I had such a good day yesterday. We arrived at about 10 a.m. and didn't leave until almost 5.30 p.m.The photo on the left is my "little haul". ;0) I actually didn't spend very much (for a change *LOL).
There were 4 of us at the spinning class. We started with choosing a fleece, then carding and making rolags. Then we used the rolags with drop spindles. I enjoyed it but don't think it's really for me. Maybe when I've got more time (like in about 20 years when I retire!!) I'll think about it again. At the moment though, I'd rather be knitting. ;0)
I saw this beaded wrist purse on the DT Craft and Design stand. It was such a cute little purse and the beads gave it a nice weight. You dye the yarn yourself and then crochet the purse. This will be a first for me in two ways - (a) because I haven't dyed anything myself yet (these are Procion dyes) and (b) because I've yet to knit anything with beads. So I expect a steep learning curve!!
Next is a handspun baby alpaca scarf kit. I just love the natural colour of this yarn, it's super squidgily soft and I like the fact that I've got a photo of the actual alpaca the yarn came off (Lysander).
Then I had a bargain at HipKnits - £15 for all this yarn, in one of their sale bags! From L-R - aran weight silk yarn (which will probably become a scarf), a gorgeous red/orange/green worsted weight yarn (destined to become my new sock bag because I broke mine this morning!), a super chunky weight yarn (which will become the handbag from this month's Simply Knitting, along with some other yarn from my stash) and lastly a cotton yarn, worsted weight I think, but I'm not sure what this is going to be. Maybe another bag.
Also from DT Craft and Design, a Kool-Aid funky dyeing kit, including yarn and pattern to make fingerless mitts and wristlets. I thought I'd try Kool Aid before starting on the procion dyes for the wrist purse. I also bought some undyed sock yarn from them, which I've been dyeing this morning. So far, I've got orange/green yarn for the mitts and bluey-green/purpley-red yarn for socks. The yarn is hanging on the line to dry as we speak so hopefully I'll be able to get some photos later, if it dries.I was surprised at how easy it was to dye yarn, although what my colours will look like knitted up is another matter! But at least it's given me a taste for dyeing and I'm quite looking forward to trying the procion dyes for the wrist purse. I'll probably order some more undyed sock yarn, because I was told I'd have *loads* of dye left over, so I'll be able to dye some socks to match my purse! I do like to be co-ordinated!
7 comments:
Don't give up on the spinning yet! If you were using a raw fleece that might explain why you didn't really like it - I encourage you to try with a different type of fibre, like some dyed roving, and see if that suits you better :-) lots of people don't enjoy spinning straight from the sheep.
I resisted the dyeing kits but caved on the way home and booked a lesson with a friend!
Diane - I'm not giving up completely yet. I've been thinking about it quite a lot today and will probably buy a spindle at some point and practice with it at home. I think my main problem was that I wasn't wrapping my yarn around the whorl at the bottom, so the spindle wasn't spinning properly. BUT, I didn't realise what I was doing wrong until I was at home later that evening! Oh well. *rolls eyes* Maybe I'll try and see if there's a spinning class locally and try again. :0)
Sorry Linda...needed to tag peps and hey lucky you...you need to go to my blog for info....smiles sweetly.
What a gorgous haul. And lucky you getting to Wonderwool. I may try to get htere next year. I love dyeing yarns. It's so much fun.
hi linda, does that mean you are not gonna do a throw with all that stuff from hip knits then??
mind you i like all of your suggestions of what you are going to make and i cant wait to see your dyed products.
Debz - No, I decided not to do a throw, instead I thought I'd get three or four different projects out of the yarn. DS has now decided he wants the red/green/yellow yarn for a bag for his cars, so I'll have to find another sock bag!
nice haul there, hope you're feeling better now.
Post a Comment