Tour De Fleece Update

I did get a little bit left behind in 'The Tour' but I have tried and I am back in the saddle.  I am not quite 'Yellow Jersey' material but I am still having fun sticking along for the ride.  I have finished spinning and plying  'Mars - The Red Planet'.  It was yucky experimentally dyed Merino.  It was orrible to spin.  I was glad to get to the end of it.  It will eventually be crocheted into a planet the size of a golf ball and I am sure it will crunch on the hook!  Yuk! The uneven spin should add some texture to the surface of the planet.  Eh, eh, how about that for textile artiste's 'Poetic Licence'?   My 'mistakes are passed off as intentional creativity!  This young man was very interested in my wheel and 'Navajo Ply':

I carried on regardless, as it is not easy to 'stop' Navajo Plying...mid spin.  This handsome, hairy beast gave me a few kisses of encouragement.  Full smackers on my face!  Beautiful.  My own dog, 'The Lovely Lacey' seemed to get the sulks when Gandalf arrived yesterday.  They are great buddies but they do not engage in any crazy play or displays of affection. . . they are happy to ignore each other.  Lacey loves my spinning wheel and will sleep with her head on the base of it while I spin, she also knows how to deliberately stop the wheel if she has something important to 'say' or she wants some attention.  She is also good at nudging my crochet hook or knitting needles to get attention.  My favourite skeins seem to be her favourite skeins too and we find them in the kitchen in her bed, untangled in the hall or sometimes in the garden!  She loves Alpaca and raw stinky fleece is a big treat.  The joys of pets.  I have just been to put the chickens to bed but they have given me the run around too, I think it is their way of telling me it is not quite bedtime.  Usually they waddle up to bed dutifully like reluctant children.
                Now I have finished 'Mars'  I really needed a treat to spin.  Here is my latest on the Bobbin:

I thought about blending the Silk with Merino, but then decided to spin 100% silk.  It is rather lovely but quite different to spinning fleece.  I have to make sure my hands are kept nice a smooth with hand lotion for this to work.  Tussah silk is silk made by wild silk worms as opposed to Mulberry Silk.  Mulberry silk is from worms fed exclusively on Mulberry leaves and it produces the whitest silk.  I like this 'off' white Tussah silk. . . I think it will make a very good 'Moon'.  Silk has a cellular structure made up of prisms, which is why it has a wonderful iridescent sheen, perfect for moonlight.  It feels very luxurious, especially after 'Mars'.
                  Five more sleeps before I pack my tiny car to the gunnels with two stroppy kids and one large dog to drive down the Motorway for 3 hours to get on our holibobs!  Ooooh I can't wait!  It will be great when we get there, it is just getting there that is the problem.  At least we are not camping as the weather is still shocking.  Henry wants to take his guitar and I want to take my wheel!  Something is going to have to give!  I have offered to buy Henry a Ukulele!  I may have to pack my Spindle!  My spindle and I do not see 'eye to eye'.  My favourite 'Spinning Shop' just happens to be 'en route', about two hours into the journey and only five minutes from the Motorway.  I do not know if I dare get off the Motorway though as it will be very busy on Saturday as it is the start of the 'Summer Hols' for most of the country and everyone seems to want to head south for the last week of July and the first week of August.  I am planning to leave at the crack of dawn!   Poor Euan has to travel in the back seat with the dog and he also usually has to sit on mounds of stuff, I also pack things around him at the last minute!   You get the picture, I do not travel light!
XXX