It was a tad warm today, though not as warm as it is going to be tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow is, of course, total lockdown. Today however was spinning in public day in Oatlands so I joined with various fellow-spinners in the High Street, clinging to the shade (though not entirely successfully) until the sun moved round and made life less hot. If you are on Facebook, go to the page of The Lucky Ewe at Oatlands and you will find not only a photo of me hard at work, but some footage of me spinning, focussing on my hands (ignore the state of my hands!).

While my body was shaded fairly early on, my left foot was in the sun a little longer. A little too long as it turned out. I was sitting here wondering what had bitten the top of my foot, giving it a rub, applying insect repellant (which I have found is as effective as Stingose) and finally had an actual look at it, only to realise it was the bit of foot that was not covered by sandal. Ooops.

Got home to discover the Dog Trials are setting up camp down at the Oval. Pity they don't have a booking. Bloody good luck for them I don't have another booking. I will be suggesting our President have a word with them this year as this is the third year in a row they have done this. Their argument is they always hold them on the Australia Day weekend. Which is true. Except the years they don't.

Since it will be mid-30s tomorrow (and this time i think it really will be), I have put up two jars for solar dyeing. One is derived from a fungus I found growing on the tree over the road which is a sort of brownish yellow, the other is a 1:2 ammonia fermentation of the hairy lichen I found on the firewood, with an iron mordant. I am told the fungus doesn't need a mordant so I am believing them.

The lichen with iron is a deep chocolate colour liquid which will hopefully be as rich in the yarn, but may not be (I will overdye with some Wombat is necessary) and the other is a brownish yellow. Fingers crossed it works as there are a lot of balls of Bluebell in the jars!