My Summer Knitting, Crochet and Spinning Plans

So, I have lofty goals for this summer when it comes to my fiber related hobbies.  During July and August I planning to take part in three different social fiber groups.

The Tour de Fleece Spin-Along

I've only been spinning for a couple months and only a couple weeks on my wheel, but I want a challenge so I have an excuse to earn more (geek).  This spin-along is run in conjunction with the Tour de France, so while the cyclists are spinning their wheels, so will I.  I won't go into it too much now, but I had planned on spinning enough yarn to make myself a sweater.  It looks like that might be out since I can't find a soft enough fiber that I can afford in the large quantity I need.  Instead, I am going to just buy some neat fiber at my LYS/LSS and just try to spin every day during the tour.  Now ever that goal is pretty lofty since the tour lasts from July 3rd through the 25th with two days of rest on the 12th and 21st.  So, I'm excited even though I've had a tough time selecting my fiber.  I still have a lot to learn, so just trying out new things is probably a better goal than a sweater's worth of yarn anyway.  Oh, and I am spinning for team Sasquatch which is a team of fiber podcast listeners.  You can learn more about this spin-along by going to the Tour de Fleece group on Ravelry.

The Planet June Summer Crochet-Along

You might remember the really cute little whale I made back in May and the pretty daffodil I started but... cough cough.... didn't quite finish?   Well, the first CAL was such fun that June Gilbank is hosting another one with two more of her wonderful patterns.  I can choose between her Alpaca and African Violets and she even gives a 20% discount on the patterns to CAL participants, which is very thoughtful.  I'm going to do the alpaca this time, but since the CAL is going on for two months, I might just be able to do both.  You can learn more about this crochet-along by going to the Planet June Summer CAL thread on Ravelry.

The Appalachian Yarns Summer Mystery Wrap Knit-Along

Talitha who ran the mystery bag knit-along back in May is back again and this time she has us making a mystery wrap for the summer.  This time we are working with a very interesting yarn by Louet called Kidlin.  It is comprised of three strands of mohair, linen and nylon.  It is very neat looking, but I need really good light to take a picture of it, so I will have to do that later.  We also have the option of adding beads to our wrap.  I'm undecided at this point, although I have never added beads to my knitting, so it would definitely be interesting and informative.  Like the previous mystery knit-along, Talitha will send out the clues weekly (perhaps early if we provide enough poetic bribery) and the KAL will start on July 13th and will go for 3-4 weeks depending on how Talitha breaks up the instructions.  I can't wait!   You can learn more about this knit-along by going to the Mystery Summer Wrap thread on Ravelry.