Tour de Fleece day 1

I'm looking forward to getting some serious spinning done over the coming weeks. I've taken part in the Tour de Fleece for several years now, and always enjoy it. I picked out some fibre this morning and decided that the first thing I wanted to spin was a couple of batts that were given to me by one of my fellow Stylecraft Blogstars, Kathryn - aka Crafternoon Treats. She got the batts made especially for me after hearing about Mr JK's death. They're a mix of merino, silk and angora and the colourway is called 'Emotions'. It's a mix of black, greys, blues, aquas and white and is very beautiful. My plan is to spin it as a single, aiming for slightly thicker than my usual spinning and then make a cowl with it. Something I can snuggle into over the colder months. 

Of course, Flo detected that there was something of interest going on as soon as I put the batts on the table. She can be a total pest at times!  Needless to say, she was shooed off pretty promptly, making some rather plaintive meows in protest. I put the first batt on the table...

and Flo was on it in a flash, little paws pounding and kneading away in ecstasy! As soon as I'd taken this photo, she was booted off!

I then spread it on the floor to get a better idea of the colours and it became an instant cat bed! It took her about 10 seconds to curl up on it! Sigh!

I looked on the internet for suggestions of how to spin batts and found some great ideas on Hilltop Cloud's blog. I ended up pulling off lengths of batt and spinning them rather like you would roving, so the colour should gradually change through the yarn. Of course, my lap was required during all this...

And here's how it's looking so far; I rather like the heathered appearance of the yarn. I'll be back tomorrow, although probably not until late as I'm off to London to meet up with a Ravelry friend before she heads back home across the Pond. xxx