Quick Knitting

I realised Friday night that I had no beanie to wear while watching my kids play Aussie Rules footy on Saturday morning. The games were out at Richmond where the wind blows over mountains (and any snow that has fallen around Oberon and Orange) right into our faces at the footy field. A cold day was predicted by the weather bureau, and I remembered last time I was there on such a day it was bitterly cold. Therefore I stayed up very late Friday frantically knitting myself a beanie - the rest of the family already had one each.

In the morning, exhausted, and rugged up with layers to fend off the cold wind, I got out of the car and the kids put on their sleeveless footy jumpers and shorts (!) and ran off.

After setting up the chairs, rug, bags with everyone's warm clothes, snacks, water, etc etc, I settled in to watch the game. The winters day was warm as toast and sunny, with a slight refreshing breeze. I took my jacket off. The beanie stayed in my bag.

Hmmm. At least next time I will have a warm hat...

Fibre Experiments Ahead!

I have gone mad acquiring different wool samples to use when doing the guild spinning competence course (however, that may be just an excuse to buy the stuff...) I like the idea of working through a programme to make sure I try out lots of fibres and ideas. A nice challenge, perhaps not as much as the challenge of actually making the time to do it in between family commitments and house renovations! Anyhoo, the intention is there...

In the picture above there is oatmeal blue-faced leicester combed tops, white falkland combed tops, and grey gotland combed tops. Quite different fibres from each other. And I am LOVING the natural colours at the moment!

Some spinning...

I've done some more custom spinning of the alpaca fleeces for a customer. Rich black alpaca, spun about 8 ply, as well as one of my favourites, amethyst shade of merino and tussah silk, with sequins. I love the way the tussah silk creates ribbon-like waves through the yarn. There is some white alpaca yarn bursting off the bobbins, too, crying out for plying. Soon...

Blue Faced Leicester, Wensleydale and Alpaca

Above are some of the fibres I have been enjoying lately - the brown yarn is some handspun alpaca that I am spinning for a customer. The white roving on the left is blue faced leicester (mmm) and the white roving on the right is wensleydale, which I can't wait to see once it is dyed - such long fibres, too. More therapeutic fibres making their way here in the next week or so. I am fascinated by all the different fleece characteristics of different sheep breeds, and other natural fibres as well. Love it!!

Spin and Knit - along

I'm really enjoying checking out the fun progress of the spinners participating in the shawl spin/knit-along on this blog. If you haven't seen it, check it out! For beginner or experienced spinners, doesn't matter...

Knitting and Magazine News

Hi all.

Sahara is finished - photos soon. Yay! Got a wee bit tired/irritated/impatient with the project by the end, or was that just due to the torrential flooding storms that hit Sydney and forced the children inside for DAYS, and the sick little croupy child that has been glued under my arm for the past week, as well as the building renovations going on at our place? Hmmm, not sure. Anyhoo, Sahara is DONE... and straight on to SOCKS (again!!) This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Sock yarn in Purple Iris colourway, and I am knitting the Conwy pattern from Nancy Bush's trusty book "Knitting on the Road" - full of super sock patterns. I tried the long-tail thumb cast on which was fun, although my daughter thought I was knitting very "weirdly". According to my Mum I always knit weirdly, as I taught myself to knit and crochet from books as a child, complete with odd yoga-like hand configurations to complete stitches! Nevertheless, the finished product seems to work out OK.

I have recently felt somewhat burnt out so splurged on some sock yarns and patterns that OTHER PEOPLE MADE. Feels very decadent, but therapeutic.

Speaking of burnt out, there will be no June issue of "Spins & Needles" magazine, and probably just newsletters to those on our emailing list, rather than magazines, in the future. As this venture is a one-woman-show, my children have suffered through the enormous amount of time I have needed to spend on the magazine. As the magazine does not produce direct income, I have to reduce that in favour of other writing projects I have been working on. I will try and do some tutorials and articles from time to time, though, as I am keen to promote spinning, as always!

I’m sorry to disappoint our readers, and appreciate the enthusiasm and feedback about the magazines. I’ll still be listing goodies for sale on the website, of course.

Catch you soon,
Wen.

Knitting, knitting, knitting...

I am totally addicted to knitting this jumper - "Sahara" from Stitch Diva. I'm knitting it in Bendigo Woollen Mills 8 ply machine washable pure wool Classic, colour shade "Spinifex". It will be a nice, not totally soft (! I don't mind a bit of itchy scratch - I WILL NOT wear acrylic as it makes me feel ill) garden variety jumper for me this winter. I am casting off the diamond rib pattern at the bottom and am ready to start the sleeves. The cold weather has hit here in the mornings, although the middle of the day is gorgeous, so I'm knitting like a maniac. My WIP is beautifully styled here with my youngest daughter's Bed Teddy and Bertie the Bus.

Have got to say, I am a total convert to this top down seamless garment knitting. Quite some time ago I bought Barbara Walker's book "Knitting from the Top", and have only just started ploughing through it. Fabulous!!