Side Challenge in the Tour de Fleece

I am excited to be involved in the Tour de Fleece event this year and having loads of fun.  There is a side challenge which was to make a yarn that represents the number one song hit of the day and year of your birth.  My song is "Come Softly To Me" from The Fleetwoods.. I took a day to think what that would mean to me and here is the process and the finished yarn - hope you like...

It all started with me stringing Pearls.  Why?  Because just about every women of that time had a strand of pearls and worn them proudly.  It is also a custom in my German Family that the infant girls received pearl earring on their birth.  I still have mine.

 

I found some amazing pale pale pink silk thread to string them on which spoke to me of the innocence of the era and collective mind. It also reminded me of a lovely blanket my Grandmother crocheted for my birth and sent to us in the US all the way from Frankfurt Germany.  I have seen pictures of it but no one knows where it went after I was two years old.

 

 

Next I took some hand painted Cashmere/Silk of my sweet goats that is a lush coral pink - I created this for a dear customer and had a tad left to keep just for myself.  This is representing the female energy that I came into this world with while also speaking to the love one holds within their being the moment they hit this planet.  No worries, paing or sadness.

 

 

I also took some pure white Merino Lamb's Wool and Bamboo roving that just melts in your hands.  It reminds me of my mother's pale pink coat with the white rabbit fur collar that she wore when I was just a baby.  She would tell me how I would bury my face into the collar and rub back and forth till she thought I would rub the fur right off.  Guess I was an fiber/fur lover at birth.

 

 

Next came Kid Mohair Boucle Yarn - The tiny loopy curls is what I came into the world with and my Mother spoke of how I had such a sheen to my tiny locks that folks would comment.  The only difference is that my hair was strawberry red but I think we can skip that.

 

 

Now comes the fun parts.  I layered the Merino/Bamboo and Cashmere/Silk into thin wisps of layers - not to blend too much but not to have big chucks of coral.  I then spun a baby weight/ lacy weight single that moved quickly and softly through my hands.  Such joy and I admit the song ran through my brain as I treadled.  I should have never watched the Dick Clark Video of them singing the song.

 

 

Then comes  the tricky part and the hands have to be willing.  As I am plying the three different strands together the unthinkable happened - the silk thread with the pearls broke.  I did not say words softly at this point nor did I have a song in my heart as I picked up all the pearls and restrung them again.  Have no idea how it broke because it shouldn't - that is why I picked silk thread.  Oh well, small bump in the road.  Once back on track the hands hit it groove and we soon had the dance steps down path... Crap it broke a second time...  but I never give up.

 

 

The bobbin is filling and I am remembering all the stories of my first year on the planet.  I reviewed and released because most where not happy one's - not the best of beginnings but also I believe that we can choose to see the light and this yarn gives me that strength to know that SOFTLY is not always my style but I am proud of myself and my newest yarn creation.

 

 

I finished the yarn - 78 yards in total and I am happy with the outcome.  It was an honor to join in the side challenge and hope that you enjoyed the journey with me.  There are many more days in the challenge.  I hope to be sharing more.