Le Tour de Fleece

let there be yarn

Okay, it's not a lot of yarn, but it's yarn:

Don't know how much spinning I'll get done today -- we seem to have developed a leak in the roof, and I'm a bit flooded out, not to mention stressed at the fact it's supposed to rain all day.

But we'll see.  Onward...

what you find when you look in the stats

What you find when you look in the stats is that one of our participants, Marcy, has written an article about Le Tour de Fleece for The News & Observer, complete with a look at what she's going to be spinning!

Thanks, Marcy!  And I can't wait to see what that turns into...

(p.s. -- I have made yarn.  Tomorrow, if it's dry, I'll be alternating spinning and knitting. Photos when I get a chance to take them later today.)

tips, tricks, other resources?

Hey, all -- yes, I'm plying, just taking a moment out from watching the time trials to post this.

I've been thinking about the fact that there are a lot of very new spinners along for the ride this year -- in fact, a few folks who are taking this time to take out the spindle and actually *learn* to spin.

I've had a few questions about advice and resources, and I have to admit -- I'm nearer to the beginner end of the spectrum myself, and probably could use the benefit of experience that's out there.

So -- if you have any tips or tricks for beginners (and near-beginners alike), please share them in the comments.  If you know of great resources (books, on-line videos, websites, magazines), please share them in the comments.  Tell us what you think is good about them, or how they could be useful.

And I'll highlight them in future posts here on the Tour blog.

stage three: ready to ply

I managed to get enough spun in the last three days so that tomorrow I get to ply!

This makes me very happy -- it means that by the end of the week, I'll be able to alternate between spinning, plying, and knitting.  I like breaking it up like this, less strain doing just one thing at a time.

And I've changed my plans slightly, but more on that once I have some plied yarn to show here.

On to the Stage Four time trial (but no race against the clock tomorrow for me!)

tour podcasts

Pour les francophones parmis nous (for the French speakers amongst us), Europe 1 has set up a podcast for the Tour de France.

If you're interested in subscribing, you can go to the Europe 1 podcast site, when you're there, click on the tab called "Le sport".  You'll see the listing for the Tour de France on the bottom right hand side, with a listing of what's in the latest episode, plus a handy-dandy "S'abonner" (subscribe) button.

The only down-side in all this is that the podcast is taken from the radio show, which is done in the evening not long after the end of the day's stage, and doesn't appear in my iTunes until the day after, which means I'm listening to talk about Stage One, for example, after I've just watched Stage Two.

But other than that, it's really interesting -- today's installment featured the Credit Agricole team, including an interview with Thor Hushovd (who speaks very good French), which was especially neat considering it was before he won today's stage.

There was also an interview with a young cyclist riding in his very first Tour, as well as lots of analysis of the day's events.

What was interesting to me was that one of the common questions for everyone was, "What is your goal this year?" and the answers were varied.

It reminded me a lot of what's happening here at the Tour de Fleece.  You've decided on your goal.  Every single goal is different.  Every one makes for a wide and varied experience on the Tour.

Do you know of any other really good Tour podcasts that you'd be willing to share with us? 

Stage One Progress

So, a few notes on what I did yesterday morning.

First, I took the fibre pictured in Friday's post, and I started drafting it.  First I split it in two,

then in four,

and then I split the quarters again.  Then I started to draft the fibres to make them easier to sping

For the beginners who want to know a little more about this process (I didn't know to do this when I first started, and it's no surprise I quit in frustration and didn't pick up a spindle for about ten years afterwards), I found this neat little video on YouTube:

And the neat thing?  I was searching this out because I figure it's easier to see this through video than through pictures, and I learned something about staple length. 

I don't draft out all the fibre at once -- I like to spin a bit, then take a break and draft -- I figure it's good to break it up like that, so as to prevent overdoing things.

In the end, this is how much I got done yesterday:

BTW, I've changed the project name slightly.  I was thinking popsicles, but after turning it over in my head, I realized that what this *really* reminded me of was the Lola (now called the Lola Iceberge, apparently).  Lolas are a peculiarly Canadian treat -- in fact, they were only sold in Southwestern Ontario (where I grew up), and parts of Quebec.  They were a pyramid shaped ice, came in grape, cherry and orange flavours (just like this fibre), and it was really great on a summer's evening to be given a dime and be allowed to go over to the "Smoke Shop" (that's what we called small corner stores that sold little bits of this and that in those days) and get a Lola.

You'd open the package carefully and try to squeeze the Lola out a bit at a time, trying not to make a mess all over yourself as it melted faster than you could eat it.

So that's it -- I'm making a Lola Scarf!

(anyone else out there remember Lolas???)

Saturday: a couple of notes

I'll have a fuller post on my progress today tomorrow -- it's also F1 season, and since it's the only thing the Tech Guy really watches, I'm giving him first dibs on the television tomorrow morning, instead of watching the Tour in real time myself.

Fortunately, Canal Evasion does a repeat in the evening, so I'll catch up with things then.  But nobody tell me what happens, okay?

I'm still busy signing people up today, and if you're bound and determined to start today, but you haven't heard from me or don't see your name on the list of participants, not to worry.  Just start, and I'll see that you get there, whether it's later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Speaking of the participants -- I got the Tech Guy to make a page with the list of everyone signed up.  There are links to those of you who gave me a blog or website URL, and I encourage everyone to take some time now and then to go and see what others are up to.  There are some really neat things going on already, and I'm really looking forward to the next three weeks!

a few thoughts on a friday evening

Okay.  Deep breath.

I think I've got everyone signed up who's left a message in the comments or who emailed me directly -- thanks to a few of you who tried a second time.  Yes, Typepad has been slightly....mildly...delicate the last couple of days.  On the whole, I think things held up remarkably well.

A few folks were worried they would miss the deadline.  No worry.  There is no deadline.  If you find us a week from now, you can still join in -- you just need to set a goal you can reach in the appropriate time left.

If you're wondering why I do that, let me explain.  I mentioned I do this in a kind of low-key way, being the low-key introvert that I am.  The reason I do this (and I've been at this for eleven years now, knitting a project the first eight, spinning the last three) is that it's an excuse for me to do a number of things:

1.  Think about doing one thing different.  One thing.  One small change, one new skill, just one thing. 

2.  Realize that sometimes you have to take time and make time.  You have to get organized in a way to make sure you can do the things you need and the things you want.  This is a moment for me to think about that.

3.  Make space.  This is especially true this year, when I'm confronted with thoughts about stash, both yarn and fibre.  I need to use some of what I have up, move it out, to make space -- both physical and metaphorical -- for new creative ventures.

4.  Not think.  I start to get out of the practice of spinning once spring turns to summer, and I get into garden/fill the freezer for winter mode.  That's important, but I also need moments to empty my head form all the planning that involves.  A few minutes of spinning every morning allows me to still the train that races in my head.

5.  Change gears.  If I dump everything else I'm working on, and just focus on the one project, often when I get back to other things after the Tour, I make much better progress for having taking a break.

There are probably more, but that's a good start.  And it's why I don't set  a deadline.  Yes, in a perfect world you'd turn on the Tour tomorrow morning (I watch on Canal Evasion, and I have done since I moved back from France), start your challenge.  But the world isn't perfect, and if you find us next week, I'd rather you had the chance to challenge yourself or take the time for yourself, or set something new in motion, in the remaining time available.

As for the goals -- there are so many, I've enjoyed reading what everyone is doing.  There is no goal too small.  All goals are worthy.  And you never know where a goal, no matter how big, no matter how small, will lead you next.

There are spinners of all skill levels here, from dead beginners to extremely experienced.   Some of you are planning to blog your progress; some have said you'd like to drop a note in the comments or pop me an email; some have said they'd just like to work on this and not report.  That's fine.  This is about *you* being comfortable with whatever you've chosen to do.  This is about *you* as an individual, and if you're getting out of this what you want/need, then that's great.

Okay, okay, now I know I'm starting to sound all airy-fairy and pop-psych-y, so let me just close.  I'm really looking forward to tomorrow morning.

my challenge

So, a few notes about what I'm going to be up to this year, and why.

I decided I needed a spin from my stash challenge because I'd been cleaning up my work room, and suddenly realized I had All This Fibre.  And I don't know how it happened, because I'm not really a big purchaser of yarn or fibre.  But it was there, and I knew that if I didn't make an effort to put a dint in it, it would just keep growing.  I don't know about you, but I'm at a stage in my life where I'm trying to downsize.

There were a few obvious candidates -- a few projects sort of half spun and stalled part-way through.  I did think of just working my way through those over three weeks.

But if you recall, I did mention spinning during the Giro (the Tour of Italy, for those who aren't really into the cycling side of things).  I couldn't talk about it then, because it was a secret project.  I was taking part in a fibre to scarf exchange organized by Ted Myatt (AKA Knitterguy).  If you're curious, there are a few photos and a description over on my knitting blog.  There are even better photos on the blog of Carol (of Black Bunny Fiber fame), who ended up being the recipient of the scarf.

The pattern I used was Véronik Avery's "Lace Ribbon Scarf".  This had been in my queue since it came out, and after knitting the one I sent to Carol, I knew I really had to have my own.

And then I realized that I had some fibre that would be perfect for this:

It's 225 grammes of Finn top.  It was dyed by none other than Ted Myatt.  Ted had brought this along to his Fibrefest North retreat last September, unsure about how the colours had turned out, and when I gushed over it, he gave it to me.  And now I know what I want to do with it.  And I think it's kind of fitting -- Ted participated in the Tour de Fleece last year, but this year he's having some back problems that are keeping him from being able to spin, so I think I'd like to nominate him as our Spinner Emeritus for this year -- and if you can think some good thoughts for Ted's back as you spin, that would be great.

I am so looking forward to working on this -- the colours remind me of popsicles -- grape, cherry, and orange -- so I'm calling it my Popsicle scarf.

Okay, more a little bit later today on some bits and baps of housekeeping.

oh, so that explains it

Just a quick post to let you all know I'm here, and I'm getting you signed up as fast as I can manage --  it was really funny to be sitting here yesterday and all of a sudden see this steady stream of e-mails arrive in my box.  When I finally got through them and checked my stats, I discovered that I'd been "Harlotted".

I think I'm pretty much on top of things at the moment, and my resident Tech Guy has tried to solve a couple of the questions/requests regarding buttons/banners.  I'm useless at that techie stuff, but feel free to ask if you have a question, I'll sit him down in front of the computer and get him to help out where he can (remember, he works, though, so his time is limited, and he's not available during the day).

I've enjoyed reading through all the various goals you are setting -- and quite a few of you have set the seemingly simple goal of just spinning a little bit every day.  That's what I did last year.  In 2006, I set a Big Goal, and achieved it, but then I didn't spin for a very long time afterwards.  Last year, I figured it was better if I got back into the habit of spinning a little bit every morning, so my goal was just that.  A little bit of spinning every day.

In the end, I finished up just as big a project as in 2006, it just took a few weeks longer.

This year, I'm sort of combining the two goals -- I'm going to spin just a little bit every morning, AND I'm going to be working towards a final project (which I already have in mind).  But more on this in another post.

Finally -- this has generally been a kind of low-key event for me -- each of us sets a personal goal and tries to achieve it, and I even encourage you to change or adapt your strategy as you need to over the next three weeks (just as any savvy Tour rider would).  I want you to feel good about what you manage to accomplish, no matter how big or how small your goal.

Okay, a few more emails have popped in as I've been typing this -- off to add more names to the list!