Nasty Foot & Pretty Yarn

When I went to Liverpool I had got more than I expected...

This is my foot four days after I was bitten by an insect on my arrival on Friday afternoon...

It was itchy, swollen, red and not very nice at all - after a week it has now returned to 'normal'...







And I found out that I can spin with a cold compress on my foot....

This is the batt I brought at Skipnorth ...all spun up and ready to be transformed into a jumper

Once my yellow lace collar is completed it will be on the needles...






And then I decided that I needed to spin something 'interesting'

This is plied with sequins - not that many but they are bright pink....









And this is fibre that is wrapped round a core of cotton....














And my favourite.....

Yarn with bells on :-)


And now I'm off to try and design a shadow knitted sheep, with a bit of luck it will look vaguely sheepish and people will enjoy making a flock at Woolfest...

Reasons not to knit

At Woolfest I bought a bag of "City Lights", here is the first bit spun up and plied with some Jacob that was waiting to be used.

There is 100g here, and as I've managed to spin a near DK weight there 'should' be enough to make a jumper ....



And there is a sheep that is touring the countryside wanting to show off British fleeces..

At the top - Leicester Longwool,

At the bottom Dark Masham, this was in a kit I got when I was a teenage to learn how to spin with a drop spindle - it was unwashed and no instructions to wash or card - no wonder I didn't get it then...




This is a view of the river from a couple of weeks ago - a lovely summer's day as you can see.... it was raining, it had been raining a lot in Wales...

Yesterday when I ventured out the level was down, and no where as high as it was this time last year, thank goodness...




And look at the boy - half a thyroid and four teeth lighter... he was not a good patient for the first few days, bandages didn't want to stay on (I had to tie something round his neck to keep the remains of the original in place). Then he decided in the middle of the night that he didn't want to go downstairs to the litter tray, so the bath hole was were he poo'd...

Since he has been allowed out again he is behaving better, hopefully he will not lick the scars too much and the stitches will be ok when they come out in just over a week...

And now I'm going to see if I can actually knit something, I seem to be froging more than knitting these days...

Ideas not resolutions

I hardly ever make resolutions, mainly because they are just made to be broken.. instead I have had an idea for this year - try and only buy things I need... including yarn - it must be a good bargain and it must have a purpose..
So this was a bargain, but I did buy it last year - 500g of interesting batt (with silk) The colours looked more muted on ebay but it called to me, and as I haven't done any spinning for a while I decided it was the push I needed to get the wheels turning...









And this is the yarn ( I dont think any of it has been near a sheep...) that is going to be leaving my house soon.

So tomorrow I will be standing in the queue at the post office - I do hope it doesn't snow.. it looks very pretty but on untreated lanes, not so good....

A very strange thing has happened over the last few days I've decided to have a sort out of clutter, clothes and general stuff - think it could have been looking and seeing how much yarn I had or just trying to take my mind off January and the usual bad news it brings...

Right I better find those addresses and then see if I remember how Morris works...

A Lot can happen in a week....

First I tried to clear up and found an interesting place to store wool - This is a disgustingly painted fireplace in my bedroom and I found some wool hanging out of the chimney - I pulled and the ball appeared.... I've no idea how the ball got up there....

But now I know that the chimney needs sweeping....


Then I got one of these he is called Morris - coz he's a traveller (my Mum had one of them when I was little - the car not he wheel, that is....)




This is Saturday Sky taken in Mid Wales where I went to a meeting of the Spinners, Weavers and dyers.


I decided to stop spinning half way through the afternoon, I thought three bobbins was probably enough for one day !!




And when I got home I found that one of my boys was not well - he had a very bloody face, an abscess had burst on his face...

And while talking to nextdoor about him I nearly fainted, not a good feeling...

He has been to the vets and had injections, and I've been a good mum and put some savlon on his hole, works well for a little while and then he licks it off.... (I didn't think anyone would thank me if I put up a red faced cat picture..)

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This is the first proper spinning on Morris, after about an hour I've managed to be able to spin thinnish....




I also went on an adventure to pick up some Leicester Longwool fleeces.

And I have a washing production line in the garden (the smell is interesting and the neighbours haven't said anything yet !!!)

First you soak over night is hot water with washing up liquid...


Then you put over some wood and chicken wire.

And put the hose on it to rinse....

When it looks a lot cleaner, leave to dry....

And the following day it might end up looking like this....



















And after a little while with Morris, this is what you get.....

A really nice spin, extra long staple which makes things so much easier ...



And I think I will be blogging more intermittently, too much course work coming up in the next few months.... And then there is the garden, not to mention the knitting that needs catching up on...

And while I think of it, Tina is on the third edge, only another 41 points to go... Promise I will be back when she is finished ;-)