Still here

I wrote this blog last at the beginning of the summer and have not been in touch since... tut tut tut.

So what's happening at the knitterwitch's cottage? Well, for a starter my spinning wheel herd has grown with two new friends for Esme the Traveller, first it came Poppy Daisyfield, an Ashford Country that works wonders in fat and bulky art yarns. Recently we had the lovely Alba, a Majacraft Rose that my husband got me for my birthday, and who spins smoothly and effortlessly (the Majacraft, not the husband).

This summer has been pretty busy too. I stayed in the UK and took advantage of all the events I could. I went to WoolFest in June... and then to KnitNation where I took two spinning classes from Judith Makenzie-McCuin and a class on elongated stitch with Merike Saarnit. The lessons were great and I thoroughly enjoyed the KnitNation experience. I've marked my diary for next year's event.

I also purchased a little qiviut fibre although I am in awe of it and haven't dared to spin it... (daft woman, I know...). It's unbelievably soft.

I went to Dorset, to Karen's (Wildcrafts) farm, where we spun, chatted, dyed with woad, and came back with a full set of hand crafted niddy-noddy, nosterpinne and spindle, plus two bags of glorious Ryeland fleece. I have managed to spin one of them (on the grease as it was very clean and loose), and I'm knitting my husband a jumper for his birthday... shhhh! it's a secret!.

What else... Well, on the 26th of September I went to the Flitwick Ravelry meet up, where I met some lovely Ravellers and had a go at making some lovely batts for Art Yarns with Jill Shepherd, who then demonstrated various spinning techniques.

Apart from this social side I have also been having fun with dyeing, spinning, knitting... and I have got a folksy shop - it's called Wowwoolly and I'm selling hand-painted merino tops. It all happened because my finger slipped and I ended up with more merino roving I could shake a spindler at, so I divided it into roughly 100gms lengths and dyed it in different colour schemes - so I'm now selling it. I've also come accross a wholesale lot of Namaste glass knitting needles that will be for sale on my little shop shortly.

I'm off to the knitting and stitching show at the Alexandra Palace (London) tomorrow... have been contacted by a clothes designer who wants to know a bit more about the knitting side of fashion... have been asked to put some of my arty-hats on a local art & craft show... and I've got lots of other plans.

...and that OCA Textiles course that I started (and that was the main reason for me to write a blog)? Well, that's still going - not too fast but seeing that it started me involved in this world of dyes, fibre and magic, it can't complain ;-). I finished the chapter in Colour and I'm starting the one on design. Got a lovely signed book about Zandra Rhodes on the post a couple of days ago and as soon as I scream at my son loudly enough so that he leaves my laptop and my work desk, catch my breath and sit down with a cuppa and my OCA books and art materials, I will be getting on with the work... Ideally I'd like to finish this other section before I contact my (very patient) tutor.

Well, no pictures for this one, but lots to come soon... in the meantime, my painted roving/merino top can be seen at http://www.folksy.com/shops/Ana

Bye for now :-)