Handspun and homemade

I am completely in love with handspun yarn, the texture is just beautiful. I am longing to spin my own and have bought a drop spindle kit from the flying ewe, I can't wait to have a go! I am really really lusting over a spinning wheel (Ladybug realistically or Matchless if our bonus it huge this year!) but worried over when I'd be able to fit it into my life and house. I am planning to go and have a look at some next week - shhhh don't tell anyone - I am in denial about how dangerous that would be!

I am trying to content myself with buying some lovely handspun on etsy. I had to go to the post office to pay the customs charge on this beauty yesterday (£13.80 - most of which is the post office handling fee for me to drive 20 mile round trip to the sorting office, hand them cash and pick up my parcel!) It was worth it though!

634 yards of laceweight Merino Tencel from Squoosh, I have no idea what I am going to make with it yet - investigation on Ravelry will commence!

The colours are really vibrant and bright - and elusive on camera! I tried every setting and light and these were the best I could get. There is pink, orange and mauve in the yarn and the colour is called hotty - that made me smile.

If you love handspun too I also received two lovely skeins from Stony Creek, I can't show them as they are destined to be made into a gift.

My Swallowtail was finished ages ago but I am only blocking it today, I am home alone for the weekend so I dared to pin it out on the floor.

It is so light weight and ethereal - when wet it was a tiny blob hardly bigger than a tennis ball! Made from Posh yarn Cecilia, it took forever to wind the yarn into a cake (all 1300 yards) and this shawlette made hardly any dent in it - I shall weigh it to find out how much was used when the blocking is done. The yarn is 50% silk 50% cashmere mix and warm despite it's lightness.

It is almost dry with the warm weather today - I really wish the weather here was more reliable! I should go and pick raspberries and strawberries RIGHT NOW as I won't get soaked - in 10 minutes that may have changed!

I have some friends coming for dinner tomorrow and since I will be working tomorrow, I did a bit of prep work today - I don't think I will ever stop being a chef at heart.

This brown sludge looks deeply unappetising but is in fact an unbaked pain d'epice, if you have tried the supermarket version in France you will be think 'meh - why make that, it's dry, fairly tasteless and a bit dull!' but homemade it is really lovely, soft and delicate with a deep fragrance from the spice mix and the local honey. It is baking now and filling the whole house with Christmas scent. I have been making this since I lived in France but have made one change to my version since reading the chocolate and zucchini book - adding crystallised ginger and crystallised orange peel - yum!

You may be wondering why I am making a Yule scented cake in midsummer, well my plan for dessert tomorrow is to grill some peaches with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and to serve them on toasted pain d'epice to echo the cinnamon and suck up all the peachy buttery juices, I'll also plop some creme fraiche on top for contrast.

Hope it tastes good!