New Neons

Colours are often what drives textile lovers. Couldn't you just stand and stare at boxes of yarn or ribbons or bolts of cloth?

As a dyer, colours are always exciting, what shall I use, how will they mix, how different will they look when they're spun up or felted?

Now and again, if I have visitors or my daughter friends are over, I might ask them to pick a couple of dyes and have a go of dyeing the fibre. I like to do this because its always interesting to see what other people will put together.  I have my own thoughts on colours, but it's fascinating to see others ideas.

Hence the Hero dyelot. These are shades I would never have out together, I was surprised at my daughters friend Deborah's choices.  I was a little skeptical over how they would look once dried.  I was doubtful whether they would sell.  How wrong was I? They were gone within the first morning, the whole dyelot.  So here they  are again in all their neon glory.  Bearing in mind that neons are right on trend!

So thanks Deborah, just goes to show how it helps to have another point of view!

If you like the look of these fibres, they're here, along with some new more subtle shades

www.lazy-kate.co.uk

Late last week I took a trip into Liverpool which is something I don't need more than a slight excuse to do.  I headed down to the South end to Lark Lane which is Liverpool's own Notting Hill, full of vibrant cafe culture.  I visited Arts Hub 47, a co-operative where local artists and artisan crafts people are able to sell their work.

The co-op is relatively new but there is a buzz in the shop and the work is of a very high standard, so I'm thrilled to be able to offer some workshops there.  There is a workspace upstairs, enough for four spinners with wheels, we can nip out at lunch time for a little bite of something exotic and finish the day with a funky skein of art yarn. 

We're throwing a few dates around at the moment, but if it's something you think you'd like, get in touch and we can see if we can make it happen

cathy.lazykate@gmail.com

Off again.......

This post starts off as too many seem to, it's been a long time.

Since we last spoke, Christmas has come and gone and it was an incredibly busy time here, we did our best ever craft fair, the amazing Winter Arts Fair at St George's Hall in Liverpool.

The event, where tables are fiercely fought over was every bit as good as was reported and Nic from Feltipedia and I had a ball

http://www.feltipedia.co.uk/

In the middle of all the Craft Fairs before Christmas, we also decided to move house, a move which allows me to have my own room for work.  This is a huge relief to my family who were drowning in a sea of yarns, fibre and dye.

Consequently after Christmas I collapsed in a heap and there was nothing doing creatively for quite a few weeks while I slowly came back to the land of the living.

So this is my first blog of the new year, I'll be posting new fibres to the website.  Sorry I've been away, will try my best to be a better blogger!

http://www.lazy-kate.co.uk/

Wovember 2012

We're really happy here to be supporting Wovember, the campaign to celebrate wool, wear it as much as possible and apply pressure on the fashion industry to list woollen garments correctly.

Dr Kate Davies and Dr Felicity Ford, the originators of the campaign feel that to list this garment as woollen is misleading to say the least, and yet when searching for woollen jumper, this is where Asos will take you.  Yet this garment has only 5% wool.

This inconsistency confuses people, but more importantly, it devalues wool as a high quality product.  In their own words 'Wovember aims to reinstate the true value of those terms by linking them with the animals and people who raise, produce and process our WOOL.'

So take a look at their site and get behind their campaign, you can sign their petition here to have woollen items listed correctly, just as Champagne has to be, or Melton Mowbray pork pies!!

http://wovember.com/wovember-petition/

Burscough Fibre Fest

The first Burscough Fibre Fest last Sunday was a huge success.  Thanks to Colin and Carol from The Wool Boat for all their hard work and excellent organisation.

I saw Carol at about 8.30am and I have to be honest, she looked like she was going to have a little bit of a breakdown, at one point she shouted 'never again' but by 11.00am there was a huge smile on her face and I heard her say "yes, we're already planning next year......"

                Carole on the left smiling, the lady in the middle possibly needing medical attention

It was wonderful to meet spinners and knitters from all over the country, some who said that they have to spin alone because there are no groups for them to go to.  If you spin alone, why not go to your nearest Knit'n'Natter?  Knitters are always happy to meet spinners and usually will want to have a go at spinning on your wheel, before long you may have a few of you spinning together.  I'm happy to come and visit a Knit'n'Natter, send me a message or a comment and if you're near enough, I'll pop over.

Joy and me spinning away.  Joy, from the West Lancs Niddy Noddies brought along all manner of fibre, fleece and garments.  There were many people who were interested in fleece preparation and a few men who would like to learn to spin, more because of the mechanics of the wheel rather than a love of fibre.  Who cares what your motivation is?

Feltmaking was very popular too and Nic from Feltipedia brought along felted slippers and bootees, cobweb felt scarves, which are incredibly beautiful and pumpkins.

Nic and I will be exhibiting together at the Winter Arts Market at St Georges Hall in Liverpool on 7th/8th December.  We're also planning a childrens craft club so if it's something you could be interested in, please let us know and we can tailor things according to the childs age.

So, all in all, a great day, looking forward to next year already.

Just a little post today, it's very unusual for me to post twice in a week I know but I have an interview in Handspinning News which I'm really excited about.  I got a new photo out of the box and everything.

http://hand-spinning-news.com/

Sheila Dixon who produces this newsletter is a tireless supporter of spinning and everything connected to it, the letter includes news, interviews, free patterns, dates for courses, workshops and events.  It's definitely worth subscribing to and I'd say that even if I wasn't in it!

I posted a photo a couple of weeks ago of some BFL/nylon fibre, it was a huge surprise to me how beautifully the dye took to the fibre and I love it.  It's now spun and I'm still as pleased.

It was very easy to spin and although the photo doesn't really show the sheen in the fibre, it's definitely there.  I could have been dedicated and gone outside to photograph it, but it is a filthy filthy day here so kitchen table it was.

If you've seen BFL/nylon or merino/nylon and held back from ordering it, I'd say give it a go, it's well worth a punt.

It's been all go this week, apart from the two days I spent in the Chester Hilton (!) which were wonderful.

Other than that it's been full on with dyeing, spinning losing fibre.

I can't believe that I've lost a box of fibre.  I'm at a loss to know how I've managed this as I live in  a house the size of a Borrower's shed. My only hope now is that I will stumble across it while looking for something else that I've lost, it's incredibly frustrating especially as I'm trying to build up stock at the moment.

Sunday sees the first Burscough Fibre Fest,

Burscough is a little village in the North West of England, it's a canal village on the Leeds Liverpool and the wharf is a relatively recently renovated development of stables that were used for canal horses.

The finished wharf is beautiful and houses shops and a restaurant but also hosts markets and events for the local community.  It's here that Colin & Carol from the Wool Boat are hosting their event.

There'll be local yarn shops, indy dyers and feltmakers and spinners too, it's open at 10am - 4pm and a free event so please pop over if you can and say hello.  I realise that the readers from the US, Australia and Eastern Europe may find this difficult but I will think of you fondly and post pictures!

My Eliza yarn is featured in Knit Now magazine this month, I haven't been able to get hold of a copy as yet but believe me as soon as I have it, I'll be posting a probably substandard photo of it.  I'll be very excited and unbearable to live with as the fame messes with my head.

It's still raining pretty much constantly here as it does but we had a couple of hours yesterday to walk the dog and pick Haws from the Hawthorne tree for Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's Haw-Sin sauce. My husband was highly amused to be invited to go with me to pick Haws but readily accepted the invitation.  Hugh says that the sauce is sharp, I'll be sure to post our opinion.


Picking Haws?.......

                                                                  Yes

                                                                No.