Tour de Summer

The Tour de Fleece ended well.  I didn't finish and I didn't crash.  Much.

The wrap-up:

1.  EKF Mocha batts, 2.5 oz x 2, worsted spun singles, final yarn 2 ply, 436 yards of shiny, coppery, glinting beauty.

2.  EKF Farm roving.  The plan worked.  The thick/thinness was evened out in a heavy worsted/chunky three-ply yarn.  There are tweedy bits from the silk and recycled sari silk.  I fulled it enthusiastically with my plumber's helper.  I learned a bunch from this yarn.

3.  Handspun by Stefania, Jacob roving.  Caroline is saving the day on this one.  She solicited a trip over the pond on its behalf.  She will weave....something.  It will come back to me in rejuvenated and lovely form.  When I wound it off onto cardboard rolls, the twist wasn't quite as bad as I remembered.  (Of course, it was dormant, so maybe it IS, and will be, as bad as I remembered.  Human memory is an interesting phenomenon that rewrites itself as it attempts to encode itself into the neural nets we call the brain.   So I will put assessment and judgment on hold for now.)  No pictures until then.

4.  Felicia fleece:  I spun 3 oz of the 13.5, knowing this would be the epic fail.  I'm okay with that.  I got the bobbin started, and will finish it before the next TdF.  Probably.

5.  The dark horse reared up and broke out of the stable.  I plyed several ounces (must weigh) of dark green Ashland Bay merino that I spun in 2006.  The singles transformed into two-ply fingering weight yarn.  I love it.  I finger the strands, and wonder why I can't spin like that anymore. I had notes about what the fiber was, when it was, and on what wheel.  But I neglected to include stuff like woolen vs worsted technique.  Therefore, I did not full the yarn.  It is vera vera nice.   Dark green is a bear to photograph well.  I'll try when it dries completely.

All that yarn up there looks suspiciously neutral.  The Tour de Summer involved a daytrip to Gloucester, which defines summer in Massachusetts.  We wandered the Rocky Neck galleries and stores.  The colors enveloped us on the 90 degree day.  The brilliant air defined the hues.

Hydrangeas reach a periwinkle/blue/purple apogee in the sandy soil that no amount of inland acidification can duplicate.  The camera barely got it.  And Amy's ice cream shack deserves to be immortalized on the blog to show genius in color mix and matching. 

And if you are still here, go see a link my MIL sent me.  Forgive its commercial nature, and hope that it comes to a clothing store near you.

Comments

[Manise]

Great fibery finishings! Yeah at least you spun some of Felicia. I've got 4 full bobbins of her before TdF with 3 more bumps to chew through! Other more seductive rovings jumped the queue-lol. There's still more time until summer ends. :-)

Wow on the link! So that's what Cisco has been up to in my home town. Cool!

[Sylvia]

I really like the amount of plying twist in that second photo. I could shop like that. Hmmm.

[Carole]

Beautiful spinning. I haven't been to Gloucester and Rockport in ages!

[margene]

I remember seeing Amy's when were in Gloucester many years ago (I think).
You spin beautifully. The EKF looks so soft and velvety. If your handspun can be used in any way it is not a fail.
If only shopping was that easy. Maybe they can do that for grocery shopping, too!

[Anne]

I think you actually got a lot of spinning done. And a varied batch, which is always good, cuz you learn something different each time, don't you?

I must come for a Gloucester visit. Ice cream not withstanding. I'd even come in a Nor'Easter, I love that area that much.

What the heck is wrong with the cute sweater she already has on that she's shopping for clothes?

[Marcia]

The local hydrangeas, including my own, have been VERY blue, sometimes purple this year. And early. I did not even think about entering the Tour since I had so much going on this July. Then, again, I think I only watched three stages....yawn! Talk about "epic fail".....Lance now gives credence to those who say he has always doped. They all do. Will check that link!

[Caroline M]

You achieved more than you would have done had you not joined the TdF so it's a win surely?

[gayle]

Your yarn looks so beautiful. Are you thinking shawl for the dark horse?
That version of shopping appeals to me - I hate shopping...
The last time I was in Gloucester was 40 years ago. I expect it's changed a bit.

[Diane]

You had a really productive TdF, I like your shiny coppery one. But what I want is to be sitting at one of those little tables at Amy's eating a coffee ice cream cone.

Wouldn't it be great to shop like that? Now if they can figure out how to make shoes always fit....

[Mary Lou]

Le sigh. No hydrangeas here in my yard. And so far away from the sea, the blue is bleh. Those are dreamy.

[Kim]

Wow Laurie...you did good!! Lane's Cove in Gloucester is a place VERY dear to my heart.