Once again its been a while between posts but I do have a valid excuse. I suddenly realised what little time I have left to write my thesis so any time at the computer has been spent researching/ writing with no time for blogging (as fellow bloggers will know - hours seem to fly by when blogging/ posting).
There has however been some knitting activity.
My ball winder came out for the first time to wind up Pretty Pastels hand spun yarn from Hipknits which then became this neck warmer.
I wanted to knit a scarf but unfortunately, like many yarns from Hipknits, this was a limited edition so my top tip is make sure you buy enough in the first place to avoid disappointment (and be quick as anything really popular is often sold out before you have time to whip our your credit card!).
Next, here is my cousin Heather (right) and her friend Joleen who came to visit a couple of weeks ago busy beading some jewelery with my rather large collection of beads. It was the quietest they were all weekend - an obvious hit (note the washing in the background - note to self: be sure to make the boat look tidy before photo shoots!!) And here is a picture of my friend Lynne who has just knitted her first ever scarf (following much encouragement from yours truly). I think she used some Rowan Big Wool but I'm not sure (Lynne will you let me know what you used?).
Then of course there's been some progress on the spinning front. Last Sunday I took my spindle to visit my friend's, the Turner Sisters (Janet, Shirley and Ali) who were busy dyeing some of the carded fleece we washed earlier (see 2nd July post).
Here is some fabulous orange (yes, this is the colour you can achieve with a NATURAL dye!) and some purple, and 
the finished results. Janet and Ali are planning to do some straight felting - a bag perhaps (watch this space) where as Shirley and I want to spin the fleece, I to knit but Shirley to weave since she's just bought a wooden hand-loom on e-bay (isn't e-bay wonderful!).
My first attempts at spinning with a spindle are a bit rough to say the least and I haven't actually managed to take any photos of the results yet but I am hoping to have a go on Shirley's new spinning wheel soon, under her supervision of course. I've been busy bidding on wheels on e-bay but without much success as they seem to go for quite a lot of money so I'll have to save my pennies instead (much to DH's relief - yes I know we don't have space on a boat for a wheel!). I've also made some progress with my Ripple Scarf from my Secret Pal.
Its lovely to knit with and such an easy pattern. I continued with this during our impromptu Runcorn "Stitch'n'Bitch" gathering last night.......more about that tomorrow..........
