Announcing.... The Dirty Thirty!

September has always been one of my favourite months. I love the crisp fall weather the BC west coast receives, the brand new books and clothes that accompany the start of a fresh school year, and my sister and I make merry on our birthdays. I tend to claim the entire month of September as my own (yes, like a spoiled little princess, but I can't help it, I just get so excited!). I try to find something fun and inspiring to do on every weekend, and each day feels like there is a reason to celebrate.

This year I wanted to do something a little different and special. I am turning thirty years old this month, so I have decided to try spin 30 ounces of fibre in 30 days. I am calling this challenge "the Dirty Thirty", because originally I wished to spin 30 ounces of wool 'in the grease.' I contacted the Spinning Loft, and ordered two pounds of raw fleece from four varieties of sheep. However, when I announced my intentions to Beth Smith, she shared some advice with me... that spinning 'in the grease' may not be that enjoyable (something I was ready for; spinning 'in the grease' is one of those fibre experiences I feel compelled to try once, but I am prepared for some solid nasty icky-ness along the way), but if I was to attempt this ordeal, it's best to it try this technique on the freshest fleece possible. Most of her fleeces had been sheared in February... sooo they had been sitting around for about six months. Still great for me to wash and process myself, but maybe the 'in the grease' experiment should wait for the spring. I decided to change my game plan.

Plan B: To wash, prep, and spin 30 ounces of the new fleece samples I purchased from the Spinning Loft over the entire month of September. They arrived on August 28th, so I had plenty of time to bring them home and have them ready for September 1st. Tons of work, but I was ready for it!

Except the long weekend came around, and I forgot the fleece at work.

I can't pick them up until September 3rd. Doh!

Plus I have a camping trip coming up, and a visit to my mother's house this month.

I am totally itching to start the Dirty Thirty today. So I came up with Plan C.

My September Challenge Will Be...
- I will spin 30 ounces of fibre over the month of September.
- The fibre will come from my Mr Jacob fleece that I brought home and washed back in May. I have not had a chance to process this fibre any further.
- I will drum carder the fibre before I spin it.
- I will spin it on a drop spindle because a) I need the practise, and b) I can bring this project around with me on my September travels and c) it's hard for me and this is a challenge!
- I will finish off my singles as a 2 ply yarn. I will Andean ply my singles to create one-ounce mini skeins. That way I can finish off my yarn wherever I go!
- I think I can still refer to this challenge as "Dirty" because I might have done a sub-par job at washing this fleece the first time around - but we will find out soon, won't we!? "It's alllll part of the shooooow!"

I will try my best to update the blog as often as I can. I have tons of other news and projects on the go as well - I will blog about them too as soon as I have the time!

Well, wish me luck! I better go hit the drum carder now, time's a wastin'!

Cheers!
- Grace