NATURALLY DYED SAMPLE PIECE

I wrote this ages ago and hadn't got around to posting - I'm trying to get a business started and all sorts of other things have got in the way of blogging - I shall try to be more regular now - so much has been going on I've got loads to pass on.

As I mentioned in my previous post a group of us get together every year and go down to West Dean (near Chichester) where we demonstrate natural dyeing at the Wholly Herbs open

 weekend. Each year we come away with a plethera of little woolly samples all dyed in those lovely shades that only come from natural dyeing.

The way we do it is to pre-mordant and wind all the skeins - 5 skeins to a batch - mordanted with alum, chrome, copper, tin and one left plain to be after bathed with iron. Each batch is put into a dye bath and we consequently get 5 colours from each one.

After the show the skeins are wound into balls, then the balls are passed to me to turn into a mini afghan - which is then shown at next years show.

This years finished afghan

Previous years

MY SWAP PACKAGE CAME - HOORAH

Yesterday was a good day - the best for a while, in fact - there was an early start as we were getting the house ready for a new arrival (this is nothing to do with textiles or craft) - by 11.15 she'd arrived and was safely ensconced ......

Meet Bumble - she's the 1 year old bunny from a friend at work who could sadly no longer keep her.

We decided to go out for a late (and lazy) breakfast, and just as we were leaving postie arrived and signed that he had something for us - there was a box for me that had travelled all the way from New Zealand - it was my colour swap package I went all round Tescos saying 'I've got a parcel' with a silly grin on my face!

When I got home I could hardly wait to get it open and this is what I found

I'm chuffed to bits with it - can woolly things wear out if you pet them too much?

The fibre and the yarn will, no doubt appear in later posts :-D - I don't yet know what I want to do with them, so I shall just admire them until inspiration strikes. There were also some girly stitch markers, and sweet smelling, hand made soaps and sweeties and all sorts of other goodies. Christmas all over again!

Later in the day we had a friend over to stay and took him to our fave Italian restaurant (his birthday pressy). So all in all a jolly good day.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

I wonder what all your new years resolutions will be...


I often don't make them but this year I have a few as follows:

• Open an Etsy shop (and maybe one on Folksy too)
• Do a 'how low can you go?' and spin a really fine yarn
• learn to spin thick again
• learn to spin to DK, aran etc
• make some super fun art yarns

Well that's it - nothing too daunting or groundbreaking - but I'd be chuffed if I can shift off my wobbly bits and do the above ;-D

If you have resolutions - crafty or otherwise, do tell........