Spinning at Starbucks for the Tour de Fleece

Spinning at Starbucks for the Tour de Fleece, originally uploaded by confections.

As part of my participation in the 2010 Tour de Fleece (contemporaneous with the Tour de France), I have been spinning every day, and most days in public at one of my local cafes. On Monday I visited a local Starbucks and took my kick spindle with me. On the spindle: hand-dyed merino wool singles....

Shawl of Many Colors

Shawl of Many Colors, originally uploaded by confections.

This mitered triangle shawl is one my favorite wraps, created by me from the yarn on up! It tells a story of my life over the last twelve years or so since I've been collecting fleece and prepared fiber and spinning it. Some of this handspun yarn was spun on a drop spindle, some on my Lendrum spinning wheel. Some of it was hand-dyed with Kool-Aid. Lots of the raw material was gathered at weaving conferences around California, local and far-flung yarn shops, and a special place in Pennsylvania called Autumn House Farm, where I bought my most favorite drop spindle in the fall of 1994. Most of the mini-skeins used here are my early attempts at spinning, and they are very textural and bulky, slubby, thick and thin--all characteristic of a beginning spinner's yarn. I have progressed a bit as a spinner in the last four or five years, but this shawl is a romantic testament to the beauty of first attempts.

Have fun! Here is the pattern for your knitting pleasure!