at home with Lara's wheels, spindles, looms & dye pots
We are off & spinning as they ride the Tour de France! This starting picture has all the openings for a flexible 2019 Tour de Fleece with favorite containers. It is very sensible; let me count the ways. On any given stage we could: Ply from the outer-pull balls in my WIP jar or the […]
Read MoreWe 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 […]
Read MoreThe simple idea to keep weaving after the handspun scarf brought the second Joanne Hall designed kit off my shelf & onto the Mighty Wolf’s beams. One is in our kitchen, and these 2 are shipped to loved ones. This kit was expertly wound, tied and had a 3×3 cross that cannot be blamed for […]
Read MoreWithin 3 days of my last post, I finished this long-term dream yarn. The project started back in February 2017 when I called the merino/silk spin Favourite Places. Soaked, and dried flat on a towel the stash is enriched by around 1,209 yards of laceweight handspun zephyr (merino/silk) yarn. Each skein has a tie-tag (I […]
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A new spinning project was inspired by this month’s challenge theme in the Spindlers group on Ravelry: favourite places. This special 50% merino/ 50% silk braid is hand-dyed by Mandie at Sheepy Time Knits, and was a door prize that I amazingly won at the 2013 String Thing event. With some more discipline to keep […]
Read MoreWhile in progress this Wensleydale commercial top has been very mobile. The ‘Hello Sunshine’ colourway by Spunky Eclectic blurring on my Jenkins Turkish Delight spindle got many conversations going as it went from near to as far as New York city this summer. The singles were all drafted from the fold of the long Wensleydale […]
Read MoreOver the past month, I have been helping as captain & riding along with Team Spindlers 2015 in the Tour de Fleece. It’s been amazing & a big honour – I started with this team as a rookie in 2010! We are 165 members strong. The spinning projects are a fabulous mix from returning spindle spinners, […]
Read MoreIn the days before this year’s Tour de France, I joined teams and prepared Hebridean – also called St. Kilda – locks. The dark fleece, and story in the Summer 2013 Wild Fibers by Margaret B. Russell egged me on. Other spinners on Ravelry were also interested to see how this rare breed’s wool would […]
Read MoreThe mountain stages were where I dove into my 15 oz of Horned Dorset roving. The goal was to keep practicing longdraw on my newly refurbished Watson Martha wheel. Soon every saved toilet paper roll had been pressed into service. In spinning all of the singles first, I did get a more consistent long-draw action going. I […]
Read MoreVive le Tour! This year I am racing in Team Suck Less as a Friend of Abby’s Yarns, and also posting in the 66 page long Peloton. It’s been great because this year I am both spinning for myself and taking my mind off some pretty intense stuff. My Prologue came with not feeling well, […]
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