Category: yarn

April (Fool?)-ing

Is there a bright side to Lockdown (‘confinement’ in France!) ? Could be just having more time for all of this:

Spinn-ing: some art yarns from my batts – natural dyed stuff from France (goodness knows when we’ll get back there) – mostly lichens and mosses – and madder, of course.

Gloat-ing  (again!) over my indigo stash. I can’t set the indigo bath up very often, so my projects have to be chosen with care. Further sneak peek:

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Knitt-ing: This w(ork) i(n) p(rogress) is for me. Mostly alpaca! It will be some form of log cabin blanket – just to prove I can do neutrals…

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Classic BSJ (Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket) for new grandson:

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Winter stock (and lots of it) for my Etsy shop:

 

And – of course – Egg, tomato, lettuce, and Swiss cheese sandwich (!) for 4 year old granddaughter:

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Crochet-ing: Apparently you need sun shades for this one – a baby blanket:

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And another wip all for me, and in my colours – a Spice of Life blanket from Sandra Paul of  CherryHeart .   Really enjoying this one – AND – a first –  threading in the ends as I go (well, more or less).

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Bak-ing: Is there anyone in Blogland who hasn’t made Lucy’s oat pancakes yet? Well worth a go – thank you, Attic24! I also managed a batch of her oat cookies, which seemed to vanish overnight. Just added loads of seeds, so they look a bit different – but basically Lucy‘s recipe again!

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Finish-ing Rachel Cusk’s trilogy. I’m very impressed with her writing and the issues stay with me, though I have trouble recalling the detail…maybe go back and start again, it’s worth it. AND I’ve got time….!

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Those were the days….

Of transatlantic flights, that is. About three weeks ago actually. Unbelievable.

Fabulous variety of food. Crazy, vibrant fun city.

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It will be back.

Yarn addicts will note there was a pilgrimage to Purl to check out the artyarn handspun. (Bit disappointing actually – not a lot of choice and definitely no better than my own – at  over double the price!)

Spinner temporarily intimidated by Scary Stash

Some random pictures taken in half a minute this morning.

Usually The Stash is inspiring and I love to sit amongst it and plot what comes next. But every now and then it distresses me. This is only a very small corner of one room – mostly left over from spinning/dyeing/knitting/crocheting projects since Christmas. There is Much Much more.

It won’t be wasted. Some goes to charity shops, some to schools – and some lands up in destash bags like these in my Etsy shop:

If you’re tempted, just message me via Etsy and I’ll reduce the price by 33%. Out of my life…..!

All about the trees?

 

 

 

 

Mine, with a few others from Standen – plus my bowl of quinces. All over now, except the quinces which have morphed into jelly.

Bit late, but it seemed churlish to ignore it altogether! I do feel nostalgic for the festive greenery, despite still finding trails of ivy under the sofas. On the whole, though, I’m glad to be emerging from what is always an unreal few weeks.

But January? The blogs I read (and do really enjoy) are urging me to ‘welcome winter’ and ‘go with the seasons” etc etc.  All very good advice – what is the alternative after all? So I am happy to reflect on winter walks, icy bracken, subdued colours of nature, roaring fires, hearty food, cosy reading (in fact, everything ‘cosy’) – but this is definitely an idealised view.  The reality out there, from this urban window, is mild, damp, grey and full of scuttling, rather miserable-looking people. Luckily, I can move to another window which will give me twinkling lights and sea views!

Maybe the best thing about January for me is the holiday I take from my Etsy work. Apart from some custom dyeing I don’t usually do much for the shop. Just a little fancy spinning for myself, and stuff for friends and family. I’m currently crocheting a blanket for daughter number 4 (I’m pretty sure she never reads this!) and a few other projects mixed up below!

 

 

Choices, choices…..

Over this weekend I have had to offer two sorts of sock yarn. (I think people must be starting to knit socks for Christmas, though it could be for summer shawls instead!) My first instinct is always to grab the dye pots and have some fun experimenting – but I peeped into my stocks and decided to get realistic. I fished out the first 20 skeins (probably about a third of the sock yarn ready to go) and spread it around.

The first choice was not too tricky – ‘luxury, soft and feminine’. So I went for some silk and alpaca in more pastel colours, and will probably end up with this top one, which is more subtle than it looks, especially when knitted up.  It was a very successful batch, though I say it myself.

But choice number two is harder. It is for ‘something different’. Hmm. I assume that EVERYONE who orders Indie hand dyed yarn is looking for ‘something different’ –  otherwise there are dozens of perfectly good commercial yarns out there….

Does it mean in-your-face, saturated colours, like these?

Or just unusual combinations – maybe these?

I’m really not sure. Any ideas?