First Post and Tour de Fleece challenge

There's not much here yet, I admit but I'm very very new to this blogging thing and I've spent most of the day trying to figure out heretofore unknown things like blog skins and html code I did manage to figure out how to insert the Tour de Fleece button in my links area AND even hyperlink it, so perhaps that's enough for one day of blogging.

I've decided to just start posting and use this to begin posting my progress in the Online Spinning Challenge called Le Tour de Fleece. I've challenged myself to spin up 1 pound of a very lovely Shetland in 4 separate colors, hoping to spin it fine enough for a lace shawl. I've spent both days of the challenge thus far finishing up various fibers on both my dear Mother's Kromski Mazurka (which I kidnapped from the shop and brought home) and my own Ashford Traditional. I recently taught myself long draw spinning and plyed some brown Shetland that I'd spun that way on the Mazurka. It came out OK, particularly for my very first attempt at long draw spinning on a wheel I'm still getting to know. I'm donating 4 oz of brown llama roving for the challenge prize pool.

But now, I have the Traditional bobbins free and all the Mazurka bobbins free and tonight or tomorrow morning I hope to start sampling a bit to see which wheel will work best.

I want this blog to be a place to share my spinning, dyeing and knitting adventures and I plan to work on a separate blog for the shop I share with my Mom, Yarn or a Tale in Millington Michigan, and another personal blog about me, my life and my critters (and I do have critters!)

I need to get busy dyeing up yarn and roving, I have LOTS of knitting to do for the shop, I have patterns to write, a newsletter to get out, a Scarf of the Month to design...and I only have 2 more days off :o

In the meantime, here's a quick example of some of the stuff I like to do for fun! These are some mohair locks I bought as raw, unwashed fleece (and THAT is a story in itself, coming soon!) and hand-dyed. They are soooo yummy (and for sale in my shop)