Tour De Fleece Finish Line

Well, it's all over! How did you all do? I didn't do too much crazy outlandish yarns. I mainly worked on lace weight for a shawl I want to create.

It's funny how I can spin 175 yard of a worsted in 2 hours, but it takes 24 total hours to spin 1200 yards of lace. I don't think people realize just how much more time goes into the finer yarns when you compare the two side by side, which is mainly the reason you don't see a whole lot of handspun lace on Etsy or Artfire. It just is too costly to sell, and no one will buy it. Sad, but true.

So, to tally it up, I have:
Here's the end of a wonderful spinning month.
Art Yarn for BKG (176 yards)


Finally Finishing lace (344 yards)


And finally my peacock shawl lace (~1200 yards singles)

Christmas In July Fiber Festival 2009

I had a wonderful time at the festival. Thank you everyone who had been there for making it such a positive and creative environment.

With the variety of fibers from raw fleeces to hand dyed silk caps, I loved perusing the tables and talking to everyone. I picked up some major deals as well! I finally have my own loom to learn how to weave, although I had told myself not to get sucked in just yet. However, the price was right as well as the person.



I also promised that I wouldn't buy much. Well, let me just say that there was a sale of $4 for a pound of yarn, no matter what the type. After several minutes of digging, I actually walked out with 8 lbs of yarn. I know, I'm so bad. : (



Oh! Have you seen the alpaca fleeces?!


I was also excited to get to finally take a class by Nancy Barnett on Angora Rabbits. We were able to get to spin all four different varieties of bunny fiber in one sitting! I got to work on German, French, English, and Satin. You can see the different varieties on my bobbin here (bottom white is German and middle is Champagne French). Now, I just need to find a bunny just for me!



If you haven't ever been to a fiber festival, such as this, I think you should take a road trip to one sometime. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. : )

Bamboo Dye Day

My friends always laugh about my the knowledge my children have of fibers and fiber animals. Truthfully, they can't but absorb the different types and textures with the abundance of textiles in my home.



Today, I introduced them into the world of dyeing. We worked on my favorite fiber, bamboo. I love the silky feel of bamboo and it's drape when spun. It's like silk of the plant world. Many spinner's are afraid to try it because of how slippery it can be. Yes, it isn't as catchy as wool, but I actually can spin it faster because of how it slides through my fingers. If you haven't tried it, you should.

Tour De Fleece with Dawning Dreams

Well, the Tour De France begins soon, and being spinning lovers, a spinning challege has been created to support, in our own way, the bicyclist who work hard during their journey.



The Tour de Fleece, which began in 2006, is continuing this year. I'm happily joining the ranks to represent Team Phat Fiber and Team Bad Knit Girls on Ravelry. I plan to do some Art Yarns and finish my lace that I've been working on.

As a way to show my support, I am offering a discount on my Etsy store. When you purchase one item, you get one 50% off of equal or lesser value through July 15th. Enter code: Tour de Fleece at checkout.

Etsy Buy Handmade DawningDreams