This is the recorded Tour de Fleece Progress Meeting for July 13th, 2024. Members of the community share what they are working on.
Chapters
- Louise’s handspun yarn 00:00
- Leanne’s project progress 05:31
- Melanie’s greasy fleece 14:31
- Adrienne’s flax-spinning 22:27
- Cheyenne’s Hampshire fleece 32:37
- Louise’s spinning adjustments 51:20
- Sam’s supported spindling 01:03:39
- Trudy’s sweater spin 01:06:58
- Teresa’s Traveller cowl spin 01:08:52
- Louise’s drafting progress 01:11:57
- Greta’s supported spindling 01:15:50
Use the “Chapters” function on the video player to jump to any section you wish!
Show & Tell Notes from the Tour de Fleece Progress Meeting 2024
Leanne’s Project Progress
- Leanne has finished spinning her rolags from the Fossil Fibres Mystery Fibre Club and plans to share the yarn with her daughter, who will crochet with it.
- Her hand-dyed yellow merino fibre, which she acid-dyed using Jacquard dyes for the Pressed Flowers Pullover pattern by Amy Christophers, is coming along beautifully. She carefully mixed different batches of dyed fibre to achieve the perfect shade she envisioned.
- She also showcases her combo-plied vs combo-spun samples to see how each looks knit up.
- Leanne also supported a Kickstarter project from Ula & Lia and received a selection of Camel, Yak, and Cashmere fibre.
- Kim and Diana have provided several suggestions for possible blends, fibre preparations, and spindle options to work with these luxurious fibres.
Melanie’s Greasy Fleece
- She is currently spinning Border Collie hair blended with Alpaca and Silk, which she dyed black to match the Border Collie’s fur.
- She’s also been working on a Finn/Gotland-cross fleece that she washed from raw locks, but the combed fibre still feels greasy.
- Kim and Diana suggest either rewashing the fleece or using a bit of avocado or olive oil to soften the grease, making it easier to process.
- They also provide tips on how to rewash fibre that has already been prepared into roving.
Adrienne’s Flax-Spinning
- Adrienne shared two recently finished skeins of handspun yarn she created on her EEW Nano e-Spinner; one spun from Corriedale fibre and the other from linen.
- She’s currently in the process of combing tow flax, which she plans to use for crocheting a mini basket.
- Both Kim and Diana offer suggestions for spinning and preparing flax:
- Kim recommends using rolags for tow flax due to its short staple length and suggests wetting the forward drafting fingers to help with spinning, but cautions to ensure the spinning is sound before adding water, as the pectins can bond the flax fibres together. Kim also mentions that she uses Ikebana bases for processing line flax, as they’re available in various sizes and are more affordable than a hackle.
- Diana adds to the advice with an article she wrote for Ply Magazine, in The Flax Issue, on growing and processing flax using tools that most spinners are likely to already have.
Cheyenne’s Hampshire Fleece
- She has been spinning a Hampshire Down-cross fleece and asked for advice on how to add more elasticity to her handspun yarns.
- Kim demonstrates how attenuating commercial top before spinning can help add air into the yarn, and she explores three different drafting techniques: short forward, short backward, and long draw.
- Kim and Diana also discuss how factors like staple crimp and the number of plies influence the elasticity of the yarn.
- Kim suggests trying the ruler test, which she demonstrates in the Nuances to Spinning Better Yarns course, in lesson 1.1 Rejuvenating Commercial Top.
- Cheyenne also mentions Rachel Smith’s course on making crepe yarn for added strength, which is found in the Spin to Knit Socks course, 3.1 Yarn Structure lesson.
- The conversation then shifted to cable yarns, a topic Diana covers in her Colour & Fibre Play ll course in lesson 2.1 Making Marbled & Cabled Yarns.
Louise’s Spinning Adjustments
- Louise has been working through a large stash of Corriedale fibre during the Tour de Fleece; she has finished one bobbin and starting a second.
- To prepare the fibre, she’s been dizzing it off a hand carder as shown in the Spin a Hand-Dyed Braid Five Ways course, lesson 1.2 Five Ways to Prepare Fibre.
- However, she’s encountered some issues with the uptake on her Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel, and pigtails forming in her handspun singles.
- Kim helps troubleshoot the uptake issue by suggesting adjustments to the wheel.
- She also offers advice on drafting and managing the fibre to create thinner yarns.
- Kim recommends starting with shorter strips of fibre and practicing good joins, referring to her 2.2 Joining Fibre lesson for guidance from the Nuances to Spinning Better Yarns course.
Sam’s Supported Spindling
- She tried drop spindling last year after attending a festival but found the spindle too heavy, resulting in thicker yarns than she wanted.
- Recently, she decided to explore supported spindling with a change of fibre, using Cormo, and she’s loving the results.
Trudy’s Sweater Spin
- Trudy is spinning a BFL and silk blend for a sweater project on her Ashford e-Spinner 3.
- She has five braids of fibre, with three already spun, wet-finished, and currently drying in the sun.
Teresa’s Traveller Cowl Spin
- Teresa shared her progress on spinning for the Traveler Cowl by Andrea Mowry.
- She initially spun the yarn using a fractal technique but wanted the colours to stand out more distinctly. To achieve this, she spun the next batch of fibre into singles and chain-plied it to keep the colours separate. Then she tried just singles for knitting, but she felt it needed something more special for this project and isn’t quite sure what her next steps will be.
- The fibre she’s using includes a Rambouillet/Silk blend and Corriedale, and she’s spinning on her Louet S90.
- After watching the Tension Systems course, she’s learned how to better utilize her wheel, making her spinning much easier, and she’s really enjoying working with it now.
Greta’s Supported Spindling
- Greta shared her progress with two spindles full of purple Babydoll fibre singles, where she incorporated silk noil and peduncle silk into the wool for the third set of rolags she prepared.
- Kim discusses the different qualities of silk and how different silks affect the finished yarn.
- Instead of rolags, Kim suggests using a Tussie-Mussie fibre prep, as shown in the Nuances to Spinning Better Yarns course, lesson 2.5 Tussie Mussie.
- Greta also shared her work on spinning Corriedale and Silk blended rolags on her Turkish spindle, a project she started in a class she took last year.
- This led to a detailed conversation on blending silk with wool using hand cards, discussing potential challenges and how to preplan to avoid issues during the process.
- Finally, Greta showcased her raindrop yarn, spun from SweetGeorgia Yarn’s Secret Stash Fibre Club for June, Lightning Rod colourway.
- Kim mentioned the gorgeous poncho Leanne had spun and knit using the same Raindrop fibre prep technique.
- SOS members can read Leanne’s Raindrop handspun yarn project notes in the community forums.
Thank you for joining us in the Tour de Fleece Progress Meeting 2024! Want to keep the conversation going for Tour de Fleece 2024? Join us in the School of SweetGeorgia forums or on the SweetGeorgia Discord channel.
Original publication: July 16th, 2024; Refreshed: January 27th, 2025
