tdf day 18

I thought yesterday was the challenge day for the Tour de Fleece. When the bikers are having a challenging day, the spinners push themselves by either using a new technique, a new fiber, or doing some other personal challenge. My challenge was going to be spinning up an ounce of yak/tussah silk that I bought at the Spinning and Knitting Estonian Lace Workshop I went to in April. So I ended up doing my challenge one day early.


Spinning this fiber blend was a little tricky. It wanted to be spun so very thin. I had to remove almost all of the tension on my bobbin before it would stop flying out of my hands. I really can't wait to finish plying it and knitting it into a set of wrist warmers. They are destined to be a Christmas gift for a friend.

If you can, you should get some of this fiber. It is FABULOUS. The Trading Post in Pendleton, IN has some really great fiber blends. The website is a little interesting to use but, if you click on the picture of each fiber, you can get more information about each. Susan is really nice and has great customer service. She comes to a lot of the fiber festivals in my area. I can't wait to get more stuff from her at Yellow Springs.

Because the 22nd is the real challenge day, I guess I will start spinning up the other fiber blend I got from The Trading Post, a 50/50 merino/camel blend. It is going to be another challenge and delight to work with.