The Golden Retriever Fluff is all spun, knitted, woven and ready to go...  That's a picture of two scarves (one woven, one knitted) and two hearts packed in a bag with one of my paintings of a Golden Retriever smilling on the front.

 I will be putting up my prices for knitting and weaving pet fur - but this was a fun learning curve so Jack's owner got a discount for allowing me to experiment!  
It will cost £7.50 for me to knit and sew a wee heart - stuffed with fur and ready to hang from the car mirror (is that safe?) or wherever.
A simple, lacy scarf (5"x5ft) will cost £45 to knit (takes me about a week of knitting in any spare time).  A small, hand woven scarf (plain tabby weave) of similar size will cost the same as it takes me at least a day to dress the loom and weave.   I then have to wash and block the made items to finish the fabric.  
None of the above includes the spinning!

Just had a delivery of fur from Jack, the Golden Retriever - washed and hanging on the line ready to start prepping as soon as it's dry.  The owners also want the handspun knitted up.  Will have to review my prices for knitting I think!
Have also been participating in Tour De Fleece (which runs alongside Tour De France OF COURSE!) - and have been steadily wading my way through the Shetland Fleece from Shetland.  The paper sack of fleece seems to be like a magic porridge pot - the contents don't get any less.
I have started on the third border for the shawl I'm knitting the handspun shetland into.  However I've ripped the first couple of rows out twice now - as I keep doing *ssk k1 k2tog yo (rpt from *) just once in the middle of the correct pattern - which is ssk k1 k2tog yo k1 yo.  And it only takes one small lapse of concentration to balls it up.   Third time lucky, fingers (and toes) crossed.  And I AM using stitch markers.  
Then only a week to go to Fibre East.  I am volunteering again this year - and plan to camp.  Hope the weather is lovely again.
Not Not Not going to buy anything.  (well - maybe a large dent heddle for my new Kromski Harp?).  

I was sat outside at Hannah’s - where I now co-rent a studio with Noni - spinning some shetland in the sunshine on my lendrum. A woman called Eve approached me to ask if I could spin some pet fur - to which I replied that of course I could indeed and gave her my card. She was SO pleased as she’d been looking for someone to spin her Border Collie’s fur for some time - he had died months before and had been a loyal companion and much loved. 

She phoned me later in a bit of a state as she’d left the dog hair in a bucket in the garage, and it had started to decompose. I told her to send me what she could and I’d do my best with it. The collie had been black and white - the fur had turned brown! I washed it and dried it well to stop the rot. It wasn’t in very good condition at all, very fragile, though still had some white visible. 

I decided to make punis and use my charkha - i.e., treat it like short fibre. It was hard work and I would spin a few feet and ply it almost immediately. I could see some of it turning to dust as I spun it. The yarn would drift apart in places.
 
I knew she wouldn’t be able to knit anything much from this - so I decided to knit her a small heart with what I could salvage and pad the heart with the rest of the fur.  I used alpaca to make a cord with a lucet, to hang the heart from as I didn't think the pet fur would be strong enough.  I’m pleased with the result and I hope Eve will be too.

When I phoned to update her, a friend answered the phone - Eve’s sister had just died (I mean JUST - like half an hour before I called!). I’m sending her the heart in the hope that it will be of some small comfort. 
 
Spinning NORMAL dog’s hair will be a doddle after this experience! 

I'm so excited about the workshop tomorrow - 'Design your own Baltic Mitten" - I'm using my Wednesday group as guinea pigs to test out the content - bless them.  We're all bringing food to share - should be great fun.  (Though need to go prepare my handouts NOW).  Kihnu Troi cast on and vikkel braids RULE!

But I'm also feeling a little bit better about the various tasks I've been procrastinating about: - 

I've finished the Guild of Weavers Spinners Dyers' Summer School write up for Yarn Maker - Dot is very patient with me.  Probably be better if she wasn't!

I'm also back up in the attic getting the undercoat on the walls and ceiling: the fine spatter of white paint freckling my cheeks looks very fetching!  I have a deadline for this - Christmas.  If it's not done by then the 'stuff' in the spare room is going up there regardless - according to the other half.  Eek, he's so strict!  After all, I've only been putting it off since February.

I'm pleased about having ordered business cards from 'Goodprint' and flyers from 'FlyerZone' advertising my Knitting 101 classes in Exeter and Kingsteignton starting in January.  I've ordered some extra (250!) flyers to promote my pet fur spinning business too.  Looking forward to seeing how they turn out.  I'm offering a 15% discount until April next year to see if that brings some more pet fur my way.   Spinning Kyla's fur was such fun, I'm looking forward to tackling some more.

The Retreat is FULL!  Wasn't that quick?

Have also been up to the Phoenix to book a room for a new 101 course in Exeter.  IT's expensive - but I think it'll be worth it.  Got to speculate to accumulate I suppose.  I'm going to run the course as cheaply as I can, but inevitably it will be more expensive than running one at Hobbycraft in KIngsteignton, or even at Ruth's in the village.  STILL - this is all very exciting and I'm SO looking forward to enabling more people in knitting (and spinning too, mwah ha ha ha!).

I've been to a new Spinning Group - with Yule Somme on a Thursday - at her new Studio in Moretonhampstead - excellent company, even if I didn't learn much.  I enjoyed the opportunity to spin uninterrupted by the thought of having to do housework.

And I've started spinning pet hair.  I hope to do more of this in the future.  Anyone who knows me can't miss that I LOVE DOGS.  And to spin their fur into beautiful yarn which can be made into mementoes that will make their owners even happier is just WUNNERFUL.  I've just read that back.  How gushingly awful.  But really - spinning fur has to be the ultimate in recycling - better made into luscious yarn than all over the carpet - right?