Sewing and Dyeing

I'm playing with dye, encouraged after my day at Toft I bought dyes and yarn and I have been playing. The skein on the right was the first one I did. I 'painted' it in magenta and blue on cling film and then I put it in the microwave. It was a bit hit and miss as I wasn't sure how long to cook it for, when I took it out quite a lot of dye came out of it as I rinsed it, this could have been as there was too much dye or because I didn't cook it long enough. I'm not sure whether to wash it again or over dye with another colour. The skein on the left was dyed with the left overs of the first skein. I love this one, how the colour changes are so subtle, there is a true lavender colour and mixes.

Having done that I got bored waiting for the yarn to dry so I made this knitting bag from a pattern from Emma Garry. The fabric was from the Fent shop in Skipton, the outer is John Lewis and the lining is Liberty. The Fent Shop is fantastic for fabric and notions, all brands, pieces, bolts etc. 12" zips only 50p! I always visit when I go to Skipton, sadly they don't have an online shop so you have to visit. What's not to love about a visit to Skipton I say!

I had a good day creating yesterday, and now I'm off to Derbyshire for the Wensley Yarn Workers Exhibition in Cromford. I'm doing socks! 

I think I may have found my blogging mojo!

Day Two - Two August Challenges!

This is today's picture for the August Break Challenge, yes I know the title should have been circles, but the fluff I used for this yarn was called bubbles so I'm going with that, bubbles, a bit like circles, maybe.

The second challenge is that of the Wensley Yarn Workers August Challenge, this is my offering, the idea is to use the photo as a stimulus for creating something yarn associated. I couldn't resist the fluff to make this art yarn to go with it. It was fun to spin as it was full of slubs and bits and sparkles and silk and, and.. it was gorgeous. I actually preferred the fluff than the spun yarn.

Wensley Yarn Workers Challenge

On the first Sunday of every month I go up to Derbyshire to stay with my sister and together we go for a creative day with the Wensley Yarn Workers. We meet in the Wensley Reading Room which is a delightful little village hall, often with a log fire blazing. We spend the morning learning something new and the afternoon knitting, spinning, weaving or just creating. It's a really lovely day. Lunch is made by Kate and her husband and consists of home made soup and bread or jacket potatoes and there are always home made cakes or biscuits. It really is one of the best ways I know to spend a Sunday. Each month Kate posts a photo on the forum on Ravelry as inspiration for the next meet. We can interpret it in any way we choose or not. This is mine for this month. This month's photo is of a lake (I think its in Scotland so it's a Loch) I used a number of fabrics I had in my stash and made this string block cushion. 

For those of you who requested a photo of me in the dress I made the other week, here it is. I was going to save it for the summer which meant no tights, but I found these teal ones in my drawer and thought they would go really well with the dress and this cardi I made a while ago. I'm chuffed to bits with the dress and can see I'll be making more. The pattern would be great shortened as a top to wear with jeans or made to bum length to wear with leggings. I need to go back up to Skipton to buy more pieces of cotton lawn. Damn!

Paper Beads

Necklace made with paper, so simple and so effective. I've just used a simple triangle shape for my beads but there are many more as I found out on Sunday up in Wensley. See my previous post.

Adventures in Spinning

                                      

Remember this from my last blog post? My first attempt at spindle spinning? like I need another crafty hobby? Anyway it turned into this!

 Two hanks of spun wool. Hurray!

And then this, plied together to make a marl effect yarn and now being knitted into a cowl or a mat or whatever I can get out of it. I've really enjoyed the process even though it was a trial to see whether it would be feasable to spin my own yarn to cut down on costs for my knitting. It might be, if I can get a more even spin, maybe I need to play with a proper wheel to see if I can achieve it.

So let's see what I can do with this, I'm wondering if I can mix the fluff to make a variagated yarn or whether I spin each colour and then ply them together. We shall see. I need to so something with it by Saturday as I'm going up to Derbyshire to the monthly 'Wensley Yarn Workers' meeting on Sunday. The colours of the fluff I have chosen are to go with the April Challenge a photograph of some clematis.

Brassington Buttons

Lovely weekend with my sister in Matlock,. We spent Saturday shopping in wool shops and Sunday with the Wensley Yarn Workers. Kate showed us how to make Brassington Buttons, this one's mine, a variation on Dorset Buttons, in the morning. And in the afternoon Jane showed me how to spin. I used her table top electric spinner and then I used David's Kiwi spinnning wheel. As if I need another hobby but I loved the spinning. 

These are all the buttons that were made by the group on Sunday. The Wensley Yarn Workers use the 'Reading Room' in Wensley on the first Sunday of the month for yarn and crafty enterprises. They were all so welcoming and lovely company, Lovely hall with an open fire and a great lunch. I feel as I've made new friends. I can't wait for The first Sunday in April for the next one.