeins) and chain-ply (smaller skein)
Yardage: largest skein (on left - 3-ply) ~ 245 yds; medium skein (on right - 3-ply) ~ 120 yds; small skein (on top - chain-ply) ~ 25 yds
Yarn Weight: probably closer to an Aran weight but I might be able to get away with calling it a heavy worsted
Skein Weight: 300 g total and not evenly divided between the 3 skeins

I'm actually really happy with how this turned out. I honestly thought it was going to turn out like crap. Yeah, it's got thick and thin bits and there are little blurbs in the yarn...but it turned out really well. Now I just need to figure out what I want to do with it...

Fiber: 100% merino that I picked up either at Lambtown in 2014 or possibly Wisconsin Sheep & Wool in 2010 or 2011
Singles: started & finished on July 15, 2016
Plied: 2-ply (big skein) on July 17, 2016 & Andean ply (mini skein) on July 18, 2016
Yardage: 446 yds (big skein - 2-ply) & 15 yds (mini - Andean ply)
Yarn Weight: probably sport
Skein Weight: ~ 165 g total

The white that I used for the purple merino/silk & white merino up top...this was the rest of that white merino. In other words, I probably had about 250 g of fiber to start with. I was worried this one, too, would end up like crap. This one is lovely and you're going to have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. I might be able to get a small shawl out of this...or a big one if I do a two-color with something else.

Fiber: 70/20/10 superwash merino/bamboo/nylon from Happy Hands Hand Dyed Fibers, which was probably purchased at Sheep in the City in 2011 or 2012
Singles: started & finished on July 15, 2016
Plied: 2-ply (the big one) on July 17, 2016 & Andean plied (the mini) on July 18, 2016
Yardage: 166 yds (2-ply) & 14 yds (Andean ply)
Yarn Weight: Aran
Skein Weight: 100 g total

While I like this yarn, I had hoped that it would have come out a little less Aran and closer to a DK or worsted...but the fiber didn't want to cooperate in that manner. So, Aran is it.

Fiber: 60%/40% BFL/Bombyx (Mulberry silk) from Corgi Hill Farms in Forest Test
Singles: started July 18, 2016; finished July 19, 2016
Plied: 2-ply (big skein) on July 19, 2016 & Andean ply (on the niddy-noddy) on July 20, 2016
Yardage: 298 yds (2-ply) & 30 yds (Andean ply)
Yarn Weight: DK
Skein Weight: 150 g total (probably around 15 g for the Andean and 135 g for the 2-ply)

The spinning of this fiber made my allergies go haywire. It appears that I'm allergic to the Bombyx fibers, but not the finished yarn. My eyes were so itchy and watery, I almost threw the fiber out but I pushed through, got everything spun, plied, and washed and now it's fine. I can rub it all over my face and...nothing. It's like the hell I went through spinning it never happened. ::sigh:: The yarn turned out lovely. It's got a slight gradient to it and although it's called "Forest Test," there's no green in the fiber. It's mostly blues and a bit of purple. Whatever, it's lovely...although I'm never spinning Bombyx again.

Fiber: unknown BFL I found attached to an Ashford drop spindle and a bit of spinning in a project bag in a plastic bin, though I suspect it came from Yarn Hollow in 2011 or 2012
Singles: started & finished on July 21, 2016
Plied: 2-ply on July 23, 2016
Yardage: 144 yds
Yarn Weight: probably Aran
Skein Weight: because there was some spun onto the spindle, I suspect I had about 94 g to begin with, if the braid was a 100 g braid. Once I get the last little bit off the bobbin (via Andean ply), I should have about 94 g total



And that, friends, is the end of my completed handspun goodness from TdF 2016. I also started another project, which is still hanging out on the bobbin. I had another braid from Corgi Hill Farms (a Polwarth/Tussah blend with which I'm having no allergy issues) that I started. It's insisting that I spin it finer than I normally do, which means I'm having to go slower, hence why I'm still only on the first bobbin. Also, I think I'm all spun out for awhile. Since TdF ended on Sunday, I've had no desire to get my wheel down. Also, Viktor is probably due for a tune-up...which is something I've never done. I have no idea how to take care of my wheel! I mean, I know where to order parts if something breaks (hello Village Spinning & Weaving) or if I need to order fun things like bobbins or flyers and so on....but as for regular maintenance, no idea. I do have something I pinned in Pinterest from....Knitty, I think, that gives you the basics on where to clean and oil and lube and such. I'll have to look at it. I know Viktor needs, at the very least, a dusting.

With all that said, let's talk totals:
Total Yards: 2,403 yds....which is roughly 1.37 MILES
Total Weight: 1,159 g (~ 40.88 oz or ~ 2.5 lbs)...plus a little bit more because of the minis I didn't weigh

WOW!


I hope you're all having a lovely Friday! I should be back on Sunday with my Year of Projects post and maybe next week with a Stash Acquisition (now that I have five skeins from MadTosh and my last club shipment from KnitCircus). Woo!