Saturday, July 15, 2006

TdF Stage 31 (Béziers Méditerranée to Montélimar) Report

From reading the reports of other Le Tour de Fleece participants, I'm getting the sense that wheel spinning is 15-20 times faster than spindle spinning. Amazing. After all, cars aren't 15-20 times faster than bicycles. I have a whole new appreciation for the industrial revolution.

For me, spinning continues to go well, allowing for the effects of heat and humidity on fiber and spindler. However, plying is posing some puzzles. While I like marled yarn, in this case I don't want a pronounced barberpole effect. Happily, expert color commentary is as close as the local library, via the pages of Color in Spinning by Deb Menz, shown with the latest production.

Expert color commentary

This incredibly helpful book includes chapters on color principles; dyeing fiber and painting rovings; blending colors and fibers during carding or combing; spinning and plying multicolors; and a gallery of finished garments. Photography is excellent, particularly of mini skeins illustrating the text. Now I'm curious to look at the author's second book, Color Works.

Meanwhile, Floyd is second in the Tour de France, bum hip notwithstanding. And Alyssa noticed this encouraging website. Who knew I could eat so many carrots!

Incidentally, there is no Stage 31 in the TdF. I'm merely observing the longstanding TdF tradition of inverting, reversing, or omitting the unlucky number to confuse any malevolent spirits. Happily, it would seem they are rather easily confused.

6 comments:

--Deb said...

Wheel spinning is definitely faster than spindle spinning! But, unlike cars, it doesn't pollute the atmosphere . . . and think how great you'd be at treadling, since you pedal so often!!

(Okay, so I've still got my Ashford Kiwi for sale . . . can't blame a girl for trying!)

dragon knitter said...

a way to avoid the barber pole effect is navajo plying. there's a video out there somewhere (it's how i learned) but if you're familiar with crochet at all it's just one huge chain twisted about itself.. it's a good way to preserve color runs.

and wheel spinning is much faster, trust me. (me who's never spindled, lol)

Helen said...

I know exactly what you mean about the wheel spinners being much, much faster- I'm panicking about time myself and I'm not even attempting laceweight. It just feels somewhat galling when you hear someone else declare that they've spun 2 lbs of fibre in the time it took you to spin 2 oz. Still, the tour de fleece isn't just about speed: it's about stamina as well. We spindlers can do this.

Tj said...

Wow, your singles are beautiful. Such wonderful colors. As a participant that did 2 lbs of fiber on the wheel you (and the other spindlers) have my admiration. If I had been spindling I would have set my goal at one ounce! Congrats on the good work.

thalassophile said...

I love the colors you're spinning, beautiful. Just remember quality, not quantity and you have lots of quality with your singles.
~Rhonda

Hannah said...

Nice job. What beautiful colors!