Swatchless

I’ve been working away with the tour de fleece, but there’s not much to show for what I’ve done.  It’s slow going.  It’s HOT and humid.  I think that’s the biggest issue.  I really don’t want to even look at fleece right now.  I’m not complaining, I know that in January I was asking for the heat.

Little by little I’m carding and spinning up thick singles right now.  With the heat, and the short intervals of spinning time I’m not making great progress, and what’s worse is that I’m getting bored already with spinning white fleece.  That’s a lie, it’s not entirely white.  It’s coloured by the flecks of desperate vegetable matter still clinging to the wool….

I think on a cooler day, that the yarn will look rustic and natural and make really warm and sturdy mittens, but right now I’m thinking of iced tea not mittens!

In other wheel spinning action, my trusty 3 speed bike is now working again!  It had a terrible run-in with a whipper snipper last week which left the tire wall threadbare.  Thanks to my dad, his tools and WD40, we got the tire changed in record time.

whipper snipper was the last straw

Now, don’t feel too sorry for me…the bike is and always will be a bit of a junker–the kind of bike that is worth less than the lock.  It’s my favourite summer transportation though, and I was eager to get it back on the road.

This tire may have doubled the worth of the bike!

If the weather stays like this, I may just ride to the lake and jump in!

What are you doing to stay cool?

The training begins tomorrow.  A strict regimen of ankle stretching, and fleece carding every day for the entire week should be ample preparation!

You see, I’ve just signed up for a really big challenge this July.  I just joined the Tour De Fleece, for Team Canada, and as such I vow to spin every day that the Tour De France riders are on their bikes.

That’s from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th, 2010.  I aim to get part way through this bag….but we’ll see how that goes.  I imagine that a lot of it will end up as sport weight yarn that I can use to make mittens this winter.  I’m thinking that some creative dyeing may be needed, because that’s a LOT of white fleece! 

I know, there’s lots of fun to be had in July….cottages, beach days, camp outs, and many other adventures.  Good thing spindles are portable!

If you are tempted crazy enough to join in, sign up on ravelry, here are some of the guidelines (not RULES):

1. 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)
2. Spin something challenging Thursday July 22nd. (The Tour’s toughest mountain stage from Pau up the legendary Col du Tourmalet)
3. 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’)

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.)