Google Reader is no more. R.I.P. When I first started reading blogs, Bloglines was the tool to use. When they announced that they were going to fold, I migrated to Google Reader, and now to Feedly.
I like it, it is sleek, pretty, fast and quite user friendly. I like the interface, and that there are many options to customise how the feeds are presented. I also like it that there is an app for many different platforms, and I especially like how responsive the developers have been to feedback and how fast they have worked to migrate from Google Reader backend to their own.
If you are still looking for a replacement to Google Reader, I recommend Feedly.
Tour de France 2013 begun on Saturday, and with it Tour de Fleece 2013. (Tour de Fleece is an annual spin-along during the Tour de France.) This year is the first year I have committed to taking part, and spinning every race day of the TdF (there are two rest days).
Day 1.
I practised splitting a top lenghtways as if for 2-ply fractal spinning. Basically you split the top in half, then one of the halves in half, then one of the resulting halves half, and so on. There are variations, but the principle is that you split the top evenly and always in the same increment.
Then when you spin for 2-ply, one ply will be the 1/2, the other will be the 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 in diminishing sequence. That way the yarn will have long colour repeats in one ply and shorter ones in the other, resulting in an interesting effect in the finished yarn. The biggest bump in the photo above is the 1/2, down to a 1/32, and another 1/32 on the spindle.
The tops that I ordered to spin fractal during the Tour didn't arrive in time (not the seller's fault, I ordered too late), so I decided to practice splitting on a top that I couldn't mess up. I wanted to see how fine I could split and still be able to draw and found that 1/32 was on the border of being too fine. So, when I get the hand painted tops, I won't split them finer than 1/16 for two ply.
Then, of course there is 3-ply fractal in two ways, cabled fractals, 4-ply, etc. One way is the traditional 3-ply with 3 singles of the same length plied, and then there is chain plying of one single. My plan is to experiment with methods of fractal spinning during TdF and see how the colours in the yarn play. I have an idea how, but since I'm a spinning noob, it'll be interesting to see if I actually imagine it right.
Day 2.
I spun the remaining 1/32 and part of the 1/16. I'm practising consistency, and it's slow going (and still uneven). I have a long ways to go to make consistent yarn...
Day 3.
Finished off the 1/16 and the 1/8th part of the top. I'm trying to build a stable medieval style cop, but it grows oh so slowly.