Well that's weird.

So, I was going to post a beautiful wrap-up post for the Tour de Fleece. So, I was pulling together all my lovely handspun from the last 3 weeks, and I took a picture.

How is it possible that I didn't notice, while powering my way through tons of fiber, that I didn't actually get out of my color comfort zone? 80% of this nonsense is green. Or has a significant amount of green in it. The only fibers that didn't involve any green at all were the:

A) 8 oz of pink surprise BFL, which I didn't intend to own so much of

B) The 2 oz of yellow Rambouillet that isn't pictured because I gave it to Caitlin because I couldn't stand it.

C) 4 oz of some tasty brown alpaca that was a pleasure to spin, and not nearly as filthy as the white stuff I got at last year's Wool Market. Next year, I'm totally getting more of this stuff.

Anyway, on to the wrap up! I kind of lost interest in spinning for a while, probably because I'd been doing so much of it. I did still make quite a dent in the fiber stash, but I still need to get more done. However, the Ravellenic Games are coming up, and I need to come up with a project/variety of projects to use as a goal for the next fiber-related marathon. In the meantime, I'm working on Mariah's chuppah (it's coming along nicely, although I'm not 100% that I'll use all of the yarn I ordered). And my sister requested some socks. Long socks. I'll have to get on that sometime before it gets cold and she needs to wear boots again. Yay.

That's all the news that's fit to print. If you have any good ideas for Ravellenic goals, let me know. I'm drawing a blank.

Lesson learned

Lesson 1: Endeavor to bear in mind that just because you hardly ever purchase that color of fiber doesn't mean you haven't ever purchased that color of fiber. That's how you end up with surprise stash issues. Yay!

Lesson 2: When in the throes of stash enhancement fervor, endeavor to check the fiber content of the item you are purchasing. Turns out, not all fibers are created equal, and spinning something you don't like is painful. (Turns out I forgot that I don't really like spinning superwash merino). At least the color was nice.

Lesson 3: Remember to only buy colors that you like. Admittedly, some pictures can be misleading. But colorway names can be a good indicator of what the finished product might look like. This started life as a braid of Rambouillet in a colorway called "Harvest Moon." I don't usually spin yellow fiber, I've never spun Rambouillet before, and I was working against the clock. Not a good combination. The singles shown here and the remainder of the 4 oz braid have gone to live with Caitlin because I couldn't face it anymore.

Lesson 3b: I don't like Rambouillet. Now I know. Since I also learned to only purchase fibers that I like (see above), hopefully I won't purchase any more of this particular fiber.






Lesson 4: I always over pack in terms of fibery goodness for a trip of any length. Especially one in which I anticipate a significant amount of downtime, despite knowing: that I have not yet started the homework assignment due over the weekend, that I have 3 doctor appointments in one day, and that I'm a serial over-packer.

Lesson 5: All liquor tastes better from a glass that says "3 sheeps to the wind" on it. 'Nuff said.


Details, you say? Fine. Caitlin drew the lovely illustration based on a knick-knack that Shelby and I encountered while I was visiting her lovely town of Winnemucca. I became enamored with the concept of owning wine glasses with drunk sheepies on them. Turns out that glasswithatwist.com will happily execute any relatively simple drawing on a variety of glassware for you. Most excellent!








I also tried the new wine-and-art fad with my sister this weekend. We painted technicolor hibiscuses! Hibisci? Hibiscus? And remembered that I have a complete dearth of natural artistic talent. Turns out that's not such a big deal, since the proprietors of the shop are trying to make sure people come back, so they take you through the painting process in baby steps. Very simple!

I'd show you a picture but the pictures are all on my phone, and some of my hibiscus attempts (like how I avoided the plural question there?) are a little deranged looking. Like I said, no natural artistic talent. It's a burden I've learned to live with.

The first step...

They say the first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have one. Well. I think I may have to admit that I have one. 

I went stash diving today. In the fiber stash, so I could have more fiber to spin this evening for the Tour. I came across a variety of exciting items, but grabbed 2 items: some superwash merino, and a braid of BFL I purchased at the Fancy Tiger, in Denver. Just to make sure, I kept rooting around a bit more to look at everything in the stash bin. My eye was caught by a braid that looked similar to the BFL I had already extracted from the bin. It was odd, I though, since it was in a peachy pink color that I'm not usually persuaded to purchase. 

I pulled it out. It was the same brand, but slightly fluffier. 

I checked the band, it was the same fiber. In fact, it was the same colorway, the same fiber, the same brand. And I knew that I hadn't purchased the two braids at the same time. For one thing, they were slightly different in their colors. And for another, I remembered purchasing both of them at different times. From the same store. And I hadn't realized it until today. 

Like I said. I may have a problem. An impulse problem when it comes to stash enhancement. Now that I'm aware of it, I guess that means I can fix it? I hope...

Anyway, enough true confessions. Let's get to the Tour update! I've been spinning a lot. Doing very well on stash busting. 

Last night, I pulled out some mystery fiber that may have been mohair-silk-something or other. It's really pretty, but not very nice to touch. I guess I'll wash it and see what happens then, but I'm not hopeful. I also plied the Dragonfly singles from this weekend. They are lovely, at least! 

Today, after my stash diving adventure, I plied the mystery singles. Again, pretty to look at, not very nice to touch. Then I yanked out one of the BFL braids. Cuz, hey! I have a lot of it, surprisingly. And I'm a little embarrassed about it. So, spun 2 oz of that nonsense. 

Tomorrow, I have the day off. Caitlin and I are going to see a movie, and I'm going to do some homework, and I shall endeavor to take a larger chunk out of the BFL surprise. Should be a productive day! After I sleep in, of course.