We're just over ten days in to Tour de Fleece 2021 and I've finished one project and have prepped my fibre for the next one (plus, started sampling for a third featuring new-to-my-stash batts by Crux Fibres.)
Akara Yarns Batt:
This beautiful Polwarth batt from Akara Yarns spun up like a dream! This was my first project on my Sidekick, my goal was to create a fingering weight woollen spun 2ply yarn. Pictured above is the halfway point. My first Tour de Fleece goal was to get to know my wheel, I feel like I'm starting to get into quite a comfortable groove with it.
This is the final skein, before washing! It plumped up a bit after a soak in warm water with wool wash, but not significantly. Although I was aiming for a 2ply fingering, I ended up with an airy sport weight.
Prepping Enchanted Forest:
One of my other goals for Tour de Fleece is to spin this braid of Merino/Linen/Silk (50% nsw 23 micron merino, 25% flax/linen, and 25% tussah silk) into a worsted spun sport-DK weight 3ply.
Last week I was debating about how to prepare this braid for spinning (because there are so many ways to break up a braid!) and decided to create a fractal spin for an added level of complexity. This my first time using this technique, and I'm hoping it will provide maximum experimentation into how the greys, greens, and purples in Enchanted Forest play together.
To prepare my braid for a three ply fractal spin, first I weighed my combed top (112g total) and split it into three 38g sections.
Then, I took one of the 38g sections and spilt it down the centre into two long strips, and then spilt the remaining 38g piece lengthwise into thirds (pictured below.)
Each 38g bundle will be spun as the colours come into the three plys that will make up the final yarn, allowing the colours to mix and blend in the final yarn.
I made sure to separate these in my spinning basket to best keep track of what needs to go on which bobbin!
I received some happy fibre-filled packages in the mail this week, and these lovely bundles were one of them! These three batts are 100g total of a Corriedale, Merino, and sparkle blend made by Crux Fibres in Whitehorse, YK.
Team Stash's challenge for this week is to get outside and spin, so I took the opportunity on one of the cooler days this week to sample a bit of this fibre on one of my turkish drop spindles and enjoy the breeze. Make sure to check out the #spinwithstash hashtag on Instagram to see all of the Team Stash projects.
