Plaid Friday: t minus 7

In addition to supporting local, you can support indie. Plaid Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when you (and yours who are lounging around) can go browse and support an independent retail merchant.

Can you walk, bike, or take public transportation there? drive less than 10 miles there?

Do you know who the retail proprietor is? or do you know that if you needed to speak with them, they would be responsive to your request?

Is the merchant somewhat knowledgeable about what they offer you? either about the source of the item, how to best use it, or other resources? are they helpful?

I'm going to support places where there are faces, names, and intelligence behind the counter.

Fire in the hands

...from the Kundert Spindle, which was a gift to me. It is well balanced and just keeps going with a single push. Sweet.

Singles and plying were done on the spindle. I tried to spin beyond my typical laceweight zone and produced something between fingering and sportweight.

30g, 69.2yd, 2-ply, woolen, of Fiberfiend's flame.

Shop local

The perennial question of "so what do you want for Christmas?" has been asked, and I have the luxury of having so much to live with and from, that I get to think about a response that can engage others around me.

The adage "think global, act local" has always been meaningful to me. So I return to this, especially as the general economy is depressed, and the action is to "shop local". This idea is described simply in the 3/50 Project: pick 3 local independent "brick and mortar" stores you couldn’t live without and if you spend $50 each month amongst the 3 then basically you are strengthening your own community.

It’s important to remember the repercussions our purchases have. For every $100 spent on local independent stores, $68 goes back into the community through payroll, taxes, and other expenditures. If you spend $100 on a national chain store, only $48 comes back; and if you buy from an online source, NONE of it comes back.

I want my friends and community to do well and to be well.  In turn, we will be better equipped to reach out and assist others - on a local AND global level.

Milestone

End of Tour de Fleece today, and here's what I have.

But Wait! Last weekend I had to go to A Verb for Keeping Warm to engage in commerce. AVFKW is my local resource for spinning - they have wonderful fiber, yarn, spindles, wheels, combs, books and classes, as well as people who are very personal, engaging and warm themselves! Go check them out.

So I acquired and plunged into Pigeonroof Studios "Forest" - 50/50 SWmerino/silk, and spun & plied 7g.


And this is the lineup today, from L to R, each skein is 7g plied:
_dk brn plied
_"Sedona"x2(Lisa Souza),
_"Flame"x2 (Fiberfiend) really shows the varying colors in the fiber,
_"Ocean Rudeness"x1 (Out of Step Dyeworks),
_"At the Tank"x2 (Knitflix),
_"Silver Lake"x1 (Lisa Souza) plus 7g fiber,
_"Forest"x1 (PigeonRoof Studios),
_plus "Ocean Rudeness" in the tank.

What fun to move from one fiber to another, one color / element to another. This rookie lantern rouge is continuing to learn! Thanks very much to Knitflix, who got me going on this and also tries to help me with my blog posts.

Love the spindle and the "spontaneous generation" of strong cord from ethereal fluff.

Progress & Observations

Progress:
Keeping up with my daily spinning goal. Increments of 7grams are small enough for variety (and a sense of accomplishment) and large enough to make a respectable hank of fine gage plied yarn. The ritual of sitting and posting simple blog posts has not yet set in (despite the deliberate thought and intention to post, but I pick up the spindle instead - hey what can I say - I just go with the spinning), so here is the erratic entry.


_Lighter than air - Lisa Souza fiber - "Zen Top", "Silver Lake", 50/25/25 - merino/tussah silk/bamboo.


This is incredible fiber that spins to a fine thread.

I became one with the arachnids.


_Aquatics - a surprise gift (lucky me, thank you!) from knitflix, who dyed this! - "At the Tank" (a very local inspiration based on the San Jose Sharks) , SW-BFL


_"At the Tank": 7grams fiber plus an Andean ply bracelet of 7grams


_"At the Tank": 7grams plied on the spindle atop the "mothership" bundle of fiber


_another 7grams of "Flame" from fiberfiend plus a second 7grams round of "At the Tank" from knitflix.

_"At the Tank" is in the tank, setting twist.


Observations:
_I am learning that fiber color becomes very intense when spun. This observation is logical in hindsight but not fully realized by me until these bundles were completed. So I'm beginning to see color in fiber differently, i.e. in spun form instead of fiber form.

_Additionally, I am delighted to get to know these various fiber types - SW corriedale (wonderful) , any mix with bamboo or silk (WOW what a sensation, and how thin can I make this anyway?!), SW-BFL (incredible staple length).

_I love the smell of drying wool. Reminds me of childhood.

_Although I am still spinning very fine gage, I am beginning to control the amount of twist, which in my case means that I'm trying not to overspin the singles. My spindle drops more (gak) but I suppose I'm also learning how to splice more effectively too.

_In addition to the surprise gift (thank you again!) of fiber from knitflix, I also rec'd a few simple blogging tips, but I haven't used too many of them and I'm still wading through html, so apologies to all y'all.

Long Blue Run

Blue sky and other blues sat with me as I continued spinning. Two segments of fleece are spun and plied, and the wool that was pulled off the spindle during prep was finally plied.

1. "Sedona", SW merino from Lisa Souza: 7g fiber and 7g plied.

Fire or earth?

2. "Flame", SW corriedale from Fiberfiend.

Label says fire.

2a. 14g "Flame" fiber

2b. "Flame" 7g fiber plus 7g plied.

Fire? looks more like earth.

3. The brown single, pulled off the spindle before TdF, finally got plied.

Tour de Fleece goals

I have some simple goals, which I posted on Ravelry.com on July 3:

1. spin every day,
2. spin local
_drop spindle purchased from fiberfiend@ravelry.com,
_fiber dyed by Amy Klimt aka Out of Step Dyeworks, and
_fiber dyed by Lisa Souza and maybe another if I have time,
3. spin fibers with the “elements” theme (water/air and fire/earth), and
4. learn how to do some simple blog posts.

Weighed out some fluff tonight. Looking fwd to this with no pressure because I am the self-proclaimed lantern rouge aka caboose! :)

Here's a reminder of the Tour de Fleece guidelines:

Tour de Fleece: The annual Tour de Fleece spin-along during the Tour de France. The concept is simple, They spin, we spin. A real spinning themed spin-along. This year the Tour de Fleece starts Saturday July 3rd and runs until Sunday July 25th, 2010.

Guidelines (NOT RULES):
Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 3rd through Sunday July 25th. Days of rest: Monday July 12th, Wednesday July 21st. (Just like the actual tour)
Spin something challenging Thursday July 22nd. (The Tour’s toughest mountain stage from Pau up the legendary Col du Tourmalet)
Wear yellow on Sunday July 25th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’)
Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie)
Teams: Join one, or many, or none.
Rookies (first years)
Sprinters (fast and/or high mileage like lace)
Climbers (conquer mountains, big personal challenges)
Breakaway (Art yarns)
Peloton (The main group. Everyone is in the peloton at some point)
Lantern rouge (You will participate as much as possible but you may skip days here and there. Cheerleaders welcome.)
Wildcards (This is for people who want to form their own team. This includes sponsored teams, like those affiliated with a specific fiber shop or people who live in the same town, etc.)
The teams are inspired by the actual Tour de France.