End of 2013

It's the season to make resolutions, to review what's gone and look forward to the new, but I am currently wrapped up in a big jumper, enjoying the 'now' and watching the wintry wet weather outside.

It's been another hard year, with the loss of MIL and depression rearing its ugly head in the family again. Not to mention DH's  atrial fibrillation recurring. I guess that's what happens as you get older, but it's been a trying year, nonetheless.  The wider family have had their fair share of illness and relationship breakdowns too which makes 2013 an annus horibilis for us. Needless to say, I am looking forward to 2014.

I'm starting 2014 with a trip to www.craft4crafters.co.uk  Craft4Crafters in Exeter at the end of January. I hope to announce further dates as soon as they have been confirmed...

As I head out to my local supermarket on this wet and windy afternoon, may I wish you all a Happy New Year. .....

Handspun projects

You are probably aware that I have been spinning for around 18 months now. The quality of my yarn improves every time I spin and control of the singles spun yarn is such now that I can make any thickness I want pretty much. I'm gaining in confidence too, which means that my knitting projects are more often than not made in handspun now.

I'm making slipper socks for my husband for Christmas. These are in handspun from my latest Fibreholics box. I'm also using sock-stop too. This is a German product, available in the UK, which you apply to the base of socks to prevent the wearer slipping on the floor. It says you need to leave it to dry for 10-12 hours, but it's dry to touch within a couple of hours. I bought mine from P2tog.com recently.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnattersKnits/simple-sock-pattern-8

Fibre boxes

Firstly to fibre and yarn boxes. I have bought several of these in the past, but this week I subscribed to Fibreholics. This is a uk based initiative to promote uk fibre and yarn by indie dyers. Below is what came in the mail today. I am really pleased with these. Whilst one or two of the companies are known to me (porpoisefur, mandacrafts) there are some samples from companies that I've not used before or even heard of. One of these is limegreenjelly. There are samples in fibre and yarn. Another I'm excited about is www.fivemoons.co.uk. I love the idea of Fibreholics, and hope to start contributing to the box myself.

Thank you Fibreholics for such prompt service and for introducing me to some new fibres. You can find the details about this initiative at www.ravelry.com and looking for the Fibreholics group....

UFOs and the itch to keep casting on...

So, just how many projects can you have on your knitting needles at any one time? How many unfinished objects do you have languishing around your home? 

The reason I ask, is that I have suffered a severe case of startitis this last week or so.  I have started some fingerless gloves, a jumper, a scarf and am about to cast on some barn raising squares too. I admit the gloves were also finished, and the scarf is progressing well, but I am itching to do more.... Not to mention the fact that I have some mystery spinning on the go too, for a Christmas swap. ( sorry, no pictures yet, that would take the mystery out of it....)

I guess as long as I don't run out of needles, then I'm ok to carry on... What do you think?

Yarndale and ladies Night

I recently agreed to have a stall at a Ladies night in aid of Rosemere Cancer Foundation.  It was held at the Norman Jepson hotel near the M6 junction. There was a demo from the Clarins team, supper, raffle and some lovely stalls for a variety of tastes. A lot of money was raised for this local cancer charity, and I met some amazing people too. Thanks to Denise from Enabling Transitions for all her hard work in organising the event.

(C) rainbow photos.co.uk

Yarndale
Today was the first day of Yarndale. It's a fibre festival held in Skipton at the auction market. There were over 150 stalls selling everything you could ever want for crochet, dyeing, felting, knitting, spinning and weaving. The buzz online about this event was huge which should have told us how big it would be, but I think their popularity caught the organisers a little on the hop... The fibre lovers of the Uk turned up in their droves, causing gridlock around the town.

It was obvious when they opened the doors to the public as the crowds descended. On the whole the crowds behaved in a very British manner with only minor irritations being heard. Even the children attending seemed to sense what a great event this was and lapped up every experience that came their way.

I'm exhausted, bug I have to return tomorrow for day 2. Here's hoping I wake up in time for the hour long drive to the amazing event that is Yarndale.well done to the organising team, you did it, and you should be proud of what you've achieved...

Yarndale and UFOs

No, there haven't been any sitings of UFOs over Yorkshire, I thought I would try to get some of my unfinished knitting projects off the needles as I am itching to start a new project.

First of all, it's turned chilly here in the North of England and it's suddenly become knitting weather. A few weeks ago it was so hot I couldn't even bear to spin as the fibre was sticking to my palms, but now I love sitting in my studio in the mornings, spinning yarn in readiness for Yarndale.

Yarndale is being held on the last weekend in September in Skipton Auction Mart. It's the first year this event will have been held, but judging by the excitement it has generated thus far, I can see it becoming Yorkshire's version of Woolfest - or even better! Preparation for me includes washing and dyeing fleece, spinning and plying. I just hope I have enough stock for both days.

Whilst spinning like mad, I am currently listening to knitting podcasts. My favourites right now include 90% knitting, knitting in circles and  the UK based podcast Knittynatter. I'm thinking of starting up my own videopodcast but I need to do a bit more research into the hows and whys first.

My UFOs (unfinished objects) currently include:

1) Pair of socks for Amie
2) Bedspread for us
3) Hoodie Jumper for Matt
4) Cardigan for the LYS (local yarn store)
5) Winter coat for me...

My coat is described as a winter cardigan in the pattern below:

 

Its a woolyknits.com pattern and the yarn is theirs too. It is looking good so far, and I'm only 3 rows in. The pattern is knitted using 3 strands of double knitting yarn knitted together. I'm using two brown skeins and one cream. It's going to be lovely and warm. Laura from the shop Purely Wool is knitting one too - and we are seeing who can finish first...

British Wool Weekend

I'm on countdown to this fibre festival called British Wool Weekend. This is my second year of attending. It's held at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate. This year between 7th and 8th September. 

I have spent today washing and sorting fleece. I'm sitting now watching mindless TV and carding beautiful merino. Tomorrow I'm bagging up fibres And spinning, and the same again over the next few days. I just hope I have enough stock for the event. I find it hard to know if what I am making is what customers want, however if you want me to bring something particular along, please let me know!

What's your favourite fibre and colour? I am currently liking pinks and purples and BFL and merino as my favourite fibres, but I'm also loving mohair fibre too.

Spinning Summer School

This last week I attended the association of guilds of weavers, spinners and dyers held in Carmarthen, Wales.  What an amazing week I had. The event was held in the University there. 

We stayed in the single study rooms on campus, which took me back over thirty years to when I was a student nurse. Classes were held on site. I attended the "spinning beyond the basics" course run by Alison  Daykin.

We learned loads during the week long course. My prejudices about yarn were challenged and my inspiration well and truly awoken by what I saw, read and did. Alison was the driver for this change in me, and my fellow course students added to this.

I have now learned to get more out of the tools I use, spin better and different yarns, as well as attempt things which scared me previously. (See photo below).

(Yarn above is mohair spun singly, core spun with the red carded batt, then bound and plied again in kid mohair)

We also spent a little leisure time at the National Wool Museum of Wales, looking at commercial yarn spinning from the past, some of Kaffe Fassett's work and the exhibition from the Welsh Guilds. 

Our week ended yesterday with a brief goodbye to our wonderful tutor, followed by an exhibition of our samples and small pieces and then a great conference dinner to round it all off. 

All I can add, is roll on 2015 and the next summer school. This one was so good, I'll be coming back for more. Thanks to everyone who played a part, no matter how small - you made it an incredible learning event.

Parrox Hall and new items

I attended the Artisan's Market last Saturday. It was the hottest day of the year and I was trying to sell knitted items... Rachael came with me, and we spent a lovely time spinning and chatting. I did enjoy the surroundings and the friendliness of the people there. 

It's made me get organised for sorting out the diary bookings for 2014. Decisions, decisions. Where should I apply to? Where would you like me to attend? Please do leave a comment if there is a venue you'd like me to consider attending... 

Here's a picture of some of the stall, including new hats, knitting kits and new yarn colour ways which will soon be put into the shop at www.knattersknits.co.uk 

Woolfest 2013

I've just returned from THE woolly event of the year so far. Woolfest is held at a livestock auction market in Cockermouth, Cumbria, UK. This was the ninth year of the event, and as each year has gone on the event has become bigger and better.

This year I was on the Ravelry stand raising money for the air ambulance as I didn't mange to get a stand for Knatters Knits. It was lovely meeting so many fellow knitting enthusiasts. I waited until the second day to try the ewes milk ice cream - and believe me it wasn't easy resisting... There were lots of tempting stalls with beautiful yarn and fibre, buttons and spinning accessories and lots more...

I stayed at the most amazing B&B. Ditton Lodge. The couple running it, Lynn and Alan were so welcoming and know exactly what quality means. I would highly recommend staying there - the food is excellent, the room was tranquil and comfortable and the whole stay was more than I could have hoped for....

Commission spinning

Commission spinning has come to me usually when I least expect it. My first ever commission was for a lovely lady who fell in love with some fibre but couldn't spin. That was last year at British Wool Weekend. Since then I've done a variety of things but my latest commission has me very excited. An artist approached me to custom dye and spin some yarn for a tapestry she is weaving. She told me she had some yarn already but that she wanted certain specific colours to add to her project. 

You can imagine how delighted I was about his request, but when she showed me the rest of the yarn she was to use, I was gobsmacked. Every colour she was using was my yarn! Now I knew someone had Been buying my yarn from the local wool shop in Lancaster, Purely Wool, but this was so humbling. An artist wanted to use my yarn! I'm currently dyeing and spinning like a mad thing, migraines allowing.  

Whilst I can't show you her yarn yet, here's some more fibre and yarn I have made this week so far...

Spinning for beginners

I'm so excited I can't tell you! I have managed to set up three one day beginners spinning courses at Myerscough College. See www.myerscough.ac.uk and click on short courses for more information...

Courses will involve fibre preparation, carding, spinning with a spindle as well as spinning on a wheel.

This week I also spun in the grease for the first time in a year with some fleece from a local farmer, my first truly Lancashire Yarn. (Pictured below). 

Whilst its not a great photo, the yarn is really soft, much to my surprise. I was supposed to be skirting the fleeces I have but as this fleece fell apart I wanted to see if it was worth keeping, so I spun up around 20 Grammes. It is definitely one to keep. 

Guild summer school

You'll probably get fed up with me talking about this, but I have been offered a place at the guild of spinners, weavers and dyers summer school in August. I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. To be able to advance my craft is exciting. To attend is an honour, but I'm just a year into this craft - and I just hope that its not totally beyond me. I'm just realising how little I know... Lets hope I get the time off work to attend...

New items completed

I have been trying to build up stock ready for the upcoming fairs and expos. I thought you might like a sneaky peak ahead of the events so here goes:

First off, a scarf from my own hand spun and hand dyed yarn...
Secondly a cowl from Debbie Bliss yarn bought from Purely Wool in Lancaster.
Finally I have set myself a challenge to spin a variety of shades of pink yarn... Here's the spinning so far.
I'm back with a vengeance and all I can say is, look out for me at Barton Grange from 1st May at the guild exhibition...

Recent spinning

I never subscribed to yarn clubs and don't have the concentration span for large projects. However recently I have been buying fibre from Dyespinknit and thought you might like to see the results. The latest fibre is a mix new to me, a blend of trilobal nylon, silk and wool. It has a lovely sheen and is lovely and soft. What surprised me bout the fibre was that I didn't expect it to turn out this way. It exceeded my expectations.

the question now is - what should this beautiful yarn become? What do you think? Please let me know your thoughts...

Kick start

I've neglected things for the last few months as I've been nursing for quite a few days per week. Thats all set to change after this week. My latest assignment comes to an end this week and I can devote some time to getting my stock levels up again.  At the beginning of May I have some exhibits at Barton Grange Garden Centre in the Lancs and Lakes spinners Weavers and Dyers exhibition. It's worth dropping to see - there'll be lots to see, demonstrations and things to buy so do pop in.

Out of action

I can't believe it's taken such a while to update this blog - I have picked up some work as a nurse recently which has taken me away from my spinning - however it hasn't stopped me from knitting - even in a parked car! I have managed to knit a surprise  outfit for a releative's child. It's in the post to them as I write so I can't  post pictures yet, but I will...

Phatfibre shawl revealed

   The shawl is made up of a variety of colours and fibres

 



You may remember my recent post about phat fibre boxes. Well I thought I ought to show you the results of the spinning of the January box contents.










The colours are very heathery and soft - I think the combination of adding and plying with the grey corriedale has helped them blend together,,,,







I'm going to keep this shawl I think - it's so soft and squishy. But mainly because I have no idea how to cost this item - it took around 100 hours to spin and knit, but on an hourly rate of minimum wage, the cost would come to over £600 - somehow I can't see anyone buyng this at that price....

The plus points of exhibitions

I'm currently firming up dates for fetes, shows, festivals and exhibitions that I'll be attending this year. I choose which events to attend for a variety of reasons.
 
Last year I had a stand at British Wool Weekend, and because it was profitable, I'll be there again this year. I also got to meet some interesting people and learned a lot too.
 
This year so far I've been to Craft4Crafters in Exeter and met some fascinating people there, including the ladies who asked me to spin Chow fur for them. I also met a lovely lady called Sara. She runs Saras Texture Crafts. Sara had an amazing amount of fibre for spinners and felters alike.  She was also very supportive and helpful when I met her, giving much needed encouragement to a newbie like me. If you don't see what you're looking for on Knatters Knits, then do pop over to Sara's site - she has an extensive array of goodies you might be interested in!

Navel gazing

I have spent a lot of time deep in thought recently. I'm constantly surprised at how I feel. In my 20s I was keen but lacking in confidence and didn't really know what I wanted, or where I was headed. Over the next 30 years I have become much wiser, my edges softened by life rubbing and occasionally bashing the edges off me. Now in my 50s, I find myself still with a feeling to leave my mark on the world (which has been with me since my late teens) but the emphasis now is much more in being true to myself and doing things of substance and quality.

 I am enjoying my spinning and knitting and am learning about pattern design and clothing manufacture. I have joined a couple of weaving spining and dyer guilds, and attended one a few days ago. I was able to listen to a tapestry designer and weaver whose work really inspired me. Her name is Joan Baxter and some of her work is shown on her website (although the web does not do it justice).

Joan has a particular style, which makes her work identifiable as hers, and I wondered what my style was - or do I have one at all? She has the courage to let her passion and artistic talent dictate the direction of her work. I'm not sure yet what my style is, and often hold back instead of 'going with the flow'.

I guess what I learned from Joan's talk at the Guild, was that I should listen to the voices that tell me which direction to take, and have the courage of my convictions to create - after all, I am working in a creative world now - so watch this space, maybe a particular style might come through if I let go and let the artist in me start to emerge... 

Book Review: The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs

My poor postman - every time I am expecting a parcel I plague him until my exciting package arrives. The look of relief on his face today when The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs arrived was priceless.

This book was described by various forum members on Ravelry, and I wanted to see what the hype was about - and I was so glad I did. It was not hype - the book is a wonderful resource....

The book is written by Sarah Anderson, who has been spinning for many years. She is based in the USA. She starts the book by going back to basics. After making sure the reader has a firm foundation to build on, she then delves into fibre preparation before exploring various spinning techniques.

Whar follows in the remaining pages is pure heaven - a thorough explanation of how to make a variety of types of yarn with the most exquisite photography. This book is real inspiration, and after only a few hours of owning the book, I want to  try out all 80 varieties of yarn that she describes.

The book also comes with 64 unique reference cards that you can keep by your spinning wheel as an aide memoire. 

If you are a spinner, or know someone who is, then this is THE book to inspire and enthuse you to take your spinning to the next level. I highly recommend it.

PHATfibre box - the most enjoyable packet!

I am a member of the website Ravelry. Its THE most useful website I have found EVER. The community of knitters it has brought together are the most generous, most talented bunch of people on the planet.

One group of talented spinners and dyers has formed an international group called PHATfibres. They use a monthly box of samples to promote their businesses. I was lucky enough to get one of these sample boxes recently. It's a brilliant way of tryng out the samples from fibre artists around the world.

Well, the box arrived. I then spent the next 10 hours or so spinning up the samples that arrived. What inspiration I got from this box! I tried new fibres that I'd never spun before including yak and mulberry silk. Wow! What an experience! The colours too are sensational.

I'm also going to use the pattern in the box to make a shawl out of the fibres in this box. It's available on Ravelry (of course) and is known as PHAT SHAWL. All I need to do now is spin up some grey fibre to ply my sample fibre with - and I'm away.

I love the creativity that Ravelry inspires in me - helped by a beautiful sunny day here in the UK - first this year really. So that is how I will spnd my day off today - finishing the yarn and then sourcing some grey fleece to spin up. I just love it when I get inspired by others - so to the Phatties - as they are known - I thank you. Again you've brought a smile to my face and a lovely warm feeling in my heart....

Knatters Knits Yarn and Fibre Update

I've spent the whole day photographing fibre, yarn and then adding them to my Online Shop and it's now gone live.

I'm loving the adventure of dyeing fibre and then seeing how it spins up. Being able to do this is so exciting, and is just such a lovely experience.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I shall sell in future - and need some advice from my readers. Do you think I should sell hand knits?

I will stock dyed fibre and hand spun yarn, but what else would you sell? Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think....

Craft4Crafters

I arrived home at 3am today from a 3 day event callled Craft4Crafters. It was an action packed three days where hundreds of people visited my stall, purchased fibre and yarn and generally had a great time talking about knitting and spinning. I got so much inspiration from the event and will be expanding my range of fibre and spinning items.

Here are just a few photogaphs taken at the event.

 Kirsten admiring the knitting

 Rachael and Rach-Lea

Spinning

 Knatters Creations

 Scarves and cowls

 Wool by Knatters, Weaving by Alison Rainford

Getting ever closer

I've spent the last few days dyeing and drying fibre and bagging it up in readiness for the craft4crafters event in 6 days!

As I write, there's more fibre in the dye pot and a shawl blocking on the dining table. I am spinning like a wild thing. I'm having so much fun being creative, and I am really looking forward to going to Exeter as I get to meet up with family (staying with Dad and seeing my 2 girls whilst I am down there, not to mention going to tea at my long suffering friend Carol's) and although it's only a whistlestop tour, I am so looking forward to going!.

More about craft4crafters after the event - but if you are in the South West of England, please do come and see me!

And the spinning marathon begins!

Towards the end of this month I am attending Craft4Crafters in Exeter. Although its not the first craft exhibition / fair that I will have attended, it's going to mean the biggest amount of work preparing fibre - dyeing, spinning and knitting. I'm so excited - I can't begin to tell you!

I love being able to work with wool and passing on the skills required for each stage of the process is so exhilarating. It's great to see other people achieve a completed item, whether it be a dyed skein of fibre or spun yarn, or a knitted item. My proudest moment happened only two days ago - when my daughter picked up double pointed needles for the first time and did better than I could have ever imagined - well done Rachie! When I think about the tantrums and histrionics we used to have when she first learned to knit, I realise how far she has come, and what grit and determination she has. Can you tell I am a proud Mum?

I am planning on setting up a knitting group this year, and also running beginners classes in spinning. I'll update you on progress - look out 2013, Knatters Knits is coming...