Bendigo Woollen Mills merino/bamboo blend with mohair and English leicester. Dyed by me!
Ixchel bunny top with Bison, angora, baby camel, cashmere, merino, tencel plyed with grey alpaca.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Spin in at Benalla
Well I had a wonderful time at Wendy's farm with a visit to the shearing shed, alpacas and of course the sheep. It was a very warm day so we stayed inside to spin and talk and enjoyed the view of the hills through the window. I didn't think to take a camera with me so I am sharing some photos that others have taken. Really looking forward to the next one which might not be until March next year.
Ixchel Club Fibre
The two fibre clubs I joined arrived a couple of weeks ago and I spent last Saturday spinning them up while enjoying a spinning day with my Mum and over the remainder of this week before heading off to a spin in over at Benalla yesterday. More on that later.
At the moment they are still singles and will need to be plyed with something else. I am thinking a blend of grey merino and grey alpaca for both. Both the batt and the braid had lots of bling in them and while I loved spinning both I am happier with the braid as the other has spun up more 'arty' than I was expecting due to lots of sari silk threads and neps in the middle of the batt. It is gorgeous and soft but very different. But that is the reason behind joining in the clubs over three months because they will be completely different to what I normally would spin and also experiencing different fibres as sometimes it is the fibre that dictates how thick or thin or how much twist etc you need to use as I thought initially I would be able to spin the batt as a thin single rather than the thickish one I have ended up with.
Fibre content: angora, stainless steel, silk, eco merino, rose, suri, silk, hemp, cashmire and angelina
Fibre content: eco merino, cashmere, glitz, suri, silk, angora and alpaca
At the moment they are still singles and will need to be plyed with something else. I am thinking a blend of grey merino and grey alpaca for both. Both the batt and the braid had lots of bling in them and while I loved spinning both I am happier with the braid as the other has spun up more 'arty' than I was expecting due to lots of sari silk threads and neps in the middle of the batt. It is gorgeous and soft but very different. But that is the reason behind joining in the clubs over three months because they will be completely different to what I normally would spin and also experiencing different fibres as sometimes it is the fibre that dictates how thick or thin or how much twist etc you need to use as I thought initially I would be able to spin the batt as a thin single rather than the thickish one I have ended up with.
Sunday, 26 October 2014
New chooks
Well my original chickens are now in their 8th year and we have lost 2 over the last hot summer and another just popped off the perch about 6 weeks ago while walking around having a peck in the back garden. So we have now managed to settle in 3 new girls which we bought about 4 weeks ago to keep us going with eggs and they are certainly doing that!
Two originals with a 2 year old sussex at the back.
Two of the three new ones. They have a bit of growing to do.
Two originals with a 2 year old sussex at the back.
Spinning!
Had a lovely day spinning with my Mum yesterday. I thought I would like to try some grey unwashed alpaca that mainly has just a little dust in it rather than horrid prickles etc. So I have started to flick the ends and it is spinning up nice and fine.
Here is some pics of the fleeces Mum was given last weekend. I only asked for one white merino but there are about 2 white fleeces unskirted to deal with and 3 beautiful coloured fleeces which incorporate shades of white through to dark grey. Mum has the same amount at her house too. All free which is nice but where will I store mine for the next 6 years! Less time for crafting now than I used to have too but if I can keep the moths out I will be right lol.
Well off now to do some more deadheading in the garden and pack some of those bags of fleece away in tubs!
I had to pull out the lace rows on my shawl last weekend and start again because silly me had more stitches than needed after one 8 row block! I have fixed that as in the middle there is a knit 2 stitches before and after doing knit ones and yarn overs lol. I really shouldn't start things like that when I am tired. Might work on it this afternoon while watching a car race with Lance.
Here is some pics of the fleeces Mum was given last weekend. I only asked for one white merino but there are about 2 white fleeces unskirted to deal with and 3 beautiful coloured fleeces which incorporate shades of white through to dark grey. Mum has the same amount at her house too. All free which is nice but where will I store mine for the next 6 years! Less time for crafting now than I used to have too but if I can keep the moths out I will be right lol.
Well off now to do some more deadheading in the garden and pack some of those bags of fleece away in tubs!
I had to pull out the lace rows on my shawl last weekend and start again because silly me had more stitches than needed after one 8 row block! I have fixed that as in the middle there is a knit 2 stitches before and after doing knit ones and yarn overs lol. I really shouldn't start things like that when I am tired. Might work on it this afternoon while watching a car race with Lance.
Thursday, 23 October 2014
Gardening
Not sure where the last month has gone but I can see the results of many weekends worth of gardening I have been doing instead of crafting and blogging lol. Here's some shots of my front garden and there have been a few subtle changes like shifting some edging and changing the shape of a few beds etc. I have also planted some new roses namely David Austin Othello, Charles Austin and a lovely pink one which the name escapes me just at the moment. Looking forward to seeing these bloom but here is Othello....
A shot from the front gate with Oklahoma and Princess Grace in the foreground.
My lovely viburnum
Radox Bouquet which is mass planted in the center bed
A gorgeous red striped hippy
Lovely lilac
Kings ransom which I have had for about 25 years!
Those gorgeous Radox Bouquets again!
Iceberg
Love my spring garden. Forgot to take pics of the magnolia and stunning may bush before they finished flowering. Next year lol.
A shot from the front gate with Oklahoma and Princess Grace in the foreground.
My lovely viburnum
Radox Bouquet which is mass planted in the center bed
A gorgeous red striped hippy
Lovely lilac
Kings ransom which I have had for about 25 years!
Those gorgeous Radox Bouquets again!
Iceberg
Love my spring garden. Forgot to take pics of the magnolia and stunning may bush before they finished flowering. Next year lol.
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Crafting catchup
Well that pesky ankle is finally on the mend fingers crossed. I have over the last month or so I have spun and plied a 3rd of the white jumper lot and some lovely pink merino, bamboo, English Leicester and mohair that I had blended and dyed over 18 months ago. Still need to get it off the bobbin and washed but thats ok. No rush really lol.
I have also been given some stunning grey alpaca and there is lots of it along with a brown, black and lighter grey. I have it skirted and packed away in tubs in the shed. Will be able to just comb this lot out and spin it without washing first. But can't touch it yet as I have some merino and fawn alpaca to blend and spin which is starting to go on the bobbin now (below). This is a thank you to the lady who generously gave me half a bale of very light fawn/cream alpaca and a merino fleece. Will be a long process but will end up dyeing it in the skein and knitting her girls some gorgeous hats and one for her and hubby too.
Lastly is some mohair locks that I dyed up ready for blending with some matching baby merino. Definitely not enough hours in the day even with stupid day lights savings lol.
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