TdF 2013 Day 23

The tour is over! The racing was great this year and so was the spinning. I accomplished my goal of finishing that wip on my Jenkins spindle. It is now free and clear for a new project! I also had the added bonus of spinning up some golden silk. Below is a picture of today's work, the challenge completed and my total spinning for this tour.

TdF 2013 Day 22

All fiber is now spun and on my bobbin. I joined the single on my spindle so it is all on the bobbin. I started to ply today but the day got away from me so I am going to have to finish tonight before bed or tomorrow.

TdF 2013 Day 21

Ok. I spent all morning spinning. I have realized that NO I am not going to get this silk done on my lovely Jenkins spindle by Sunday. Therefore, I have decided to spin the rest of the silk on my wheel. I will just add the single from the spindle and then navajo ply it all.

I just don't like this silk very much. I know I will put it down after TdF and probably not pick it up for another year. I don't want that to happen cause I want to be able to use my spindle. So, my goal is just to finish this sucker!

TdF 2013 Day 20

I am about half done with this silk. With luck and dedication I might be able to finish it with the race.

The only thing I am finding annoying about this silk is the fuzziness of it. It is tussah silk so the staple length isn't as long as mulberry but still! This is the fuzziest silk I have ever spun and the least silky! I hope it changes once plyed and finished.

TdF 2013 Day 19

I wasn't feeling it today. I didn't spin at all. Tomorrow will be better!

TdF 2013 Day 18

I did get some spinning done today. But I think I may have gotten more laundry done! It is hard to want to spin in the afternoon with this kind of heat.

TdF 2013 Day 17

I took a proper break today! I also won a silk brick in the ravelry prize thread from yesterday! Woohoo! Love mulberry silk! No picture today.

TdF 2013 Day 16

I opted to take advantage of my time spinning today. I went for speed rather than presentation. I didn't wrap the spindle as nice as I had been the last couple of days. I definitely got a lot more spinning done.

TdF 2013 Day 15

I worked some more on the golden silk today. It is coming along nicely. I have been keeping the pattern going in the hopes that I can pack on lots of fiber. It is slowing me down though so I am not sure how long it will last.

I thought I would give a different view of the silk today. I can't seem to get the color of the yellow. I might have to use a real DSLR and see if I can capture the color. For the moment my ipod touch is working just fine and I have lots of apps to tweak the images.

TdF 2013 Day 14

When I started spinning today I decided that I was going to wrap my single nice and neat. I like the way a lot of the other Jenkins spindlers are wrapping their spindles. It takes longer but it looks really nice.

TdF 2013 Day 13

The race was very exciting today! There was a great finish and a big crash too. I did some spinning today. I did end up making the silk strand larger. I didn't want a super fine thread. I like the thickness now.

TdF 2013 Day 12

It was a horrible summer day. Hot, humid and filled with bastards. I didn't get much spinning done but I did pick my next project. It is 2oz of tussah silk. It is the color of goldish yellow.

TdF 2013 Day 11

I finished plying and set the twist. The yarn is drying now. It was pretty uneventful today unlike the race.

TdF 2013 Day 10

Today is a rest day for the tour. I had a few errands to take care of so I didn't get to rest. I did some plying to settle my nerves. Spinning is really a life saver sometimes!

TdF 2013 Day 9

I started plying today. I might be half way done...not too sure. I didn't spend too much time today plying. I got distracted with napping, playing with the dogs, vacuuming, and doodling. So far the plying is going pretty smooth. Tomorrow is a rest day but I might try to finish the yarn.

TdF 2013 Day 8

Today was the first real mountain climb the tour had so I pushed through the last bit of fiber I had to spin. I finished spinning the alpaca/silk! Tomorrow I ply!

I am very happy about all this because it means I met my goal before the first break day. Plus, I can get more spinning done during the tour! Woohoo!

TdF 2013 Day 7

I did all my spinning this morning! I had a couple cups of strong tea! If I can keep the pace up I should be done spinning the singles in a couple of days. Then the plying begins!

It might be the tea talking but I might try to power through and get the spinning done in a day. It has to be the tea talking! We shall see.

TdF 2013 Day 6

I usually watch the race in the morning and spin. However, today hubby was home since it is the 4th of July. So, I got pancakes and then took a nap! We did catch the end of the stage today but I didn't spin till this afternoon. I think I got a good amount done. As usual I might do more later this evening.

TdF 2013 Day 5

I got a small amount of spinning done today. I am finding that the small strips of roving are easy to spin because there is very little drafting to be done.

TdF 2013 Day 4

I wasn't feeling very good today. I did finish the ounce of fiber I was working on so I am half way to making my goal! Not counting the plying I am going to have to do.

I was thinking about trying to get both ounces of fiber onto the spindle and then Navajo ply. However, I decided to take the second ounce and split the roving up into strips. I hoping it will be a nice two ply fractal yarn when I'm done.

TdF 2013 Day 3

I didn't get too much spinning done today. I had books to balance and bills to pay. That took up most of my spinning time. I did get some done and I am really liking how the colors are wrapping onto the spindle. It is fun to watch. I think I have almost 1oz on there.