Tag: Etsy

Drawing a veil….

Some difficult months – not helped by the random popup ‘memory’ feature on the iphone – thanks, Apple….

But after some debate SpinningStreak has decided to resurface, and maybe I’ll hide behind her for a while!

September in the Auvergne

I spent the last few weeks keeping an indigo bath on the go – temperatures in the 30s definitely helped to prolong it. These pictures are a mixture of indigo and logwood on merino, alpaca, silk and one skein of linen.

The hedges looked pretty strange at times.

Made a good start on the cosy stuff as well – though it is always a bit weird to be working on winter items in 34 degrees.

Crescent scarves next on the list – need a stock of those because they seem to go down well as gifts.

Apparently I have entirely forgotten how to edit these posts – can’t even shift the images around any more. So, apologies – but if I mess around wasting any more time I know I will just delete the lot!

France, Summer 2021, after all.

Discovering splendid municipal architecture in Évreux, and castles in Lapalisse and Châteldon (the home town of Pierre Laval, though that doesn’t get much of a mention in the tourist office!)

I am also quite a fan of the N7, but I think this rather large sign in Lapalisse is new:

Likewise this rather alarming roadside cross that has appeared right outside the front gate… I think over the last year European money has restored several of these 19th century calvaires which had disappeared during the late 20th century.

We’ll get used to it!

Reading, walking, eating….and several sessions with the dye pots, mostly sock yarn this time.

I also took some pictures of a corridor my daughter decided to decorate some years ago:

We are holding a memorial event to celebrate her life on Sunday. This is necessary, but not easy. I think I will take my late September tree pictures on the same day – still a really useful prop!

The only way to avoid this:

Is, I think, this:

Second sock syndrome….

I’ve discovered six hand knitted socks squirrelled away, and only two match… It’s just so much more fun to see how a different colour knits up….! So now I must be disciplined and do two at the same time – slow, but apparently more practical.

This is a quick and slightly scruffy post – definitely not Instagram standard. The daylight for photos is all but gone by the time I get home (yes, I am still at work…) and the single socks are clearly not yet blocked (that does make a surprising difference, by the way.) But I am afraid there’s no faffing at the moment. Even the missing socks will have to wait till I have shrunk my Etsy list a little. I sold six pairs of leg warmers today – all but one pair to the same person. Are we about to face a cataclysmic Winter, on top of everything else? Have I missed something?

Today’s swag

Look what arrived…rainbow tops! Allegedly for felting – but I’m not going to. I have Plans. And I couldn’t resist making a sneaky start, though I’m not quite ready to get going yet. The fibres need minimal carding – just a gentle stroke really – for cloud-soft, fluffy rolags. Yum. As you can see, I am splitting the colours into roughly equal parts, to keep my options open when it comes to plying. I will spin some samples at the weekend. Can’t wait to get stuck into those reds!

Progress! (But maybe not with the WordPress battles…)

I have been sorting out some base yarn for dyeing, and I am thinking along the lines of these colours. They are so excitingly vibrant – yet very subtle if you look closely. I have also finished a couple of Etsy items, and settled on the best way of knitting up the baby leg warmers without seaming. This afternoon I posted a hot water bottle to Portugal, thus scoring a new country for my Etsy sales. I have clocked up a fair few over the last 12 years!

Steps-wise I scored just over 5,000 today – so definitely on target, however unimpressive that target might be. Am I being kind to myself? Or, as I suspect, just pathetic…

I’m not going to tempt the Demons of WordPress by adding any more images today – this is just the point at which they usually scupper me. So I will hop out fast, while I think I am winning!