Tour de Fleece 2011 Wrap-up

I had so much fun participating in the Tour de Fleece - and yes, I managed to spin every day! Even if it meant spinning on the train a few times. Here's a look at everything I spun up...

Some of those were already WIPs before the tour started, that I finished (like the red & yellow skeins of heavier yarn). Still, I am very pleased with my productivity.

Not only did I spin a lot of yarn, but I also managed to challenge myself by learning new techniques. During this Tour, I learned or practiced:
- Plying using a double-stranded plying ball, a fantastic technique especially for travelling
- The Andean method of plying using a low-whorl spindle, propelling it into the air by rolling it between your palms (gives a very fast spin similar to a thigh roll)
- Fitting an entire 100g of plied yarn onto a spindle
- Long draw on a drop spindle
- I got some proper hand cards and learned to use them
- Spinning on a Russian spindle (I already know how to spin on a tahkli, but the Russian is a little different)
- Spinning super-fine, which is actually pretty easy on the Russian
- A little bit of fleece prep (suri & huacaya alpaca fleeces - flicked locks and carded rolags, respectively)
- Dehairing raw fiber.

I also managed to spin 12 different breeds for my fiber sampler project, though of course I have a lot more samples to go! More on that later.

~Joyuna