Woolverton Manor Country Garden Fair

The next date in the Guild's Diary is this coming weekend. We are demonstrating in a Barn in the grounds of the Tudor Manor.

I'm demonstrating on Sunday, and at least we won't get wet if the weather turns inclement. I've never been to this Fair, so it will be good to take a break and have a look around.

Can't decide what to take with me to spin up. I'll take my wheel and some spindles, and I might even take some weaving sticks. I have some ready prepared Shetland, and would like to spin that finely to make a shawl.

Hopefully I won't forget my camera this time.

..........................

My mum was in the operating theatre this morning for a hip replacement, so I was trying not to get mega-stressed. Thankfully my step father has spoken to her and apart from the expected grogginess from the anaesthetic it all seems to have gone well.

I now have to not stress out about her catching anything dodgy like MRSA from the hospital! Hopefully the next week will pass quickly and she'll be home safe.

Time to check the car over for a weekend trip up North in the near future.

Finished projects

At last, some finished items.

First off, my entry for the Hipknits competition 'Shoreline' - with the addition of some seashells and driftwood. I tried to simulate a strip of shoreline with the waves and foam breaking on the sand.

Three hats for BISS - some more to knit up yet:



.................................

Yesterday the Guild held a dyeing day in Judy's garden. I forgot my camera yet again, so can't show the amount of skeins we produced, or the lovely garden.

Here are my mini skeins and fibre:



We used logwood, sanderswood, brazilwood, cochineal, bindweed, weld, cutch, and some other wood chips that we were given by a wood-turner at Chale Show. We also did a pot of passion flower fruit, but I had already dunked my skeins so didn't get to use that. Some dye pots had mordants added later on, hence the range of colours.

Apparently the dye will leach when I first wash the yarn, so I'll end up with a more pastel palette. Looking forward to spinning the coloured tops. Not sure what to do with the miniskeins, perhaps make a patchwork of squares for demonstration days.

Nearly there

Here's my basket of double knit and the remaining fibre to spin. Not sure if I'll have enough for the cardigan afterall, so I may have to buy more fibre.



............................

I had my regular monthly reiki session yesterday with the lovely Rhona. She's a wee twinkly scottish lady who looks like an archetypal fairy godmother. I came out floating on a cloud, but my joints were still cracking alarmingly after a heavy spinning week. Rhona told me the cracking noise is a build up of gas in the joints dispersing. I really need to do some yoga!

Jolly Robin

My office is on the first floor of the building and I'm lucky to have a lovely copper-leaved tree outside my window.

This little chap has just been singing his heart out. (Blurrily taken through the window, so's not to scare him off)



I'm so lucky in my surroundings. Soon we'll be moving to another building where I'll look out onto rooftops and this one will be closed. I'm making the most of the wildlife while I can.

................................

I did a bit more spinning last night and sat in a different position which helped a lot. I've now completed 4 hanks of double knit, they weigh around 250g. I'm hoping I can get enough to knit up the cardigan without ordering more tops, but that remains to be seen.

Spinning Injury

No, I didn't prick my finger and fall asleep for a hundred years..... I strained my shoulder (trapezium?) muscles! Not sure whether this was exacerbated by washing the car beforehand, but crikey IT HURT! So much so it woke me up in the early hours and I had to resort to painkillers.

I'm not sure whether I've been overdoing it, or sitting incorrectly, or both. I'll have to slow the progress on my double knit blue-faced Leicester down a bit. At least I've now managed to obtain a more accurate gauge. Hurrah!

...................................

I fell in love with this Frank Herring spinning wheel being offered on ebay.



I just love the huge curved arc of the flyer, the lovely round ended bobbins and horizontal in-built Lazy Kate, but I was outbid on it last night by a long way. My Guardian Angel knows I couldn't really afford it - but it was nice to dream. Sigh...........

Two Hats

Just finished my second hat for BISS. I'll get a third one out of the yarn I had which is a good result.

............................

Have today started an ideas sketchbook related to knitting and fibre crafts in general. I still have my entry to Kerrie at Hipknits' Alexandra Palace competition to make up. I've been scribbling some ideas down over the last few days. Just hope I have enough yarn to complete one of them. Here are the mini skeins I was sent to transform.



............................

My spinning is coming along. I was trying to achieve a DK weight yarn rather than the 4-ply I managed for the Rare Breeds show, but have gone too far the other way and ended up with Aran. I guess it's all trial and error to start with. I'm aiming to knit up an old favourite cardigan pattern that I loved as a teenager. I have still to stumble across this however and am praying I have kept it in the loft.

Charity Knits

I've now got my pattern from BISS (British & International Sailor's Society) and have been knitting up the plain red hat in some spare double knit. I'd love to do the cabled hat, but couldn't find any Aran during my intial Stash search. I might also knit a couple of beanie hats too, to go in the parcel that I send back.



....................................................

I'm also going to take part in the Knit A River appeal to raise awareness for Wateraid. You knit a 15cm square in blue yarn which will be stitched together to make a yarn river - a visual statement to the 'powers that be'.

Chale Show

A really successful event. That is apart from me forgetting to take my camera! Lots of people attended, and we drew a lot of interest from the locals and holidaymakers.

I was really tired and aching by the end of it. Treadling for 7 hours solid - I'm just not used to spinning for such long periods yet. I filled a bobbin and a half of singles ready for some double-knit I'm planning to use for a cardigan. Things got a bit sticky as the tent reached 28 degrees C, so fibre wasn't gliding through our hands very easily. Ruth advised talc, so I'll remember to buy a tiny tub of baby powder to take to my next event.

I also started spinning my pink silk which I'd prepared from the hankies. I did this on a new spindle I picked up from the Rare Breeds show. It's a lot easier to work on something in the slow motion of the spindle, as the silk is so hard to draw. Sue S from the Guild was spinning directly from a cap which was impressive. She also had her Great Wheel in the tent which she was demonstrating from time to time. Here's a page all about the Great Wheel from Wikepedia. It really is a large beast.

Rowan Autumn Collection Preview

Have been having a nosey around at the new yarns and patterns for autumn. This great website always shows patterns from the books, and also has pictures up of the yarns. It loads a lot more easily than Rowan's own site and is easier to navigate.

I'm loving the Tapestry yarn. I'll have to start saving up now, and ask for John Lewis vouchers for Christmas.

Anyone got a hankie?

Scouting around in my Fibre Stash for something colourful, I unearthed this silk that I bought from PM Woolcraft at a show.

The turquoise is a full cap, the orange cap, I've already prepared and wound into slim roving. The pink are hankies.

Not sure what I'll do with it once I've spun it up. I guess I'll need to check the yardage.

......................................

At the last Guild meeting we had a group photo taken of our winning entries for the Rare Breeds Show - turns out we won 16 prizes between us, including Best in Show and Judges Favourite.

(Stop Press: This was reported in the local paper, fame at last!)

Cecilia, originally from Colombia, gave us a talk about her travels around South America and showed us a whole mass of textiles she'd bought on her travels. Mostly weaving. The colours were very vibrant.

The next outing relating to the Guild is this weekend at Chale Show. Chale is a small village on the bottom tip of the Island which holds one of the annual shows held here during the summer. I have volunteered to do the Sunday, demonstrating spinning in the craft tent. The weather is supposed to get warm again by the weekend, and less blustery. I'll still be taking my fleece along just in case. Been caught out in the sea mist rolling in off the Channel up there too many times before!