Torn ligaments = blog update!!

Well oh my word I haven't posted anything for simply AGES, you know, sometimes I have things to say and sometimes not.  Then summer holidays get in the way and you start to lose yourself in order to entertain your children.

Dog....

Garden....

Baby rabbit in garden, what could possibly go wrong?

So, it took a small rabbit, a maniac dog and torn ligaments to get me to sit still and catch up. I've spent the last day or so walking with a stick and wondering how come I turned into my nan so soon.

Coming up over the next fortnight, which is filling me with panic/excitement is Yarndale.  I'll be sharing my table with the wonderful Nic from Feltipedia, my very talented friend and we'd love you to come up and say hello so we can meet people with a passion for textiles like ours.

I'll have my wheel so if anyone wants to have a spin they're very welcome and both Nic and I will be offering our workshops so please do say hi.

I will try and blog more often, but seeing as I'm crocked I'll probably be back tomorrow!

International Knit in Public Day

We enjoyed Knit in Public Day yesterday at Cedar Farm, Mawdesley, Lancashire.  The day was incredibly hot so the knitters were truly hardcore.  I was joined by Stacey who came to spin and we moved around throughout the day depending on where the heat was perfect.

We joined Tamzin and Ruth to knit sections of a scarf which was raffled off at the end of the day, the money going towards two charities, Queenscourt Hospice and SKCV (Street Kids Community Village, India)

Stacey with the first of her three skeins

It was a wonderful good natured day with all, from young to old(er) joining in.  Knitters are good natured people and I enjoyed my day with Stacey who is a knitter but who came to spin (and was a natural).

Today, (Sunday) I headed over to Burscough Wharf where Colin and Carole Wareing from The Wool Boat were hosting an event.  The weather was stunning yet again and as only mad dogs and knitters would go out in the noon day sun, well, here were some of Lancashire's best.

The Wool Boat are now stocking some of my yarn and fibres, so if you see them on the Leeds Liverpool canal, be sure to pop in and say hello to them.  They post regularly on ravelry or facebook where they'll be, click on the link to like their page.

https://www.facebook.com/thewoolboat?ref=ts&fref=ts

Over the past few years, we've moved house quite a bit.   We lived here for a while

and then we lived here

and now we in Parbold.  We love it here.  It's in the secret beautiful countryside of Lancashire, halfway up Parbold Hill, it's gorgeous.


The main difference with regards to spinning is that this house has a halogen cooker.  It's thrown me a little, I can tell you because the way it heats the fibre is so different from anything I've been used to.  And because of that, I have slightly felted quite a bit of merino fibre, I can tell you.

The upside of this is that I'm keeping it for myself to spin, which as I've said on many a blog, I really want to do with all the fibre I spin because a) I love it and b) I want to spin all the fibre I dye.

So this little lot I chose to keep for myself and spin which I was at the Medeival Fair in Ormskirk last week.  I spun it thinly so I didn't have to think too much about wpi and if any children came along they could have a go at treadling the wheel and I could spin without too much worry.

I inteneded to keep it for myself in any case and so I've kept it as a single for experimenting.  I'm really looking forward to finding a project that will suit it, any suggestions would be gratefully recieved.

I think I've mastered the old cooker now, but until I completely do, I'll be keeping all merino fibre to myself!

Pendle Stitches Workshop

Saturday was spent in Clitheroe at Pendle Stitches, with Lyn and Ginny, spinning for the whole day - bliss!

The sun was shining, which, lets face it, we all needed a bit of. So, people were happy and the shop had light streaming in which made it a joy to work in.

Pendle Stitches is the area distributor for Ashford Spinning Wheels and so you can get everything you would need for your spinning.  There are fibres, natural and hand dyed, Niddy Noddies, Lazykates and all of Ashford's wheels.  It's really worth a visit if you're considering buying a wheel because Liz is happy to let you try.

Lyn returned for her second time and brought along felted faces that she makes with her students, she's an art and textiles teacher.

They're so quirky and funny and each face, because it distorts while being needle felted takes on a personality of it's own.  Lyn was snapped up then and there to do workshops later on in the year and I'd love to have a go too.

Lyn appeared on my last blog post with her skein, which was her first.  Her second skein was a huge improvement (aren't all of our second skeins that way?). 

It's really worthwhile having a second day spinning, not long after the first, to prove to yourself that you can do it, and see the improvement that you make.


I'll be back at Pendle Stitches next month, 15th June and it would be lovely to meet anyone that would like to come along and have a spin.

Pendle Stitches
Moor Lane
Clitheroe
Lancs
BB7 1BE

Spinning Worshops in Lancashire

One of my favourite things is teaching people how to spin, passing on a passion of my to someone else and watching them run with it.

On Saturday I got to meet a lovely lady, Lesley who was so enthusiastic and keen to spin that I knew she would just love it.

We had a fantastic day, I think I enjoyed it more than Lesley did.  One of the things Lesley said was that she'd looked for a while to find a spinning teacher in the North West, which is such a shame because there are plenty of spinners in this area, we just need to shout a bit louder.  So, if you hear of anyone wanting to learn, I have workshops at Knit-Wise in Ormskirk, a shop where you can knit, quilt, make felt and every other craft inbetween.
 

I'm also at Pendle Stitches, Moor Lane in Clitheroe.  Liz is the area representative for Ashford, so there's a great opportunity to spin and try out different wheels before you choose which is the right one for you.

Pendle Stitches have just expanded into the next door shop, so it's airy and bright and a wonderful place to learn.

I also teach at Knitting Heaven in Leyland, a little treasure trove of yarn with Linda at the helm, it's a happy place to learn.  There's plenty of coffee to help you concentrate and loads of yarn to inspire you.

And last but by no means least,  I teach at Wickerwool at Cedar Farm in Mawdesley.  Cedar Farm is inspirational, if you've never been, it's a must if you're creative in any way.  Wickerwool is located in the Pig Barn and is run by Ruth and Tamsin, artists who have changed a section of their studio into a wool shop.

I'll be taking part in Knit in Public day at Cedar Farm, so if you fancy knitting, or spinning, or crochet for that matter, come along to Mawdesley, Lancashire and join in the fun. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

If you've ever thought you'd like to learn to spin, please get in touch, it's a wonderful craft and we'll get to share a passion and keep the crafts alive.

Honey Fibre

I've spoken many times on the love I have for colour and how the dyeing process never ceases to amaze me.  I know that this passion is not unique  to me, take a look at ravelry at the dyers there and there is passion with a capital P in bucketloads!

In our winter black, it's wonderful to have bright splashes of colour to cheer up the dull days and lets face it, there have been many, many gloomy days that desperately needed a bright pick me up over winter.

So, now that the spring is starting to edge it's little nose carefully out of hiding, I've decided to dye something a little more delicate, something that is a contented smile rather than a big old shout.

Inspired by the singular bee I found in my kitchen, I thought of the difficult time the bees are having, my parent's well cared for hives didn't make it through this winter, and I picked on honey shades

As usual, I do want to spin these myself, but they're on my website instead and I'll be dyeing more over the next few days.

http://www.lazy-kate.co.uk/bluefaced-leicester-hand-dyed-fibres-13-c.asp


Please let spring stay.

The Unveiling of The Wool Room

So, while my daughter was off school over the Easter holiday and my husband was crippled with the lurgy for what seemed like years, we decided to move rooms.  It really was a seemed like a good idea at the time moment.

At the time, my workroom was on the first floor, with my daughter's bedroom in the attic.  Unfortunately not being able to have a wardrobe because of the sloping ceiling got her down and she needed  a 'normal' room.

A wardrobe was purchased from an antique centre (from the back actually, where you can buy for less money and do it up yourself) painted and dragged up the stairs by teenage lads who were indeed dragged away from the Atari or whatever the young people play these days.

Poor lad, the strain nearly killing him, although he is young and the wounds will heal with time.

Here's a before peak:

So here's my new room.

The room does seem to be leaning over to the right, which is down to the leaning curtain rail which could fall down any minute, so don't feel queasy.

The room looks out over the fields, I have a little heater and a cushion on that chair.  Could I be happier, no.

So I took some merino fibres from my stash and felted a little square,  stencilled, then machine embroidered a little welcome message.

This stencil set, available from Waterstones, just gives the outline to your text, allowing you to machine embroider over the top of it, really handy.

Can't wait to fill my new room with spinners and feltmakers.  Now where to put the kettle....