Turkey precious and handspun

Hello there! Is it hot everywhere else too? :) We're coping by waking up early enough to work on chores while it's still cool in the morning. We have fans running in two windows to help pull in cooler air (we are a/c-less). I have all but unplugged the oven ;) how do you guys keep cool?

It's Tour de Fleece right now! I am not participating as heavily this year due to several knits that must be finished soon. However, I did finish spinning this:

It's half Norma and half mystery fiber; both from Sheep on a Spring. I looove the colors!! I always love the colors that Dag uses to dye, very vibrant and cheerful.

It's two ply and about 180 yards of sport weight. The yarn contains merino, alpaca, and "everything imaginable from angora to yak" (reads the fiber tag). I don't have plans for this skein yet! I would really like to knit a lot of Christmas gifts from handspun yarn!

There are a lot of Tour de Fleece tags on Instagram if anyone is interested in seeing what others are spinning, or looking for spinning inspiration. Among the tags I've seen are:

• #tdfleece2014 
• #tdf 
• #tdf2014 
• #tourdefleece

This past week I placed my first order to Jimmy Beans Wool, and I am so freaking pleased! The yarn is gorgeous:

I ordered five Unicorn Tails to add to Mrs. Weasley's blanket and a skein of Lorna's Laces in color Edgewater for a long overdue pair of socks for Scott :) the last pair I was knitting for him I ended up frogging halfway through...so it's been over two years since he's received a new pair, yikes.

Everyone talks about how quickly they ship - I ordered on Sunday and had my yarn on Thursday! Of course I Instagrammed my purchase, and JBW reached out and commented. Instantly I loved them.

I can't help but compare JBW to Knit Picks because they are the only two large yarn online companies I've purchased from. While it's likely I'll order from Knit Picks in the future, their shortcomings are glaringly apparent when stacked next to JBW. Anyway.

Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails !!

my first skein of Lorna's Laces ♥

I went back and forth on how I wanted to knit his socks. I've been dying to knit a vanilla sock one at a time just to keep in my purse. But I realized I might run out of yarn and was truly worried I might lose my steam after the first sock. I decided on toe up TAAT and I think it's the right decision. I'd like to make them as long as possible.

I looooooove the colors so much. If these fit me, I would have a hard time parting with them :)

I've named them Turkey Precious and here's the story the best as I can retell it.

Scott and I had been cracking up over the above video for weeks. Anytime one of us said "potato" in daily life we'd rap the song. So one time we were waiting for the bus to school and had been laughing about po-ta-toes. Then I said something about having turkey for dinner, and Scott honestly said, "What's turkey?" with 100% innocence. We still joke about "what's turkey, precious?" :)

(if that was a horrible story I apologize!!! sometimes it's hard to explain inside jokes!) 

Anyway! His socks are coming along very well. I love working with Lorna's Lace and will definitely purchase more. Uh yeah, I want a pair for myself too.

Berny wishing for winter

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for visiting me!! x

Woooo!

I can't believe the Tour de Fleece is over! It was such a great experience and my spinning has improved a ton. With everyday practice, I was able to spin more consistently. And I really enjoyed seeing everyone's spinning photos on Ravelry and Instagram. I think we all inspired each other :)

The last skein I spun is Knit Picks Special Reserve Full Circle roving in Espresso:



I didn't have a chance to blog about it until today because we went camping right after I finished spinning it! (that's another post)

The final yarn:







I can't wait to knit all this up! I have a few projects in mind but haven't completely decided...it has to be the right one!

TdF

Woah, sorry for my blogging absence! I have been completely consumed by the Tour de Fleece and will inundate you with photos at the end of this post.

Lately I've been in a serious knitting funk; nothing appeals to me! I think it's because I have too many projects started and they have lost their excitement. So I've told myself that I must finish two WIPs before I can cast on anything new. Right after I decided this, I read that Andi may be hosting a Finish It Up KAL as well! How does that song go, sweet serendipity? :)

(I'm actually not sure the lyrics fit this situation... I'm listening to the song right now...)


The two projects I've most recently been knitting on:



Scott's socks. I like these because they are mindless knitting and am not really in a hurry to finish them because I know they are huge and will take some time. 




and my aunt's Hitchhiker in Madeline Tosh. The color is so gorgeous, I think she will really enjoy it.






Just to give you an idea, the WIP list that I am trying to whittle away at has 16 items ! (four listed are cross stitch projects though) wish me luck?

Ok! Now for Tour de Fleece photos! If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen these so I apologize!



so far I have finished four different yarns! The top purple I wrote about in my last post, and also, embarrassingly calculated incorrect yardage for it! It actually has 372 yards, not the 500 I wrote. Math and I do not go together. The gray skein is Knit Picks Special Reserve Full Circle in Wolf. I ended up with 122 yards from 3.3 oz. The lighter purple is 100% alpaca and was so dreamy to spin! I don't think I calculated yardage ... And lastly, 8 oz of pure merino love:



I finished reskeining these bad boys this morning! I have 630 yards of a fingering/sportish weight. This is undyed merino that I received with the purchase of my Louet Victoria spinning wheel! I would really like to dye each skein a different color and then knit a shawl! I have Daybreak in mind, but may change to a pattern I haven't knit yet. Who knows!

Wishing all of you a happy Wednesday :)