I Join the Tour De Fleece

After publishing my little rant about the competition that shall not be named, I feel I need to talk about this upcoming event before they are forced to change their name.  I speak, of course, of the Tour de Fleece...  not to be confused with the Tour de France.

For those who need clarity, the "France"  involves a bunch of guys on bicycles riding around the French countryside.  The "Fleece" does not.  The Fleece (hereinafter called "TdF" does not sell sponsorships, tickets, souvenirs, and as a matter of fact, is not even an organization.  It is simply a bunch of regular human-type people from all over the world who have decided to have a little fun with their fiber arts while these guys ride all over France.

So there are a number of people who have invited others to join them in challenging themselves to do more, or try new skills.  I joined several groups for which a single project will fit the bill.  The most specific challenge I have is to try fractal spinning.  This is entirely new to me. When I first saw the challenge, I saw "fractal" and my brain immediately said, "STOP!  That's math and you've given yourself permission to forget everything you learned after Junior High." (Well, except, my favorite theorem in geometry : corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent.  Long, pathetic story about why I remember that particular theorem that does not reflect well on a certain sadistic geometry teacher.) 

Then I decided to be brave and find out what it was about.  The concept appeared in a Spin Off article by Janel Laidman.  Pulled out my book of Spin Off CDs, popped the right one in the computer, and had a look.  From what I understand,  you take a space-dyed roving, split it in half lengthwise, and spin one piece as is.  You then break the other half into two or more pieces lengthwise, and spin those in sequence.  When you ply them together, you get really interesting striping effects.  So I'm game.

Having just finished adding all of my various unspun fibers to my stash page on Ravelry (patting myself on the back right now!), I took a quick look and saw that I did not have a single bump of horizontally striped fiber.   How did this happen?  Well, I'm not a quitter so I was forced to order something appropriate.  So on Sunday, I ordered this:

I've had a little heart on this one on etsy.com for a long time.  I just love the colors.  But what if the stripes weren't distinctive enough?  What then?

So I was forced to choose a back-up fiber.  And I ordered this:

Oh, but what if it didn't come in time?  The TdF is beginning in just a few days!  I'd better be extra-sure I have something on hand before the event starts.  So I ordered this:

But then I started thinking that this event is about challenging yourself to go outside your comfort zone.  All three fibers are in colors that I naturally gravitated to.   Even though that red, blue, and purple one is a bit on the wild side. I should be trying something different!  So on Monday I ordered this:

This one is definitely outside my comfort zone.  It even includes (gasp!) some orange tones -- a color that I abhor and wish could somehow be excluded from the rainbow.  My personal opinion:  oranges belong on trees, not humans.  But I digress.  Even though these are not "my" colors, I do think the colorway is attractive in its own way and will be fun to spin.

Then I really got to thinking...  Bad Costly idea.    I'm currently spinning some yummy "Potluck Roving" by Ferndale Fibers in the "Stormy Sea" colorway.

 

Isn't this pretty?  It reminds me of  malachite with the black veins that show up every so often.

I'm training for the TdF by spinning at lunchtime every day.  I have one bobbin full, have a good dent made in the second bobbin, and hope to have the third started in a few days. But I won't have all three done and therefore won't be able to ply off the bobbins before the TdF begins.   Uh-oh!  I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH BOBBINS!  So I was forced to order two more bobbins from HansenCrafts. (And kudos to them for their great customer service!)



 One of the groups I joined is "Stashbusters."  Does it count if I only spin stuff I added to my stash after I signed up?

 I have to say, fiber people are very punctual.  All of my Sunday night orders were filled and I received shipping info by noon on Monday.  Those items have already arrived. There was a bit of a delay on the Monday order because the seller offered me a couple of choices, but that, too, is on its way.  So now I am nearly ready for the TdF to begin!


One last thing I need to do.  A couple of months ago, I "discovered"  the SpinDoctor podcast by Sasha Torres. She talks about all kinds of events and products, and I like that she is possibly just as obsessive about collecting fibers and tools as I am.  Until recently, I've been rationing the podcasts by listening only when I'm driving somewhere by myself. But this week I began listening during my lunchtime spinning.  Now I have only a few episodes left.  Either Sasha needs to start recording a lot more, or I'm going to have to go shopping for another spinning podcast.