Dyeing Heaven

I had such a wonderful day with the Lleyn SWD Guild on Thursday but before I tell you all about that I want to show you some goodies I received from the lovely Andrea

It was all beautifully packaged and one even had 'sheepy' paper :)

I am using my new camera here and haven't got used to it yet so photos are not great. There is a note book, which is aptly named ,I don't do mornings ;) a beautiful stitch marker that Andrea made herself , a tube of lush hand cream , a necklace and last but not least and you would have to enlarge the pic to see it better, is a hank of lace weight in yummy purples and burgundy's which I have just the pattern for. A BIG thank you Andrea for a most thoughtful gift .

Now my dyeing day .
Wednesday turned out to be a really hot sunny day and for me to be out of the house by 9 am is saying something. I didn't sleep well the night before as I was a bit apprehensive about the driving ; I used to love driving at one time but since my illness I have lost confidence, so it's another thing I am trying to re-claim back.
Well I did get a bit lost but I have to say I enjoyed the drive along the small lanes and the scenery was lovely . The cottage where it was held was just above the sea , a stunning setting and I wish I had taken my camera along with me . I was a bit nervous about meeting a lot of new faces but I need not have worried as they were all lovely and I felt right at home immediately, although it will take a bit to remember all their names . We had such fun and laughter and a fabulous buffet lunch which we all added to .
I have made notes of each dye bath and it was like being a kid in school playing about with this pot or that and as the day progressed the hedges became strewn with all different shades . I was in totally wonderment as to how many shades you could get out of basically four dyes and using different mordants and modifiers.

These are my efforts of the day and I can't wait to knit them up but I have to be patient as we are all bringing our skeins at the next meeting for a group photo. Also, of course I have yet to do my dyeing day with the other group and so I should have even more choice of colours to use.




I think I am hooked on natural dyeing and will certainly experiment more with it in the near future.
There is a wealth of talent in this group also: so now that I have joined,I have two SWD guild meetings to look forward to each month. I am going to the all Wales gathering with them as they are providing a coach which passes my door nearly,so it will save me the hassle of trying to find the place were it's held and have fun nattering with them on the journey. All guilds are given a fibre to create something with for the show and then the finished item is judged and in the Meirionedd Guild we have re-cycled plastic bottles which spins okay but as I have missed the last meeting I am unsure what we are doing with it as yet. In the Lleyn Guild they are using camel so it will be fun to work with both projects. I have already spun my piece of camel , a fibre I had never used before and it is so soft and now I need to dye it for the piece of work I have been assigned to do .

The rest of the news I have is that Canon got back to me re the camera and even though the camera is nearly four years old its a known fault with this edition and they will repair it free of charge , Brilliant:)
I am also keeping my promise of trying to do more walking . On our doorstep we have so many lovely walks and there is one in particular I have wanted to re-do for a few years now, but as its an uphill climb to get back I have been putting it off as I know it would be hard for me. BUT, we did it the other day and I was so chuffed with myself even if I was aching all over after .
Here is Rhaeadr Cynfal (Cynfal Falls)



It was in full force but as there are so many leaves on the trees now you couldn't see it all so I will have to go back in the Autumn. I took a lot of photos and in one of the meadows we walked through there were so many wild flowers and then in the trees the variety of mosses ,ferns, lichens and mushrooms was far greater than I have seen at this time of the year , due no doubt to the heavy rain we have had this year.All of this area is a nature reserve and is one of the oldest and unspoilt woodlands in Wales and was featured on TV programme recently.
Tony took a picture of me hugging a tree !!


Look what I found a few minutes later


Which goes to show that if you hug a tree it will give you a little of its heart :)

On the knitting front I have nearly finished the back of the cardigan and am also half way through knitting Ophelia from the Colinette Femme Fatale book,using the frogged Giotto so X fingers that this will look okay knitted up. I am hoping it will as I need an outfit for a family wedding and have fabric to make a skirt to match and I have the 'Blimey Limey' shawl to go with it too.

I tell, you its all go here :) and Kath and Emily are over tomorrow hence why I am updating my blog today . Kath has had an exciting week too but I will let her tell you all about that( when she gets time !!) and Tony has been busy in the shed with wood and drill and bits making something for us girls to play with, hopefully over the next few days, all being well.
So will tell you all about that in my next post.