Fiber Friday: Tour de Fleece, Week 2

I've spent a lot of time spinning and knitting this week (at least it seems that way), yet I only have a few totally finished skeins to share here on my blog. How is that possible?! Well, the incorrect replacement part for my broken wheel has now been shipped to me twice. TWICE. I don't want to name names, because the company I ordered it from has been sufficiently apologetic both times, and I think they might even expedite shipment this time for my trouble. Alas, my Museum Grudge Match spinning project is still very much in limbo, but as I said before - at least I have a backup wheel!

On the plus side, I was able to finish the Organic Polwarth from Classy Squid Fiber Co. which I started after The Unfortunate Incident occurred. I plied both singles together last Friday afternoon and the resulting skein is SO soft! The resulting skein is approximately 215 yards of 2-ply sport weight.

Over the weekend, I spun 8oz of superwash merino/nylon from Cloudlover in the Quick's Point colorway, which I bought last fall at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. I was all set to ply them on Monday's rest day, but then a big box of fiber arrived on my doorstep and derailed my spinning plans for this week (more on that in a sec). It wasn't until yesterday that I had my wheel free to ply this project, thus driving home yet another reason why I really like having two spinning wheels at my disposal. I didn't get all the way through the bobbins before it was midnight and I really needed to think about going to sleep, but here is what the plied yarn is looking like so far:

The box of fiber I mentioned is something I was sent by the folks at Louet to share here on my blog (as their Spinzilla team captain two years running, there are fibery perks!!). What arrived on Monday was the July Spinzilla Fiber pack, which is a jaw-dropping selection of spinning fiber - just over three pounds of fiber, to be exact! As I mentioned on Wednesday, I have already started spinning with this fiber, but since I don't have any finished skeins to share just yet, I thought I would give you an overview of what is included in this month's fiber pack (they will be releasing more discounted fiber packs each month between now and Spinzilla in October):

1/2 lb Optim 100% Merino Top
1/2 lb Wool/Linen 60/40 Top
2 oz 100% Cashmere
1/2 lb Dyed Merino Top in Tawny Gold (I believe they send random colors?)
1/2 lb Super Fine Flax Top
1 lb Grey Gotland Sliver
1/2 lb Dark Coopworth

I'm spinning the Coopworth right now and it's a very easy spin - it practically drafts itself! I really love the rich chocolatey color. There is a little vm, but that's to be expected in a natural fiber, and it really hasn't slowed me down much.

The flax tops are intriguing to me - I plan to spin the wool/linen top first before giving the 100% super fine flax a try; I'm thinking that would be a great choice for the Challenge Day on 7/23. The dyed merino, cashmere and Optim are all quite soft - in fact, the Optim feels a little softer to me than the cashmere, I'm not sure how that's possible! They should be a luxurious spin that's only a teeny bit challenging due to the short staple length of the fibers. Weirdly, the fiber I am most excited to spin is the grey gotland sliver. I've spun gotland before, but this seems a little loftier than the roving I'd previously used. I am interested to see how it spins up, though I think I will save it for last!

Here's the clincher: allllll of these fibers are value priced at $75 (if you purchased each thing separately, the total retail cost would be almost $200!). Resist that if you can!

Spinzilla 2015 Fiber Packs from Louet are available here.

You may like to know: I was sent this product in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own.

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