No, no. I finished on Sunday. I've just been so busy that I just today got to sit down with my Elizabeth Zimmerman books and pick out some sweater designs and take some picture.
An apology to geraniums everywhere - the Dr. Suess plant is a result of Graham Lamb and Keebs getting up on the wool house porch this spring. Don't ask.
My goal of spinning every day of the tour was pretty darn close. I missed two days traveling to and from the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair which I traded for the two built in "rest days". I missed another day during the festival, but hey, I was looking at and fondling fiber and spindles and books and more fiber...so that counts, right? The only other day I missed I spent carding up the last of the 2010 dark gray...so I'm giving myself a pass on that as well ;-).
Claire Bear is very suspicious of anything unfamiliar. I have a feeling she's had a run in or two out in the wilds and I suspect a snake or "badger". Take note that none of the boys have any fears of any sorts. Not much to run in with sleeping on the porch 23 hours of every day.
I had a few run ins myself during the tour. The biggest one involved trying to decide if I had enough yarn to complete the ultimate goal - a Fair Isle sweater from one of my favorite sheep, Jester. Luckily I found the leftover 2010 fleece and padded my numbers.
I also had a little trouble keeping the different colors spun to match - dark harder to see... I ran one gray way too thin, so tried out a triple ply and was really happy with that. My goal of learning to Andean ply on the "hard" day worked well too and now I have an easy way to finish plying any leftover singles.
So, here are the two patterns I'm leaning towards - from The Opinionated Knitter. Can I carry the pattern down further? Would putting a little pattern around the cuffs be too much? I'm still harboring fears of not enough white for the solid portion (the 2010 white is just a hair different from the 2008).
This pattern is a bit more open and might work better with my yarn colors. My other fear is the two grays are too close... You experienced knitters jump in with any thoughts or suggestions!
All in all, I was very pleased with the Tour de Fleece this year. I learned a lot, cleared out three bags of roving and have the yarn to knit my sweater (I hope). We had a great time on the Ravelry site, I made some new friends and really enjoyed the spinners on Team My Favorite Sheep.
Majorasue won Miss Ewenice and she's excited to be heading to Oregon where she's quite sure it must be cooler. If I had a big enough box and could swing the shipping...
An apology to geraniums everywhere - the Dr. Suess plant is a result of Graham Lamb and Keebs getting up on the wool house porch this spring. Don't ask.
My goal of spinning every day of the tour was pretty darn close. I missed two days traveling to and from the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair which I traded for the two built in "rest days". I missed another day during the festival, but hey, I was looking at and fondling fiber and spindles and books and more fiber...so that counts, right? The only other day I missed I spent carding up the last of the 2010 dark gray...so I'm giving myself a pass on that as well ;-).
Claire Bear is very suspicious of anything unfamiliar. I have a feeling she's had a run in or two out in the wilds and I suspect a snake or "badger". Take note that none of the boys have any fears of any sorts. Not much to run in with sleeping on the porch 23 hours of every day.
I had a few run ins myself during the tour. The biggest one involved trying to decide if I had enough yarn to complete the ultimate goal - a Fair Isle sweater from one of my favorite sheep, Jester. Luckily I found the leftover 2010 fleece and padded my numbers.
I also had a little trouble keeping the different colors spun to match - dark harder to see... I ran one gray way too thin, so tried out a triple ply and was really happy with that. My goal of learning to Andean ply on the "hard" day worked well too and now I have an easy way to finish plying any leftover singles.
So, here are the two patterns I'm leaning towards - from The Opinionated Knitter. Can I carry the pattern down further? Would putting a little pattern around the cuffs be too much? I'm still harboring fears of not enough white for the solid portion (the 2010 white is just a hair different from the 2008).
This pattern is a bit more open and might work better with my yarn colors. My other fear is the two grays are too close... You experienced knitters jump in with any thoughts or suggestions!
All in all, I was very pleased with the Tour de Fleece this year. I learned a lot, cleared out three bags of roving and have the yarn to knit my sweater (I hope). We had a great time on the Ravelry site, I made some new friends and really enjoyed the spinners on Team My Favorite Sheep.
Majorasue won Miss Ewenice and she's excited to be heading to Oregon where she's quite sure it must be cooler. If I had a big enough box and could swing the shipping...
5 comments:
Wow! You DID manage to spin all of the yarn you need for the sweater, and a mighty fine job you did doing it. The pattern you have chosen will make Jester proud to be a part of such a lovely creation. Be sure to take pictures as you progress. Add this amazing task to your list of Effective work for your New Years Resolution.
Thank you for chairing a team for the Tour de Fleece and for sharing your blog address so I could post pictures. I sure couldn't have done it without your fleece, patience and encouragement.
I love EZ and I think the grays are not too close, and even if they were, it would give a lovely "shaded" feel.
I think the yarn looks beautiful and I don't think the greys are to close at all. Will you post pics as you work on your sweater?
She could come to Colorado and you could deliver her in person. She and I would BOTH love it. We are a little cooler here.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Love your basket of yarn, great job, can not wait to see the sweater!!
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