Another busy week! We have only just got caught up with the cyclists again. It has been very dramatic racing. I don’t know how they cycle along in the temperatures they have had today. They said it was up to 40°C in the valleys! It got up to 28.4°C here, which was plenty hot enough for me.

It was Unwind Brighton last weekend which was marvellous fun. It was lovely to catch up with lots of people, and to see all the beautiful things in the marketplace, and learn lots of new things in the workshops. I am still recovering and processing all the information from the three very interesting workshops I attended. I am looking forward to reading through my notes and trying out some of the new ideas, lots of inspiration.

On the spinning front I have started on some Zwartbles I bought from John Arbon back in May. This is naturally very dark brown with a few white fibres from the white blaze which gives the sheep its name.

I have finished spinning the singles, and just started plying.

This will be a 3ply construction, and I am planning to make socks. This is the first time I have spun with Zwartbles. It is quite a springy wool, and moderately robust. Hopefully both good properties for a sock yarn.

Today’s coin is an Italian one Euro for Vincenzo Nibali’s third stage win.

We got a little behind with the cyclists at the beginning of the week but have managed to catch up now. What a dramatic few days it has been! I am very glad that my only mishap has been stretching my brake spring out of shape, an unfortunate accident involving me catching the flyer bars on my brake string. Luckily it still seems to be functioning although I think I will buy myself a spare when I next see one. Spinning inside in the nice warm and dry is definitely preferable to riding over cobbles in the mud!

I have been having a plying marathon and have just finished plying all six skeins of my Moorit (brown) Shetland:

The yarn has all had a nice wash, and when it is dry I shall do the weighing and measuring to see how much I have. At the moment I am planning some kind of big comfy jumper. The yarn is quite fuzzy and lumpy so I think wont really show up much of a pattern, so I think something perhaps involving garter stitch, or moss stitch, or possibly a very simple cable or two. I think stocking stitch might magnify its unevenness. I will do some sampling once it has dried and see what I think.

Today’s coin is a German two Euro for Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel who won on Stages Four and Six respectively.

Cambridge looked beautiful from the helicopters on today’s stage, and lots more lovely scenery. More exciting racing for the cyclists, although a completely different type of stage to the two previous ones. I have really loved the Tour coming to Britain, and it looks like they have had fantastic crowds out for all three days.

Today it was spinning group, and I managed to finish spinning my singles of the brown Shetland. Although I had to finish off at home because I was too busy admiring everyone else’s spinning and catching up to actually get much spinning done while I was out 🙂

Today’s coin is a London pound coin to celebrate today’s finish.

I am looking forward to starting on the plying tomorrow!

Another exciting day of cycling through some beautiful scenery. I was impressed that they had got the yellow jersey on top of York minster! and enjoyed seeing Helmsley castle and walled garden from the helicopter. It is definitely fun seeing them cycling through places I have been 🙂

The spinning is coming along well. I have made good progress on the final bobbin of brown Shetland.

Today’s coin is a Manchester Commonwealth Games two pound, the Tour today briefly dipped into Greater Manchester.

Its that time of year again when we spin along while watching the Tour De France. Amazingly this is my sixth year! The Tour has rather crept up on me this year and caught me slightly on the back foot. I still haven’t organised my photos from the lovely French Treats knitting holiday in France nearly a month ago – I shall hopefully do that on one of the Tour’s rest days.

Anyway, I had better get on with it otherwise we will be into Stage Two before I have written about Stage One!

This year I am starting off with some natural brown Shetland. Those of you with long memories will remember that I started spinning this towards the end of last year’s Tour!

I have a kilo of fibre altogether, and now have only 100g left to go before the plying, so the end is in sight!

It was a gripping start to the race this year, through the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. We are enjoying the first year we have had HD TV.

Today’s coin is an Isle of Man pound coin. It wasn’t Mark Cavendish’s day unfortunately, hopefully his dislocated collar bone will be better soon.