Tour de Fleece!

For the past 2 weeks while the Tour de France has been going on, spinners all over the world unite for a massive spin-along, the Tour de Fleece.  It's completely non-competitive and social, and a lot of fun so far.  I spend so much time spinning for others that my husband made an offhand comment about how I never seem to knit with handspun, so what do I do on my wheel, do I even need it?  (Blasphemous).  So I set my goal during the Tour to spin for myself and my kids.  I learned that a) I was in denial over how much wool I have and b) I can spin fast when I'm truly enjoying it and selfishly motivated!

This is Charlotte, my Kromski Sonata.  She's a collapsible travel wheel, sleek and fast and smooth. 

This is my Ashford Traveller, he doesn't have a name, but he makes perfectly balanced yarns consistently.  He is my workhorse :)

So far we've spun over 2 lbs. of wool in 2 weeks, some of it as fine as sock weight when doubled up.  I'm doing some experimenting with new methods and playing, having fun, and making a mountain of handspun wool for our fall/winter knits!

This is my very first true 3-ply

This is the second of four for a sweater for me!

Sock yarn from fiber I bought at sock summit last year

And some sock yarn from fiber I dyed myself

I can't wait to put the pile together and see it when the Tour is done!

Gluten free and the bread craving

So I've been gluten free for about a month now, and my headaches have dropped by about 80%.  When they pop up they tend to be mild vs. an actual migraine.  (I cheated once and ate pizza, and had a migraine for 3 days).  So of course I've been questing for a decent gluten free bread.  I found an amazing loaf at a local farmer's market, but with the drive in and the cost, I knew I needed to figure out my own.  I've tried about a half dozen combinations, and finally decided to work out my own version based on others I'd found, and the combo of flours used by the local vendors.

This is what I came up with:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water, with 1/2 tsp sugar
1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
3 eggs
1 cup milk, warmed for 60s in microwave
2 tbs. molasses
3 tbs. melted butter
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. xantham gum

Directions:
1. Activate yeast in water, look for a bubbly/foamy cover on top.
2. While yeast is activating, in a LARGE separate bowl beat eggs and add in your milk, molasses and melted butter.  Then once the yeast is ready add that in too.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly and mix into the wet. It will be thick, but I didn't need a dough hook.
4.  Put into a greased loaf pan, cover, and let rise for about 1 hr to 1 1/2 hours.
5. Bake at 400 for 30-45 min.  Test with a knife to make sure it's done.

This will be a staple in my house from now on, I might add seeds to add some texture, but this was great as is!


Oh and in other news, Tour de Fleece has started!
Here is my Day 1 contribution to the cause

I'll be adding a lot more info and pics about this to come :)