Spinners Swap .

This is just a small Blog to show off a bit .

Look what the postie brought me . I have just taken part in my first Spinners Swap on Ravelry and this is what I got from Swap partner Daniela from FeltStudioUK
It's absolutely fantastic. Gorgeous purple batts to spin , Hippy tops to spin , teddy buttons , stitch markers . lip balm and a daft sheep key ring. Aren't I a lucky Bear .
Can't wait to star spinning them :0)

C.R.A.F.T. Spinning , day's out etc etc ...

Ok ! It's been over a week since i blogged. It's mainly because of my memory , or lack of it . My youngest says I suffer from the adult version of ADHD . It's called CRAFT ( can't remember a flippin' thing ) . I've kept forgetting to get batteries for the camera and when I finally got round to getting some , I kept forgetting to blog .So here I am , I've remembered. He He !!!!

I have been busy though , dyeing yarn and there is now a small update on my Blogshop .

There's some new sock yarn and a bit of Double knit BFL as well .

The forms for the shows have started to arrive and I will have to start filling them in and getting them posted. We've had a bit of bad news though . Trevor , the guy who organises a few of the Cumbrian shows , has had a stoke and has been forced to retire from doing them . This is a blow as we usually go up to Silloth for a four day show at Easter but it won't be happening now. We are still going up but are having a short holiday instead as we have booked the caravan site .This will be the first time in 16 yaers I have not worked over Easter.

I've had a busy week on other woolly projects as well.

The Rainbow Socks are finished .
The Falkland roving that Artis-Anne gave mne for Christmas has been spun and plyed and is now awaiting a suitable projest to turn up to be knitted . It's my best yet . I spun it very fine and managed to get 420 yards so I'm thinking small shawl .

I've been spinning my gorgeous purple batts that I got from Blackpurl for Christmas . The camera has not done it justice , it just doesn't like purple and always shows it blue .

More spinning . This time some of my own hand dyed Shetland . I'm getting this very fine . I was inspired by a visit to Littleberry last week . She spins some really fine yarn .

We had the Bear Cubs to stay on Wednesday night , which we enjoyed asthey are pleasure to have . The day after we went on our usual trip to Morecambe . They won't go anywhere else and love to play on the Stone Jetty , even the eldest who is 15 . It was bitter cold but they soon warmed up running round . After we went to Greigs for pasties and ate them in the car .

With the Easter Fair being cancelled ,it has relieved the pressure to get things finished for then .So Papa Bear has been taking advantage of the fine weather and getting the veg plot ready. Tomorrow we are going out hunting fruit bushes and seed potatoes . We just need a pig and some chickens . I wish !!!!

Now I'm going to have a little rant . Over the past six weeks or so the weather at times has been somewhat Icelandic in temperature . So will somebody explain to me WHY Mums of today do not wrap their children up against the cold and biteing winds. When I've been out and about in the village it has sickened me to see the number of babes and toddlers in prams with no hats , no mittens and no blankets wrapping them up and keeping them warm . I used to put a hot water bottle in the pram when mine where young and they were in a proper pram facing me ,not one of these buggy things open to the elements . It's down right cruel to do this to a babe .

Here endeth my rant . What do you think ??????

Right , now that I've got that off my chest I'm going to put my feet up cos I'm knackered :0)

I got an Award .

Oooo Look what I got .

Ambermoggie has very kindly awarded me this .
The rules are:-
1. Copy the award to your site. Done
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award. Done
3. Nominate other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.
Nominate other Bloggers ,Hmm ! Amber has already nominated Annie so I can't choose her .So I'll nominate Littleberry as she is pure inspiration if you spin . And Dajon designs as they make simply fab cards . And ProbablyJane as she must knit and spin in her sleep , the ammout of yarn she gets through .

Dyeing , Knitting and a Few signs of Spring

We've just come back from our walk and to put it bluntley , it's bloody freezing.Mind you I've felt the chill all morning as i have spent it in the kitchen dyeing , more later.

We have been lucky with the Winter weather though , we've had hardly any snow round here . Unlike down south where it's been terrible . Think I've changed my mind about wanting to move down to Devon :0) There was the first signs of Spring today . These are Pussy Willows breaking through . Sorry It's a bit blurred but Meg kept brushing against the branch .
Tinny leaf buds on another tree . Not sure what it was but It's coming to life .

And it looks like Moley had abandoned the whitewash ( Wind in the Willows readers will know what i'm talking about )and come to the surface for a look round .

As I said before i've been dyeing again , wool this time . I have been putting a new plan into operation this time , as far as dyeing is concerned . I usually go at it like a bull at a gate and dye the whole lot at once . This time i'm being a bit more methodical and doing 2.5 kilos every other day . That way I can get it dried and reskeined more easily . This was todays lot hanging up to dry.

This si some I did at the begining of the week . I will be uploading it onto my Shopblog when I've got all th other wool done .

I've been doing some knitting as well . Made myself a new hat and of course when DD saw it she wanted one as well . Mine's the red one to go with my purple coat . You know " When I am old I will purple with a red hat " It's one of Woolly Wormhead's patterns called Meret . It didn't take long to make either . I used some of my Jet from my stash . It's very warm and I don't look like my Mum when I wear it :0)

Indiana Jones and a Pile of Fibre :0)

I've been doing a bit of dyeing again . My fibre stash for Woolfest / Wonderwool is growing .I love the colour combinations I've created . These fibres are for sale on my Shopblog

you will also find individual pics of each fibre as well .
I've started kniiting the Rainbow wool I spun last week . I'm well chuffed with the result . I quite like the ball as well , i wound it on my noster pinne . Looks quite professional . Last week , at S'N'B someone asked where I'd got the yarn from . Now that is a compliment .


Look what my son did to DH.

You didn't know I was married to Indiana Jones did you ??? :0)
Neither did I till No 3 son sent this . There's a web site where you can add a photo to well known posters .

He did it because one of his ex's from way back always mainted DH lokked like Harrison Ford .I think there great . He looks quite handsome .

Imbolc / Candlemas . Brigid in the Blogespere Poetry Slam

My little hommage to Imbolc / Candlemas.For this day I am joining what will hopefully be many more bloggers putting a poem on their blog in honour of Imbolc and Brigid .I joined the chain from Ambermoggie

Please feel free to join in .

Meg Merrilees

By John Keats

Old Meg she was a Gypsy,

And lived upon the Moors:

Her bed it was the brown heath turf,

And her house was out of doors.

Her apples were swart blackberries,

Her currants pods o' broom;

Her wine was dew of the wild white rose,

Her book a churchyard tomb.

Her Brothers were the craggy hills,

Her Sisters larchen trees -

Alone with her great family

She lived as she did please.

No breakfast had she many a morn,

No dinner many a noon,

And 'stead of supper she would stare

Full hard against the Moon.

But every morn of woodbine fresh

She made her garlanding,

And every night the dark glen Yew

She wove, and she would sing.

And with her fingers, old and brown,

She plaited Mats o' Rushes,

And gave them to the Cottagers

She met among the Bushes.

Old Meg was brave as Margaret Queen,

And tall as Amazon:

An old red blanket cloak she wore;

A chip-hat had she on.

God rest her aged bones somewhere -

She died full long agone!

I learnt this poem when I was nine in Miss Knapton's class and it's stay with me all my life .

Somewhere in my ancestors there must have been Gypsy's as I love nothing more than the open road and would have loved to have travelled round in a gypsy vargo selling my crafts. Three years ago I sort of realised a dream when we bought our little caravan as we now travel to shows on the open road to sell our wears at shows .

Well Candlemas "Dawned Fair and Bright " so according to folklore Winter will have another flight . This is what we awoke to this morning and apparently ,there's more to come .

I will spend the day Dyeing I think ;)