# 13 in the Flock

It’s been a while since you’ve seen any additions to my flock of spinning wheels. Well that’s about to change. Here is # 13. This addition was a complete surprise to me. I received a phone call from someone who was giving away her wheel, spare bobbins, lazy kate, niddy noddy and a few bags of carded fleece and would I like them. Would I like them!!!! Of course I said yes.

The wheel is an Ashford Traditional. Now I know I already have two of these wheels but this is special; it’s a double drive and I particularly love double drives.

After a clean up with my special concoction the wheel was gleaming.

The ubiquitous name of Ashford.

The previous owner had also sewn a cover for the spinning wheel! Perfect for keeping the dust at bay a little bit.

There were also three bags of carded fleece. This bag was purchased at the Redlands Spinners & Weavers Open Day back before I even started spinning! I’ve used some of the other two bags as stuffing for a teddy bear I’ve just knitted so he’s a 100% wool bear!

And of course there was the lazy kate that I blogged about previously.

It had no rungs but I bought some cheap tent pegs and they’re perfect!

I’ve been spinning on this wheel today using a bag of cheap carded fleece that I picked up recently for only $8. It’s a bit matted in places but is perfect for practice spinning. I’ll probably use it to make toys as it’ll be a bit scratchy against the skin. And those little matted bits haven’t been wasted either. I’ve put them on the fence in between the palings in the hope that some birds may be looking for some nesting material 🙂

And now for something exciting to show you. On the 16 June at the Redlands Spinners & Weavers Open Day, these simply gorgeous sheep mugs will be for sale. They’re still drying off and need to be coloured and fired (I think that’s the right terminology 🙂 ) but here’s a sneak peek.

Kimberly from Earth & Stone Creations has been working day and night to get these little beauties ready. But you’re going to have to be quick because there will only be 20 available and each one will be numbered. It’s a time consuming process making each one so that’s why there will only be 20 ready for Open Day.

I think I’ve worn Kimberly out with my suggestions for ‘sheepy’ things to make for the Open Day but I know these mugs will sell like hotcakes as will her yarn bowls. I’ve just bought my second one!!!

And if you have a tiled floor, don’t worry as each yarn bowl has little ‘feet’ so it won’t slide across the floor or leave any marks. This a collection of some of Kimberly’s goodies that she took to the Queensland Spinners & Weavers Open Day last Sunday. What a fantastic selection. At the bottom of the picture is a large yarn bowl that can accommodate two balls of wool and when you’re not using it as a yarn bowl it can accommodate fruit!!!!

If you’re interested in purchasing pottery items, I really can’t recommend Kimberly’s work enough. She’s open to a challenge and will try and accommodate any custom orders. If you ‘like’ her Facebook page you’ll see what she’s up to as she posts photos of her projects. I have absolutely no financial affiliation with Earth & Stone Creations but I am so impressed with Kimberly’s pottery that I just want to share it with everyone. Kimberly can also be contacted at kimberlydawnartistry@gmail.com and she does post her orders.

That’s my news for today. I really cannot wait until 16 June!!

Until next time…

Melanie

 

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An Easy Zig Zag Scarf and an Upcoming Fibre Lover’s Day

I fell in love with this colourway when I purchased this roving from Kathy’s Fibres and it’s called ‘William’. With two 100g rovings spun and plied together, I ended up with a generous amount to knit a scarf. On one of my numerous searches through Ravelry’s pattern database I stumbled across the ZickZack scarf and was immediately taken with it. I do love the chevron pattern look and thought this would suit my William yarn as it would naturally self-stripe. Once I knitted a few rows I could see I’d hit the jackpot with this pattern and yarn and others around me kept commenting on how great it was looking and asking me for the pattern. Because I wasn’t alternating between colours as indicated in the pattern, I simply cast on cast on 60 st  and repeated k5 k2tog k4 kfb to the end of each row. It’s that simple! If you want to change the width of your scarf all you do is increase or decrease by groups of 12 sts. Now it doesn’t get much easier than that does it?

Just a reminder to those of you who live in the Brisbane area, the Redlands Spinners & Weavers 2015 Open Day is on Tuesday, 16 June at a brand new venue – Redland Performing Arts Centre, 2-16 Middle Street, Cleveland (opposite the police station) from 10am – 2pm. This year it promises to be a fantastic day with a few new traders plus all our other fabulous traders. If you’re into fibre and yarn and love mixing with like-minded people, be sure to come along. Here’s a taster of some of the traders:

Earth and Stone Creations – Kimberly makes stunning pottery yarn bowls and stitch markers and she’s even bringing along some pottery sheep mugs (I’ve already ordered two!!)

Shorn Fibers – Angela is one of my favourite indie yarn dyers; I love her work! Now is your opportunity to stock up on yarn without having to pay for postage.

VivianneK Handmade Soap – I first discovered Vivianne’s soaps a few years ago at my first Open Day. I love it and buy it by the block. Vivianne also makes handmade lip balms, laundry cream and lot of other goodies. This year she’ll be bringing along some of her needle felted sheep and spinning / knitting pendants too. Plus of course, there’ll be Desley’s hand sewn and embroidered goods, Arthur’s stationery that features lots of sheep / spinning designs, a demonstration and display of Owen’s (who’s known as Wheelsmith on Ravelry) antique spinning wheels, Lindy’s yarn and Ashford goods, Chantelle from Fiberific, Ursula from BB Yarn Supply, the Gold Coast Spinners with all their fibre, alpaca fleeces, members’ goods for sale, second hand goods, a ragmatting and spinning demonstration, multiple raffle prizes and our fabulous fashion parade of items made by our members, with some articles for sale.

All this for a mere $5 entry which entitles you to a ticket in the lucky door prize and light refreshments. This will be a day to remember! I can’t wait!.

By the way, I had a fabulous day on Sunday at the Queensland Spinners & Weavers Open Day. I’ll show you what I bought in a future post 🙂

Until next time…

Melanie

 

Miss Winkle

Miss Winkle….isn’t that a most unusual name for a scarf pattern? It’s one of three patterns that I recently purchased from Martina Behm on Ravelry. The other two patterns were Endless Rainbow (which I have yet to knit) and Leftie (I’ve made two!).

Before I went on my recent cruise around New Zealand, I packed a few knitting projects and Miss Winkle was one of them. It’s such an interesting pattern with those loops on one side. As the scarf grew I got quite a few comments from other passengers on the ship. I selected this gorgeous yarn from my stock of Shorn Fibers’ yarns. It’s Tuff Sock in the colour way ‘Anna Perenna’. Needle size is 3mm.

Martina’s patterns are always so interesting. She must dream about knitting patterns all day long!  What I loved about this pattern was the fact I soon got into a rhythm once I’d knitted a few rows. The loops made the knitting interesting and the garter stitch rows made it easy so it’s a win-win situation. It’s also a nice narrow scarf so it’s not a ‘heavy’ project to cart around. I might add that I did what Martina suggested and used a piece of dowel to slip through the loops when I was blocking the scarf and it certainly made the loops stand to attention! I’ve also started my second Miss Winkle scarf as I’ll be giving this one to my sister who was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2010. I think this pink colour is quite appropriate and it’ll make a nice surprise gift. I’m off to join the ladies from the QldBaysideYarnClub at Tingalpa this afternoon for a few hours of knitting pleasure and chatting. Love these sessions soooo much!!

Until next time…

Melanie

Improvising

Not long ago I was given quite a few spinning bits and pieces and one of the items was an Ashford lazy kate. It’s in immaculate condition but unfortunately didn’t have any of the brass rods to hold the bobbins.

I spoke to a fellow at work who said he’d try to find some brass rods of a similar length but to no avail and then one of my spinning friends came to the rescue and suggested maybe some tent pegs. MMMmmm good thinking Gillian! Last weekend I visited Bunnings and wondered whether I’d manage to get some tents pegs that were small enough. I had measured the diameter of the rods on my other lazy kate with a knitting needle measure and they were 3.5mm. I managed to find some 4mm tent pegs so I took the risk and bought a packet of 10 for only $4.98.

And guess what!!!! They fit perfectly. So now I have another fully functional lazy kate and some spare rods. Thank you Gillian….you always come up with so many great ideas. Aren’t they just a perfect fit?

The spare bobbins from my latest spinning wheel (which I’ll show you very soon) now have a new home.

I’d also like to share with you a couple of recent acquisitions of mine. I picked up this fantastic book after hearing about it when I was in New Zealand and spent the day with Mary in Masterton. The book is called The Loving Stitch by Heather Nicholson.

The Loving Stitch is an engaging history of a subject never before explored but familiar to many New Zealanders. Heather Nicholson’s knowledge of knitting and spinning is formidable but she also knows how to tell a good story and has a keen sense of humour. The Loving Stitch presents a chronological account of antipodean knitting, which is also a history of the domestic lives of women, of their resourcefulness, their talent and sociability. She follows the growth of pattern books, the role of knitting for troops in the two world wars, knitting in the Depression and the recent interest in art knitting. She also explores the different items produced by the skilled knitter, from jerseys and guernseys to counterpanes, socks and stockings, and a scarf that stretched right round Parliament Buildings. The book also includes material on spinning and on local wool mills, as well as general good advice drawn from the personal experience of hundreds of knitters and spinners.

Heather Nicholson, formerly a schoolteacher, has impressive skills in embroidery, dyeing, spinning and knitting. She has taught both knitting and embroidery, is a member of several textile craft guilds and is the author of Knitter’s Know-How (1988). Her extensive research into the history of knitting was supported by Creative New Zealand and by the 1993 Suffrage Trust.

I am going to relish reading this book!

My other purchase was this cute little tote bag that I managed to pick up on Ebay for only $8.80. It’s come in very handy carrying magazines to and from work.

I’m pleased to report that Autumn has finally hit Brisbane. We’re experiencing beautiful crisp mornings and gorgeous sunny cloudless days. This weekend I managed to get some spinning and plying done plus of course I had a wonderful afternoon with my Knit and Knatter friends yesterday. I can’t believe how quickly that time goes by. We have so much fun! I’ve actually registered us for the World Wide Knit in Public Day on Saturday, 13 June.

Will you be knitting in public on that day?

That’s my news for the time being.

Until next time…

Melanie

Gorgeous New Zealand Wool

I have enough stash to probably last me two lifetimes however you didn’t really expect me to visit New Zealand and not acquire a little bit of wool did you? If only I had more than two arms and could carry off lots of baggage…I surely would have purchased even more!!

While visiting The Agrodome in Rotorua, I came upon this gorgeous variegated Ashford Tekapo 8ply wool. You get a generous 200g per ball so I picked up five balls at $12.50 each. Not sure what I’m going to make but that’s beside the point. This is the scene that greeted me when I entered The Woollen Mill at The Agrodome. Gorgeous isn’t it? A knitter’s paradise I say. I really didn’t want to leave. In fact, I was the last person to board the bus.

The Agrodome also sold lots and lots of knitted goodies which were very invitingly displayed. When we arrived in Dunedin and were transported to The Octagon in the city centre it was still too early for the shops to open so I wandered around and found a couple of wool shops. I was on the doorstep of Knit World when it opened and picked up two balls of this Happy Feet sock yarn made in Auckland. I’ve already started a pair of socks in the orange mix and they’re coming along a treat.

As I was savouring all the yarn in the shop, I came across this lone skein of gorgeous Touch Yarns 8ply Merino so I quickly snaffled it.

Around the corner and into Seriously Twisted where they had a small selection of yarns and a larger selection of knitted goods. I bought six balls of Rare Earth alpaca yarn for $10 each.

And then my eyes were caught on a bundle of Touch Yarns possum/merino in the colours I just love!!! It was very expensive indeed but I figured it’s not every day I’m shopping in Dunedin so I talked myself into buying two skeins. I might add it didn’t take me long to convince myself that I really needed this yarn 🙂

While I was in Carterton with Mary who had picked me up from the ship in Wellington, we visited a little shop that was chock-a-block full of sewing needs and yarn. There was so much to pick from however I spotted this Opal sock yarn in colours that I was quite taken with. As well as yarn, I also acquired quite a few pairs of gloves, ponchos, a scarf and hat…all made from lovely New Zealand wool.

I love all these gloves made with a mixture of possum and merino wool. And yes I know you’re probably thinking ‘how many hands does this woman have?’ but seriously I couldn’t make up my mind which ones I liked best so I bought them all. You never know, it could one day snow in Brisbane. Wishful thinking I know.And these two ponchos, also made with a possum/merino mixture. Ponchos are perfect as they keep your back, chest and shoulders warm and at the same time your arms are not restricted. Great for walking to work in the crisp mornings.

I couldn’t resist this cute little hat. As I’d bought gloves and ponchos it seemed silly not to have a nice little hat! Someone on Ravelry had directed me to this shop in Dunedin. It’s called the Stuart Street Potters Co-operative and although it sells mainly pottery, it also sells some handspun yarn and handmade woollen garments. I picked up this scarf in this lovely shade of lime green.

(If you click on the above image you’ll be able to read the label wording)

Even though the weather is gradually cooling down in Brisbane, I am still hoping we have a few colder days in winter so I can wear all my lovely New Zealand woollies!!

That’s my news for the moment. I’ve been beavering away at two new scarves….both the same pattern….but I was so keen to see the look of each scarf with different yarn that I couldn’t wait to finish one. No wonder I have so many UFOs!!!

Until next time…

Melanie