Autumn vegetable garden

I'm just bragging I suppose but take a look at my veg hoard today! I've got some amazing tomato plants and they just keep on going. :-) my courgette plant has spread about 2 meters now too!

My week with fluff, resin and spring

This week I have been a busy spring bee.  Not only have I been working hard getting things ready for wonderwool, but I've been doing it sporting a beehive hairstyle (my current hairstyle obsession) so I think that counts doubly towards me being a busy spring bee!

So, I've been making some lovely spindles whorls for the show, concentrating on using up some pressed flowers that I gathered last summer from my garden.

They are looking really pretty! I've also been experimenting with embedding pictures in my resin- I can't wait to show you the results. I've made spindles with maps in, illustrations and vintage fabric... 

I've also been spinning and dyeing yarn for my shop. Since I've got my new addition to my fleet (Maple the Lendrum) you cant stop me! 

The weather has been wonderful for drying yarn outside too.

I've also been really enjoying reading a retro favourite - "a country diary of an Edwardian lady" recently. I love comparing the way spring unfolds in 1902 compared with today, and learning wildflower names at the same time. Spring is about a month ahead right now! 

What I did in Novemeber

Things have started to get very busy for me in my little online shop, and I am starting to see myself making a career out of doing the things I love- creating with fibre, colour and texture. Thank you for all your support so far- you know who you are!

So! I designed a new chunky handspun called 'I WANT candy!' Made from hand dyed merino in sugary bright colours then plied with handfuls of sequins. I love plying thick n thin with threads- the effect is something in between curly ringlets and vintage ricrac and I can spend ages just squiging it! 

This is a picture of it on my trusty spinning wheel, in all her pastel pink glory! It was a fun spin and could very quickly work up into a cute hip length cardigan- I think I will spin more for myself soon- this first lot sold on my shop within hours of posting it, which I found very touching and exciting!

I also spun up one of my Meteor batts into a very fine singles, keeping the colour stripes separate so I could attempt Navajo plying. I had never tried Navajo before and since then you can't stop me! It is very addictive and mediative chaining lengths of one strand of yarn and ending up with a three ply! The resulting yarn is perfect for socks- it still has thick and thin variations, but is consistent enough and strong enough with the bamboo to work well. 

This brings me into my next event for Novemeber- I am finally learning how to knit socks! I resisted for a very long time, thinking that it was too beyond my technical abilities or patience threshold, but after spinning that Meteor batt so finely I couldn't wait to dig out my DPN's!

I took this picture just after I cast on and successfully knitted the first few rounds of rib. I was very smug at this point! The background is a little drawing I completed as part of a Botanical drawing  class. 

Finally, even though this has been the busiest month for my Spin City yet, I still managed to get out into the local countryside that I love. I'm sitting in a magical spot nearby my village where the trees have at one time fallen down, then started growing upwards again- several different species in the same place have all grown in this way - I wonder why! It is such a restful, enchanting grove and I always take time to refect and enjoy their strange beauty. 

I will be updating the blog with more dyeing and spinning in my next post! 

Louise x

Chelsea flower show

What a wet an rainy day it was yesterday! I don't think a person could get more drenched in a single day without going swimming!

I was literally wringing my coat out to try and keep a little warmer. Ugh! Oh well, that is England for you.

I have so many lovely pictures of Chelsea, and if thought I'd start by sharing this snap of one of the Artisan Gardens, called 'The Hebridean Weavers Garden' which featured a real Shetland style spinning wheel and a casket full of fleece! I loved the mossy roof too. So romantic.