We are fresh off a happy-go-lucky Canada Day weekend, and thoughts are finally coming together for the Brussels Grand Départ.
The Tour de Fleece is a great container for new approaches to stash & tool. This year Le Tour rides from this Saturday, July 6th – 28th, and celebrates its first century.
In terms of a plan, I have been fairly stuck. Are you? Clearing spins was supposed to help, and the shiny new Female Heroes Club braid did but I have still been a little lost and a lot tired. Then early yesterday in a bored moment of waiting for N, I put this new spin together. It is just a scrap of mohair top and an under-used captive-ring pushka from Peru.
After our morning walk, I got spinning time with the gentle chak-chak of the ring, and I am moving through the scrap of mohair. This spindle has a history of 2 great summery parenting spins, and now I am taking it on the Tour either with other scraps or to continue this first undyed Corriedale wool top project.
This is a September 2016 spin that I completed quickly while helping with a Spindlers’ group monthly challenge and then folded on.
Folded so heavily that I did not share this 50 g of fibre turned approx. 226 yards of 2-ply delight. It was an intense time at home, and I can look back now and admire that skein all the more knowing what I had on my plate as it were.
The next & last spin with these spindles was of beautifully hand-carded Ent Batts “Coffee & Cream” through summer 2017.
The 2-ply skeins measure 258 yards, and are still in stash. This was the last in an incredible run of batt sets that are no longer in production but brought much joy across different spindles. This ‘Coffee & Cream’ is a blend of Corriedale & Merino wools with soy-silk.
The whimsy factor
Each TdF can use a touch of whimsy, and mine will be thanks to the long percolating flax thoughts.
Helping to Kickstart Raven Ranson’s book, “Homegrown Linen – transforming flaxseed into fibre,” did not disappoint when I had to place the single flax plant on Canada Day.
It is tucked behind some rampantly self-seeding Black-eyed Susans and has kept on blooming each morning. I noted the ritual involved in preparing the soil for fibre flax, and had at our very own strong clay with a view to creating this new-to-me word tilth.
We may not be in perfect tilth but I did break every clod, remove all of the stones, give it the best of the compost bin, etc. It is at the very least encouraged to be showy for the next few weeks.
With no flax preparation tools, growing won’t be my whimsy focus anytime soon but this fibre flax for local linen is where I’d love to land.
These 2 stricks of line flax are from the Black Cat Farmstead. It was grown in Stockholm, WI at both their property & A to Z Produce and Bakery. I was happy to see that it was processed at the Taproot Fibre Lab, Port Williams, Nova Scotia.
There are still ifs involved in spinning flax but it is on my bucket list. We are not just heading from a season of stress but into a slew of appointments that will have their own challenges. A little whimsy won’t hurt.
The rub is having the energy to spin line flax at night, moving everything for the morning. It is easier now to have wheels out in our living space but narrower project rotation has evolved for a reason. It may just ultimately be a nod to whimsy but these are the thoughts!
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