For the third time in a row, I participated in the world-wide annual spinning event Tour de Fleece (TdF) and Tour de Fleece Femmes (TdFF). It was my best spinning experience so far. I have turned all the fibre that I planned to spin into hanks of balanced yarn, and I devoted time to practice spinning every single day in August of 2023.
My starting point was a combination of five fibre types, which I planned to spin with supported spindles (silk) and my spinning wheel (angora and sheep wool):
– pink and white mulberry silk for Raspberry Cream hanks
– white angora for an Angora Cloud hank
– brown Finnsheep for a Jackie Brown hank
– black Finnsheep for a Janey Charcoal hank
– light-grey Suffolk/Hampshire for Cupcake Beauty hanks.
The choice was all about exposing myself to a range of fibre types, try various fibre preparation methods, practice different drafting, spinning and plying methods. It was also about experiencing it all in a peaceful rather than challenging environment.
For TdFF, I had some Suffolk/Hampshire fibre left for one more hank and I added some Australian merino for two hanks, which I wanted to wheel spin with a goal of matching the yarn weight and ply twist with the hanks that I made in 2015:
– yellow Australian merino for a Yellow Gold hank
– blue Australian merino for a Tanzanite Blue hank.
Spinning regularly, with a peaceful mind and focus on submerging myself into the process, set me on my natural track. Every day for the whole month, I gave my body a chance to re-align with its own rhythm. It resulted in an extraordinary effects, especially when I worked with my spinning wheel, listening to birds and exposing my face to sunbeams.
I rediscovered the immense joy spinning gives me and its power in soothing thoughts. At last, I was ready to close the door of yesterday and open a new door of tomorrow. This is how the end of TdF/TdFF brought a new chapter for me and my art studio – Stitch Glimpse. My space where I slow down, create and make my dreams come true.
Since 2011, when the idea of my art studio was born, I have gone through ups and downs of everyday life intertwined with variety of challenges in my artistic endeavors. Today, I have my refreshed website – StitchGlimpse.com – a place for sharing about my new designs and interesting projects.
I have decided to keep some of the content that I published throughout the years. All my tutorials and useful materials are now available under one handbook section. There is room for my MAK jewellery for fibre lovers. Also, some of the old stories, which I subjectively picked as the most valuable, have been updated.
Everything else is going to be new because it is just the right time.
Let it begin.
~ Cathliin
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