a little fibre content

Hi, I hope you all had a good, festive holiday and don't have to to back to work too soon.
Some of you may know that we don't really do the Christmas thing in our house but that doesn't stop us from having the occasional presents and sometimes we will treat ourselves. In the past this has included gifts to each other of earplugs ( to wear under crash helmets) thermal clothing ( again for motorcycling) and this year....shares in a fridge freezer. Yes, the old one stopped working just before Christmas so we welcomed the snow and freezing temperatures so we could keep the milk etc fresh.
We now have a brand spanking new fridge freezer..........and the washing machine is playing up and Ian's computer is on the blink. In fact, if you read Biker Ted Diaries there will be a bit of a lull in posts until everything is up and running again.

Anyway, the scarf is finished athough the colours totally confused my camera so a photo of the finished article will have to be in your imagination :-)

I received a lovely parcel from Bettina of Woolly Bits, containing my first ever stitch markers, some lovely bits to add to my embroidery and some teeswater tops for spinning.



A secret Santa at the Spinners, dyers, weavers meeting gave me a needle felting kit.



And I gave myself a book.


Hot off the drop spindle, a mini skein of merino and 'silk' machine embroidery thread.



Many thanks for dropping by, I now need to do some housework :-(

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings from a chilly Nottingham to all of you, thank you for all your support and encouragement in 2009.

playing soldiers

Whilst we were camping in Cornwall the other week, we learnt a couple of new games:-

Save the Jelly Babies...drown a jelly baby in your pint then save it with a straw



Stupid things to do with balloons.



Soldiers...........everyone has a toy soldier either green or brown



On the first whistle assume the same position as your toy soldier.



On two whistle blasts rally your troops, fortunately for me the green troops rallied at the bar!

Santa wasn't quite sure what to make of all this :-)



However all our mess was cleared up before the cleaners arrived thanks to Phyl and the team who mucked in inspite of hangovers.



By the way, it's a little cold and frosty camping in Cornwall in December!

Dodgems and Switchbacks

Just over a week ago we were back in Cornwall for a camping weekend with friends. Now we have made this trip at least once a year for the last 12 years and each time we pass the usual landmarks, variable speed limits on the motorway near Birmingham, the willow man which is the largest willow sculpture in the UK, camels (Humphrey and Boo)by the side of the road on the M5 ( just keep your eyes open and you will see them stood in the corner watching the traffic with a big grin on their faces) and a large brown tourist sign for Dingles Steam Village near Launceston. This time we set out to track down the attraction and this is what we found.






We were the only visitors there and got to play on the slot machines and the pinball, clamber round the rides and enjoy the company of the volunteers working there. If you like fairgrounds and are ever in that part of the country then pay them a visit. They are preserving the fairground heritage for future generations and long may they continue to do so.

just checking in

I know I've been quiet this week but work has been a bit hectic and we also had a domestic disaster so I've only just got round to sorting out some photos from last weekend.
So....here is a quick piccie to make you smile and keep things going until I get more time.



who could resist the hall of mirrors?

all things bright and colourful (knitted)

and a bit more dyeing and spinning







Have a great weekend and thanks for you comments and jokes about the Durex Knitting needles :-)

acid dye experiment spun up

just need to wash, dry then knit.

Did they really make knitting needles?

I was merrily practising my knitting (trying out drop stitch scarf pattern) when I noticed the name on the knitting needles.




Is it just me who find this, er, unusual?

Acid dyeing with steam

Hi, I can't take any credit for this method as I followed instructions from the following links.
I must say though, if you use a steamer do keep an eye on the water level as excess water in the fleece will drip down and may cause it to overflow and do not use the steamer for any food preparation.

Video instruction

useful sites jaynee.co.uk

I hope you found these as useful as I did.

We spent this morning being jostled by large crowds at Lincoln Christmas Market, far too many people ignored the one way walk round directions and we gave up once we had bought the three presents that were on our list and retired to the local bike shop for a cup of hot chocolate!!

all things bright and colourful

Many thanks for all your barefoot comments:-)

heres a quick round up of my experiment on Sunday

Take this



Add this (not used for food)



Add some colour



And get this!!

Quick question

Hi

a quick question prompted by Laura's comment on the previous post.

How many of you spin or operate your sewing machines barefooted ?

Another week over

I seem to have less and less time to do the things I enjoy, not really sure why. Maybe I am just too disorganised at the moment :-) still I think that I will have to stash bust next year or I will not be able to get through the door. With that in mind I set out this morning intent on getting to the Spinners, Dyers, Weavers Guild,then promptly forgot my good intentions and bought a pack of Indian block printed cotton patchwork squares at our local oxfam shop... no hope for me really especially since I have not unpacked my purchases from Harrogate yet!

On Wednesday nights, as many of you know, I go to Stitched Up to catch up on the gossip and stitch/knit/spin/craft as the mood takes me. Off and on over the last few weeks Laila has been learning bobbin lace using thick colourful threads and we now have a fish and some seaweed which will soon be joined by a fluffy eel.



SDW meeting today was busy with at least 4 new spinners having their first go on a wheel. Sally showed off her felted scarf made with dyed roving and the help of a tumble dryer, Sally also bought along her cool blue wheel which I found difficult to use mainly due to the fact that I was wearing hiking boots!!





Peter had been busy dying fibres with kool aid and food colourings, had his first go on a wheel and wowed the ladies with his prowess on a drop spindle.



I finally finished the scarf, really pleased with this and now want to try knitting my own hand spun.



Have a great weekend everyone, whatever you may be doing.

My week so far....

Hi, I went back to work on Monday and many thanks for all of your get well wishes, they seem to be working as I am getting back to normal. Although I do seem to have a creative block and a desire to do repetitive things but this will pass in due course.

I only worked until Wednesday this week as I had a few days owing so Wednesday evening I had a quick look round the German Market and The Ice Rink ( scene of my downfall or rather falling down last year) One or two strange characters were spotted wandering around....








Then on to Stitched Up meeting and the chance to make lace, drink tea and gossip with friends. New friends are always welcome so if you live near Sherwood, Nottingham, drop us a line:-)




On Thursday I took the chance to amble down to Nottingham Contemporary to see the David Hockney and Frances Stark Exhibitions. I still do not like David Hockney but Frances Stark made me smile and I suspect that the girls and myself may get to spend an hour or two in the bar there from time to time.


Claire busy setting out Pinky and Boo stall

Today I have been keeping Claire company at the West Bridgford Craft fair selling her wonderful brooches, bags, aprons whilst spinning up a storm on my drop spindle.





Tomorrow we go down to the Long Eaton Chestnut fair, then on Sunday Claire, Vicky, Hannah and myself will board a coach for the knitting and stitching show at Harrogate. Two coaches are due to go from the Textile Workshop and I suspect ours will be the loud one. Hopefully I will have room to do some knitting in the way there as I really need the practise:-) so far I think I have conquered the knit part, next I will think about purl!




Have a great weekend, whatever you may be doing.

Winners

I asked Biker Ted for two numbers and he came up with 22 and 35 so checking my list ( and realising that Ted had sneaked his own name in) we have two winners.

Carolyn of Love Stitching Red

Clare of Thread of Loveliness

Well done both of you, I will be contacting you for your addresses and goody bags will be dispatched on Saturday.

Also a big thank you to everyone who has commented on my blog over the last few weeks, I really do appreciate your encouragement.

Edited to answer the Question, what is a Skye Winder, also known as a Whirligig and believed by some to have been the first toy made. Older readers may remember using a large button rather than a wooden disc

Whirligig

1. This toy can be made in minutes and can entertain children for hours. You'll need a large button or wooden disk with two holes drilled in the center. You'll also need some thin string. Thread the string in through one of the holes and back out through the other. Tie the ends of the string together to create a loop with the button in the middle. Loop your index fingers through the ends of the string and swing the button in circles to wind the string up. When the string and button are wound up, pull your fingers gently apart. The string will unwind quickly and cause the button to whirl and buzz. By gently moving your hands back and forth, the whirligig will spin as long or hard as you wish.

playing catch up with TAST

Hi all, I'm still off work with the nasty cough and cold thing. So I've been tucked up with a hot drink, paracetamol, needle and thread.

Here are four more of the Take a stitch Tuesday ATCs, knotted buttonhole stitch. shisha stitch, satin stitch Yuk,Yuk, and buttonhole wheels.

I will announce the Monster winners tomorrow as soon as Biker Ted gives me two numbers between 1 and 39 so keep your fingers crossed :-)