Well it’s been a busy week this week. Sadly not on the crafting front so much. Wednesday was super busy at work due to staff shortages so between that and watching things unfold in Parliament I didn’t get much spinning done that day. Thursday was my partner’s birthday (and still partly glued to what was going on in government) so we went and did brunch and had a mooch around the bookshops and delis. Friday/Saturday I tried to get in the garden where I could as things were starting to get out of control.
So I did manage to spin every day but I’m not as far through as I wanted to be. I’m about a quarter of my way through this merino/cashmere/silk blend. I’m hoping to be consistent enough for a 2-ply lace so I’m making more of an effort to spin a short forward draw. My default spin tends to be short backwards, which is quicker and easier but I now realise a lot less consistent. I’ll stick with 25g to a bobbin because I’m terrified of snapping the fibre and losing the end in the bobbin if I keep going!
The garden has been a bit overlooked due to the wet weather we’ve been having, this sudden change has been a good opportunity to get back out there. I harvested some more shallots and potatoes this week and turned some of these:
Into this:
It looks rock hard but it’s actually perfectly crispy 😂 Potato pizza is one of my greatest discoveries of lockdown.
There’s some good progress in the garden overall. I’m hoping the tomatoes will start to ripen in the next week or two. The courgettes are coming along nicely, and we’re harvesting a good crop of peas once a week. There isn’t any sign of the beans yet, and most of these were eaten earlier on in the year so I’ve only got a few surviving plants. The patty pan squash are looking healthy but not cropping yet and the rhubarb is out of control. I’m hoping to offload some of this on colleagues this week, either as fruit or a cake!
The nice thing about being in the garden is seeing a bit more wildlife including this cinnabar moth who was particularly striking:
I also have a family of slow worms living in my compost bin. I could really do with turning the heap but I really don’t want to disturb them.
That’s this week’s projects. I’m hoping to have finished the lace singles next week and to have worked on some of my other spinning projects. I’d really like to get the final skein in my sweater spin finished before the end of the tour!
Ceulan Fibres 
I’ve not tried potato pizza. It looks delicious!
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It’s really very nice, I fry up some onions/shallots and garlic and then it’s just a few slices of par boiled potato, some rosemary, and a glut of olive oil. Super quick and easy (well, once the dough has been made).
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Your spinning looks lovely. The fiber combination sounds so rich. Your garden has done quite well. I so wish I could come by and grab some rhubarb from you. It is crazy expensive in my stores. Probably because we do not grow it locally. It grew wild in my mom’s garden in Kansas. That moth is gorgeous. I didn’t think I would ever call a moth gorgeous either LOL.
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It’s quite nice to put paid to the myth that butterflies are pretty and moths drab! I wish I could give you all the rhubarb you want! I will definitely try and turn some of it into cake or cordial or something. Strangely for something that grows so well in the garden, I have very few ideas about how to use it.
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Your spinning looks fantastic – it’s going to be a stunning skein when you’re finished. I actually have really been enjoying having a reason to spin 2 oz at a time. For some reason, it feels like it goes faster and prompts me to wonder if maybe I should split everything into 2 oz bits and spin/ply them to keep myself moving forward. We, too, are waiting for tomatoes to ripen, as well as some peppers. Do you pull the entire potato plant when you harvest? Or do you have a bag where you can extract them from below the soil and leave the tops intact?
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I think that setting out to spin ‘just a bit’ means that I will often spin a bit more. A bit like setting out to run ‘just a mile’ will mean I sometimes stay out and do the full run even if I don’t feel like it. I do try and harvest just a few potatoes at a time, but I often find rooting around for the larger ones often dislodges the smaller ones anyway. I’ve seen barrels that have a side opening so that you can harvest just the lower ones, but I don’t know if they are actually any easier.
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We just today got some flowers on our peas so I’m a bit behind you. I don’t watch the news but my husband messaged me when BoJo had finally resigned. Some TDF I’ve barely spun a thing but have enjoyed seeing the pictures on Ravelry or Facebook of what people have spun. This year is shaping up to be my best. I’m taking the rest day today and doing challenging thing tomorrow as summer is here today and seems to be turning grey and windy again the rest of this week
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I think I’m having quite a good tour, if not in volume then in actually getting through some stash I’ve wanted to spin for a long time. I think the breed study was the ambitious add on this tour. I’ve done a lot of reading but no actual spinning!
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Wow! That moth us beautiful. I’ve never seen one like it. Your gardening sounds great. We did tomatoes in big pots on our deck and they are doing amazing in the pot soil instead of our terrible clay soil of our yard. Love your spun yarn.
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Yes I had no idea moths were anything other than brown!
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Your fiber looks so thin…..it’s amazing you can spin that fine. I listen to the BBC America and get to know what’s going on in your neck of the woods too. It was quite an exciting week. It sounds like your garden is doing great and that potato pizza looks yummy! Give me crispy any time. I have never seen such a beautiful moth….gorgeous! I hope you have a great week ahead!
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Thank you! It’s take quite a while to have the ability and patience to spin this fine so I’m hoping it turns out ok.
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Your spin is SO FINE, and looks REALLY STONG!! WOW.
That potato pizza looks awesome too! The kids and I have lunch plans to a local pizza place that has a blue potato and fig pizza on the menu- I might get that today!
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Ooh that sounds delicious, I hope you enjoy it!
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I did! I have half leftover for tomorrow. The figs and the gorgonzola are the perfect pairing of sweet and salty. I also got it topped with arugula- to get in some extra greens.
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Your spinning looks brilliant! And I love the colour. I keep looking at the garden and thinking I should do something, but I can’t manage mare than 30 minutes in this heat!!
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It’s tough when it’s hot, isn’t it? And when it’s not hot here it’s usually raining. I’m amazed anything gets done at all.
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