I’m taking part in Tour de Fleece again this year. Some years I’ve been a member of multiple teams, this year I’ve just joining our Guild’s team.
My main aim is to finish my breed study that I started in January 2021. Most of the breeds that I have left are fleece samples that needed washing and/or combing.
On Saturday, the first day of TDF, I washed 3 of the fleece samples and managed to have them dry enough to comb the first two on Sunday:
- Blue Texel (I’ve spun White Texel commercial top)
- Zwartbles
- Castlemilk Moorit, there is a lot of skin flakes in this and it’s short-ish. I may card this instead of combing
I also combed two other breeds using my hackle and wool combs
- Boreray
- Suffolk (I’ve spun this breed before but it was commercial top)
Finally, I finished spinning the beautiful hand dyed combed top from Coastal Colours which is 40% merino, 20% alpaca, 20% mulberry silk and 20% camel.
The remainder of my breeds are
- Romney fleece, I combed on Sunday and wish I’d washed that too…its a little sticky with some lanolin still in
- North Ronaldsay I need to find! (I may have dyed it and felted it on some lampshades)
- Devon commercial top
- Exmoor Horn commercial top
Once I have finished these 8 (or 9) breeds I will reward myself by spinning the beautiful alpaca/tussah silk fibre from Coastal Colours.
If I can achieve all these in the next few weeks I’ll be really pleased. Our Guild is having two zoom spin calls a week and this Friday a spinning day out to the west coast of Scotland (I live on the east coast).
On Sunday I did combing mentioned above and wound off, measured and set the Coastal Colours blend. So long as its spinning related then I’m happy and don’t feel I need to spin every day.
HighlandHeffalump 
Yay! Tour de Fleece! I love looking at photos of your beautiful handspun. It gives me hope. 😅 And how lovely to have a day out to the coast with the guild.
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Wow that is a lot you have planned to spin! But I guess the breed study fiber is a lesser amount? Otherwise I could see you spinning the 16 hrs a day that you aren’t sleeping!!! I’m just going to finish a spin I started last time, working on the 2nd bobbin and them plying, and a 5 oz roving. If I finish that I’ll find another prepared roving in my stash (S.A.B.L.E for sure :P)! I’ll just see where I go from there.
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Oh gosh the samples were 25g (1oz?) and some of those weights for fleece were pre-washed and combed and I’ve ended up with quite a bit of combing waste so on this evening’s 2 hour zoom call I spun and plied the Suffolk and the Zwartbles samples!
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I think it makes it fun to have something done in one day!!!
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Zwartbles is one of my favorite words. I love seeing your spinning.
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It’s a Dutch breed and we have a Dutch member of our Guild. She pronounces it ZShvart-bless. Almost sounds like “She fart, bless” 😂
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I’m now going to try to work “she fart, bless” into conversation. Wish me luck.
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Liz, this is so far beyond my experience, I don’t hardly know how to comment, except that I admire the fiber study you’re doing, and you have created some beautiful yarns. It must be very rewarding.
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Yes as I approach the end of my study it’s very satisfying and so interesting how different they all are.
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[…] some fleece samples. I have done a couple of separate post about TDF if you are interested. Opening post link. progress post link. As much as I don’t enjoy washing fleece I have enjoyed spinning the hand […]
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Go Liz Go! Can’t wait to see all your lovely newly spun yarn and read what you think about your breed study samples 🙂
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Thanks 😀
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