Q: Do I have to be able to visit the locations where the cycles are racing each day?
A: No, not at all. You can spin your ‘relevant fluff’ wherever you happen to be. Of course, if you can watch the race, it’s very exciting - and if you can Spin British Fleece in Public while you do so, so much the better!
Q: What is ‘relevant fluff’ (or fleece)?
A: For each day that the cyclists race, we publish a list of sheep breeds and types that are local to that day’s route. You can spin any of those sheep, or any sheep (of any breed or type) that is actually local to the route. For instance, if you know the sheepkeeper whose sheep graze alongside the route one of the days, you could spin any of the fleece from their sheep on that day, irrespective of breed.
Q: Must I start with fleece or is it okay to use prepared fibre - tops, batts, rovings, etc?
A: It is perfectly okay to use pre-prepared fibre as well or instead of fleece. Many of us spin some fleece and some rovings in the course of the week, and some will spin all tops all week. If you look on the Ravelry group ‘Sources’ page, you will find listed suppliers of all types of single-breed fibre, from raw fleece through washed fleece, locks, rovings and batts to tops.
Q: Can I use dyed fibre?
A: Yes, there’s no rule that says you may not. Some people prefer to spin all natural fibre all week, others need the stimulation of colour!
Q: I have some braids I’d like to use. One is BFL and silk, another is Manx with alpaca. Can I use those?
A: Sadly not. We really don’t have very many rules at all, but the one we do have is that everything spun on the Tour is single breed (or single sheep or type of sheep) fluff.
Having said which, we’d far rather have you spinning with us than not, so if those are all you have and you can’t get hold of any single breed/sheep/type fluff in time, then please do spin along and tell us all about it :). But it’s probably worth posting an ‘In Search Of’ on the Ravelry group Fluff Swaps, Offers and ISOs thread - someone may well have something suitable and be prepared to sell it or swap it for something.
Q: I have some Texel cross fleece the local farmer gave me. Can I spin that?
A: If the race comes into your area, then you can certainly spin that on the day the race comes by. It would be preferable to spin a breed or type of sheep that’s local to the route on the other days - but if you can’t get hold of any, then you could argue that there are Texel cross sheep the length and breadth of the land, so it’s always a local type!
Again, if you are short of relevant fluff for parts of the Tour, it’s probably worth posting an ‘In Search Of’ on the Ravelry Group Fluff Swaps, Offers and ISOs thread - someone may well have something suitable and be prepared to sell it or swap it for something.
Q: I only really like Shetland amongst the British breeds. Can I spin Shetland all week?
A: Well, part of what we have all found so wonderful about the Tour of British Fleece is the chance to try fibres we wouldn’t normally try - and the explosions of myths that can then occur! So we would certainly like to urge you to at least try some of the other breeds listed throughout the Tour.
But again, we’d rather have you with us than not, so if we really can’t persuade you to try another breed this time, please do spin your Shetland all week - after all, it’s a very popular breed amongst smallholders, spinners and other crafters, and even many farmers have a flock of them to get the children started with sheepkeeping, so there’s pretty much guaranteed to be a few Shetland sheep local to the route every day!
Q: I really don't enjoy spinning sample quantities, so would not enjoy spinning a different fibre each day.
A: Well, again, part of what we have all found so wonderful about the Tour of British Fleece is the chance to try fibres we wouldn’t normally try - and the explosions of myths that can then occur! So we would certainly like to urge you to at least try some of the breeds and types listed throughout the Tour. However, as we keep saying, we’d rather have you with us than not, so if you would prefer to spin only one or two of the sheep during the week, then do that. Some sheep are listed for more than one day, and some for most days (see question about Blue-faced Leicester below), so perhaps you could choose one or two sheep, spin them every day, and they'll 'count' for the days listed, or for any other day that you can come up with a reason! (See question above about Shetlands being found everywhere - the same is true of Jacobs, Blue-faced Leicesters, Texels and many others.)
Q: How will I know when the 2016 Tour of British Fleece is going to happen?
A: Well, we Tour when the Aviva Tour of Britain cycle race is on, and this usually starts on the first Sunday of September and ends on the second Sunday. As soon as they publish the dates and routes for 2016, we will update the website and Ravelry group. Update: The 2016 page has been created and is being updated as we find out more. The dates are 4-11 Sept 2016.
Q: I have some Rough Fell sheep - would you want their fleeces for the Tour of British Fleece?
A: There may well be people who would like some fleece to spin when the Tour of Britain comes through Rough Fell country. (And/or into your area, if your sheep are in a different area to the ‘home range’ of Rough Fells.) Pop into The Ravelry group ‘Fleece resources’ thread and give us your details; we will update the Ravelry ‘Sources’ page accordingly. If you can’t use Ravelry, send us your details using the Contact form.
Q: Blue-faced Leicester seems to be listed for almost every day. Why is that?
A: The Blue-faced Leicester (BFL for short, or Biffle as some spinners call it!) is used to cross onto hill ewes to produce sheep called Mules. Mules combine the best of both parents, being hardy, thrifty, milky, maternal - good sheep to put to a so-called ‘terminal sire’ (a tup of a meat bread) to produce fat lambs for meat.
The Tour of Britain cycle race tends to be where there are hills to cycle, so there will be hill sheep - and where there are hill sheep, there are usually Blue-faced Leicesters!
A: No, not at all. You can spin your ‘relevant fluff’ wherever you happen to be. Of course, if you can watch the race, it’s very exciting - and if you can Spin British Fleece in Public while you do so, so much the better!
Q: What is ‘relevant fluff’ (or fleece)?
A: For each day that the cyclists race, we publish a list of sheep breeds and types that are local to that day’s route. You can spin any of those sheep, or any sheep (of any breed or type) that is actually local to the route. For instance, if you know the sheepkeeper whose sheep graze alongside the route one of the days, you could spin any of the fleece from their sheep on that day, irrespective of breed.
Q: Must I start with fleece or is it okay to use prepared fibre - tops, batts, rovings, etc?
A: It is perfectly okay to use pre-prepared fibre as well or instead of fleece. Many of us spin some fleece and some rovings in the course of the week, and some will spin all tops all week. If you look on the Ravelry group ‘Sources’ page, you will find listed suppliers of all types of single-breed fibre, from raw fleece through washed fleece, locks, rovings and batts to tops.
Q: Can I use dyed fibre?
A: Yes, there’s no rule that says you may not. Some people prefer to spin all natural fibre all week, others need the stimulation of colour!
Q: I have some braids I’d like to use. One is BFL and silk, another is Manx with alpaca. Can I use those?
A: Sadly not. We really don’t have very many rules at all, but the one we do have is that everything spun on the Tour is single breed (or single sheep or type of sheep) fluff.
Having said which, we’d far rather have you spinning with us than not, so if those are all you have and you can’t get hold of any single breed/sheep/type fluff in time, then please do spin along and tell us all about it :). But it’s probably worth posting an ‘In Search Of’ on the Ravelry group Fluff Swaps, Offers and ISOs thread - someone may well have something suitable and be prepared to sell it or swap it for something.
Q: I have some Texel cross fleece the local farmer gave me. Can I spin that?
A: If the race comes into your area, then you can certainly spin that on the day the race comes by. It would be preferable to spin a breed or type of sheep that’s local to the route on the other days - but if you can’t get hold of any, then you could argue that there are Texel cross sheep the length and breadth of the land, so it’s always a local type!
Again, if you are short of relevant fluff for parts of the Tour, it’s probably worth posting an ‘In Search Of’ on the Ravelry Group Fluff Swaps, Offers and ISOs thread - someone may well have something suitable and be prepared to sell it or swap it for something.
Q: I only really like Shetland amongst the British breeds. Can I spin Shetland all week?
A: Well, part of what we have all found so wonderful about the Tour of British Fleece is the chance to try fibres we wouldn’t normally try - and the explosions of myths that can then occur! So we would certainly like to urge you to at least try some of the other breeds listed throughout the Tour.
But again, we’d rather have you with us than not, so if we really can’t persuade you to try another breed this time, please do spin your Shetland all week - after all, it’s a very popular breed amongst smallholders, spinners and other crafters, and even many farmers have a flock of them to get the children started with sheepkeeping, so there’s pretty much guaranteed to be a few Shetland sheep local to the route every day!
Q: I really don't enjoy spinning sample quantities, so would not enjoy spinning a different fibre each day.
A: Well, again, part of what we have all found so wonderful about the Tour of British Fleece is the chance to try fibres we wouldn’t normally try - and the explosions of myths that can then occur! So we would certainly like to urge you to at least try some of the breeds and types listed throughout the Tour. However, as we keep saying, we’d rather have you with us than not, so if you would prefer to spin only one or two of the sheep during the week, then do that. Some sheep are listed for more than one day, and some for most days (see question about Blue-faced Leicester below), so perhaps you could choose one or two sheep, spin them every day, and they'll 'count' for the days listed, or for any other day that you can come up with a reason! (See question above about Shetlands being found everywhere - the same is true of Jacobs, Blue-faced Leicesters, Texels and many others.)
Q: How will I know when the 2016 Tour of British Fleece is going to happen?
A: Well, we Tour when the Aviva Tour of Britain cycle race is on, and this usually starts on the first Sunday of September and ends on the second Sunday. As soon as they publish the dates and routes for 2016, we will update the website and Ravelry group. Update: The 2016 page has been created and is being updated as we find out more. The dates are 4-11 Sept 2016.
Q: I have some Rough Fell sheep - would you want their fleeces for the Tour of British Fleece?
A: There may well be people who would like some fleece to spin when the Tour of Britain comes through Rough Fell country. (And/or into your area, if your sheep are in a different area to the ‘home range’ of Rough Fells.) Pop into The Ravelry group ‘Fleece resources’ thread and give us your details; we will update the Ravelry ‘Sources’ page accordingly. If you can’t use Ravelry, send us your details using the Contact form.
Q: Blue-faced Leicester seems to be listed for almost every day. Why is that?
A: The Blue-faced Leicester (BFL for short, or Biffle as some spinners call it!) is used to cross onto hill ewes to produce sheep called Mules. Mules combine the best of both parents, being hardy, thrifty, milky, maternal - good sheep to put to a so-called ‘terminal sire’ (a tup of a meat bread) to produce fat lambs for meat.
The Tour of Britain cycle race tends to be where there are hills to cycle, so there will be hill sheep - and where there are hill sheep, there are usually Blue-faced Leicesters!