For those of you who dropped by to peruse my shop and found nothing, my apologies.
I was stocktaking and re-listing my fibre after quite a few batts went missing at a recent show.
BUT IT'S BACK - with lots of DELICIOUS photos. And my batts are now at show prices. Enjoy!
Well, I lusted after their fleece...not only for spinning, ..but it was COLD inside, out of the sun.
But wrapped up warm in my scarf it was OK. I crocheted it from all the odds and ends of batts that I was selling at the festival, spun up of course.
And I was honoured to share a space with Prudence Mapstone.
That's Prudence's amazing cape on the far left, Ildi's crocheted plastic bag outfit centre, and my reef surrounded by Prudence's scrumbles on the wall. Oh, and all my spinning tat on the floor!
I am in awe of Prudence's cape. It is STUNNING. My crappy photography doesn't do it justice.
I bought warm clouds of guanaco from a lovely couple who own 300 of them......
I ate hog roast, jogged around the Welsh Show Ground in the rain before anyone stirred on Saturday morning, and generally relaxed into an atmosphere of fibre-based joviality.
Oh, and took part in a fashion show with my reef.... hmm...wonder if it's the first time a reef has ever walked down a catwalk?
Can't wait for next year.
I'm squeezing into my stretchy hot pants, twirling my golden lasso and twizzling all the way to WonderWool.
My pink reef will be exhibiting with Prudence Mapstone.
And my batts will be stocking a corner of the Artisan Yarn stand. Colourways include 'ketchup and mayo', 'lilac and peach sugared easter eggs', 'blue pebbles'
'violet beauregard', 'easter chick', 'snowdrops', 'verdigris','cowgirls love the blues', 'yellow sugared easter eggs', 'woodnymph dreaming' and many, many more.
So if you want something a little different to spin, say a blend of soya, milk protein, silk and many wools, then get on over to Artisan Yarns' stand.
I'll be out and about, wearing a big ravelry badge, so feel free to rockpool candy spot and say hi. I love meeting my blog readers, preferably over coffee, cake and a gossip.
See y'all there!
I'm dyeing and carding up all my springtime batts ready for sale on our Guild stand at the Belfast Stitch and Creative Craft show 16th- 18th April.
This wensleydale is making me feel like a real Easter Chick!
I've just about exhausted my fleece stash in my dyeing frenzy, because the week after, I'm off to WONDERWOOL!
Hopefully there will be skies as blue as this white-faced woodland.
I've never been before, but the lovely Prudence Mapstone has invited me to show one of my reefs and the equally lovely Anne of Artisan Yarns is stocking up on my batts to sell, so I'm there with bells on!
Believe me - this lilac and peach sugared-egg mix will look GORGEOUS when it's blended (even if I do say so myself).
And, oh, if only the camera really caught this soft apple-green, blue and opal mix.
Then there's the soft-stone dye bath of Swale Dale fleece.
A grey, marled shetland having a few bluey highlights added.
Tapestry blends - and also the softest alpacas (not pictured here).
So the only question is..... what colour are you going to be taking home to spin?
Hey Hey!
Just a little taste of what you can spin from my new batts.
I've been stocking up my ETSY shop (see right-hand bar button) just in time for Easter.
I'll be dyeing, carding and blending more over the holiday (I've a local white-faced woodland fleece soaking as I type). So drop by my shop - everything's been reduce in price to make way for some new delicious blends.
Go on, treat yourself to a batt of fibery goodness and spin in the Easter sunshine. Many batts are small, one offs. Only you and I will have ever spun the blend.
xx
Spring is sprung. I threw open the windows and was able to get outside without a coat for the first time since I can't remember when. Everything around me, inside and out, sung with colour.
I took the opportunity to dry my roving under a clear- blue sky. It should be ready to blend by tomorrow.
And I photographed the Easter egg blends that I made especially to cheer her poorly highness, skein queen.
I let the freshest air inspire a blue blend.
And zinged up an orange blend.
I cannot lie. I've been quite down over this long, drawn out winter here. It feels like I've not seen the sun since last June.
But today, my studio felt ripe with colour and potential.
Hoorah for spring!
I wanted to give a friend and her loving girlfriend a present to mark their civil partnership.
Now if you want a challenge, try buying a card to send for such an occasion in a province where until a few years' ago they still chained up the playground swings on a Sunday as children playing would be a sin.
Ain't gonna happen!
And then I thought of my favourite Chinese saying.
It's said that when you are born, a red ribbon is tied to your ankle. At the other end of that ribbon is your true love. Throughout your life, this ribbon will shorted until you meet, lip to lip.
So I dyed up and spun this yarn for them, so that they can crochet matching corsages or a cushion, or whatever they choose.
The yarn has:
Wool for warmth,
Silk for luxury,
Banana for exoticism,
Blood red for health,
Deep red for passion,
Gold for prosperity,
Angelina for sparkle and laughter,
And sari ribbon of course.
I wish them a long and happy life together.
....my angioedema decided that I needed a few bed days....and when Ange decides that I need to lie down, I lie down.
As a consequence, I've let a few people down. I HATE doing that. In my heart I'm never a slacker, but in my body, well, I have no choice but to fail.
But hey, I've progressed to the sofa!
So here's a delve into what else I've been up to over International Crochet Month (and a bit before)!
I've been snuggling up in 1 of 3, yes 3, beautiful present swaps I received from the lovely Ina of Tante Sophie in NYC. (Isn't she just such a stunning lady?).
There's this gorgeous scarflet, which is like a warm cloud around my neck.
A cowl-come skater slouch that's been keeping my hub toasty.
And the softest cowl that I've been wearing around my house to keep out the chills. Don't be fooled by my bad pic, it looks wonderful on.
I think that I came off best in this swap.... as in return all I did was make her a jumbo skein of navy and white, irregular candy-stripe, as these are her fave things. I of course forgot to photograph it before I sent it, but you can see it here.
And I kept a little skein for reference.
I also found myself spinning up what turned out to be 'Blue Moustache' yarn.
So called because there was lots of prancing about with one of my blended batts one night.
It just HAD to be for JohnK, another US fibre artist I'm pleased to have visit my inbox. If you don't know this 'funny uncle' then drop by and see just why this yarn was always destined for him.
So what else?
Well..... The lovely Kathleen Greco sent me a copy of her Jelly Yarn book. Haven't tried this weird and wonderful yarn yet? The stuff above glows in the dark you know! Get some here.
And I've been battling with giant balls of my own plastic bag yarn for another project. It's so quick using my method (see the you tube link on top left of blog), but I really wish it was more pleasant to work with. Nothing can beat a bit of fleece for me.
I'm an old-fashioned Dorset girl, ooo-arrr.
A few weekends ago, whilst left to my own devices, I went hell for leather on my dye box, drum carder and spinning wheel. It was almost obscene. In one weekend...
I chased away the grey clouds with some aquamarine...
fed my need for acid limes and vibrant purples.....
dyed up reds, pinks and oranges for my friends and people I wanted to thank.......
crashed ocean colours into seaside sedums....
captured the beach's tumbling pebbles' soft hues in my roving......
contrasted them with our Northern sky....
and woodland stumps...
analysed the strange lichens that grow under a bridge's rusty handrail.....
went hippy dippy and tried out all my new Landscape dyes.......
made my mouth water with boiled-sweet acids....
celebrated my love of spring bluebells....
spun emeralds...
and some of those soft rovings.....
be still my heart....
There are a few days left to enter the St Patrick's Day Celebration competition over on Ravelry.
Knit or crochet something 'Irish' themed (you may have something you've already made that's appropriate), upload your pic and you could win a massive hall.
I've donated just one of the prizes, but there's an embarrassing amount to win.
This is the 'Northern Irish Landscape' yarn that I donated.
It’s a blend of all the colours that I saw on my beach walk the other
day; blues of the sky, browns of the earth, rust of metal, mossy grass,
greys of petrified wood and slate, you get the idea.
It’s merino,
blue-faced leicester, texel, banana, silk, silk waste and a few other
bits for good measure. The skein is about 180g in weight.
Go on, you still have time to enter...
