A Special Edition - Spinning and Tour de Fleece

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

I started spinning in August last year. Tour De Fleece was over and I didn’t even know it existed. Now I’m bingeing on spinning content and watching all the Tour De Fleece content I can get. I don’t think I’ll be joining a group yet, but I’m definitely giving it a shot to see how far a daily spin will get me. Wouldn’t want to hold back a group with my measly beginner efforts until I know I can hack it. It seems like a wonderful way to structure and track my spinning and any progress I make. Happy spinning! Edit: If I were to set myself a goal, I think it would be to spin every day. As simple as that. My go-to, ‘default’ spin is lace weight yarn: once it’s plied it’s between 30 and 35 WPI. That means I don’t spin up a lot of ounces per day/hour, but it tallies up to a whole lot of yards comparatively! Not that I’m a fast spinner. I don’t look at how many grams or ounces I spin up. At most I’ll check how many yards or metres I’ve spun. I just keep on spinning until I’ve filled a bobbin and then either ply it using a centre pull ball, or make a plying bracelet. Once I’ve plied a bobbin, I’ll check the yardage, pick a knitting pattern, and keep on spinning and plying until I’ve got enough for that project. Somewhere along the way I’ll do a swatch to make sure my math adds up.

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

Wow❣️ you should not feel at all concerned about holding a group back, certainly not if your spinning lace weight yarn💜 TdF is about community not competition. There have been teams in the past who host a bit of competition within their team and have prizes, but most teams just encourage participation because we all love to see what everyone else is spinning. With that being said, lace spinners do sometimes fret that their photos seldom show much change from day to day. That’s the nature of lace spinning😹 So even if you don’t join a team be sure to lurk💜 Most importantly, don’t feel concerned about all the yarn totals everyone posts. For some, the goal is quantity or stash busting. TdF is a great opportunity to stash bust. For many, daily spinning is the only goal and challenge - AND that is a worthy challenge regardless of years spinning. For some, the challenge is connecting with others through spinning - sometimes quite the challenge in itself💜

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric - Thank you! There isn’t much of a spinning community in the area of Belgium where I live. Actually, there doesn’t seem to be very much of a spinning community in Belgium in general. I did find one Belgian content creator, based on the other end of the country: Jente from Mijn Wolden. Locally, I’ve found one single spinner. This means I have kept my spinning connections virtual. TDF seems like a great way to share what has fast been becoming my happy place. I’ll certainly lurk, if I don’t join. More fibre arts content, and perhaps some great ideas, tips and tricks!

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

@eddavanleemputten9232 💜Spinning is my happy place too💜

[@Roehrtribe]

we are joining Tour de fleece this year as well. excited to find your channel! we are trying daily videos as well.

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

Excellent❣️ Happy Spinning💜

[@TartantazCreates]

I found your channel last year during tour de fleece. I loved those videos. I always had your videos on in the background while I did my spinning for the event ;) I am so glad I found your channel. I am looking forward to tour de fleece this year. I have finally started combing my first fleece I washed last year lol Maybe I will get spinning some of it during tour de fleece :) T x

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

I’m glad you found me💜 I’m looking forward to another year too😸

[@teresayoung4145]

Im hoping to do some spinning this year. We're raising our 6yr old granddaughter and 5 mon old grandson so i havent had much time for crafting. Going to see if my granddaughter wants to join in. Love your channel especially your tour de fleece episodes.

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

Good luck!😸 Sounds like you will have your hands full but it could turn out to be a delightful challenge finding a way to spin with the kids rather than only when they sleep. If you get some pencil roving, or strip a braid into thin strips, your granddaughter should manage a drop spindle quite well with practice💜 Grandson will probably have to settle with a wooly toy at this point😉 You might find spinning to be a good “story time” too. Check out a book called Charlie Needs a Cloak. Also, there are so many sheep toys on Amazon. I purchased the Toymany 8 piece Merino Sheep set a year or two ago to go with my Nativity. My kids loved toys like that when they were your granddaughter’s age. 💜

[@LadyValkyri]

Great advice & tips. I like the ideas of making project albums, both on Ravelry & Fb. Love & hugs!

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

💜thanks😊

[@jenniferbrighty5120]

Hi, Dear Pioneerlady Fibre Friend, I hope you're OK xx ❣️❣️❣️ Thankyou so, so much for sharing this video podcast. I watched your Compilation Video before I watched this one. Typical of me to watch them the wrong way round.😮😮. I think I'm a one person team, but I don't mind 🤔 as you never know when fibro can decide to knock us back. The weather here is more like autumn than spring/summer temperatures. ❄️❄️ I'd never really heard it explained before. This is only my 3rd year of Spinning, so being a relatively newbie, so all this information is very much appreciated. 😊😊 I hope you have a Wonderful Weekend/Week ✨️🌟🌞🌞 Happy Spinning and Dyeing Fibre Friend🎡🐑🥰🥰 Take care and stay safe Lots of love, Blessings and Big Hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🫂🫂🫂🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

💜 Our weather has been bouncing between spring and summer - I prefer the spring 😹 If you’re on Ravelry, consider joining a team even just to lurk 🙂 or join the FB group. Both are good ways to see lots of pretty fiber/yarn with little contribution actually expected💜

[@jenniferbrighty5120]

@@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric Hi, that sounds better than our weather. Temperatures next week are what we'd expect for late Autumn. I don't use Ravelry , the FB Group sounds good though. Will keep you posted on what I decide to do🤔🤔. Happy Spinning and Dyeing Fibre Friend 🎡🐑🥰🥰 Take care, stay safe, love and hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️🫂❤️🫂🫂🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

[@Kathy-ml6yu]

I have started prepping 2 lbs of roving from Spinners Hill in NY. I like to separate it and pre-draft into balls. I will spin it on my bicycle wheel. It's an old stationary bike my husband turned into a wheel. Do you spin the whole day or set limits? You wouldn't think that sitting and spinning would be tiring, but by the end of the month I am exhausted!😂

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

Your prep is a great way to organize for TdF❣️ It can also be a great way to manage your second question - decide how much weight you want to spin each day and make a “ball” of it. Some years I spin themed projects - that is how I approached TdF 2022 (playlist just created). When I spin projects, I will often spin singles one day and ply the next. More often than not, I just spin when I can, trying to remember to take breaks 😹. Back in the Spinzilla days (a week of crazy intense spinning) I would try to sun massive quantities. I miss Spinzilla but not the insanity of the week. I recommend that most spinners, especially new spinners take a relaxed approach to TdF since a month of spinning can be hard on the body unless the spinner is a production spinner already conditioned for the task of daily spinning large quantities💜

[@caroleblackman9016]

Hallo, I'm French, spin every day but actualy hate watching the tour de fleece! but love your vidéos

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

I’m so glad you enjoy my videos❣️💜

[@Kathy-ml6yu]

I found your channel last year during TDF and I have followed you since. Are you going to join groups? I tend to set goals for myself and work on my own/with podcasters.

[@UnwindingwithFiberandFabric]

I’m going to help captain the Kromski Ravelry team and I moderate the TdF Rookies on Ravelry too. In the past I’ve been on a couple other Rav teams. I’ll probably decide at the last minute😹 My spinning goals are simple this year but I might mix things up a bit for the videos🤔 I think it will be a “take it as it comes” your this year😹 We’ll see💜