This year for Tour de Fleece, I did what I liked least: I finished works in progress (WIPs).

I wanted to spin this year’s luscious Tour de Fleece set from Fossil Fibers. I knew the rich colors on the Rambouillet/silk blend would be a delight to spin, although the total eight ounces of fiber would also be a major commitment.

But unfinished singles piled up everywhere. Spindles with cops cluttered my collection. Moreover, I was teaching a supported spinning class in July, and some of my demonstration spindles were tied up with these WIPs. The impending class, above all else, finally motivated me to buckle down and ply.

I hate plying. No, hate is too strong of a word. I love spinning fiber on my supported spindles. The rest of the yarn-making process is tedious and boring. But it needed to be done, so I did it. I continued my massive plying effort after the Tour ended. Did I finish everything? No. I still have a few WIPs left, but the call of new spins grew too loud as the months dragged on.

While focused on WIPs, I began to notice patterns to my reluctance to ply. In many cases, my resistance had meaning. Something was in my way, blocking me from forward progress. More on that in future posts, but wherever I encountered a block, I noted it and will share as I post about these projects.

Some of the yarns have stories that merit an entire post, but the ones which don’t are listed below. In all—during the Tour and following—I completed eight WIPs, for a total of 3,267 yards of yarn, with 22 spindles and one eSpinner bobbin freed up for new projects.

Plying block: I had no plan for plying before I started spinning. I was practicing eSpinner spinning with leftovers of a braid I’d pillaged for the green trees in my 100 Day Project. With no plan, chain-plying let me finish without overthinking it.

Plying block: I’m not a fan of barberpole yarns, and wasn’t looking forward to seeing the result. Once it was done, I was pleasantly surprised by how pretty it turned out. This fiber was sold as a “plying pair”, i.e., each half of the fiber is designed to be plied together, which means zero planning required. In fact, if you go to Green Goat Ranch website, as of October 1, 2024, Conjuring Animals is pictured on the homepage.

Plying block: none, this yarn was plied soon after spinning as opposed to my usual bouts of plycrastination.

Here are links to my other posts for Tour de Fleece 2024:

• Harlequin
• Autumn Gems
• Pavlopetri
• Fiber Prep Spinalong
• Tour de Fleece 2013