Update on the Crafty Collaboration

Back in May, when we still had hopes that this Irish summer would be a good one *sigh*, Sue from Amazing Beads showed a lovely picture of her Scottish Mountain Sheep on her blog.

The conversation that followed resulted in a big parcel of lovely raw wool winging its way from Cork to Belfast.

I washed the wool, dyed some and finally managed to spin a small hank of yarn on my Turkish drop spindle as shown in the picture above. I plied the wool with some lavender blue merino and strips of denim, and it is lovely and tactile. Not too sure what I will knit with it yet, but when I do, there will be more pictures. There will also be definitely more spinning.

Thanks Sue for the gorgeous yarn. And good health to your sheep!

Self-indulgence

I’ve not knitted much for my shops, apart from a lacy cloche hat which I recently listed in my Etsy store, but I’ve finally knitted some things for myself! Yes, I was fed up running around like the cobbler’s children, and wanted to wear my own unique colourful knitwear! However, the pieces seem to  have ended up as proto-types for new designs, well, that nearly always happens when you are a knitter and designer!

The Irish summer is unpredictable, and sometimes it can get rather nippy at night or in the morning. So I wanted to make myself a pair of armwarmers for ages, especially since I usually cycle in t-shirt, crocs and no socks in the summer months, but my hands get cold.  A friend of mine gave me some fabulous sock yarn for my birthday, and a talented arts graduate told me, this yarn needs to be seen on the hands and not hidden on the feet.

I have already been told that I should make more of these and sell them, maybe with a hat to match.
If the armwarmers are against the cold or nip, the next item I knitted for myself is to be used against the heat. It may not be very hot here in Belfast, but the sun is quite intense. I blame the ozone hole for this, because I never got sunburnt in Belfast years ago, but now I have to slap on more sunscreen than I ever did before. If I sit outside and knit, or if I am on the bike, I need a head cover, because I do feel the rays pounding on my hair. Hats are great, but we also have some gusty winds here even in the summer, so I have been chasing hats more times than I can recall. Therefore, I came up with the idea for a headscarf/bandana which can be tied firmly to the head to prevent escape!

It was supposed to be a simple cotton one, but then I got some sparkly ribbon, found some left over strips from a scarf that was turned into a skirt, and the whole headscarf turned out rather colourful. Furthermore, I decided to be cheeky and sew the label on the outside. Well, flaunt it! I definitely want to make more of these for the shop, because they are rather pretty, fun to wear and also very handy against those rays.

I did spin quite a bit of yarn for two pieces I am working on at the moment, and I had great fun beading threads, finding buttons and ribbons to spin into the yarn. I love this blue lavender colour, and some of it comes from Lindsaycrafts on Etsy. The pink fibre comes from a gorgeous batt by Shunklies on Etsy.

I also knitted a capelet to be displayed at the wool stall of Lighthouse Yarns here on St George’s Market (you’ll find it at the back of the market on Saturday and Sunday). That wool stall is addictive, and also has knitting needles, buttons, pattern books and other knitting accessories. I sometimes just look at the yarns and it makes me happy, and I hardly leave without a button purchase at least… I knitted the capelet from yarns I bought from Lighthouse Yarns, and added some of my handspun yarn as well.

I’ve lots of projects on the go (and none for myself now!), and like a true yarn addict keep looking at yarns and fibre, although I wouldn’t need any more yarn for the next few years! But one can never have enough (read: I can never get enough…) So there will be more new pieces in my shops shortly.

The motivation returns!

Freshly spun yarn

Last week, while I was sick, my motivation reached sub zero temperatures. In fact, it disappeared, and unlike Arnie, it didn’t shout ‘I’ll be back!’

I tried to coax it, used every trick from my motivational books including planning and goal setting, treated myself to lovely food, took it easy…still, my motivation was gone. This, of course, is bad when you are self-employed and have to bring home the bacon.

I tried to use creative visualisation, imagining myself as an energetic, successful and wealthy crafter – that lasted five minutes, and I was in deep slumber on my sofa.

I was desperate for somebody to feed me motivation with a big wooden spoon, because I kept lying postrated on my bed, reading chick lit from years back, and eating nuts.

My knitting was abandoned, my spindle hadn’t been twirled in weeks, and my sewing basket was overflowing.

Even the prospect of new yarn only caused a mild fluttering of eyelashes.

On Saturday morning I wrote a song about why I want to be my neighbour’s dog.
(It is actually funny.)

Things were bad!

OK, I did have some kind of virus, but this seemed to have turned into a motivational crisis, a creative blank, and the desire to sleep all day. Maybe I was knitted-out, but maybe I just needed to get a kick in the proverbial…?

However, motivation suddenly has returned! Not with all guns blazing like Arnie, more with a tentative ‘hello everybody’, but yes, it is back.

Hear the clicking of knitting needles and the whirring of the spindle!

Hurray!

Confessions of a yarn addict...

Yesterday, my new Turkish spindle arrived, the second I purchased from Threadsthrutime on Etsy:

Like boys and their toys, I wanted a bigger one than the beautiful one I have already, so that I can spin more yarn at once, and thick one, too!

I was like a Pavlov dog whenever I heard the postman's arrival this week - would it be today that my spindle cometh? Some girls are waiting with baited breath on their prince, I wait for my spindle! At least, the spindle can't turn into a frog..but might as yet spin me gold. And it will certainly spin me...YARN!

Now my house is not only coming down with yarn, but also with fibre! I have carded batts, rovings and tops in baskets in my living room studio, and I buy them faster than I understand the difference between a carded batt and a top!

 Looking like a painting - 'Fireworks' Custom Blend Merino combed top by Shunklies on Etsy

Once upon a time, I was a dedicated shopper of fashion, now, I confess, if it comes to buying clothes or buying yarn, yarn wins hands - or rather knitting needles - down. Occasionally, I have days of beans and spuds just to be able to purchase more yarn! Sometimes I do wonder what people wear nowadays, and if I am still able to dress properly. But who cares - I've got yarn, people, I've got yarn!

I even knit up scraps of old jeans, silk strips, t-shirt yarn and my old cotton shirts.

I suspect that if a peoples' revolution were to break out in Belfast city centre, I would cling to my yarn stash like bankers to their bonuses!

The colours, the texture, the sheer feel of it, and the greed of possession, of having it sitting in my stash ready to be whipped out when an idea strikes me - that's the joy of being a yarn addict like me! My living room studio explodes with colour and fibre - it may be a grey and miserable day outside, but beautiful yarn is running through my fingers, or colourful strands of merino twirl around my Turkish spindle.

 My own handspun yarn in 'sea colours'

The way my stash is growing, I wouldn't need to buy any new yarn for years to come, because I am no octopus and have only two hands, so I won't knit my beautiful treasures up for a long time yet. However, being a crafter and an advocate for slow fashion, that's not a bad thing, because it's the sheer joy of having fibre and developing ideas - each box of yarn is a box of possibilities, of knitwear and wearable art to come!

 Spring will spring, unique wearable art neckwarmer by purlsofcolour
(knitted recycled Sari silk ribbon at the back)

Once I have finished a piece, I nearly find it sad to let go, although I am thrilled when it finds a buyer. Still, yarn has left my stash...it brings a tear to my eye, but then...there is space in the box...hey, an excuse to...buy new fibre! Do I hear the postman at the gate? Are these my yarn parcels from lindsaycrafts and woollygathering???