Design Wall Monday and Tour de Fleece Report

I took down the purple arrowhead blocks to make room for my July UFO project.  OLD log cabin blocks from a scrapbusting project ... hmm ... maybe 8 or 9 years ago?  It's amazing how much better all my quilts look from across the room.  I'm serious... up close I have a hard time seeing the light/dark patterns as I'm laying them out.  I guess this is what we need a design wall for, right?  I have more blocks to lay out... we'll see how many more I'll need to make, or whether some will get orphaned.  Oh, and I am almost finished putting the new parts on my Grace Frame for the Megaquilter.  The tracks, especially the ones on the carriage, were cracked a lot more than I realized.  I cleaned it all off with a soft cloth and had Daniel lift it back onto the carriage.  Now I just have to reconnect the "brain" and hope it still works.  Lots of machine quilting needs to get done.

Saturday on the Tour de Fleece...

And yes (drumroll please) the final plying is done on my orange superwash as of the 3rd hour of TV yesterday.  I'm washing the skeins now, giving them a good thwack, and hanging outside to dry.  I am currently dithering as to what I should spin next.  Targhee?  BFL? Merino with silver? Undyed Romney or Wensleydale?  Hemp?  Silk?  Whatever it is, it won't be orange!  I've got about 1800 yards altogether of the orange, enough for a sweater.

The Tour de France has been exciting.  Some nefarious individual put tacks on the road yesterday, right at the summit of a steep climb.  It caused a large number of punctured tires, seriously delaying the 4th place man, Cadel Evans.  Fortunately Bradley Wiggins, wearing the maillot jaune, showed decency and courtesy, keeping the rest of the peloton in check so that the overall standings didn't change.  I'm not generally a big follower of sports, but I'm really liking the Tour.  Most of the riders seem admirable and dedicated, and of course the countryside is incredibly beautiful.  Check out the series of still pictures from the Atlantic.  Daniel said there should be a fiber arts tie-in for major league football, and then I might be interested.  No, actually, probably not.  I have guys to tell me about the highlights, that's enough!

Stash Report:

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 50 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date: 28 yards
Net used for 2012: 22 yards

Yarn used this week: 0 yards, making progress on Lady MacBeth
Yarn used year to date: 3406 yards
Yarn added this week: 858 yards (12 skeins in Tour de Fleece, the rest of the orange)
Yarn added year to date: 3196 yards (all handspun, not purchased)
Net used for 2012: 210 yards (I really need to finish knitting something!)