Le Tour De NO

My grand plans to participate in the 2015 Le Tour de Fleece fell through.

. 

Rats. 

 

The first major obstacle was that weird reaction I had to spinning the wool/angora blend.  I have to admit, that was extremely upsetting.  Still, I had intended to give it a few days and then test the fiber again to see if it was truly responsible for the headache and itchy hands.  Unfortunately, the weather was against me.  We had a lot of damp conditions that week which led to very high mold counts.  Mold is, as you know, one of my major allergy problems, and I struggled that week with a variety of symptoms that broke through despite everything I do to manage my allergies.  If I had tested the fiber again that week, the results would have been tainted by those problems, so I knew it was going to have to wait.* 

 

Time was my other enemy.  We've been very, very busy, and I left partway into the Tour to teach at SPEC.  (Check it out....it's an amazing experience!)  As I had met another staff member in my dorm last year who had brought her Lendrum spinning wheel, I had fully intended to take either my wheel or a drop spindle with me.  In the end, though, I just didn't have the space in my car.  As it would turn out, though, I didn't have much leisure time anyway.  I barely touched my journal, my knitting, or my books.  It was a crazy busy week. 

 

So no Tour for me this year.  I'm more than a little bit disappointed, but it is what it is.

 

Here's hoping that August is better for spinning!

 

*I'm going to test the fiber again next month.  August is usually pretty good for me allergy-wise, but once we pass into the fall all bets are off...so I need to get it done asap.