rockpool candy

Fibre, Fibre, More Fibre and Travelling....lots of travelling.....NI, England & Wales

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll have read my post about trolling around Northern Ireland with Pom Pom International,

Cue a bum shot of Miss Amy Lamé.

And I must admit, on that tour, I had the best time I've had since I moved over to the Province. And got to meet just the best people.

Thanks go out to Derry Pride organisers and ball goers.

Here's the yarn you helped me to spin. I'll make and extra-special pom pom with it.

But that wasn't the only bit of travelling I got up to in the UK.

After the tour, I caught the sunny Belfast ferry cross the angry body of water better known as the Irish sea.

Ah.....summer......

I picked up the fabulous Ildi and we had a brill couple of days driving down to London, eating delish kebabs and staying in dodgy hotels to drop off one of my 'Great White' reefs for the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft shows that are touring the UK.

It's for part of their Reclaim, Re-use, Recycle show and it opens for the first time today in Exeter and goes on until early next year. The reef is just one of the elements I've created especially for the show cabinet they've given me. I can't wait to see the final underwater scene.

Next stop, London and I Knit.

Me and my mucker mate, moonspinning . Hanging out, meeting other complete loons, like alabamawhirly and bringing fibre fiddlers over to the dark side of spinning. Come on, can you really resist ferreting in this and getting creative? (even if I do say so myself!)

 

Whizz bang and I'm in Ross on Wye, rumaging through beach detritus to finish my jellyfish.

  

And may I be so bold to suggest that, should you feel the desire to begin untangling neon fishing line and crocheting it... don't. It's a madness not best visited.

And so to Wrexham, Wales. Yale College to be precise. And their recycling exhibition. The poster is in both English and Welsh, in case you're wondering.

And within minutes, like ants around a just-dropped ice-cream, we fibre fiddlers are circling two spinning wheels and sharing techniques.

I even taught Marcus to make plastic-bag yarn and to spin moonlight, all against a back drop of my jellyfish and second 'Great White' reef. Now that doesn't happen very often.

And finally back home. To rest my weary spinning muscles and enjoy a bit of colour therapy.

Yarn is good........

Fibre, Fibre, More Fibre and Travelling....lots of travelling.....LA

So how were the last two months for you? I feel like I've been around the World in 60 days - which isn't such a stretch of the imagination.

Add into the mix of fibre and travelling a huge bacterial lung infection and enough over-the-counter drugs to make me hallucinate 'til I was introducing myself to my own feet and it'll give you an insight into why I'm currently in a permanently-knackered state.

So August kicked off with me scooting off to LA with MyTarPit to do a canvas drop whilst he took part in 'I am 8 bit'.

Man, we were hanging out with the urban artist glitterati!
Space Invader put up two new pieces.

This guy has his own trainers for crying out loud! Walk in a puddle and you'll leave little invaders on the pavement with every step.

Then there was hanging with The Chung! Who never leaves his art to the last minute. On, no. Never.

The gorgeous Scott "Do you know who I am?" Campbell.

How he doesn't have a million babes following him like ducklings is a mystery.

Martin Hsu, creator of Ruby Gloom and decal genius.

Joe 'my characters ain't fallen over in a stiff breeze' Ledbetter.

We spoke with monkeys...

Hung with big bears...

And drank from Colt45 cans designed by Jim Mahfood when turning over his flat.

That, Ladies and Gents, was LA

"She turns trash into marine sculptures, Your Royal Highness."

(distant cough)

It's the Marine Conservation Society's 25th anniversary and to celebrate, they're gathering at a certain royal gentleman's house.

And what does one decorate Clarence House with for such an occasion? Why, trash that highlights the dangers lurking in our oceans, of course. Trash that, I'm incredibly honoured to announce, one has used to create jellyfish sculptures.

(second, distant, rather over-awed, cough)

Yes, my sculptures will be viewed today by none other than His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales.

Here's hoping that they don't sting him, as last time I checked, the Tower of London was a drafty destination!

I'll post pics of royal interest if there are any.

My Spinning Fibre For Sale At I Knit London Show

This weekend is the I Knit Show in London. There are still tickets available, so come along.
I'll be there with Moonspinning.

And I'm proud to announce that we will both be launching our new range of home-produced spinning fibres and yarns at the show.
My fibre batts have been created especially to give you a unique spinning experience. Slubs and noils are incorporated to be celebrated and embraced. The yarn you spin from it will be truly yours and no one else will have one like it.
Many of the fleeces I use are bought directly from UK farmers at fair prices, washed and dyed by me, and then carded into batts. The silks are fairly-traded from a women’s cooperative in India. This fibre is created with respect.
You are part of the wonderful cycle.
Because of its unique blend of many fibres - home-grown and exotic - your finished yarn will have its own personality.  Enjoy it. Relish it. It’s made just for you.

After the show, the gorgeous Gerard will be selling my batts through his I Knit Shop in London and of course, you'll be able to buy them through my site.

Meantime, here are a few close-ups of my fibres spun up to whet your appetite.

   

 

 

Pom Pom International Northern Ireland Tour

What wonderful things pom poms are.
Natalie's beautiful, handmade yurt was the perfect setting to share our fiber fiddlery.

Despite some reservations from those faultering on the the threshold, once they sat down and began to wind a myriad of coloured yarns around their pom pom makers, they became entranced.

These Pom Poms really brought diverse people together in the name of peace.

There were pirates in Portadown.

Singing novice spinners in Derry.

 

Extended families in Fermanagh.

 

Welcoming volunteers in Darkley.

 

Teams of teenagers on the Shankill Road.

 

It was a memorable, if sometimes wet and blowy tour.

Thank you Northern Ireland.

Peace!

I am 8 bit

So I'm in LA.

Hanging with the COOLEST artists.

One of whom just happens to be mytarpit,the man I married.

'Cus the 4th annual I am 8 bit show opens in a few days......

here's the poster

here are the launch details

a few preview pics to whet your appetite....

And you'll just have to wait for opening night pics.

In the words of the organisers..... It's gonna be AWESOME.

There'll even be free art...

Keep watching.

Pride in my Pom Poms for Peace

Right.

Think of three things that you would never expect to hear in the same sentence.

Pom pom.

Yurt.

Place of conflict.

So if I tell you that I'm going to be taking part in Amy Lamé's Pom Pom International Peace Tour, in a yurt, travelling to places of conflict here in Northern Ireland, you might be forgiven for thinking..."huh?"

But it's really happening, Reg!

Here are the dates.

Saturday 23rd August 

10am-4pm 

Lunasa - Bash at the Bann

Portadown

Co.Armagh

Sunday 24th August

7.30pm-11pm 

The Official Pride Ball 

(part of Foyle Pride)

The Corinthian Ballroom, City Hotel

Derry

Co.L/Derry

For which I've dyed up some special 'Pride Flag Roving' for proud fibre fiddlers.

Monday 24th August

4pm-9pm 

Share Village

Smith's Strand

Lisnaskea

Co.Fermanagh

 

Wednesday 26th August 

Time to be confirmed 

Crossfire Trust/Singing Kettle

Darkley House

Darkley, Keady

Co.Armagh 

Thursday 28th August 

2pm-5pm 

UNBCEP Cross Community Sports Day

Woodvale Park

Shankhill Road

Belfast

I'll be teaching folks of all ages and abilities how to spin, make yarns from recycled materials and to dye wool with Koolaid!

And all in a beautiful yurt built by the equally beautiful Nat at neck of the woods. 

So come on, set your cynicism aside and embrace the softness, the fluffiness, the pom pomery that is Pom Pom International's Peace Tour.

Oh, and it's free!

Fibre frenzy

Long time, no post. This is due to me being head down, fingers a blur, getting ready for several up-coming shows.
I'm delighted to have been invited to show my work in a cabinet at the ICHF Creative Stitching and Hobbycraft shows as they tour around Britain. This meant a new reef had to be created. I'd been dreaming of making a white and yellow one for ages so here it is.

It's 1m 30cm wide and weighs a tonne (or feels like it).
But... in my enthusiasm back in the spring, I decided not to make one, but two of these reefs.

Lucky for me, I was also invited to show at Wrexham Yale's Recycling and Sustainability Show.
So here's the second reef in the pair.

They stand on their own, but also act as a pair, giving them a different dimension.

 

They're so huge, I had to hang out of my upstairs window to take this picture.

But two reefs wasn't enough.

I'd also promised Jimbo that I'd make him a reef with his Friedrich's Ataxia travelling hook. (It's the most beautiful hook I've ever had the pleasure to hold.) So I dyed, spun and crocheted like a mad thing to create a very unique wall hanging.

 

It'll be auctioned on the 12th September, along with many other wonderful creations to raise money for research into a cure. PLEASE go along and bid.

All this, and the Coral Collective Hospital Project is going from strength to strength. I received a beautiful coral from someone who'd picked up one of my packs in the hospital.

It made me SO happy to receive it and can't wait to add it to the artwork hanging in the waiting room. Thank you to the anonymous crocheter.

Is that all I've been up to? Nah! I don't sleep. I've got Pom Pom International and I Knit London coming up.

So I've been washing texel fleece and dyeing it;

Dyeing up merino roving;

Creating my own fibre blends that will soon sell through my site and at I Knit London's shop;

 

Carding British Breeds Batts for I Knit London's fetes and Bestival;

Spinning some of my exotic multi-fibre batts;

 

And then there was all the fun I had hanging out a Woolfest with the wonderful Moonspinning;

Here she's teaching Gerard to spin with a drop spindle.

Gnome spotting;

And getting emails from lovely slebs who've been crocheting with my yarns at their events.

I thank you, Miss Amy Lamé for making a corsage from my lemon and lime handspun.

Stay tuned for the next installment - this is only a teeny bit of what I've been up to! I haven't told you about Castlewellan show (you can read about it on Moonspinning's blog) or any of the other groovy stuff I've been up to.
Next stop LA, New York, London and touring Northern Ireland.
I'm international, me!

Making plastic bag yarn/yarn from a tube

Now, whilst I need to keep some things a secret - like the patterns to some of my corals so that I can continue to make a living. (rants: Can't believe how bare-faced some people are about ripping off other artists' designs and ideas. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) I do want to share my craft knowledge with other people and get them passionate about free materials. And by free, I mean just lying around, unwanted stuff; old clothes, worn out pillowcases, sacks, plastic bags etc.
So here's how to make them into yarn. The fabric yarn is great for kids to learn finger crochet, as it's chunky and grows quickly and the plastic bag stuff works well for outdoor pieces they might like to make.

Watch the slightly bitmappy video that I've posted on youtube and then have a go yourself.

Don't blame me if your fellas end up with Daisy Duke shorts!

Guardian G2 Arts section article

I'll be the woolly-fibre fiddler mentioned!

You can read the full article by ferreting around in last week's recycling, or by clicking here.
Mine are the wall mounds.