29 November, 2008

Yarny Goodness

I've been a busy bee for the past couple of days...

Vintagegrrl has been an enabler and encouraged me to try hand dyeing... and spinning. I have started both and here are the results so far:

Cleckheaton Country 8 ply - hand dyed

Hand dyed yarn - Cleckheaton Country 8 ply, dyed with Queen Rose Pink and Blue food colouring. The pink is really deep and looks almost red. Next time I think I'd tone down the pink to make it pinkier.

Now... *Drumroll* time for the handspun! I have an Ashford drop spindle (and maybe an Ashford spinning wheel as of tomorrow), and I have a few little pieces of handspun to show off.

First handspun

First handspun... a short piece because I learnt on this one, then finished it off so I could put a notch in the spindle and beeswax it. It's a plain white Polwarth fibre.

More handspun

My third piece of handspun. (The second piece went into a top secret project... more on that later!)

Blue - First Merino Handspun

My first blue handspun - this one is a merino. The colour is absolutely stunning... a royal blue bordering on purple.

I am loving spinning. It's like I did this in a past life... it just seems like second nature to me.

Movember - last chance!

Movember ends tomorrow... donate while you can! I am sure you know someone out there who is a Mo Bro or a Mo Sister.

Movember raises money for prostate cancer research and also supports beyondblue - a charity dedicated to fighting depression.

Prostate cancer is as common in men as breast cancer is in women. Depression claims many lives each year, but destroys thousands more - it's just that others may not see it. Both causes are close to my heart.

If you have the means please give a little to help.

Movember - Sponsor Me

13 November, 2008

Catch up

What have I been doing?

A whole bunch of not-very-much, it seems.

Work has been crazy, and I am now getting to the end of a two week holiday where I achieved very little. It's been one of those periods where you just zonk out and do a whole lot of nothing.

I need to find some energy quickly.