Fyberspates

12 month sock club and I am in love!

Right, firstly I have had a few enquiries about if people can join the 12 month sock club late. And of course the answer is yes ;-) You can run it from feb to feb, or have jan and febs at the same time next month if you like. Its no problem at all.

I'm in love with my fibres this week. Ha! That got you didn't it! They are making me crazy to spin, just crazy. There is lots of bfl/silk, merino tencel, and kid mohair, I resisting the urge to spin some up. I've been dyeing to pop music today and have just had such a perfect day, everything I wanted has just happened, I wish everyday was like this, I think the chanting is starting to shift my life in a fabulous direction ;-)

xx

Fibre

Yesterday was flying to 'Edinburgh and back in a day' day, and today is filing the tax return thats nearly finished and dyeing fibres day, I love fibres because I can do what the hell I like with them, unlike yarn which normally has to be a little more calculated. Right, so you can guess what the update is going to be this week can't you ;-)

xx

Tax return

Guess what I am doing? My tax return, and actually, I don't mind strangely, I like to see how much my business has turned over, its kind of exciting, lol. I just wish that it was slightly more organised, unfortunately when I worked at the same time as having fyberspates I just stuffed everything in a box so its a little bit labour intensive, thank goodness I am VAT registered now, because I have to do everything perfectly every three months now so it'll be a doddle next time I do it.

Shut up Mr Robinson! I can hear you falling about laughing as you read that.

So the weekend was lovely, really lovely, I went out for dinner with Amanda we went to oxford, it was really fun, I drank lots and ate snails, (  Sorry hannah :-(  ) don't think my tummy liked the snails very much, still, guess what? I have a gorgeous little book called Lacey little knits that Sheila from wool2dye4 sent me, and I absolutely love it. Actually the thing I have cast on for was kind of fate, I stuffed 2 hanks of my lace mohair in my bag, in 2 similar colours, a lovely plum, and a plum thats a bit more charcoaly, the one I featured in one of the updates the week  before last) and I happened to have a 4.5mm circular needle with me. As I was browsing through it in my hotel room I spotted a lovely little lacy cardigan, (the one on the front of the book), it only takes 2 x 50gm hanks of yarn so I cast on and am loving it, I haven't knitted anything from a pattern for ages. There are actually two or three things in that book I would make, and thats very unusual for me. I'll photograph my progress tomorrow. I am loving knitting at the moment, and strangely there are no socks in sight!!!!! I have to say though that Amanda's 'tit socks' are really really great.

 

In A RUSH......

So seeing as I am in a rush I'll update you breifly.....

• I spent the afternoon knitting with Eirwen and Wye sue yesterday, which was superduper and lovely to chat to serious yarno's.
• Going to spend some time with this yarno at the weekend......
• Had some incredible developments in the area of a tough relationship, you might be able to guess, but suffice to say we have had major breakthroughs, both trying very hard, both chanting tonnes and tonnes, resulting in us, I think becoming very very great freinds.
• Finished 'the garment' and I am in love with it and I don't want to send it away.
• Finished all my annoying little things I have been trying to do for ages and ages, just a little question of my tax return AHEM,
• No yarn update because the shop is already well stocked and I had wholesale to to care of this week, but if you want lace try here, if you want sock try here.
• Right off to pack my little bags and get the flock out of here ;-)

damn, I can't think of title

Damn, I need to get more creative with titles.

Where as if I wrote this in the morning then it would have more words in it, when I write in the night, it seems like lots of words have been used up, and I almost write in clipped sentences, but at least there will be less drivel, lol.

I decided to do a good half an hours chanting every morning to see how it would effect my work production, it seems to make me a tonne more efficient for some reason, not only that but I spring out of bed in the morning, I have no idea why it works, but since I did a tonne at the weekend, and half an hour every morning, and some in the night if I get my act together, I am feeling super charged, I've just done a few jobs which I had to do which I put off because they are so labour intensive, but are very necessary, anyway, they are done now, and its a huge relief. I'll keep you updated anyway because its an interesting experiment.

Wow, Its monday!!

I had such a wonderful weekend, basically, lots of visitors came to see Carmen, and we knitted, chatted, laughed, cried and generally had a wonderful time, and I am so gutted she had to go home. She is probably the most cherished freind I have, we are very similar and we understand each other extremely well, we also chanted alot, (she is a buddhist too) which just made it very very special. Secretly I always chant for her to come to Cardiff to live with her lovely husband Fran. 'cough cough' Fran? Are you reading, hint, hint? lol.

Well, anyway I didn't even turn my laptop on yesterday, which made it a very relaxing weekend, and always makes me appreciate coming back to work so much more.

So to start the week, the shop has been update here, whats rather exciting is I have had some solid scrumptious made for me. I only have it in the chunky weight at the moment, but the dk will follow, its just absolutely gorgeous, such intensity of colours, because it is top dyed instead of the yarn being dyed. I have it in cherry, purple, and olive.

I think my favourite of the update this week is some alpaca lace in 'flowers'.....

Right, off to finish of the 'secret' garment for the magazine, its looking seriously good. ;-)

Having fun

So, the shop update will be tomorrow sometime, but in the meantime, we are celebrating carmen being here in the House of Wool. ;-)

xxx

Knitting,

I had a super duper visit to K1 yesterday, it took 3.5 hours to get there, from Manchester but it was worth it, the shop is gorgeous, so is Katherine, and I love the way the yarn is dispayed in little buckets.

Anyway I will definately be visiting again because we have lots of things to do together ;-).

Guess what? With all the travelling I did, I got do do so much knitting that the 'garment' is nearly finished, and I am so excited about doing the sleeves, they are not nornal sleeves, so they won't take too long. Oh I love scrumptious so much, its such a pleasure to knit, and the patterning of the spring greens, is just super duper.

So I may take a little swatch photo for you to see, but its still a secret.

Oh and guess who arrives from Madrid this evening? Some of you may remember Carmen, no not carmella, the knitting Carmen who just randomly designs and knits the most incredible things. Yippeeeeeee!!!!!

xxxxx

I'm knitting, yipeeeee!

I'm away from home today because I am visiting a Wooly cherub, who is half way from me to Scotland, and I am off to scotand tomorrow to go and see K1 yarns and chat wool.

Which means that I am having a day away from the house, no packing orders, and no dyeing, which can only mean one thing, knitting, knitting and more knitting, and I am loving it, I have to knit something for a magazine and it needs to be finished soon, and I am loving it soooooo much, I haven't been excited about knitting anything for ages, anyways I'll give you a couple of clues, 1. its a garment, 2. Its lacey and 3. Its knitted in scrumptious of course!!! As a result of spending the day knitting, I have the TV on, not something I do at home, and its kind of strange, although its ok to have on in the back ground, its like watching baby tv, does any one know what I mean? its like its all dumbed down to be super simple, it odd, and slightly life sucking, so I although I am enjoying veging out and knitting I would die of boredom if I did it everyday radio 4 as a knitting accompliment wins hands down every time, perhaps I am watching the wrong things, lol?

Sock clubs, lace clubs, fibre clubs and shop update.

I am really enjoying preparing the club yarns and fibres today, alot of thought went into these; there is some deliciously soft alpaca for the lace club, some gorgeous high twist yarns for the 12 month sock club, where the colours reflect the broody skies we have been having, and also, I am totally in love with the shop update, totallly totally in love with it. Its well annoying though, this bland light in cardiff is making things come out much blander than the colours are warmer than they seem in the pic's. There is more to go on, but I will wait for tomorrow.

Right so most of the yarns are inspired by the january weather, dark inky skies, and the dark greens, that seems to be left in the foliage.

Here are my favourites; This sock is warmer than the photo, its just delcious,

Then there was the mohair which I was trying to perfect a certain colour, and I ended up doing a scrummy palate of smokey mauves, a few of these combined would make the most wonderful stripey garment or scarf.