Tour De Fleece Making Plans 

I have been resisting spinning for years. I thought I didn't have time for more hobbies, but you finally inspired me. I picked up a spindle a few weeks ago and I have now caught the spinning bug. Am sticking with drop spindles for now, but I'm sure there will be equipment creep. So excited to be part of the spinning adventure this year. Thank you for the inspiration. ❤

Your cardigan plan sounds very interesting! I’m basically a knitter, with spinning as a “backup” hobby. However, I’m very interested in learning/seeing how other spinners use their hand spun yarn in knitting projects. So, I look forward to seeing your progress on your cardigan. I’m fairly new to your channel, but one of your prior videos on supported spindle spinning really caught my attention, so I subscribed! I have a Turkish spindle that I like very much, but I also have a Shacht Matchless and a Hansen e-spinner. No plans for TdF this year… Just going to do what I want, when I want…! Good luck with your plans, and I hope your family issues resolve themselves soon, and in a positive manner!

Isn’t it fun to have so many options? I am exactly he same way. I, too, have a project (or 2) for each type of spinning. I do hope you get some tranquility and respite from your very busy and challenging days. Your family are in my thoughts. 🙏

I really enjoyed watching this and hearing your plans for TDF. I am participating for the first time, in a very small way! As a newbie spinner, I am using the tour to practice, practice and more practice! I realize I can’t get ahead of myself but I plan to drop spindle every day and perhaps use a sample box of roving that I’ve purchased ( I love the idea of an advent calendar to use everyday) Take care of yourself and I really hope the family situation eases a bit soon for you x

Your plans sound wonderful! Life can make it difficult to stick to something too ambitious. Portable projects are a great way to still do something whilst being able to keep to commitments you have made. Having started spinning after last year’s TDF ended, this will be my first one. My office backpack permanently has a supported spindle, a bowl and a piece of fibre in it. I also have my little EEW Nano2, it’s always out at home and I’ve found a vanity bag it neatly fits into to take along wherever I want to take it. I’ve ’tested’ how my colleagues react to lunchtime spinning and they don’t mind me getting out my fluff and spinning equipment. Better: they’re curious. My goal is extremely simple: to spin every day. No planning which fibre, just spinning. I’ve got plenty of Shetland, some Merino, some alpaca. I’ve got various colours. If I feel like switching, I’ve got plenty of bobbins. My wool combs are clean and ready as well if I feel like tackling my raw alpaca: I can comb up a nest or two and spin that up before combing up some more. My frugal mind has already figured out how many metres I’d need for various projects, which means the produced yarn also has a selection of projects to go into. Depending on how much I enjoy spinning a particular fibre I can switch between knitting projects, too. There’s one thing I’m immensely curious about: how many yards of spun yarn will TDF yield me? Because I’ve never timed how much spinning time I need for a certain yardage. So I’ll be keeping track of that. Being a lace knitter/spinner by default (for now) I shy away from measuring my spinning in grams/ounces. Niddy noddy yardage/metres prior to finishing the yarn is strictly how I ‘measure’ my spinning. It’ll be useful to find out how many metres three weeks of spinning will yield and to many hours of spinning this equals to. I can already estimate roughly more or less how many hours I need to knit most of the knitting projects I tend to tackle. So many people ask me “how long does it take you to make this from start to finish” and it’ll be nice to ba able to answer to that including spinning time. 😊 All the best not just for your TDF but the many challenges and commitments you’re taking on in the coming months.

Oh I love your exciting plans for spinning. Hope the stars align and you get some time to enjoy working with your gorgeous wool. I thought I would give Tour de Fleece a go this year as a newbie spinner...I'll just be spinning along at my own pace.

Thanks for this video so much especially as you have so much family stuff to do. Always appreciated ❤

Been spinning since November so my first Tour de Fleece! I have some lovely fluff hoarded away to spin, going to aim for 15 mins a day. Whilst on holiday I picked up some locks off a fence at Hadrian’s wall so prepping that will be one of my challenges! I also want to learn to spin from the fold, so I think I have enough to be going on with. Take care of yourself, spindle spinning is nice and portable and hopefully will give you some respite from care duties.

Gosh that's a lot of options you have for tdf. It does start on the 29th this year. Best day of the year to start if you ask me 😜🎂🎁🎉🍰🥳🎊🎂🍰🎁🎉🎂 I will probably be doing a very relaxed and small goals version this year. Probably just finish up the second bobbin of my traveller cowl yarn, then see what I feel like. Maybe just 10 minutes a day. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I also have some of a previous year's fibre advent to finish up and at least 3 sweater's quantities and about a million other options 🤣 Plus a family visit and various meds related nonsense to deal with. Onwards! 💪🏻

Glad to see that you’re keeping things simple and pared down for yourself, Ange 😁 Hope that you find enough time to get some concerted spinning done. Jinny

I hope and pray all goes well with the family responsibilities. And I really appreciate you sharing your moth story. When our yarn stars relate such situations, I feel less guilty about my own moth issues! :D

Hi, I did my first TDF in 2010 and have done most years since, this year its a case of spinning to restock my yarn hoard for knitting as well as a few skeins for a friends shop. I only spin from fleece, British breeds so I have Shetland. Bowmont, rye land, Romney and Texel x lined up. Some still needs washing but I have enough to get me going :-)

Yayyyyy i have been keeping my eye out for an Ange video all week! Didn't expect too many because of your family stuff going on. Hope you are ok (glad for the videos) #ynyscrapmal is so much fun ❤❤

I'm going to leave my Tour de Fleece debut for a year, as, unfortunately, I am spending a lot more time than I would like in the local hospital. I'll probably do some spinning, as I am still a relatively new spinner and I like to practise a little every day. Besides which, there's all my knitting projects: * finish the cardigan I'm working on (just doing the bands and need to add the buttons and sew it together after that) * finish my Shetland Wool Week Islesburgh Toorie, (which is a more portable project than the cardigan as the cardigan has got to the pins and buttons and sewing stage, so some of the toorie has already been knitted in hospital) This is not a huge project. * eagerly awaiting my surprise sock along yarn - thought another colourful project would be fun * eagerly awaiting the wool with which to make a baby cardigan for a pregnant friend. Then there are a couple of longer term projects after that.

Hi Ange, I hope you and James are both OK xx ❣️❣️❣️❣️ Thankyou so much for sharing this video podcast. ✨️🌟🔆 I really appreciate you putting video podcasts out, during this difficult Family situation 😊😊 I'm loving your TDF Spinning plans, I really hope that you get time to do some of them.( it does start on the 29th) it's starting and finishing earlier due to the Olympics being in France.( in case anyone was wondering why). I'm Spinning on my own too. I have a small amount of Fleece that I'd like to Spin, but I might just keep it for the Challenge Days. It's the first time that I'll be washing and prepping for a Spin.🎡 I hope your Family situation eases off for you soon.🌞✨️🌟 Hope you have a Wonderful Weekend and TDF 🚲🎡🐑 Happy Spinning and Knitting Special Fibre Friend 🎡🧶🥰🐑🥰 Take care and stay safe Lots of love, healing vibes and Huge Woolly Hugs to you and James and Cuddles for Newt Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏🫂🫂🫂🫂🐑🐑🫂🫂🫂🐈‍⬛🫂🫂

Hope you get some time to undertake these great plans. I’m in a guild team and have a v long Shetland spin I want to make progress on, a John Arbon broken tops blend I want to finish. And to make headway with my recent wonderwool haul. Good luck to us both!

Angie, do you prefer the wood to the 3d Turkish spindles? Could you share your experience?

Hi Angela. Hope you are doing well