Dyeing to....

Camel/silk...

2012-02-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

A quick order I've had after a sale on Etsy - the customer bought six lots of mostly BFL then came back to me with a request for camel/silk in various colours, having come across it in a workshop. So I popped in to Adelaide Walker's on the way home from work a week or so ago and stocked up on black and oatmeal BFL, moorit shetland, and this lovely camel/silk blend.

From the left we have Gothick, Lorien, Copper, and Dryad.

I dyed up 100 of each (along with other fibres) so I have 50g of each to add to the stock for this year's fibre shows.

Copper and Flora

2011-12-05T07:13:00.001-08:00

Interesting examples of what happens to the same dye lots on different fibres. There are two of each of the coppers and one each of the Floras, but before I list them there is someone who has first pick.

These are all 'long pattern' too, so the colour change is along the entire length of the 100g top.

Copper on plain oatmeal bfl:

Copper on oatmeal bfl with silk:

Copper on white bfl - the purple is a definite purple and not quite as blue as these shots are showing it.

Flora on oatmeal bfl:

Flora on oatmeal bfl with silk:

Flora on white bfl, and yes, the colours really are that intense:

More stuff in pretty colours....

2011-11-30T07:30:00.001-08:00

I had another trawl through the bags of fibre again today. This time I found the merino/silk and black/shetland silk, and not so much green!

Merino/silk in Gold


Black shetland/silk in Gothick - I have two of these. I love how the dark shetland wool takes on the dye colour in such a rich and subtle way, but the ribboning silk running through it seems to shine even more brightly in contrast.

This is shetland/silk in Lancelot - turquoise, royal blue and purple.

Lazuli - probably the most straightforward of my blues, but lots of shades in there if you look.

This is Triton - much more turquoise than the others.

Shetland/silk in Lorien - slightly more yellowier than Gold, and hints of green in there too.

Merino/silk again, this time in Remnants - dusty pinks and faded blues.

And finally Flora on merino/silk. This is one of my most popular colours - dusty rose, clear blue, acid olive green, with all sorts of colours stretching between them as it's spun out.

Etsy update and new dyeing

2011-11-28T07:31:00.001-08:00

Finally managed to update the Etsy shop at long last. I suddenly find myself in need of funds (Christmas is coming, after all) and I've just sent off a few orders of specific colours and fibres. As it's not worth firing up the oven for dyeing unless I'm going to fill it, these are what was left after the packages left the building. There does seem to be a preponderance of green here.

All of these are being offered at last year's prices or slightly cheaper, in the interests of selling!

Old Forest in oatmeal bfl and silk

Corn on oatmeal bfl and silk

Dancing Birch, on the same fibre blend

Dryad, on plain oatmeal bfl

Dryad again, on bfl and silk

Slightly different - very soft merino, dyed in Dryad long, where the colour changes along the length of the top

Firebird on plain bfl

Dryad in long pattern.

2011-09-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is what the Dryad looks like when it's dyed along the length of the top.

And I've spun up the oatmeal bfl into this:

Chain-plyed sock-weight yarn, for lots of plain round-and-round knitting in the car tomorrow.

Some old colours, some new...

2011-09-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

These three are all a new green which I've called 'Dryad' - quite yellowy and almost acidic depending upon what it's dyed on, in this case oatmeal bfl with silk, oatmeal bfl on its own, and black shetland with silk:

This is 'Grail' on oatmeal bfl. I was a bit surprised as to how this came out when I designed the colour, and wasn't too sure, but it's been very popular so what do I know!

A basic darker green - 'Old Forest' - on oatmeal bfl and silk:

The same fibre in 'Dancing Birch' this is almost acid yellow on white fibre but much greener on darker wool:

'Dancing Birch' on shetland and silk. The silk looks gold in this photograph; it's actually a bit greener in real life, and the wool itself has taken on a green tone.

I've just spun up some oatmeal bfl which I dyed up in 'Dryad' but in the long pattern colour repeat as in the layout shown in the previous post. It's for socks - so when dry and balled I'll show it.

New dyeing layouts...

2011-09-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

This is the normal way I lay out lengths of top in my dyepans. There are three lots of 100g here, each folded along the length of the pan, so the colour change shifts along the length of the top four or five times.

There's one pan laid out like this in the oven at the moment:

The idea being that the colour will shift only once, in one long change, along the length of the top. I've had a couple of orders for me and they are in the other two pans cooking at the moment, but these are for me. There's a white merino, a white BFL, and an oatmeal BFL, currently being coloured with a new colourway, 'Dryad'.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have a stall at both Wonderwool and Woolfest as usual, but am also making enquiries for Fibre East next July. I didn't apply for this new one this year because, when I enquired, I discovered that dogs were not allowed on the site. I have subsequently been told, by various people who did get a stall and had a great show, that dogs not belonging to the farmer were spotted around (not including the assistant dog who had special permission). So I will have to see whether there will be space for me and I'm selected after those with first choice have been offered.

Psamme decided to help with the drying...

New dyeing - no photos.

2011-09-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Have been dyeing but have failed miserably to photograph some of it.

I have new greens and a bit of new fibre - I'll try and get them up soon.

Ennea Collective

2011-08-07T05:32:00.001-07:00

And this is the link to Sara's article about the making of my shawl.

Oh wow!

2011-06-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

This came in the post last week, just in time for me to take to Woolfest and keep me warm and snuggly when the hot weather suddenly went cold and damp:

Several years ago Sara Lamb and I vaguely agreed on a shawl swap, and when she came over to the UK briefly last summer I presented her with a knitted shawl I'd made for her. I was particularly pleased to have got the colours right for her too.

So this arrived for me, Sara having taken me at my word when I threw these ideas at her: gold, copper, green, rustic,warm.... I finally remembered to have both the camera and shawl with me when I took the pupz up to Baildon Moor this afternoon:

Nearly there...

2011-06-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

A pile of sock yarn, all dyed, skeined, labelled, listed, and now bagged up.

There are some hot colours in there (Arthur, Firebird) but for some reason they're at the bottom of the pile. Really I don't want to see them go, I love them all!

This is the fibre newly dyed for Woolfest, all bagged up but it'll all have to be taken out and priced and listed and organised; it's just been bagged up as I packaged and labelled as I went along. At least I seem to have lots this year - there are about four bags upstairs of the fibre leftover from Wonderwool.

The only thing I haven't yet packed is some of the fleece; I have a couple of sacks of the brilliant fleece in the previous post to pack, and I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow night.

You have no idea how nice it is to cross off everything on this blackboard. It lives on the back of the kitchen door (hence the little label and arrow at the top) and is used for noting down things we need to do or buy. I'm about to wash it clean and start writing up the things we need to take to Woolfest. I use it to write down the fibre type/yarn type and the colour each time I put a new lot in the oven, which helps to remind me what I'm labelling when it all comes to be packed.

Fleeces draped everywhere!

2011-06-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Lovely shiny Teeswater and some organic coloured Shetland.

Slightly flashed out alpaca in the foreground and Cheviot behind.

Coloured Corriedale

More organic Shetland, and a WensleydaleX North Ronaldsey

To Camelot...

2011-05-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

A new fibre - grey Masham, dyed in Gothick. Masham is not unlike the longwools - it's a long staple and fairly lustrous - but a bit fluffier. Makes fabulous felt but is also smoother and shinier and softer than the Suffolk I had before.

Same stuff dyed in Copper.

Oatmeal bfl with silk dyed in Arthur - something on the Folklore and Fairytale list on Ravelry set me off with a Camelot theme.

This is Merlin on grey alpaca/silk. The purple is actually grey, but seems to shade towards the blue side next to the green. I'll be interested to see this on something white.

Guinevere on oatmeal bfl/silk. With this one I was thinking a pure pale sky blue to represent Guinevere herself, shading through to unexpected depths of blues (for disappointment and sorrow) and purple (for royalty). What do you think? I've sold some before it even got to a show or on Etsy.

Gawain on grey Masham. I was thinking of the seas around Orkney on a sunny day with wind-scudded clouds.

Mordred on grey Masham. I'm not normally into warm colours at all, but I love how Mordred works.

Wonderwool is over!

2011-04-13T03:23:00.000-07:00

And it was hard work, but such fun! There's a quick report on the Livejournal blog.

So more fibre must be ordered. The black shetland/silk was incredibly popular, all gone by Sunday morning; people were nearly fighting over it.

The darker colours in the oatmeal bfl didn't go well this year, though they were popular last year - lots more needs to be dyed.

Nearly all my other silk blends - oatmeal bfl, merino, baby camel, grey alpaca - went extremely well (the grey alpaca/silk's all gone too.)

So I shall have the rest of April off from dyeing - I have a costume commission I'm just confirming with English Heritage and lots of knitting and sewing I want to do anyway - and start again in May. Vast amounts of fibre to be bought in.

Everything is not organised and put away, apart from a ten kilo bag of undyed sockyarn in the middle of the sitting room. I have a small amount of the British Merino sock yarn left, and I've bought bfl/nylon and high-twist British Falkland. Yum.

Nearly there for Wonderwool

2011-04-04T04:02:00.000-07:00

There's actually much more dyed than I've remembered to photograph; I'm really feeling such pressure to get it all packaged and labelled that I tend to forget to get the camera out, even when it's next to me and already on.

A new colour: Lorien. Here it's on shetland/silk at the top, grey angora/silk on the left, and camel/silk on the right. Its absolutely gorgeous on oatmeal bfl, but that seems to have completely slipped past the camera.

Triton, on bfl/silk at the top, and oatmeal bfl and merino on the bottom.

These two were not supposed to be so similar. Bluebell is the one with the darker blue/purple and less, paler green; Hyacinth is the other. I think. It may be the other way - oops.

Drat - I was cross I forgot to photo this before it was bagged, but simply couldn't take the time to un- and re-bag. This is Oak King, and I'm finding it fascinating how the exact same mixture of dyes changes so much according to the fibre. Here it's come out dark with distinctly brown tones; on sock yarn it's retained its orange tones.

All I have left to do now is a couple of dyed fleeces to bag, all the sock yarn skeins to tidy and label, and then I should have plenty of time to organise the sacks of fibre (there is no order to them at all at the moment, I've just stuffed the packets in as I've done them) and price, and list. Phew.

Wonderwool looms...

2011-03-24T02:49:00.000-07:00

'Spring' on shetland and camel/silk.

'Gothick' on camel/silk at the top, coloured BFL to the right, and on the left a new one - moorit Shetland. This has come out very well, but I've only got 200g of it and probably won't get more for Wales. Will invest in it for Woolfest though.

'True' on shetland

'Crocus' on coloured BFL.

'Sauce' on camel/silk.

'True' on grey suffolk. I bought this in error last year, thinking it might be softer than it actually was; there's quite a bit of kemp in the wool. But the natural grey overdyes beautifully, and it's proved popular with felters.

'Volcano' on suffolk.

'Sauce' on suffolk.

And of course lots of nice ordinary merino: 'Steelsheen' and 'Crocus'.

'Flora' in merino/silk at the top and coloured BFL at the bottom. The colour isn't quite right in this photo - it's richer for a start, with acid green and a purpley-red rather than pink and yellow.

And more fleece, of course. This is a shetland/texel that's come out rather well.

I had a coloured Corriedale wether fleece I dyed up intending to sell, but I'm not going to - the colours have come out fabulously on the variegated greys and it's handcarding beautifully. One for me, I'm afraid. (This was his 2009 fleece, I may try and kidnap his fleece from last year from Denise as Archie is now in someone's freezer I believe.

Shiny Teeswater

2011-03-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, the colours really are this intense in real life. I love the way the lustrous longwools (Teeswater, Wensleydale etc) just glow when richly dyed.

There's a small Romney lamb fleece all dyed up and drying on the racks at the moment. If I get organised tonight or tomorrow morning before going off to race at Runcorn I shall stuff more fleece in the oven. Then I can get started on the oatmeal BFL tops.

And there's quite a bit to pack and label up. Leia killed a hank of white BFL dyed in Volcano earlier this week, so I shall have to spin what I can salvage myself. Horrible cat. Must remember to keep all the fibre wrapped up when the new kitten arrives....

Some new variations...

2011-03-03T03:38:00.000-08:00

All in fine merino, from top left they are Triton, Greenwood and Lazuli. Greenwood is supposed to be - duh - deep green but the recipe gave me this. I think the mix I use for navy has affected it.

The red for this year is Sauce. I'd packaged up them up before I remembered to photograph them, and wasn't going to unwrap them again. Shetland/silk and coloured bfl/silk - I've used nearly all of these up now; I shall get some more camel/silk and plain coloured bfl from Adelaide Walker's next week, then it's just that and both the plain and superwash merino to colour.

True.

Someone bought a pack of Copper on coloured bfl/silk from me last, and has contact me to ask for some more of the same fibre in both the green and the plain orange of the original colourway. There will be some of this left at Wonderwool.

This week's dyeing

2011-02-25T12:59:00.000-08:00

This is a new colourway, 'Spring'. Clockwise from bottom left it's on black shetland/silk, merino/silk, white BFL, camel/silk, and grey alapaca/silk.

This one's 'Bonnet'. Again from bottom left, the fibres are merino/silk, oatmeal BFL, and more shetland/silk.

The colour hasn't come out well in this photo, probably because it was dark and there was no natural light by the time I'd got to it. It's 'Gothick' which is actually much darker, but the fibres are shiny. Shetland/silk, grey angora/silk, and merino/silk.

And this one isn't really this bright: 'Copper' in fine merino. This was new last year, and has been extremely popular, in sock yarn too. It looks amazing on oatmeal BFL, in fact there's a couple of pans of this colourway on this fibre in the oven at the moment - I've had another special order in for some more in Copper and some of the plain green and orange in this colourway.

And this is the old favourite, ' Flora', on shetland/silk, fine merino, and grey alpaca/silk. I just love how this colourway behaves on all sorts of fibres, and spins into lots more colours.

Finally some photos.

2011-02-02T01:55:00.000-08:00

Just a few photos that have been sent to me, from North Cheshire Guild the weekend before last:

I must gird my loins and start the dyeing for Wonderwool soon. It's only a couple of months away now...

North Cheshire Guild

2011-01-26T03:10:00.000-08:00

Once again, I was careful to pack my camera as I went to a guild to teach. Once again, I laid it out on the table near at hand. Once again, I completely forgot about it and failed miserably to record anything.

But it was a good day. I stuffed the van with Mark and dyeing stuff and selling stuff and lots of things I'd made and the pupz and off we went. There early (which always helps).

So I talked and pranced around and showed stuff for an hour in the morning,and it seemed to go well. People were interested in what I'd done and asked questions and laughed when I said what I thought were funny things. I set up the dye table so we could start early after lunch as I think well over 20 people wanted a go. (Naturally I'd forgotten something essential - clingfilm - but luckily we found some in the kitchen of the village hall we were in).

Mark took the pupz off and they found a nature reserve and country park somewhere, had a couple of good walks, and he had "pudding and chips and peas" for lunch - a North-Western speciality. He was pleased with finding it, anyway.

And we were home before five, which was a bonus. But I'm hoping that someone will send me photos

Teaching...

2011-01-21T00:23:00.000-08:00

Oops, I hadn't realised it's nearly a month since I've posted here. I have been doing the odd bit of dyeing and quite a bit of spinning, none of which I have managed to document. There are a few photos on my camera, but I haven't downloaded any since we had the heavy snow a fortnight ago, which vanished almost as quickly.

There is a large bag of fibre samples at home, superwash merino in 'Gothick', about to go out to the Fibreholics sample bags.

And I'm teaching tomorrow - over at North Cheshire Spinners Weavers adn Dyers. They're at the other end of the M62 from me, so it should be about an hour to drive but we'll leave much earlier to allow for traffic. I'm doing a talk in the morning - 'Things wot I have made' - which I last did a few years ago at York Guild and it went very well there. In the afternoon I'm doing a demonstration and workshop of dyeing/painting skeins and fibres. So this afternoon I shall organise stuff to take and pile it all up in the middle of the sitting room. There will be a huge pile: dyeing stuff, several large plastic boxes of things that I've made, and then several bags of my fibre to sell, which I've been asked to bring.

I just wish I didn't get so nervous. I shall be chewing the furniture later this evening, and probably won't sleep well. I keep reminding myself that a) I'm good at this and b) the money will be very useful.

Secret Santa in green

2010-12-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

This arrived a few days ago, and I managed to restrain myself from opening it until last night. It's my Secret Santa present from the UK Spinners' list on Ravelry, and it's managed to stay completely anonymous! Beautiful colours - very much what I had in mind for my Oak King colourway.

I shall have to spin it up soon; it's too lovely to wait.

Not as cold outside today, though we did get very chilly walking up at Grassington in the Dales this morning. Beautiful colours in the ice and clear water.

Copper shawl

2010-12-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

This thing has finally been photographed today, before it gets beautifully packaged and off to a Swordfest friend for his wife's Christmas present. It feels beautiful, being about half silk, and the rest camel and fine wool. I'm really pleased with the way the colours shift in and out but fairly subtly.

This is the shawl unblocked; it shows the colours more accurately.

Snow...

2010-12-02T01:23:00.001-08:00

... is falling outside and inside now. Tiny snowflakes drifting down the screen.

Need to do some more dyeing for Christmas, not to mention take a decent photo of the Holly King fibre - perhaps I might get organised this afternoon, but the computer at home was playing up yesterday afternoon; it took my computer man an hour to get it sorted (which he very kindly lets me pay in costume!) and it was stillrunning slow this morning when I attempted to check snow and travel before leaving at 6.30).

It seems to be warming up outside - I can see droplets of water, sun shining through, like streaks of fire dripping of the house next door.

The Holly King

2010-11-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny how two forms of fibre that are exactly the same colour photograph differently? This is a new colourway that I've just produced for the next, Christmas, Fibreholics round. I've called it 'The Holly King'. I shall drop the bag of 26 little 20g packs off with Carole at the Knit& Stitch show in Harrogate tomorrow, weather permitting.

De-stashing on Ravelry.

2010-11-23T00:40:00.001-08:00

Will be listing all sorts of stuff - handdyed, handspun, sock stuff, and various bits and pieces.

Want new winter tyres on the Van.

Updating Etsy

2010-11-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

Various fibres, various colours. The very dark shetland with silk streaked through is new. There's a bit of merino with silk and BFL with silk too. Lots of the Copper colourway - I love it.

Quick...

2010-11-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

... bit of dyeing done for a commission. In the front is merino/silk in Blackberry, the darker colour at the back is also Blackberry but over BFL. There is also some Paeony over both BFL and my whitefaced woodland sock yarn.

Not a good photo, but it's still hanging up to dry.

Armwarmers

2010-10-14T13:00:00.001-07:00

And this is what they're looking like so far. Had to play with stitch counts a few times. The knuckle end is rolled at the moment - a facing will be picked up, knitted and stitched down. Same for the elbow end. And the thumbhold - just a slit at the moment, the only bit of flat knitting, will be faced. I think I'll use the gold yarn for this.

But I love how the warm leaves practically vibrate against the duller green.

Danielle's armwarmers

2010-09-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Romney lamb fleece, combed briefly, handpulled into a rough top, spun firmly into a 2ply fingering weight (Thursday and Friday night), run through the knitting machine this morning and dyed this afternoon.

Coloured BFL top dyed in a diluted version of my Greenwood colourway, spun into a 2ply.

I'm still thinking about the style of the armwarmers these are destined to become. The colours were inspired by Autumn but will still work right into the winter - a bleached out green with rich golds and reds and purples. I'm thinking celtic-patterned colourwork with some sort of hem or facing rather than ribbing, but we shall see. The Romney is still drying.

Things to think about

2010-09-23T03:11:00.001-07:00

No details as yet, but I have a couple of commissions to do before Christmas which I shall be diarising there. One is partly spun, the other is still being thought about, though fibre has been sorted out and ordered.

More to come.

Something autumnal

2010-09-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've not dyed the black shetland and silk before, but I rather like the subtle effects. And the humbug bluefaced leicester is something I'll do again.

Off to the fabled west country this morning, so I won't be sending anything out until I get back roundabout the 19th September.

The Etsy shop...

2010-08-18T01:46:00.001-07:00

... is being updated gradually over the next few days.

Has anyone worked out how to get the new Flickr photo page to upload directly without having to download to a computer and then upload to blogs from that? It's driving me crackers and I'm sure I shouldn't have to do that.

... is being updated.

Stirling again.

2010-08-11T13:30:00.001-07:00

And this is what all that sock yarn has turned into! I'm just about to bring the rest of my fibre and yarn downstairs and pack a few clothes, then I'm ready for when Mark comes back from work in the morning. He'll help me pack the van, then I'm off to work until the post arrives and then I'll set off for Stirling.

As I'm setting off from Leeds rather than home, I shall track straight North on to the A1 then hack across the A66, so it will be rather different scenically than my usual drive north. Let's hope I have a successful time; I'm slightly worried as it's rather a knitters' gathering thana spinners', but there seem to be lots of spinning persons there. Fingers crossed.

And I plan a visit to Stirling castle if I get up in time tomorrow.

Sock yarn again

2010-08-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

There's rather a lot here. I always forget how long it takes me to tidy each skein up, wind up neatly, and attach a label. And there's a sweater's worth of aran yarn in Twilight and another sweater's worth of chunky in Baranduin. Normally I break up smaller lots of yarn that I occasionally carry (I usually only have sock yarn in stock) into various colours, but this time I thought I may as well dye them up into a whole sweater's worth. Let's just hope people like them.

I did the aran in Twilight because people seem to be going potty for purple at the moment.

Roll on next week and Stirling at the end of it.

Cat in a bag

2010-07-31T08:04:00.000-07:00

Flora in silk

2010-07-31T04:26:00.000-07:00

This is tussah silk, baby camel and silk, and kid mohair, all dyed in Flora.

I'm basically just doing a few exotics and bits and pieces for Stirling in a fortnight before I do lots of sock yarn next week. I have plenty of my staples - superwash merino, Aussie fine merino. I'd like to have more coloured BFL but my supplier is out - I cleared him out of his last three kilos a few weeks ago. I may go up for more silk next week, though. And I have a stash of grey Shetland tops around here somewhere....

Teeswater

2010-07-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

More dyeing

2010-07-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sock yarn this time, I have an order for 500 of my new British Merino sock yarn in Flora, so I did a full oven-load of 900g yesterday afternoon on getting back from Guild and it's dry already.

The remainder will go up to Stirling with me, along with lots more yarn and more fibre. There's some more of that hanging up drying/dried, but I've learned from experience that it doesn't photograph well on the drying frame.

And I have also now learned from experienced that my sodding Cat can destroy fibre even more than I already knew. I had a 100g piece of white BFL dyed in Pink out on my bed, having photographed - it was a special order and I wanted to send a photo to the client before askign them for money. Luckily I'd dyed 300g for a 200g order, as by the time Tid had rolled and chewed and sucked and kneaked most of the length of the fibre was pretty solid. Buggrit.

Hot and steamy.

2010-07-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Trying to clear the decks a bit before I go away for the weekend, (not to mention find space to pile stuff I'm taking) I washed the last two fleeces from Woolfest last night: a Teeswater and a rather large WensleydaleXMerino. The latter could probably have done with being done in four parts rather than two, but really I just wanted it clean enough to put away. They are now up on the drying rack (aka the thing for bashing Mark on the head, aka a Discovery dog rack!) smelling of wet and clean sheep. There's also a chunk of kid mohair fleece up there, nearly dry - in fact, I've done what I normally try to avoid, which is having fleeces of the same colour drying at the same time. I'm being careful not to confuse the fine Teeswater with the mohair.

I still have a Romney shearling, a Romney Ram, and a Polled Dorset ram to wash, but I think they'll have to wait til next week. The latter ram will be fun to spin - the staple is only about 2 to 3" long, but beautifully structured and crimply, and very soft. I shall handcard this (there's a lot of it!) and it will make the most incredibly stretchy, bouncy yarn. Boing. The Romney ram is much longer, about 8" I think, and will comb into a long, silky top.

I'd dyed up a bit more of the coloured BFL in Safflower, a couple of commissions (Murex in camel/silk, a couple of other colours in this), and they've all been packaged, along with about a kilo of Clun fleeced I've dyed up and bagged. I don't know how well that will sell this weekend, but I always take my 'shop' up to Alston Hall for our weekend away, and even though it's always just after Woolfest I do well.

While I was washing fleeces I thought I'd do a bit of fibre prep too. This is a handful of three fleeces I garnered while at Denise's on Saturday, helping to shear her sheep. I managed to restrain myself from actually bringing a whole fleece home, but I grabbed bit of the brown because it was pretty and nice quality, the darker grey was from a fleece that was largely discarded because of quality (and the tiny beginnings of fly strike - ick!), and the little bit of very dark brown at the bottom was from the fleece that Mark actually sheared himself. (See my other blog).

I quickly ran the wool through my hand combs, which got rid of well over half the fibre. I'm intending to make Mark a hat, so I won't need that much, and there were lots of short bits and rubbish in there. The tiny bit of black fleece was 2" long or less, but combing it (carefully) was worth it to remove the realy rubbish. There was a lot of colour variation in the grey wool.

This is Lunil's undercoat, a bit from last year and a bit from this. I never manage to save that much as I have to remember to brush it out in a very narrow window - while just the undercoat is shedding so it's not contaminated by her much longer and coarser guard hairs, and before it starts to matt. It's very soft and fine, and it's had a quick wash too.

And this is what I ended up with after I'd blended it on the drumcarder. I wanted two distinct colours, so I added Lunil's fluff to the brown to make it paler, and put all the darker colours together - this one feels particularly silky. 96g in total.

This is some fleece that I dyed last week, vaguely thinking about a bit of yarn based on Red Riding Hood! Both colours were left over from previous dyeing batches, the green from a recipe gone wrong with the main dyeing before Woolfest, and the red left over when I dyed the finishing yarn for the Mystery Thing which I must finish tonight!

I didn't bother combing the fleece before it went through the carder, so it's not quite as 'silky' as it could be.

I added about 10% of a very soft sparkley stuff I have, pink to the red/purpley wool and green to the green, as well as about the same amount of Lunil fluff.

I mean, if Lunil's eyes were yellow and her ears a little smaller, she'd be indistinguisable from a wolf anyway.

Safflower...

2010-07-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

... on coloured Bluefaced Leicester fibre. I spindle spun this into three equal parts at Woolfest, wound each spindle's full onto a little ball of screwed up paper, and plied them all together last week, when I got back.

Tour de Fleece

2010-07-02T14:04:00.001-07:00

So, somewhat rashly, I have decided to participate in this year's Tour de Fleece on Ravelry, joining Team Tale Spinners. As if I don't already have enough to do. There is extra dyeing being done for next weekend, at Alston Hall, but I shall blog those colours and fibres when all is dry.

In the background is 150g of one of the fleeces I picked up at Wonderwool this year, a Shetland/Corriedale/Romney cross in lovely creams and caramels. Soft but still crisp and characterful. The silk is a Fyberspates tussah that Mark bought for me two years ago at Woolfest, 50g.
I passed the fleece through once, then passed it through the Hedgehog twice more with the silk, making four batts totalling 200g.
Then another one. The darker green is Falklands roving from Amanda Hannaford, bought at this year's Wonderwool. It felt a bit 'overhandled' but given that it's roving rather than tops, it was probably much easier to overhandle while dyeing. Gorgeous green though. The shinier stuff is a merino/silk blend I picked up from Denise/Willo Alpacas at Woolfest, specifically to mix with this stuff. So I blended this is more or less equal quantities, only putting it through three times to leave it slightly underblended which I think makes a more interesting yarn.

These have been hanging around for a while. Cheviot fleece, the Redleaf is one of my standard colours, the blue I don't think I kept the recipe for. This particular combination of colours justs says September to me. I've been planning these for colourwork socks for ages now, I love Cheviot for socks.

Perhaps I'm a bit optimistic, considering I need to start preparing for Alston, I have a throw sitting on the rigid heddle just started, and lots and lots of other things on the go, and we're out both days this weekend. Oh well, faint heart never won fair lady and all that....

Woolfest

2010-06-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a long, hot weekend - we've had rain and thunderstorms before, so I shouldn't complain - but what fun! We saw lots of people we know and met even more lovely people for the first time.

There was nearly a fiasco with the tables on Thursday's setting up day. We'd left home very early, got to Cockermouth about 11, put the tent up and unpacked, and then waited for tables to arrive. And waited. It turned out that the company providing the vast amounts of sturdy trestle tables that most of the stallholders rely on thought they were needed by 9am on Friday morning - oops! Luckily someone from the Woolclip thought to ring and check, and they started arriving from about 4pm. So Mark grabbed two for us, then whizzed round and helped various other people to tables too. I unpacked our stall, arranged it in vaguely decorative fashion, then Mark and I took the lovely Denise out to the Mill Inn at Mungrisdale for dinner, which was much needed by then. We've been going there, on and off, for years - it's always excellent. And dog-friendly too, so the pups lay in heaps on the floor and didn't phase the waiting staff at all.

You can rather see that colour is my strong point! I found an odd comment on a photo of my stall at Wonderwool this year, that someone had posted on Flickr. Something along the lines of the brown tape, and how unprofessional it looked, and how careless it was to use it. Which rather misses the point of these events.

On Friday evening Mark and Denise and I sat up on the bank behind the auctino mart and enjoyed the beautiful evening. Our tent is the blue one below us. We've been doing Woolfest since its beginning, and I still haven't managed to explore Cockermouth. I know the Eastern Lakes well, but whenever we do Woolfest it's always straight up here and then straight home. I must somehow manage to take longer and stay around soon.

We charged off at speed on Saturday night - we were packed up, fed (in the canteen which does really good, basic food - pie and chips and salad for me!) and off by about 6.30. So we drove down the scenic way through St John's Vale, Grasmere, and Ambleside, and stopped to let the pups cool their feet.

They have been so good this weekend - they spent most of Friday and Saturday in the big crate in the shade of the tent or the van, and the evenings monstering on the bank. They've since been zonked for the two days we've been home.

Quick update pre-Woolfest

2010-06-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Frighteningly, I seem to be pretty much up to speed for Woolfest, which has never happened before more than day beforehand. I have a small amount of fibre to pack, label and price, and my new sock yarn to do the same, and then a few orders which I must bag and write names on so people can collect them easily. But yes, I think I'm there. We're collecting the van on Wednesday evening, probably loading most stuff up that night, and setting off first thing thursday morning, aiming to get to Cockermouth by lunchtime. That gives us lots of time to get the tent and assorted camping impedimential set up and the stall all finished in plenty of time to let us have a relaxed evening. Um - it could all go wrong.

A Twist Collective sock I had on the go last week, that's had to go into abeyance when I suddenly realised that my mystery shawl had to be finished by the Alston Hall weekend on 10/11 July. That was train knitting last week and it's grown nicely - this sock will, I think, be stuck like this for a while. I love how the colours are spiralling round.

Quick bit of handspun from the batts in the last posting. Just a nice structured 2-ply - the fibre is very soft. Shiny too, and I managed not to make the colours too smoothly blended - there's streaks of various blues, the odd bit ofpurple, and some bits are more silky than others.

And this is the first scarf to come to my from the Travelling Handspun Scarf Exchange that I'm participating on Ravery. Must get it off tomorrow. The reddish part is mine - the next one should be imminent so I need to get this on its way.

Phew!

2010-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

I have been doing lots and lots of dyeing, but not much of it has made the blog.

This is what I've done over the last few days - mostly coloured BFL, which a few oddments of superwash merino, in fibre. I did all the British Merino sock yarn today - it looks nice stuff, and there's a new pattern up on Twist Collective that I feel a strange compulsion to knit.

And this arrived in the post yesterday and had to be retrieved from the sorting office. I arranged to swap fibre with the lovely Aurorabee on Ravelry for this spindle that she's made and coloured with indigo. It came with a beautiful bag and a little bit of padding to keep the hook safe.

I had a chunk of BFL/silk that I'd dyed in Steelsheen earlier in the week (it wasn't quite 100g so I'd kept it for my stash), so I stuffed it through the drumcarder along with the lovely silk from Aurorabee and got this:

I only gave it three passes so there are still streaks of purple and pink amongst the muted teals. Lovely.

And while I had the carder out I hauled out a bag of fleece that had come home with me (amongst others) from Wonderwool. The bag was about a quarter of a Corriedale cross fleece, and Sarah D and I split the bag between us. A lovely creamy caramel colour, again I didn't over process this (three passes) to keep some variation in the shades. No idea what I'll do with it, though thinking about it: a sturdy single to weave into a throw/shawl? We will see...

Tomorrow I'm planning to sort out all the fibre for Woolfest and price and label it. Depending upon how many of the huge plastic bags I fill, I think I may even be up to date with all the dyeing, and won't need to do any more. Somehow, I don't think I'm that lucky.

The Sheeps - they had better stop breeding!

2010-06-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

That's four done now. The newest is the one in the background. I may have to do more due to popular demand - Ma was round this afternoon and it was all I could do to get one of the multi-coloured ones back from her grubby little mitts. There's something about these sheep - they fulfil no practical purpose at all (you can't even use them as mittens) but they are so appealing.

A new colourway that came out of the pots the other week. Called 'Remnants' at the moment, and it's shown on the merino/bleached tussah blend tops that I bought to dye up for Woolfest. When spun up there will be some lovely lilacs stretching out between the pinks and blues.

The yarn on the left is the lovely merino laceweight that came as part of a Ravelry swap. The one on the right is a handspun I did as a quick sample of the BFL/angelina blend (new fibre for Woolfest too) which I'd quickly dyed in my 'Depths'. I had no idea they'd match so beautifully until they were accidentally put together. Although my handspun looks like a much thicker yarn, because I tend to spin an airy, light yarn than has much less grist than it looks like, they will actually knit to the same tension. Now all I have to do is think of something that I can use them together.

The sheeps - they are breeding....

2010-05-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a little carried away with these things for Woolfest, although the new one in grey was originally for me. And more to come - there are four variations in the original pattern, I have already promised another in barter, and there's someone else whittering for one too.....

Clicking the photo will make it bigger...

New Sock Yarn, and Sheep Puppet

2010-05-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

My new base sock yarn, quickly dyed up in 'Flora' so I can have a go and see how it knits up. Lovely yarn, nice and silky feel, bouncy - should have lovely stitch definition. I think it would make gorgeous lace too.

And a couple of photos of the sheep puppet. [Rav link]. I think I shall have to make more - in fact I finished Mark's hooped socks this evening (but have not yet given them to him) and have cast on for another.

Dyed up fleeces

2010-05-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

I love the fabric created here. There is actually a completed item at the top of it, but the photos we took weren't completely in focus (camera batteries nearly dea) so this was the only one in focus.
A bag of pale grey merino fleece I've had hanging around for ages and ages got stuffed in the dyepots this week and came out rather prettily. To be bagged for Woolfest.

And the same for a Jacob fleece I bought at last year's Masham Sheep Show. It wasn't quite what I had in mind - once again it's dyed up beautifully.

And the last lot of the Lincoln fleece. This was the grotty daggy bits at the end of the fleece that I was going to chuck, but really there was quite a lot of it, so it went in a tub of very hot soapy water and soaked from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning. Another hot dunk before dyeing and it's come out remarkably nicely. The hot colours went very quickly at Wonderwool, so I've done more of these - let's hope people like them at Woolfest too.

Sock yarn

2010-05-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

This was delivered thsi afternoon, at the second time of trying. Poor Mark stayed in nearly all yesterday morning, but DHL hid around the corner until he popped out briefly then ran up to the door and tried to deliver. I charged home at speed today and luckily they didn't try in the hour between Mark leaving for work and me getting home.

This is my new base sock yarn. It's British Merino, and is a lovely bouncy yarn with a fairly tight twist. 3 kilos, which was a bit scary to buy - I mean, this fibre stuff is only a glorified hobby for me. But I've got Woolfest and Stirling to come, not to mention Etsy on-going, so it seemed worth it. Three skeins are soaking already, and I'll stuff them in the dyepots tomorrow afternoon.

And I ordered lots of fibre from World of Wool this morning, too. Eek.

Suddenly...

2010-05-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

...I find I am filled with energy and creativity. So I'm rapidly taking advantage of it befoe the effect wears off!

This was today's work: a Lincoln Longwool fleece I picked up from Wonderwool, washed and dyed. I dyed up a Teeswater fleece and put it into about 20-odd 100g bags for Wonderwool, and they'd all gone by the end of the first day, so I know that a locky/ringletty fleece, well scoured and dyed brilliant, will sell well.
The only problem was that this was a really grubby fleece. It should have been much better skirted (in fact, I don't think it was skirted at all) and there was lots of completely matted fleece that had to be discarded completely. I know that longwools get dirty easily, but really, there was no excuse for this. But there was a lovely fleece underneath all the grub - look at the lovely colours, cream through to dark cinnamon and silver-grey. Dyeing straight after washing helps with the final scouring, as the hot vinegary dye-solution dissolves even more dirt. Though it will still need picking out alot when I package. And it will take days to dry. This was by far the ickiest of the fleeces I brought back, so I wanted it done and out of the kitchen. (Rule in this house - dirty fleeces stay in the kitchen until washed - you can imagine how little floor space I have at the moment).
These have been on the go for a long time - travel knitting, and as I've had Pa's car for the last two or three weeks while we've been having domestic excitement, there's hardly any being done. Once finished (ha), they'll be tucked away until Mark's birthday. Probably. Of course, this assumes that a) I remember them at said birthday, and b) I remember which safe place I stashed them in. Oh, the toils of being prepared...
And the yak fibre from the previous post, spun up. Haven't measured it yet, there's about twice as much green as copper, but it's lovely. Had to be tightly spun to counteract the extreme shortness of the fibre, but it's made a lovely bouncy yarn. No idea what it will become.

Latest off the needles....

2010-05-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

My runic riddle hat is finally finished - all but the last few rounds done in the van on they way back from Wales, then finished off the other night.
It's actually a triple riddle:

1 Because you can't see the whole riddle when you're wearing it;

2 Because the runes are from one source but the riddle from another;

3 It's a riddle poem anyway.

And current spinning:
I bought this from the Mandacraft stall at Wonderwool: dyed yak fibre.

I spent the other night at home hand-carding it all into delicious rolags, which have all been spun on the new wheel. I shall ply them onto the Suzi.

My main expense at Wonderwool, apart from the wheel and an Ashford rigid heddle loom (second-hand, don't panic) was fleeces. I tracked down a Lincoln longwool for curls and ringlets to dye up for Woolfest (I sold out of my dyed Teeswater fleece by the end of the first day) and several lovely mixed breeds (some coloured), again to dye up with more from the stash and sell. I was amazed how well 100g bags of scoured and dyed fleece was selling - I took about forty, I think, and brought one home. And I didn't even get around to packing up the alpaca...

Wonderwool Wales

2010-05-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Oh dear, it seems a very long time since I've updated, but life has been rather fraught both before and after we managed to get to Wonderwool. Never mind, some of that's mentioned on the other blog, but we had a fantastic time in Wales - it's a lovely drive there and back, the campsite is well organised and right bang on top of the halls, and even the dogs were happy.

The unprepossessing blank stall before we started:
All full of stuff and ready to go. We had a really good show; much better on the Saturday than the Sunday, but really it kept going both days. The coloured BFL went especially well.Me, having a relaxed Saturday evening outside the tent.
Sunday evening, wondering how we can get everything back in the van, knowing quite well than there was actually less to get in. We decided to stay the extra night at the showground on the Sunday night, so sat down with beer and a rather yummy chinese takeway to enjoy watching everyone else charge off frantically. We had a leisurely drive back on Monday morning and were still back by lunchtime.

Ahem! This managed to come home with me..... My justification being that, much as I love my two Majacrafts, I really needed a traditional-looking wheel. And having something double-drive is sensible too. And it was pretty. And (and this is a big bonus for a one-off type wheel such as this) it came with FIVE bobbins. And was very good value by the time I traded in my Ashford Traddy (which I don't use and have been meaning to sell) as well. Naturally, it came from our chums Clive and Joan at Woodland Turnery, who we usally camp next to anyway.

And more colours...

2010-04-15T03:12:00.001-07:00

I had a few chunks of Cheviot in the fibre-to-dye stash, so they go trawled out and coloured in. This one's come up particularly brilliantly - it's a new colourway: Firebird

An old but popular colour: Willow, on the superfine merino

I've dyed up some mid-grey Shetland this year, and it's come up fabulously rich in colour, and remarkably soft as a fibre. I do prefer the 'traditional' breeds as fibre; although I know most people seem to prefer merino, especially for felting, I find there's so much more character and versatility in Shetland and Bluefaced Leicester, to use examples that I can get hold of easily. And of course, they come in natural colours too, which I love to overdye. The one above is Twilight, the one below is Blue.

More and more colours....

2010-04-12T04:51:00.000-07:00

I've done lots of fleece this year, trawling nice fleeces out of the stash, ones I've had a while and not used yet, and dyed them in fabulous and mostly saturated colours. Last year I bagged dyed fleece up and they went very well, so let's hope the same happens this year. I've also done some alpaca fleece, but I think I'll have to fluff it up a bit before packing - it feels fabulous but looks a bit heavy.

All the wool is taking ages to dry, much longer than the tops. I have a small bump of white Bluefaced Leicester to do this week, plus lots of sock yarn. I want to be finished at the end of this weekend coming, so that'll leave me with a week to make sure I'm all packed and organised and labelled. Pricing may happen at the unpacking and setting up end.

I just hope the nice warm weather lasts until (the end of) Wonderwool

More fibre for dyeing

2010-03-24T11:24:00.001-07:00

Ma very kindly gave me a lift to Otley this afternoon, as I needed an urgent visit to Adelaide Walker's. Here we have 3 kilos of oatmeal BFL, 2 kilos of mid-grey Shetland, and 600g of their gorgeous camel down/tussah silk.

The oatmeal I'd have liked to get more of, but money constraints blah blah. I really can't get enough of this stuff; it dyes wonderfully and is always in demand. Must dye some green for my this year...

I thought I'd try the Shetland for something different - I can't remember anyone doing it at either of the main shows last year. It's a nice grey so should be good overdyed.

I have a bit of the camel/silk still stashed from last year, so there should be enough for Wonderwool. Last year I sold out of all my exotics on the first day.

Underneath these bags is the less than half bump of the fine merino, and various bits and pieces in the checked bag. Must start packaging the already dyed stuff soon - I actually have the labels already printed too.

More mitts....

2010-03-20T11:01:00.001-07:00

Ma was muttering a few weeks ago that I'd never actually made her a pair of mitts. So these were cast on for part of her Mothering Sunday present, but they were only handed over this morning as she gave me a lift up to Guild.
They're my slightly more hard-wearing version, hemmed at wrist, fingers and thum. Knitted in sock yarn, so they're washable too.

Mark came with us and going through Shipley we stopped and picked up my new spin dryer. My old one is practically dead. While it still spins, the spout for excess water to pour through has fallen off. This doesn't matter, though, as the water just falls straight through the holes in the bottom instead of draining out the right way. And there's various holes in the side, covered in duct tape to stop water squirting out sideways. Everytime I don' t balance the fibre exactly and it thumps a bit before settling down, great chunks of rust flakes are rinsed out. But it's had several years of much harder work than it was ever designed to handle so it really doesn't owe me a penny. Now we have a new one, so I'll put the old one outside the door, on the other side of the lane, and like all vaguely metallic things I put out it will vanish overnight!

Meant to dye this afternoon but didn't get back from Guild until well after three, by which time the rugby had started. And now there's a leg of mutton potroasting in the oven (with garlic, lemon, cinnamon, black pepper and cumin) so there's no room for dyeing.

Fibreholics

2010-03-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is my latest lot of fibre going off to the Fibreholics assortment. It's the fine Ozzie merino in 'Crabapple', 20g sample bags. I really didn't want to see it go, I love what the colours have done this time.

Vast amounts of dyed fibre being churned out now. It'll all get photographed as I package it, and colours will be posted up here.

Dyeing and spinning.

2010-03-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

Second lot of dyed fibre hanging up to dry. The colours are lots more intense this year - I'm dyeing in the oven rather than on the hob - but these are photographed in haste in artificial light and it's washed them out.
I have a Ryeland lamb fleece that will be dyed in lots of different colours and bagged up in little bags. It always seems popular, and I must trawl out the Teeswater lamb fleece I have somewhere for dyed locks.
This is the sparkly fibre in the last post spun into three bobbins of singles. It's now a 3ply yarn hanging above the bath to dry - I rinsed it through in Mark's bath (before he'd washed!) and hung it above his head to drip - I then left him in the bath while I whizzed up the gym and had a lovely hot shower up there.

Need to spin again

2010-02-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas the 'coven' aka Thursday night mob met at Carol's for some Christmas festivities. We all took some fibre to swap, and I brought home 6oz of alpaca top, overdyed teal and green on naturally coloured tan and chocolate alpaca. It was a little compacted.

So this afternoon I suddenly inspired myself to drag out the Hedgehog drumcarder, and stuffed this through with half as much again of a soft white wool I'd handcombed a while ago, and a generous handful of mostly green glitzy stuff.

The camera hasn't got the colour at all right, and due to taking it by flash rather than natural I couldn't adjust, but it's somewhere between forest and olive. The white's lightened it a bit, and the sparkle adds lots of interest. I fancy a 3-ply yarn in a dk or thicker weight.

Fibre galore!

2010-02-26T09:35:00.001-08:00

Yay! I have just rung the chap I buy my fibre in bulk from, and he has two bumps of the beautiful 19 micron Aussie merino that went so well last year. He'll deliver it one evening next week, and I have a handful of 100g balls left to dye before then.

This stuff is a dream - dyes beautifully, felts easily (something to be careful of when dyeing but useful if you want it for felt!), and spins like butter provided not felted. As I pride myself not dyeing very careful without felting, this is great.

He's also got some superwash merino - not as fine, but very popular with people who like to spin and make babies' machine-washable clothes or socks. This is a bit of a pain to dye - because the superwash treatment makes the fibre GRAB the dye out of the dye solution much quicker, I can't use the already hot water from the previous (exhausted) dye bath and have to heat each bath from fresh. So it uses lots more water and lots more energy. BAh!

And he has sparkley stuff too. As I have far too many fleeces at the moment, I think a few will be stuffed in the big dye pots and dyed randomly, and then carded with sparkly stuff. It will be very pretty. Let's hope lots of people buy them.

The Etsy shop's more or less wound down at the moment, though I did have a sale yesterday that will be on its way tomorrow morning. The odd colour/fibre may be put up there, but really I have to start seriously stockpiling for Wonderwool at the end of April. With me just bolting on the fibre stuff on to the day job I really can't do enough stuff to keep Etsy busy and have enough for a selling stall.

Failing gloriously...

2010-02-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

This is the sockyarn I ended up doing my Ravelympic socks in - I just stash-dived and pulled up various colours in most my Sockyarn and some other thinnish dk I've dyed in the past.
Rather foolishly, I ended up making them big enough for Mark. This is the first one done at the weekend, and the second's more than halfway through. These are only being knitting on the train to and from work so they're going quickly, considering. Very simple Ramshorn pattern that I've used in the past - three rows plain, three patterned, and two of the latter are the same anyway. Using different colours too gives an impression of complexity out of all proportion to its ease of knitting.

But oh dear....

I am enjoying this so much, but really - I bit off far far too much. Which I sort of knew, but dived in anyway. I'm a few inches long than this at the back, but not at the front (short rows) and will probably not even get as far as splitting body and arms before the flame is extinguished. The fabric this gorgeous wool/angora yarn is making is wonderful - light and soft and flexible and yet still structured. The colours are exquisite. Probably finished for Christmas, as there are lots of things I want to start/keep on with once the Olympics are over.

Not least - will start the year's dyeing in March. Which is next week.

Ravelympics 2010

2010-02-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

I've left it a bit late, but I've finally set myself a target for the Ravelympics and updated my Ravelry page accordingly. Rather optimistically, I've entered the Gold Bohus sweater kit in the Nordic Colorwork Combined, and as if this wasn't enough, a pair of socks in the Sock Hockey (with fine yarn and small needles, no less).

I'm also particularly chuffed that I've worked out how to modify photos in my Flickr account and have made myself a new Ravatar. Obviously it features Lunil (can we say Angua, people?).*

Where this really comes unstuck is that I need to get on with (ie start and finish) the Assassin's Creed costume for Tom, which I should have started before Christmas but it's been too cold upstairs and too crowded since everything was hidden up there for Christmas. As I have now organised space properly up there (and chucked lots of stuff away) there is no excuse not to get the little heater going up there and getting the sewing machine up to speed. I have lots of a creamy twill calico which should work well.

Can I knit, sew, watch the Olympics all at the same time? As well as fitting in sculling on a chilly river this afternoon and a head race at Doncaster on Saturday morning (after Friday night's late opening ceremony)?

*Checking this post, Lunil's got a particularly beady stare in this photo. Remarkably spooky.

Woolfest

2010-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

After confusion and worry on my part, I've finally been sorted at Woolfest. I had been offered a free stall in exchange for demonstration during the show; I'd taught various workshops at previous Woolfests and was quite happy about this - luckily Mark is a dab hand and looking after my stall. But it turned out that this year the 'free stall' actually meant a table and display board in the non-selling area of the auction mart. Oops! Anyway, now it's all been sorted - the Woolfest organisers have been brilliant - and I have a lovely stall, next door to The Button Lady so we can help each other out, and I can stop worrying.

Once again there is a 'Sheep Auction' at Woolfest I believe, and I normally enter something; my sheep hats raised a decent amount of money for charity last year, and I won the prize for the judge's favourite. This of course means that I have something to live up to this time. So this yarn is - at the moment - going to make something for this year's 'Fest. Not quite sure what yet, the ideas are still bubbling, but it's Shetland fleece that I had processed into roving a few years ago, spun up semi-long draw into a single which I shall dye and then knit. We'll see.

I haven't done any spinning for ages and ages until this came off the wheel last week. It is a merino/tencel blend that I bought from Pete & Carol Leonard (Spindlers2) at last year's Woolfest, on the grounds that it was green. I spun it into a fine, tight single and chain-plyed it. There is more variation of colour and it's darker than it seems.

I seem to have a thing about mittens; these are the third pair this winter. Kissing Squirrels - I'm going soft in my ancientness.

Green & brown sweater

2010-01-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

This came off the needles at the weekend, having been started on New Year's Day and taking just 15 days. All of it is yarn from the stash, the main brown stuff being Corriedale/Shetland dark brown wool blended with tussah silk, dating back several years. The yoke is assorted handspun, mostly wool, some superwash, some various blends including cashmere and silk. The full details are Ravelled.

This is quite a good indication of the green, less so the brown.

The brown's right here but the green has washed out.

I went back and picked up for the edging from the cast ons, using a slightly smaller needle and a finer, different yarn - having not a scrap of the original left. I knitted an inch or so, did a row of yo k2tog, then knitted a facing, cast it off and sewed it down.

Collar and yoke. This time I sewed the facing down live to preserve maximun stretch.

I'm really pleased with the fit on this one - slight negative ease so it's huggy - and it's wonderfully warm.

I ordered Solveig Gustaffson's Gold sweater kit last Sunday evening, and it arrived on Friday. Utterly, utterly wonderful yarn and colours - but at that price it should be. I think this will be saved for the Knitting Olympics, though I probably won't formally join a team. And looking it up to add the link, it looks as if everyone else has the same idea - of course, I should have realised how apposite the name is. But I've wanted it for ages, and have nearly cleared out last year's fibre stocks (still a bit left to post up) to pay for it.

New Year Sale

2010-01-10T05:56:00.001-08:00

I've just updated the Etsy shop with most of my remaining fibre from last year (the rest will be up when I'm not so frozen) and IT'S ALL DISCOUNTED.

There is also FREE UK SHIPPING.

I need to start thinking about next year - getting in the fibre, planning new colours, working out what was the most popular last year and worth repeating, and what didn't seem to go down well.

All ideas very gratefully received.

Going back downstairs to the warmth now, while I can still feel my fingers!

Where am I?

2009-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

Oops, it's a while since I've posted on here. My other blog's quite active, but at this time of year dyeing rather fades into the background.

I've just sold a couple of skeins of laceweight yarn to the US - this may actually give me the impetus to sort out the end of year remainder of my fibre stall stash and update my Etsy shop. Not that many people will be buying so close to Christmas.

I'm officially sick of knitting huge plain socks, as I'm about two-thirds of the way through the first of Mark's pair, having finished Pa's last week, and will have to grit my teeth and get on with the other one. Lots done today though, over at Carol's for a festive gathering of fibre-friends. We did a fibre swap and I came away with a rather nice hunk of naturally-coloured alpaca top overdyed with greens and teals, a bag of ginger biscuits, and half a chocolate cake for Mark. And a quick journey back on two trains - a thoroughly win day!

Making cookies and spinning this evening - well, the former for certain (halfway through the baking) and the latter when all the cookies are done. Double chocolate ones....

Knitting for Christmas

2009-12-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

Lots of knitting being done, mostly travelling to and from work, and it's all socks. These ones above are for Pa for Christmas, Zitron Trekking Pro Natura used double on 2.75mm needles, my generic toe-up sock loosely based on PGR's short row heel and toe. I have more yarn than I though, so once I've finished the second and made it longer I'll unpick the first sock's cast-off and lengthen to match.

These are for Ma, in Colinette's utterly wonderful Jitterbug yarn, in the Dusk colourway I think. It's the Hat-heel pattern that was in the most recent issue of Knitty. It's certainly an interesting way of constructing a sock, but it doesn't give as deep an instep as I hoped. But it'll be easy to replace a heel - just pick out, pick up and reknit!

2009-11-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

Lots of things to photo - more socks on the go, the neckwarmer for Vicky - but I've been to lazy/disorganised/cold to do any yet. However, I now don't have to take the camera or card into work so they might get done this weekend. I have a whole weekend at home in front of me - apart from a trip to Ikea on Saturday (which would be horrible apart from the fact we can stock up on meatballs and they do the most amazing almond cake, not to mention Christmas presents) and the farmers' market on Sunday morning and Harlow Carr later on Sunday. We need transport this weekend so a van is being hired again.

Why am I burbling? Off to warm up downstairs before my fingers go numb.

Dyeing for Christmas orders...

2009-11-16T03:35:00.001-08:00

Out of the dyepots over the weekend - I have a lovely lady who order fibre from me for Christmas presents to her spinning friends. There are four lots here, each one consisting of 200g of fine merino and 50g of camel/silk, two of Redleaf, one Damson and one Moss. The colours are actually richer and darker than the photo appears, but it was taken by flash in poor light last night so it's flattened out a little.

An Angel for Baa Ram Ewe's knitted kNativity. I can't help feeling he looks a little surprised.

Finished stuff, and spinning at last!

2009-11-13T01:31:00.000-08:00

The Elsewhere cardigan finally photographed - I've given up hope of being organised enough to do it on me and in daylight. I've worn it a couple of times and I'm really pleased with the shape and drape, but slightly uncomfortable with the colour, although Ma said it looked good on me. I think it's a bit bright. It will be made again, I'm sure.

This hasn't been worn yet, but I'm sure it will get lots of hammer in the future. I've tweaked the pattern, as I didn't like the garter stitch edging at armholes and bottom, so I've done a stocking-stitch hem with a purl turning row - much better. Long too, but also quite snug - without really trying too much I seem to have got the body size spot on.

And a detail of the neck ties - twisted and cabled self-yarn.

Started spinning this last night during Defying Gravity - I do enjoy spinning (or other anachronistic crafts) when watching sci-fi, it's such a rubbing-together of different universes. This is moss coloured cashmere that I dyed a few years back and then kept back from selling because I liked the colour so much. But there's very little - probably less than 50g - so I'm still debating whether to ply with itself for a very small amount of yarn or run it along another single. There isn't enough to sample. Not the easiest spinning - I had the Suzi on its highest ratio without the accerlerator head and a very light tension, and fluffed up the top preparation so I was nearly spinning woollen with a long draw. There's some pleasing irregularity to the yarn, but that may largely disappear in the finishing.

Came home yesterday...

2009-11-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

... to this. It was a 100g ball of BFL superwash sockyarn. After an hour's work it ended up being four smaller balls of grubby BFL superwash sockyarn. And then the soddin' cat had the cheeck to try and get on my lap WHILE I WAS STILL WINDING.

Sometimes I really don't like my cat.

Pffbt

2009-10-23T02:35:00.001-07:00

I have one new project knitted, dyed and finished.

I have a sleeve of the Tangled Yoke cardigan (IK Fall 07) nearly finished in beautiful Bowmont Braf 4ply that I dyed in deep sea green.

Last night I decided to pull some bright blue aran bfl from the stash (traded earlier this year) and cast on an Elsewhere, after seeing at least two of them on bodies at Eden Valley's meeting last Saturday.

But the computer at home is dead. And really I'm finding it so hard to get organised enough to photograph new things in daylight, and then remember to bring the camera card into work to download the photos here.

My computer man was supposed to be coming on Tuesday evening, but that got cancelled at the last minute - and even though I'd told him a couple of times at least that it wasn't starting up at all he still wondered if it could be sorted remotely. Anyway, once I've finished the Soddin' Pirate Coat (see other blog) he and his son Tom will have to come and collect it, and I won't let it leave the premises until I'm up and running again.

Nearly packed.

2009-10-16T11:52:00.001-07:00

Off to Mungrisdale in the Lake District tomorrow morning, tucked away under Blencathra, to teach a workshop at the Eden Valley Guild. Here's most (but not) all of the stuff I'm taking.

Three large checked bags, full of my dyed fibre to sell as I've had several requests to make sure I bring it. The silver padded bag in the foreground is my Little Gem wheel, much easier to pack than my Suzi Pro. It had it's own kate and extra bobbins and a nostepinde tucked inside too. The green box contains several pairs of hand-cards, a couple of pairs of hand-combs, a spare kate or two, spare bobbins, some big cones of thread and various bits of spinning impedimentia. Oh, and spindles. The shoe box is full of various and exotic yarn samples. And lastly the brown paper sack has clean shetland fleece, shetland roving and a few different balls of wool tops. Plus some books tucked away.

Because we've got clothes etc for tomorrow night, plus dogs, plus the bike I hope I'm collecting, there's no way I can take a plastic crate or two of things wot I have made to use as class examples. People will just have to remember the marvellous things I've made (!) and admire the yarn samples.... At least there isn't a tent in there too.

So we're off at 7am at the latest, hoping to get there for ten. Teach all day - Mark will go out with the pupz somewhere. Then off we go to the other side of the country, and spend tomorrow night with Denise and Tim and Deefa and Holly, who will hopefully not laugh at Bil's poor scarred face.

And Ma is leaving for Nepal in the morning too. We popped up this evening to drop off her camera, lipsalve, suncream and various other bits and pieces that for some reason I'm supplying. I still don't think Pa really knows what's going to hit him, especially as we're not around this weekend either.

The cat knows we're going too. I'm being infested as I'm trying to type this. And she'll probably try to smother me in my sleep too, not to mention jumping up and down on the keyboard.

No rowing; withdrawal symptons already.

Don't dye in the dark

2009-10-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

or at least not by natural light. The colour on the right was my attempt, last night, to dye some superfine merino in Caramel. Unfortunately I have changed the source of some of my dyes since I wrote the recipe and it came out far too orange.

The one on the left is more like it - more brown, not orange, and the white areas were specifically requested. It was an order for 500g, so there's another 200g bubbling away (one left over for sale) and then I've put a blend of greens and the same brown in the other pot.

Merino and alpaca laceweight in Triton. Perhaps a little greener than is showing on my monitor for this photo. I seem to be leaning more towards this blue green at the moment rather than my more usual acid/yellow greens - odd given the time of year.

And this is Steelsheen in the same yarn, dyed for a swap on Ravelry -I have fallen in love with Symphonie multicoloured wooden dpns (due to the lovely Sarah giving me a set for my birthday) so when I found someone offering sizes I didn't have for sale or trade, I was prepared to be generous..... There's two lots of fibre going off with this yarn too.

Very sad!

2009-10-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in front of the computer, finding it hard to type as I'm wearing plastic gloves - there are dyepots bubbling in the kitchen, and if I take off the gloves everytime I don't actually need them, I have to use a fresh pair. Typing with slightly too big gloves is not easy. But I'm alternating between watching rowing videos on Youtube and running downstairs when the soddin' pupz decide to tell me there's someone at the door. Last time it was the neighbours shouting at their dog running off; my two are starting to call 'wolf' just a few too many times now.

There is a lot of rowing on Youtube.

I've just dyed some merino/alpaca laceweight yarn, 3 skeins each in Steelsheen (no-one has yet managed to get the LotR reference here) and Triton. Just in is 400g of superfine merino in a new version of Caramel which I'm hoping is not coming up too red, I need 500g of this for an order I've had in. Then I'm might try and motivate myself to get a bit of superwash done in dark greens for Lancs & Lakes Guild in a fortnight's time, and perhaps something really nice for Ambermoggie in exchange for the bike. Can't wait for the bike.

Star Mitts

2009-10-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Latest knitting on the train this week. I think I started these on Wednesday and finished all but the thumbs last night. Those were done quickly this afternoon. Now I have no excuse not to finish the green thing or Mark's (even more overdue) brown gansey. However, I had such a lovely time with fine yarn and little needles that I may feel the need to do more.

I just love the uncharacteristic (for me) detail on these - both fine colourwork and twined braiding. The blue and the white yarn is Baa Ram Ewe's undyed BFL sock yarn - I dyed the blue with indigo myself. The green is a very similar yarn that the lovely Sarah dyed for me in various greens last year. This will feature in it's own thing later; I actually started off with a plainer pair of mitts in this alone, but got sidetracked by colourwork.

I can't write a pattern up for this. The cuff is taken directly from Nancy Bush's 'Folk Knitting in Estonia' (Hilja's Mittens) and the basic star from a DROPS sock design. The braid is the standard twined/twisted two-colour one that I will put on anything, given half a chance. I just can't wait for the weather to get cold enough to wear these.

Things on the go, and to be started....

2009-09-29T08:24:00.001-07:00

This is growing nicely, the basic tunic loosely based on Piecework's 17thC Undershirt. I started the neck last night (and would probably have made a better job of it if I hadn't been watching 'Flashforward'!) and finished it waiting for a train home. It'll look much better when blocked - and it still smells ever so slightly, and not unpleasantly, of the smoke in the roundhouse on Bodmin.

Latest big project. This, a huge pile of two golden cotton velour curtains

is about to become this, a Pirate Coat!

I can see this keeping me quiet for some time. Poor Mark's on nights this week, and leaving even earlier this evening as he's quizzing in Bradford, so I may just tuck myself away upstairs with the shears and pins and tapemeasure and get started.

Masham Sheep Fair

2009-09-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Long day today. Up early to stuff the slow cooker with a rolled mutton shoulder, sausages and lots of veggies before Otley farmers' market. That done (and the bare minimum - freezer and fridge stuff - put away) we all piled in the hired van and off to Masham.

A young handler's pride and joy, obviously fluffed and titivated to the limit. I think it's a Swaledale, uncharacteristically clean and white.

Biodegradeable wool coffins, anyone?

The two big breweries in the town make the most of the occasion. This is the Theakston cooper demonstration van. Worth watching the demonstration if only to see people plucked out of the audience to have a go failing miserably because they lack a third (and fourth) hand.

Behind the church they have sheep races and demonstrations of sheepdog working, except the latter uses ducks. Here are the stunt ducks relaxing between demonstrations - the jacuzzi was popular (click for bigger, as with all).

Ryelands.

A particularly impressive Manx Loghtan ram. You'd think he'd get neckache...

And the ladies of this breed, while not quite so impressive, still can pack quite a headful.

Hebridean ram with a baleful stare.

Teddy bear sheep - Hampshires.

Mark approaching after stashing my two new fleeces in the car. I knew I wasn't supposed to get more fleeces, but I had to have a look in the fleece tent, just to see. I found a lovely little Ryeland, probably a shearling, nice and soft and small. Lots of Ryeland fleeces there. I was really looking for a true down-type - there was a Southdown fleece but it was horrible: very short, filthy, full of second cuts. Ick. I also succumbed to a Jacob - I shall chuck at least half, because it needs a vicious skirting, but it's long stapled, surprisingly soft, and the white's a good clear white with a very dark brown. Could be nice. Currently stuck in the kitchen until I can get them washed; I hope the weather continues fine enough to dry outside.

Across the sheep pens in the opposite direction

We had lunch with Denise and Tim from Whitby, and I was appalled to remember on returning home and checking Facebook that it was Denise's birthday today and I'd completely forgotten. I'd even remembered earlier in the week. However, Bil left lots of licky messages on Denise's knees for her two pupz, Deefa and Holly, to pick up later!

The ancient carved cross in the churchyard.

I do like the look of Cheviot sheep - a good, basic, down-to-earth Northern sheep. Nothing fancy, excellent wool if not terribly soft. Great for socks! Mostly used for carpets these days, what isn't burnt by the farmers of course.

And a Scottish Blackface. Archetypal sheep of the hills.

A splendid black Wensleydale and his chum. They look so dark when unshorn, but once the fibre's processed it gets paler and warmer until a black Wensleydale top is more of a dark creamy brown. And always much 'fluffier' than the same breed's fibre in white.

A close-up of the previous fellow.

A couple of books also sneaked under the radar at P&M Woolcraft, plus a copy of Wild Fibers, but I have practically all the tools I really need now so managed to restrain myself from complete giddiness (especially after the extortionately expensive set of Symphonie interchangeable circulars I got at Baa Ram Ewe on Friday).

And the casserole this evening was really yummy.

Swordfest Shawl

2009-09-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Latest thing off the needles, finally cast off last night. I spun this up from 100g of oatmeal BFL dyed in Northern Lights at Swordfest on Bodmin Moor the other weekend. Spindle spun over two days, between making faience beads, cooking curry for 32, and generally prancing around in the Bronze Age. (Large quantities of sloe gin may have been involved.

I was originally planning to chain-ply it for socks, but the colours were so pretty I decided to use it as the singles, so wound the two cops into one ball, colours all running in the right direction, and started knitting.
This was as far as I'd got when I got home. I started off with five or so stitches on 3mm needles, and increased on alternate rows, two either side of the centre stitch and two on each outer border, making a Danish shawl sort of shape. I threw in a row of eyelets, offset by stocking stitch rows, every 9 rows of garter stitch, and increased a needle size after each eyelet row. I ended up on 4mm needles.

Finished last night, washed and blocked in the dark of this morning (about 5.45!), and photographed on the stone seat by the river in the sun this afternoon.

I think I shall wear this and wear this....

Actually...

2009-09-21T13:27:00.001-07:00

... I have a fair bit to update, but need to remember to take photos in daylight to get somewhere.

Bag hat with tassle

2009-09-10T11:23:00.001-07:00

Finished my bag hat in plenty of time to take to Cornwall tomorrow morning. Holds my hair snugly out of the way, isn't much warmer than my hair itself, and has the massive advantage that there is no point of pulling/tugging/tightness that I can get from staking it up or braiding it back. And hopefully no smoke from the fire in the roundhouse either.

It's not terribly easy to take your own photo like this.

This was easier.

I am taking one started knitted project (the green undershirt), two to start (restarting the Cottage Garden in a different yarn, and some handspun for a hood/cape thing for a list on Ravelry), lots of fibre to spin and three spindles. Plus all my circulars, some dpns, various tools and bits and pieces. I hope to get lots and lots done. Of course, the alcohol and firelight may win....

And I'm cooking for 32 tomorrow night, only five of whom are veggies. That'll keep me out of trouble.

I have been dyeing again.

2009-09-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Cheviot top, which I used to use lots of, but not so much recently. Not ideal for real next to the skin softness, but fantastic for socks. Takes colour fabulously.

The orangey shades here are dyed in my Redleaf. The blue/teal is one I invented to try to copy the sky in the wonderful September weather towards the end of the day - clear, clear blue just sinking towards teal.

And exactly the same colourways, but this time in the coloured BFL top. Infact, it was the same two dyebaths. I really do prefer how the natural oatmeal wool mutes and enriches the dyes.

And some special dyeing for my chum Carol, who asked for some dyed with short colour changes to help with the teaching of spinning. I have dyed up one special colourway for her - the eponymous 'Carol' but we felt like a change for this lot. And they haven't got names yet.

I'm not normally into pink, but I love how the two different pinks shade in and out and react with the greens.

I was thinking Scandinavian reds and blues here - which lean more towards Prussian and orange.

I think this will look lots better spun up than in the fibre. The yellow's a bit bright, but will stretch out beautifully into the maroon.

I do seem to keep going back to blues, greens and purples. But I'm not the only one.

I finished dyeing about 11 last night, having not started until Mark left for work about 8.30. At least using the ordinary merino rather than the superwash I don't have to start with a cold dyebath each time - reusing the same hot water for each lot (and there's three lots of two dyebaths here) saves time and energy. The last lot through was the Cheviot and BFL - there was 100g of each in each pot, and the blue had so much turquoise in it that it hadn't exhausted when I went to bed. I turned it all off and when I spun it out at about 5.25 this morning not only was the water crystal-clear, there was still some residual warmth too. Even wet wool holds heat.

Tablet braid

2009-09-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

The tunic isn't quite finished yet - this is a length (42") of tablet weaving that I've done for the neck opening. Very simple pattern with just 6 cards, but rather effective. I'll finish the dratted thing tomorrow; then all I have to remember to do is take it down to Cornwall with me.

It's worth clicking to make bigger.

Medieaval Tunic by hand.

2009-09-05T11:29:00.001-07:00

Oops. I have been meaning to make this tunic for Jeroen the bronze-casting rocket scientist since last year's Swordfest. Which explains, of course, why I've finally started it with less than a week to go. This is in exchange for the fabulous finishing and scabbard he did for my rapier last year.

He gave me the woollen fabric last year - a large chunk of a herringbone twill which I've dyed green (a grey green, but greener than these photos show) and a small piece of a diamond-twill pattern, which I've dyed orangey-red to look like madder.

I started cutting out and sewing this morning, having worked out shapes and sizes yesterday.

There are no shoulder seams. Simple oval and slit for the neck.

Mark has been out all day - shopping and then out at his local in Bradford - so I'd been able to get on and sew all day. As he was in a good mood when he got back, I made him try it on and stand up against a local white wall to model it.

I'm really pleased with the shape and outline of this tunic.

Detail of the gore let into both side seams to give fullness at the hips and lower.

And the underarm gusset. I can't be the only person with a man who finds the mention of 'gussets' hysterically funny. It doesn't seem to matter what context, gusses are intrinsically amusing.

And another overall shot, with arms down. The neck looks uneven - I need to put a tuck in the bottom of the slit and a couple of ties, which I shall inkle weave tomorrow morning.

It may be a trifle large for Jeroen, but better too big than too small. And he is intending to wear it for his early medieaval persona, plus do iron-smithing in it, so better is probably bigger. I've made sure the wrists are wide enough to allow for rolling up.

This is entirely hand-sewn, and my left middle finger is feeling it - this is the one I have underneath the work that bounces the needle back up, and although I've tried all sorts of thimbles I then can't feel the needle so it doesn't work. I use a steel needle on my right middle finger to push the needle through.

I did actually want to sew this with linen thread, which would have been more authentic than the brown cotton thread I ended up using. But the linen was too strong for this fabric, which would have meant any stress points would tear through the fabric and not through the seam. Fabric tears are much harder to repair. The brown thread is not terribly apparent.

Had the fabric been woven from worsted yarn and not woollen, I could perhaps have unravelled long threads from torn edges and used those. But this is woollen spun yarn, and too weak and fluffy to be used like this. But it wouldn't have fulled so well if it was worsted.

Hand-sewing, although labour intensive,doesn't have to take as long as people think it must be.

Each seam is sewn with running stitch and then the seams are all flat-felled. The cuffs and neck opening are all bound with straight cut (not bias) strips. Single hem on the bottom. I machine washed all the fabrics before dyeing so they fulled beautifully and don't really fray at all now.

I feel the need to knit now. I have lots on the go, but perhaps I shall start something else. Why not be overwhelmed if I feel like it. I have a large glass of red wine, Mark's doing steak and chips and salad for tea, and at least England isn't playing and losing another one day international!

Hanging out to dry

2009-08-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

From the left: superwash in Peacock, superwash in Sailor, coloured bluefaced leicester in Beryl and then Northern lights. Nicely dry but I shan't get them packed up and posted before we go to Durham tomorrow morning - they'll all go out on Tuesday morning.

I managed to gird the loins enough to wash these two fleeces; I now have no unwashed wool in the house. The further is a Teeswater I picked up at Woolfest, to be dyed and resold. Nice fleece, but it really wasn't skirted enough - lots of wastage. The nearer is a Shetland (cross?) which I picked up at Butser back in May. Lots of veggie matter and even more second cuts, but it's actually a surprisingly nice fleece. I shall comb a bit and see how it comes out. They obviously don't use a particularly good shearer at Butser.

All knitting is growing apace. Photos after the weekend away, in which vast amounts shall be done.

Dyepots again

2009-08-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have just remembered why superwash merino is such a pain to dye - you have to use cool water for the dye solution. If I use the recycled, hot, already acidulated water that I've just spun out of the previous dyebaths the superwash grabs the dye molecules out of the liquor as it's poured over, meaning the top layer of fibre is too dark and parts underneath are barely coloured at all.

I'd used all my superwash up before Woolfest (still have some, but it's dyed up and packaged and waiting for me to be energetic enough to Etsy it), so I've been in touch with my little chap in Guisely and 5 kilos of it was delivered this afternoon. Nice stuff, too - perhaps not quite so fine as the previous, but fine and nicely textured.

So, I've dyed up the BFL order and that's drying, the first lot of superwash is in at the moment, and I've got one more lot to do tonight.

Popped into Adelaide Walker's this afternoon for the BFL. I managed to get there without being rained on (public transport is idiotic in that direction now - a train and a bus from Leeds, and another bus back to the train to get back to Baildon). They are such sweeties there; Margaret very kindly drove me up to Menston station as it started to chuck it down again as I was leaving. You don't get that level of service everywhere.

Of course, it being damp and muggy it's not ideal fibre-drying weather. Never mind, at least it's not cold.

Startitis

2009-08-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

I now discover I have rather a lot on the go....

Twist Collective's Cottage Garden - not to be resisted, floral patterns on a circular yoke. The yarn's the last of the Babe handspun, much more silvery than showing here. Started last night.

Couple of days old, as I've been playing with stitch numbers and gauge.

A project from March's Piecework magazine, a tunic top based on a 17th Century knitted undershirt from the Museum of London. This is the superwash BFL I spun up a few weeks' ago.

Then, of course, there's Mark's Orkney Gansey which has been in abeyance for a few months, but must be done before his birthday this year.

I also have the dark brown shawl, which is turning into a version of Cheryl Oberle's Wool Peddlar's Shawl from Folk Shawls. I started the patterning while watching the last part of Desperate Romantix. I would been watching from behind my fingers if I hadn't been knitting. Oh dear...

Off to Adelaide Walker's now, as I have an order for some dyed BFL tops as, having turned all my dyeing stash upside down yesterday, I have come to the conclusion have none at all. I though I did, but it seems I mentally confused it with some camel/silk. Given my current mental state, it's a wonder more isn't getting confused. At least the knitting is making me feel better about the Disco - at least, I keep telling myself it does.

A few skeins

2009-08-23T11:03:00.001-07:00

Various bits and pieces done over the last week. From the left: a generic skein of handspun used as the my demonstration sample for last week's dyeing workshop at Queensbury; next two are both indigo from previous evening, when I was checking that the indigo was up to scratch - the left is generic handspun, the right bfl sock yarn from Baa Ram Ewe.

The next three were all done up at Magrat's the Friday just gone: first another BFL sock yarn, then some dk I found, both dyed with weld (mordanted with alum) and then overdyed with indigo, to make a lovely lincoln green. The last is skein of laceweight dyed with cochineal (again, alum), then unevenly dipped in the indigo. I foresee a scarf with this yarn.

Detail of the cochineal/indigo.

Detail of the weld/indigo bfl.

Just wound off the wheel at home. This was a badly-handled and slightly matted top of superfine merino which I'd dyed in Festival. The skein on the left is as it comes and then chain-plied. It wasn't drafting happily, so I split the top into it's colours and stuffed it through the Hedgehog. No idea what it's for, and it may even go up for trade on Ravelry.

On the wheel.

2009-08-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

On the wheel at the moment: this is Archie's fleece, a grey Corriedale from Denise. It's not what I'd call a typical Corrriedale - most of it is extremely soft and silky, more like a Polwarth, though not as crimpy. There is some coarser, shorter, darker fibres running through is very small amounts - in a coarser fleece they'd be kemp, but not here. There's a beautiful lustre. I have run it through the Hedgehog carder in approximately 50g batts, with a small amount of purpley glitz blended into each one; each batt went through three or occasionally four times. Very lightweight, fluffy batts, that spin like a dream. There's enough resolution in the photos to embiggen and see the shine.

I have two 100g balls of 2-ply fingering weight at work so far, and should have another tomorrow. I'm debating whether to overdye it dark green - I think the grey would give tremendous depth and richness to the green and the glitz would really stand out.

Queensbury Dyeing Day..

2009-08-16T11:49:00.001-07:00

.. has finally rolled round again, and was a great success, again. All I do it turn up with vast amounts of dyeing impedimentia, set up with newspaper on the tables, plastic sheets underfoot, pots for steaming, colours in bottles - quick demonstration and they're off. Last year there was only about six or seven that participated - this year I had sixteen! I had to instigate a queueing system at the steamers (luckily Jackie had brought another upright, 3-layer steamer otherwise we'd still be there) to get everyone through.

I set up a small indigo pot with the instant indigo crystals, but then everyone was so frenzied with painting skeins and tops (and yes, everyone brought suitable pre-soaked stuff) that it sat unwanted for an hour or so. Obviously this was the right thing to do - it worked brilliantly, and dyed lots and lots of yarn and fibre. We had some very successful space-dipping of both yarn and tops.

Very tiring. I don't think I've done any knitting all weekend! Spinning has been done, though, if not photographed and documented. I think, as I'm now on my own at work for the next three weeks with not too much work to do, that I'll take my Little Gem in. Busy tomorrow.

Socks and dyeing

2009-08-14T14:41:00.001-07:00

Cookie A's Kai-Mei socks finished - I like them much better this way round, which is technically the 'wrong way'. But the pattern looks better on the inside on my feet.

Had a lovely evening last night at the Baa Ram Ewe knit night. 28 people in a small shop, but I ended up with a seat at the table which was good! I rang Ma before setting off to see if I could get a lift up to Guiseley for the bus to Headingley, but she was about to jump in the shower before she and Dad went out to Roundhay for an opening of something, so fair enough. I found out later that Dad had come down to the train station twice trying to find me (but that was at 5 and once I thought I couldn't have a lift I'd gone for the 5.26 train so wasn't there). On the way back from Roundhay they'd gone down the main street in Headingley, found the yarn shop, Ma stuck her head in and asked Verity if I'd gone, which I had, ten minutes ago. I was, at that point, waiting at the bus stop and they must have driven past me twice. Oh well, it would have been nice to get home at 8.30ish rather than 9.20, but that's just the way it goes. My stupid phone had switched off the calling ring which it does occasionally.

The annual Guild dyeing day up at Queensbury town hall tomorrow. I think I have everything organised. I have my instant indigo crystals from Paradise Fibres, which I had a quick go with this evening and now have a lovely navy BFL sock yarn, plus a small scrap skein in a pale denim colour. All my bottles of Gaywool solution are topped up and ready. I have packed newspapers, gloves, dye, electric rings, steaming pots, racks for the pots, stirring sticks, citric acid, cloths, clingfilm, scissors for clingfilm, brushes and squirters, plastic pots for mixing, indigo, large bowl for indigo solution, my own soaked yarn.

Instructions were supposed to go in this month's newsletter, but Ann sent it out a week early due to her being on holiday; I received it just as I was about to send my stuff through. So there's bound to be people who have brought completely the wrong stuff.

Oh well, we'll see. And a tennis racket cake to decorate on Sunday morning - joy.

Fresh batts

2009-08-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of 100g tops of my superfine merino which I dyed up in what I thought was an original colour, but on later inspection turned out to be a reinvention of my Festival. Anyway, I hadn't dyed carefully enough (certainly not fit to see) and I started to spin some up last night. Not good - I really wasn't happy with the way it wasn't drafting.

So I pulled the Hedgehog downstairs this evening, divided the top roughly into purple, teal and lime, and carded. One batt has been spun and I'm lots happier with it. Probably another hat.

Cake-making took up valuable spinning time this afternoon. Ma has 'persuaded' me to make a cake for her to take to a birthday party at the weekend. It's going to be a tennis raquet - from an Australian Woman's Weekly book of utterly unbelievable representative cakes. I shall have to decorate it (with vast amounts of boughten icing) on Sunday morning, but so far a huge chunk (baked in a roasting dish) of butter cake is in the freezer.

More socks

2009-08-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

Leia, being baleful because I interrupted her cleaning activities to take a photograph. She is deliberately not looking at me.

Not sure about this. It's a 3-ply aranish-weight handspun, a very dark brown Corriedale/Shetland fleece with streaks of green merino. It's sort of started out as an Ishbel, but I'm really planning this as a warm and snug shawl for the winter and if so, then I'll need the depth rather than the length. I might knit a bit more and see what it looks like. I also might pull back and stripe it with similar weight yarn spun from the same fleece blended with tussah. Or perhaps turn it into something like the Wool Peddlar's shawl. We will see.

Cricket knitting - the leg, which isn't visible here, is rather short as I started this on Sunday morning just before going to the test match, and started the heel later that afternoon after watching the pathetic last thrashings of the England tail. It's my own sock yarn, in Beryl, which is possibly my favourite colour of all. Second sock is started. These are on the lovely brass dpns (about 2.5mm) that the lovely Sally Pointer's partner Gareth makes.

They are, of course, Cookie a's Kai Mei socks from her wonderful book, Sock Innovations, which I rather amazingly won recently. According to the pattern this should be the right sock, but I think the leaf pattern looks much better wrapping the arch rather than the inside of the sock.

Stripey Noro socks for Katie. This yarn was a bit of a sod to start off with - it's designed to look and behave like a single (but on reconstruction isn't) so when I started on dpns all it did was twist about madly and catch on each point. So I gave up and did toe up socks on magic-looped circulars - 2.5mm. The heels are afterthought/peasant ones, in the colour of the stripe they were knitted out from. I love how the colours have worked - one thing you can say for Noro, it may not be the best/softest/most knot-free yarn in the world, but the colours are amazing.

Hats and scarves

2009-08-04T10:44:00.001-07:00

Slightly more attractive photo of the BFL Rose scarf. I'm really please with this,and hope I don't find someone who needs a pressie before I can wear it this winter.

Hot off the needles! A sudden urge to work with beads resulted in a more organised (ie written down as I went along) of the Beadie Beanie. I'll get a pattern written up and Ravelised soon. I love the shades of blue in this....

Decorative dogs

2009-08-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Nancy Bush Lily of the Valley scarf is finally blocked and finished with. Barely 15" of yarn left, which didn't make for relaxing knitting. Anyone else go by the theory that if you knit faster you won't run out of yarn? (The logical extension of this theory is that if you knit really, really fast - you'll end up with more yarn than you started with...)

Taking a leaf from Marnie McLean's book, herewith some decorative dogs and yarn. I'm sure Bil and Lunil are at least as decorative as Panda and Thea, and Bil being black will go with anything. I think there's a hint of Jedi-ness to this particular shot.

Lunil was a bit suspicious about the whole thing. She very deliberately would not look at the camera. Must spin something pale blue to set her off nicely.

And Bil, again channelling Sidious. There's lots of this yarn - just over 500g but nearly 1000m. Haven't yet decided what it will become, but I have ideas.

Flat smells of wet wool again. I've dyed up 400g of the superfine, which I had soaking with the rest of the order that's been carted off to Summer School this week. I put an extra four balls of fibre to soak, then didn't get around to doing them and had to this mornign before they started to get mouldy. Neither of the two colours are exactly what I had in mind, which just shows that I really ought to pay attention to what I'm doing.

Anyway, I've also been doing sock yarn - some Slate (part for an order for someone who needs some more), some Beryl because I wanted to see what it looked like in yarn not fibre and I could always do with some more green socks if I don't sell it), then there's some Mirkwood and some Sailor about to be tipped out now.

The I have three skeins of Aracaunia aran-weight which I bought cheaply up at Coldspring Mill a while ago in a very wishy-washy turquoise and white. It's about to be overdyed a very deep blue-green.

Latest spinning

2009-07-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is particularly yummy, and I've really enjoyed spinning this up. About 500g of superwash BFL, from last year's Woolfest, which I dyed up around Christmas in a variant of my Mirkwood colourway. It's slightly greener than showing here. I finally did something about it over the weekend.

Singles all ready to be plied up. I spun long draw from the fold, pulling chunks of the top. About four and a quarter bobbins' worth, which will be tricky to divide equally into a three ply. But I'm not intending to pay any attention to where the colours fall (which works much better in a 3 than a 2ply) so I shall juggle about until I come out even (sort of) at the end.

This arrived this afternoon. A friend of Ma's, whose husband used to spin, asked Ma if I could find a home for this. To say this is pushing 40 years old (shape of maidens and type of flyer give it away), and has been in an attic for years, it's in excellent nick. A bit of oil, a quick replacement brake band, and I spun quite happily. Needs more of course - I shall replace or have the flyer moderated to give more and higher ratios, give it a new brake band, oil even more, polish well. The original intention was to tart up, possibly decorate with some designs on the drivewheel, and sell on. But Mark has been casting interested looks at it, and spent a surprising amount of time earlier just sitting there, treadling happily. I'll get him spinning yet....

Off the needles at the weekend, Nancy Bush's Mamluke Socks. (And yes, I want to add the extra 'e' all the time). Antique sock yarn, the gold was overdyed by me over grey. I ran out of gold (barely a yard left of the teal) so the last toe is grey and teal. Lovely socks to knit, I feel an urge to get another two-colour sock on the go, but the heel - satisfying though it was to knit - is useless for feet with an instep as high as mine.

Sheep Cap...

2009-07-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

... is now written up and on Ravelry. It's not beta'ed, but I thought I'd better get it out now rather than whenever.

Sock and scarf knitting, with some rather nice superwash BFL dyed in a variant of Mirkwood on the wheel - I have lots, so it'll be a nice 3-ply.

My stuff appears to be in demand! I'm just posting four packs of bouncy Mirkwood off to the US, three packs in a swap in a weaving book from Canada, and two down to Deepest Wales for a set of handmade brass dpns.

The weekend at Alston Hall...

2009-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

... was as splendid as ever. Slightly more relaxing than last year as I wasn't teaching. I went up there with every intention of sitting in on Pete and Carol's workshop on spindle spinning but I was completely bowled over by Averil Otiv's talk on Friday night and spent the weekend in hers.

My lovely friends Hazel and India were there, and we spent most of the weekend making basket-type stuff at a table in the garden room with Ma, who astounded us all (and especially herself) by managing to produce a fantastic newspaper bias-woven basket!

India, deep in argument with a woven paper basket. It didn't want to do what it was told....

This is what I'd produced by mid-afternoon on Saturday - a small coiled dish and the start of larger oval basket. Making the cordage was addictive; I can remember, years ago, watching a television documentary about rope bridges across gores in the Andes. Local women were just sitting on steep slopes covered in dry grass and speedily spinning the grass into a strong 2-ply cord using just their hands. The cordage produced was doubled and doubled and doubled again until great thick ropes, made purely of grass, were thrown across the gorge and turned into rope bridges. Well, now I can at least make the cordage!

This is what I'd done by Sunday lunchtime. The New Zealand friendship flowers are positively addictive - I made one from NZ flax/phormium and a generic lily leaf there (and have already been using vegetation down at the reserve since) and the 'thing' at bottom right is just me working out how to do something.

And I sold fibre, which is always a bonus. Now I just have the hard job of photographing it and getting it all up on Etsy. Two packets need to go to Sally in Wales in exchange for some more fabulous hand-made dpns, and I've just sold four of my favourite colour to the US. Yay!

There were four of us camped out in the bar at 9pm on Friday, waiting for Torchwood's denouement. There was a few more by the end, all breathless and gasping together. I made the mistake of trying to cast on for NB's Mamluke Sock - it took me two tries and I'd only got a couple of rows finished by the end. Sock is now finished, and I'll struggle to be inspired to make another.

I've knitted about six inches of the Lily of the Valley scarf, and am about to pull back to reknit on larger, pointier needles. I've been thinking that I'm not happy about the fabric being created, and it's not quite right. Buggrit!