the tour de fleece is over :(

man i am really bad at keeping up with this blog xD

i know i said i was making my triumphant return to blogging at the end of June, but then the tour de fleece started and shortly after that a houseguest from the far off land of Ohio arrived so i've been swamped ever since.

but i DO have a wide array of spinning FO pics from the tour for your viewing pleasure ^.^

{ Metal Rabbit - 3.4oz, BFL }

this was my first finished yarn of the tour. this BFL was bought from Play At Life Fiber Arts as a set of sister batts, one black, one orangy/salmony gradient. it is so incredibly soft and squooshy, i'm not sure i even want to knit something with it. i might just have to save it to pet and smoosh as stress relief xD

{ Habitable Moon - 4oz, Polwarth }

and here's my first Polwarth yarn. i purchased a Polwarth roving/combed top combo pack from Friends in Fiber because i never knew there was a difference between roving and combed top. the two words are used pretty much interchangeably even though they are actually 2 different preparations of wool. combed top is the preparation you usually see in braids in most indie dyer shops on Etsy. roving, however, is a preparation that is pulled into 1 long length of fiber that's usually wrapped into a ball. it have to admit that i prefered the combed top preparation for spinning, i found the roving to be a bit neppier, but maybe that was just that particular roving.

{ Chocolate Caramel Ice cream - 47 grams, 100% Merino }

this fiber is actually left over from last years tour de fleece and i used it as practice for spinning a 3 ply laceweight yarn. i was unsuccessful at getting an even laceweight, but i think i came pretty close overall ^^

{Fishbowl - 1/4 oz, 100% Mulberry Silk }

i think this little sample was my favorite spin of the tour. the colors are sublime, thanks to Girl Meets Spindle. if you're a spinner and you haven't checked out this shop yet go do it nao! i'm in love with her colors and luxury fibers.

{handspun hair - my hair}

i guess i went a little spin crazy this tour because i actually won a prize for spinning a most unusual substance - my hair! i was evening it up a little bit one day during the tour, and i looked down at the hair clippings and my brain equated it as fiber so i had to try to spin with it. i have to admit i'm surprised i was able to spin it but it did work, even if it's just a teeny sample. my hair doesn't grow very fast

{ Forest Floor - 3.2oz, Falkland }

i actually started spinning this during the tour but didn't get to finish until after tour was over :(

this was a tour of exploring new fibers for me, first the Polwarth, then the Mulberry Silk, and then this Falkland. i got this fluffy Falkland from Felting Sunshine, i really love her rich, saturated colors.

{ Fawl Shawl - my first full sized shawl! }

i loved this yarn so much that i had to take a break from spinning to knit this Monarch Shawl. I think i'll tell you all about my adventures in shawl knitting next time though. have a wonderful weekend everyone ^^/

~carla