Tour de Fleece day 6

I was so tempted to keep spinning this evening, but I have a design commission that needs to be finished, so I've put the spinning on hold for now. I'll definitely finish the first batt tomorrow and perhaps even start the second one. Mostly white fibre today with some black thrown in. The person who created these batts thought really hard about the emotions a newly-bereaved person might experience and link them to colour. xxx

Tour de Fleece day 5

A little early morning spinning today as I shall be celebrating my dear friend Snoopydog's birthday with her after work. I love the speckled look of the yarn. I might get this batt spun tomorrow and then will carry on with the second one on the same bobbin I think. And yes, Flo was on my lap again, just in case there was any doubt, although I did boot her off at one point when she began swiping me! Dodging sharp claws when you're trying to draft fibre evenly is not to be recommended. xxx

Tour de Fleece day 4

I am really enjoying my first experience of spinning from a batt - the yarn has a little more texture than from roving but I like how it's turning out. Flo isn't making it easy for me - she jumped on my lap and lay across my arm in a most unhelpful way! The colours start to get pale again from here. Pop back tomorrow to see. xxx

Tour de Fleece day 3

Getting into the turquoise section of the batt today... xxx

Tour de Fleece day 2

Evening! Only a little spinning today as I have been in London. But a little is better than none, right? More tomorrow. xxx

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

Loads of bits and bobs

Drum roll please - I actually have a finished knit to share with you! I know, have you picked yourself up off the floor yet?! I managed to sneak in a few rounds of sock knitting when I was on a bus this week. I've finished my Lovehearts handspun socks and am really pleased with them. I even put them on briefly this morning to model them for you!

The yarn is quite softly spun so I'm not sure quite how hard-wearing they're going to be. I might even keep them as bed socks for the winter. But I am pleased because it's the first time that I've spun enough yardage to get a pair of socks from 100g of fibre. I love the soft colours of the yarn. The fibre is from Picperfic's Fluff-n-Stuff and there's some of this colourway in there right now. And if you keep reading, you can also win some in my July Pay it Forward giveway!  

Sarah from Fripperies & Bibelots (my favourite stitch markers) also loved the colourway and was inspired to create some Love Hearts ringOs; both Marianne and I were lucky enough to receive a set and I love them! Sarah has just moved her Etsy shop to her very own website and you can see more here. I think she's sold out of Love Hearts for now, but you can be sure that they'll be making a reappearance very soon. Just look how beautifully the colours echo the colours of the socks...

The rest of my knitting this week is all secret projects I'm afraid. As soon as I am able to share with you, I will - promise!

In the meantime, I must tell you about a yarn festival that's happening in Norfolk next weekend. You might remember that a couple of years ago, Mr JK and I visited six Norfolk churches to look at the Blossom and Yarn festival. You can read my blog post from the day here. This year the theme is The Creation and I'm sure it's going to be an equally spectacular event. I shall definitely be paying a visit to all six churches and will share it with you. But if you're in the area, you might want to pop along too.

June has come to an end now, and with it my efforts at spending one hour outside each day. It was quite hard sometimes, especially if the weather wasn't so good, but I will try to keep it going, even if I don't post a photo every day. Here are the last few days of June...

June 26th - loving the lavender in the garden, a real magnet for the bees

June 27th - the courtyard at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford

June 28th - raindrops on roses 

June 29th - the big daisies are in flower in the garden

June 30th - an evening in the garden with Flo (who is on the prowl for moths!)

The random number generator picked post 9 as the winner in my June Pay it Forward giveaway - congratulations to Claire Carter. I'll be in touch with you very soon to get your address. My July prize is one for all your spinners out there - a braid of Picperfic's Fluff-n-Stuff Twinkle blend fibre in the Lovehearts colourway. If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is leave me a comment on the blog with a recommendation for a quick and healthy meal. I'm on the lookout to try some new recipes over the summer. The giveaway will be open until midnight on July 31st and I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner after that date. Please make sure it's easy for me to contact you by leaving your Ravelry or Instagram name, or leave some other way for me to get in touch. If I haven't heard from the winner within a week, I'll pick another name. I'm happy to post world-wide so please do enter. Here's a peep at the prize...

And now if you'll excuse me, as the Tour de France, and therefore the Tour de Fleece begins today, I'm off to dust off my spinning wheel and get going for a whole glorious month of spinning! xxx