C'mon you blues

It's been blue skies for weeks now and I love the colour blue and what better blue is there than indigo ? So I have made an indigo vat which I am hoping to keep going for a few weeks until Kath can come over to play with it.

Tony had never seen indigo dyeing before and as he said its a bit of alchemy in the mixing of it and the way it turns colour when it oxidizes.

A job for outdoors and the perfect spot just outside the kitchen



The end results in all their blues and the vat is still going strong so I am going to mordant more yarns and do some cochineal ,weld and onion skins this week and then over dye with the indigo.
Carrying on with the blue theme I have two blue FO's to show you. The first is a weaving I have just finished in hemp ,handspun silk and few beads here and there.

I quite like the finished effect but boy do I hate hemp now !! I still have to show you the beaded hemp waistcoat but I need DH to take pics of me wearing it and another two cardis I have done too!! Going back the hemp and the reason I hate ? It has no life, its like knitting with string and as for weaving it, it kinks but also limp and is hard on the hands. never again , my love affair with hemp is defo over . I have to say it does hang well and I am told it softens with wear but I ain't doing nothing else in the darned stuff, no sireeee, hate hate it !!! There do you get it ? No hemp for me again .

The next bluey, is a shawlette in some of the suri alapaca fleece I bought at Wonderwool and I love this quick little knit and its so warm too.




Technically its not all blue as I dyed the spun yarn with some purple too.



Talking of alpaca, I am spinning some I bought at Woolfest I was going to wait until Tour de Fleece (on Ravelry!! ) started but I couldn't wait ,so started this on Tuesday . I had two bobbins by yesterday and then today ,as I have been up from 3.30am I have done another bobbin and started the fourth. I guess this will be finished tonight and I will ply the lot when all the singles are done.
Its uber soft and I have done it DK weight and have just the jumper pattern lined up for it .

I was going to stick strictly to fleece for TdF but I haven't had any time to card the one I wanted to . Still it might be just the incentive I need to either finish last years Katmoget or carry on with the yummy Polwarth . I really should finish the Katmoget as there isn't much of it left !!
We had a good time at Woolfest but unfortunately I didn't see much of the show itself due to a migraine , it was oh so hot too but then I didn't need much and they are pretty much the same stalls as in Wonderwool .The highlight was meeting up with friends old and new and the impromptu evening gatherings were such fun too. I did succumb to the wonderful Oliver Twists again and of course picked up my fleece and ended up with another two unexpected ones . I really will show you samples of our fleece mountain next post plus more on weaving and Tony's new loom. Plus some more FO's maybe ;)

Pilgrimage (Photo Heavy )

First of all I want to thank you all for your sympathetic post re Sue. It never ceases to amaze me how generous and thoughtful Bloggers are and I so appreciate your kind words.

We were in need of a break so we thought we would combine an unearthly early hospital appointment for a scan with a few days on Anglesey.

There are a few places I know that I would call perhaps mystical and have a calming, restful quality about them and I long to spend time there. Lindisfarne is one , at least not in the height of the summer season and away from the touristy spots; another is Ynys Dwynwen on Anglesy . Both of these are of course islands which are cut off on high tides. Dwynwen might not be as big as Lindisfarne but in its out of the way spot it is also very much quieter and just the place we needed to sooth the soul.
The weather was glorious and I knew I was in for a hike but it was just what I needed and the aches and pains were well worth it. There is a marked pilgrim path which we hadn't done before , longer but oh so worth it .

We started out through the forest



Then we veered to the estuary


There was an abundance of wild flowers . One of my favourites were the orchids in all shades of pink.



There was a wonderful bank of wild hearts ease in all shades of blues , white and yellow ; amazing how they cross pollinate. If only I could grow them in my garden ; here they thrive in the sandy soil. They certainly do ease the heart :)


Then miles of deserted white beach which in the sunshine and turquoise sea looked tropical. Don't you just love it when you get so much space all to yourself ?


Along the way we see some interesting things including a sculpture made with debris washed up in storms complete with photos from the sculptor.



Is this a crocodile hiding under the seaweed? See the ridges of its back ?

At last we see sight of the island or should I say islands. Also in the far distance out of camera shot is Ynys Enlli another island on the pilgrims list which is at the end of the Lleyn peninsula.

This is the view from the causeway looking toward the mainland off Anglesey and the beach of Newborough, again not many folks about .

Then the island itself.

We spent a few hours relaxing in the warm sun before the long walk back, happy but exhausted and I slept that night like a log. My thoughts that day turned to why islands are quite often holy or sacred places and I wondered if it was something to do about pushing the boundaries as far as we can, both physically and emotionally? I don't know, but I do know that I need to go to these places to get the 'balance' back in my life. It also brings out my creative side and I spent a lovely day yesterday dyeing .

Well blogger is being awkward and this is the third time I have done this post and I am hoping it will post now .

We have both been very busy creating and I will tell you in the next post all about the FO's , another cardigan finished , cowl, moebius ,beaded waistcoat, weaving . Ah yes weaving , another weaver is born and its not me, its my beloved other half . Oh and fleece, fleece , fleece overflowing from every corner; we are now officially the owners of a fleece mountain with so many beautiful ones . Catch up with you after Woolfest ;)

My dearest friend Sue

After a long three year battle with mesothelioma our very close friend Sue passed away peacefully on the 20th May .
My heart is so heavy and I am totally at a loss with myself at the moment & I will miss her so very, very much .

Arghhhhhh two post in one day !!!

Well I was shamed into taking photos of something that I have made to justify my poor old blog and before they wear out !!
Tony's jumper

Its a grey day here today after all the sunshine and I think he blends well with the background !!
Take your hands out of your pocket Tobo

That's better sweetie :)
One pair of hand dyed , hand spun socks in BFL superwash;the other pair is in the wash. Heck what do you want ?

I love these odd socks that I dye up for a quick spin/knit and they are turned out in three days tops . Also I spin them DK weight for the same reason, instant gratification.
Right I might be gone for some time now :)

you get what you need

I have to say that I am pretty happy and content with my life and okay it would be lovely to have financial security in this un-certain world as we are facing yet more redundancy's in Tonys workplace BUT why is it at times we always fancy what we can't have ?
For example :
We went for a walk last week in all this lovely sunshine we have been having lately and I managed to walk for far longer than I thought I would be able to. We started from a lake near us called Llyn Mair(Mary's Lake)

We slowly climbed up and the views get better and better the higher you get

It was a bit hazy so we couldn't quite see our village on the opposite side of the valley but it is practically in the middle of this photo

Then in the middle of nowhere with a dirt track going to it ( we still can't figure how you get to it )was this cute little cottage and we both thought the same 'Wouldn't it be heaven to live in a place like this ? '

Don't the dogs blend in well and look at home ?
No electricity but they had a wind generator and solar panels plus a great log store

It was lovely to see that it wasn't a holiday home as so many of these out of the way places often are here . I have to quickly add, in case you think I am anti holiday homes that I have nothing against incomers at all in fact I welcome them but its sad to see villages dying due to so many part time occupancy homes. We could see that this home was much loved but we had to turn back the way we had come as the dirt road ended there and try and find out were we had got lost on the path we had intended to go on.
We had planed to go to the top lake Hafod y Llyn but I was getting tired by now so it was back down through the woods and we sat a while on this seat which I was certainly glad of and it had a babbling stream nearby which the dogs enjoyed playing in too cool off.

Then we followed the river down

until we caught sight again of Llyn Mair

It was a really lovely walk and totally unexpected in many ways, a real tonic for the soul . It's days like this that make life special for us both when you get the gift of being a part of the beauty around us for however briefly and its enough to satisfy a need and make us happy with what we have.

On the spinning front I had two deliveries of Cormo fleece last week, one was a kilo and came from Sue Macnivern which apparently comes from Tasmania and the other weighs 2 lbs and is from the USA and is a coated fleece. These purchases are a treat really as they are quite expensive for my purse but oh my they are both quite gorgeous
Here they are unwashed

The coated one (on the right) is so very much cleaner and far easier to prep but the other is finer . I am being very careful in washing these both , a little at a time in a small bowl and its paying off as they are the softest fleece I have ever had and feel just like cashmere . I am really looking forward to spinning them .
I also had delivery of the high speed head for the Suzie Pro last week and what can I say but WOW . I though the wheel was fast before but now its amazing and with even lower ratios it makes spinning laceweight yarn even simpler if that's at all possible. Tony says after trying the new set up that he thinks spinning on this wheel is cheating as it so simple to produce yarn and he may be right ;) I am spinning another yummy fibre at the moment , some Pygora which again I bought from the US. Now there is nothing wrong with all the lovely fleece we have in this country in fact I love them all,its just that ...... 'I want what I can't get' thing again !! I read on the net about fleece from Targhee , Rambouilett, Cormo ,Pygora etc etc and you think why can't we have that , what's it like , why can't I have ? Now I guess I can't have it all but I guess I will be happy with what I have and get what I need and enjoy it while I can :)
Oh and I still haven't taken a photo of Tony in his new jumper or the two pairs of handspun socks that I have done .What can I say, I am hopeless but perhaps one day ;)

I am still here !!

There are times when I feel that I should quit blogging as I can't keep up with the photo taking, writing etc but then I think no, I really would miss it and it is a record of 'some ' of the things that I am up to. Ravelry takes up way too much time & energy these days and although I had been good at limiting my time there I find lately that its creeping up again so I am going to try and curb it once more. I go to look for a pattern etc and then get embroiled and then I am too tired to do anything else on the computer.

Right, what have I been up to ? knitting wise I have nearly finished Tony's jumper, I think sadly that I am going to have to frog my 'bog'jacket as its huge (not given up on it though). I have made a couple of pairs of socks and given them away without any decent photos !!
Here is one which I di take a photo of and which my little niece dyed the yarn for. We had a great time with her and Emily dyeing with Kool Aid over the half term.



Ffion also had a play on the drum carder and made a blend for me to spin so I made her a cowl with the yarn . So interesting to watch her choose which colours and fibres she put in too.

I have been dyeing a fair bit for myself too but alas no photos ;hopefully I will show you them in the knitting process. I have a thing for limey spring green at the moment , that and purple :)

I have also been doing a lot of spinning on the new wheel of course. It has been lovely now that we can both sit on the sofa side by side, nattering and listening to music :)


I love this new wheel its so well built and is such a speed demon ; this particular yarn I am really quite proud of.

Its 3ply and with 396yds plus another 40yds left over from the two bobbins from 100gms. has to be the most I have ever got from that weight. It was so effortless though ,which is what amazed me. I have always believed that you can spin any yarn on most wheels but I have to say that there are some wheels that its far easier on, and that's what I need with my joint problems.I have spun quite a few other skeins as well but no photos. The same day the wheel arrived so did a book I had on order. I have been after this book for a few years as its out of print.Its called 'Spinning for Softness and Speed by Paula Simmons 'and I managed to get a really cheap copy from Canada ; imagine my surprise to get a signed copy no less. I am thrilled with it and so I have been practising how to do it , very handy as you only use one hand leaving the other free for a G+T :)just need to practise now !!!

We had a great guild day last week making silk paper and these photos really aren't very good but I am including them any way; the two vessels look lovely with night lights in them . I can see that this craft will be very useful for a lot of things I have in mind for gifts etc



Right off to empty my dye pot, I have 500gms of cashmere bubbling away in a purple dye :)

Oh and I ave just remebered Amber gave me an award which I still need to put on the blog but I promise I will do that next time and it will be soooooooooon :) Thanks Amber but I really don't think I desrve it ;)

brrrrrr its cold

Like the rest of the country we have had snow all this week starting on Monday and this is what it was like when we took the dogs for a walk in the woods.

On Tuesday we went down to Porthmadog and it was all clear down there but we still had plenty up here.
We live behind the Moelwyn's and you can see clearly the snow line.

Yesterday it was still snowing after a lovely sunny morning when I was able to walk the dogs . I meant to take my camera to the woods as the snow has gone into quite deep drifts in places and the dogs had great fun in them.
This a quick shot of the back garden and needless to say I haven't ventured into the shed lately :(


Today I am going to the Lleyn Christams dinner , we always have it after Christmas which is nice. I have to drive to Caernarfon and a I hope that the roads will be clear. We have had yet more snow overnight and showers again this morning.
All this cold weather has meant I have been sitting in front of the log burner a lot :) and am getting on well with Tony's sweater. Thank goodness we have a cosy cottage as I can't bear the cold and it plays havoc with my joints.

Roll on Spring

plying last night

Not much on the knitting front this last week but a lot of spinning. I also went to the Lleyn SWD Guild on Thursday and it was spinning so I achieved a lot there .
All in all I filled my eight bobbins on the Lendrum and so I had to ply last night.
These have all spun up this week .

This was part of a Christmas gift from Kath and its lovely camel and silk and I have left it natural . I have 'Tudora' From Knitty lined up for it



Next was some lovely alpaca, silk and cashmere I dyed up and this will be a shawl , perhaps another mindless Forest Canopy . Again yummily soft but I just can't get the colour to show properly.I really do wish I could find a better camera that doesn't cost the earth . Any suggestions ?



I mentioned in my last post that I have started the Shetland Katmoget fleece and this is the first skein so far. I had intended for it to be DK but what I hadn't allowed for when I spun it as that is that it had a lot of lanolin in it (even though I did wash it )& after washing it all out it has 'floofed' up and I would say that its more aran weight now , but so so soft. Whatever its lovely to spin and the lanolin left make it a quick spin.

Last but not least Ursula and I did a fibre swap this last week and this arrived yesterday morning and in between cooking for DS and his GF I spun it up and then plyed it last night.
Lovely colours and I had intended socks but I guess I was nattering too much (what's new?!!)and I have done it DK weight so another cowl perchance ? Couldn't get the colours to show right on this one either :(


So now ALL the bobbins are free . I so love spinning but I really must get on with my knitting too . So I am going to try and steer away from spinning for a couple of weeks . Crikey this will be so hard, I tell much harder than dieting any day !!
The reason for my self inflicted madness is two fold.
One: I really must knit some of my WIP's .
Two: we are getting a new wheel :)
We have sold Tony's wheel at a very good price. It was a cracking wheel for spinning laceweight but not the most comfortable to spin on for long hours plus he has been eyeing up the Lendrum. So which wheel to go for, I love the Lendrum and its brill for fleece and thicker weight yarns plus great for in the van and guild etc. I have tried a few wheels over the years and I have to say I did like the Suzie Pro and again it won't take much room in our house so that is what we have gone for. It will be a couple of weeks before we get it as they are expecting a delivery from NZ . So I will be well ready for it when it arrives and Tony can play with the Lendrum in the meantime :)and I will have to knit !!