Shop update

So, getting completely consumed with the quests for the Unicorn club, (come and join the group on ravelry if you want to have some fun) and so need to start updating shop, it will be slow as always but there are plenty of sparkly treats there. Look in the sock section, dk, and scrumptious and fibres for new arrivals.
xxx

Never been so happy its thursday....

Last night we went for dinner with Debs and her partner (you might know her as the Mulberry dyer) and not only did we have a yummy dinner, but it was so so interesting to chat to people who's world of dyeing is really really quite different to mine. They do lots of reenactment type work, and really know their history and period styles, and what were dyes were used in certain times etc. I was completely fascinated and learned loads and loads and loads, and I even came away with a lucette to make cord, man, I love this little thing. And of course I had to order some treats for the shop, including some hand turned spindles, some special spindles from quite a long time ago, might have been Anglo Saxon (can't quite remember), and some lucette handles.

It was the first thing in ages which made me excited, I am a bit of a learning junkie, and I did ask if I could go and live with them and be an apprentice for a few months, hehehehehe. I was completely fascinated, and the books ahhhhhhhh, there were lots of them, heaven.

So you know the word 'Spinster' well the meaning of that word comes from the fact that all cloth was made from yarn which was spun on a spindle, and of course it meant people had to spin all the time, so they would carry it around with them, children would spin from about the ages of 4-5 and inbetween cooking you would spin, riding your horse you would spin, etc etc (actually which is exactly what I saw in Peru) and if you were an unmarried woman with no man, you would  be spinning because you had nothing else to occupy you, hence the word 'SPINSTER'!!!! Cool huh?

I also learned, that the origins of the top and bottom whorl spindles were originally to make and s twist yarn and a z twist yarn (not sure which on which) but because a cloth was originally made out of singles yarns, you used one for the warp and one for the weft, and because they were twisted opposite directions the fabric kind of was held together strongly by the opposite twists, eek, I'm not very good at explaining, but those who spin will understand what I mean. I want to learn more now, lol!!!

So anyway, yesterday I dyed some lovely yarns, sparkly, self striping, and other sock yarn, and although they are gorgeous, I wanted to add lots fo things to the shop, but I was disappointing because I thought it was update day today, and I didn't have tome to do more. Turns out its only Thursday today!! Who'd have thought it huh? You start learning about lovely things, and then someone goes and adds an extra day in there for you!!! So today is the day I don't normally get, the extra day to dye fun stuff, like fibers, get my carder going, because the belt is fixed, and do some treats........

Yipppppppeeeeee!!!!

xxxxx

Ordering in the Shop and the unicorn club

OK cherubs, it might be worth me just highlighting how to order in the shop, lots of people are clicking email orders which they didn't intend to, so I though I would just explain the payment things for everyone to make it clearer.

There are 3 ways to pay in the shop,

1. You can either paypal your order in which case you need to to select the paypal button at the bottom of the payment page, or,

2. You can pay with you card securely, in which case you select the secure trading payment button to the left of the paypal button, or

3. If you would like to pay by cheque, or for some other reason you would like to email your order through if you have a question or something before you pay, then and only then select the email order button.

I am working on getting some text put in that page to help people direct them to the right choice, but as always it will take a little time, also the credit card link is being fixed at the moment, have no idea why it isn't working, but its not taking cards, so in the mean time its via paypal, or I can ring you and take credit card detials over the phone. ARGH!!!!!

So, the Unicorn club is coming along nicely, and I thought I would just explain a little more about it, seeing as Amanda and I are working on it, we have designed the labels, and having those printed, and we are having a custom yarn made especially for us, with our own blend of fibres etc, which is a secret, but boy its gorgeous. The club will be quite involved, and although you have to sign up for it, you don't have to pay upfront for it, because you can choose to buy each month from either me or Amanda.

Each months club yarn will have a clue or set of clues with it, these will be quite hard clues, however, there will be forums for people to help eachother get the answers to the questions, and also be a place where we can perhaps give some clues if people are stumped, lol, it will be alot of fun, and even may take a little research.

At the end of the 9 months, when you have all 9 answers, in order to enter a draw for the prize, you have to have completed all the clues.

If you do this you will be entered into a draw, where you can win a kilo of the special yarn, and also there will be other treats too, so not jsut one prize. It will be super duper fun!!

This yarn will  not be available anywhere else, and is totally unique and very luxurious.

Wow, I am so excited, lol!!!!

xxxx

New year treats

I am at the point where my head is whorling, I really had quite a good break for the past few weeks, and its taking a little bit of an adjustment to get used to being back in the full swing of work ;-) but its nice though, and I am desperate to do some dyeing, lol.

Added to that, I have made a few new years resolutions, most I am not going to share, but one I will, I am giving up Alcohol for a whole month, and actually this is my third day. My reasoning behind it is that I get to 5.30, and can't wait for a gin and tonic, that's not really good is it?

Not only that but I have exzma around my eyes, and I look rough as a badgers arse, so no more Alcohol for me, give my blessed liver a break, next week I will introduce some exercise, and also cut out the crap food, but that's not so hard for me, just need to get used to fizzy water instead, lol.

So, the fore-mentioned new years treats?

If you haven't seen this yet, have a look, its a preview of the new knitting magazine the Knitter  it looks really nice, I am even going to go and grab a copy from the coop tomorrow morning because its on sale then!!!

And Amanda and I have been plotting a new club, its called the Unicorn club, and its very cryptic and challenging to be part of, but that's all we are going to tell you for now, I will post more information on here as soon as we get it sorted.

xx

Christmas and new years pics.....

Right OK,

So you could say it was a bit of a fibery Christmas and New year.

Exhibit A; was the piece duh resistance (yes I meant to spell it that way)

The spinning wheel which I have been lusting after for ever and ever, mainly because its perfect for tall people like me, and so there is no stooping going on, and its gorgeous and smooth to spin on. Its a kromski Sonata.


 And on it I made this....which is a 3 ply from my superfine merino in Orchid:

Not too sure what to do with it yet, I guess there is about 100gms, and its chunky, so it would make a nice quick knit, maybe a hat for me to go with this gorgeous scarf which was a present from Amanda!! How gorgeous is this? Its a mobius crochet scarf, its so so pretty...

ok, so what else did I spin?? hehe, I made some gorgeous 2ply nef, which I have started knitting into mittens, but I left it at my mums, lol so no photo's.

There were these though which are my favourite of all time, I think they are best called Glittens. I spun them from carded batts think there was wool, bamboo and glitter in them.

Its hard to photograph glittery things, but there is alot of glitter in there. And what is even better is my carder is being fixed, so there will be lots of glittery batts in the shop fingers crossed by the end of the week.

So amongst all the crazy fibreness, there was new years. And we had a huge party becoming of the chapel of course. And it was full of 90% fibrefanatics.
We were blessed with the company of Babylonglegs  Yogicknitter, Karen (my lovely freind and helper from Cardiff who came on the spur of the moment and bought us a wonderful evil german punch rum, sugar cone, fire thing, (I am sure she will leave the proper name in the comments)) and Amanda and of course husbands and children, and some lovely non woolyheads, who may have been a little bewildered, lol.

We had a fabulous dinner in the gallery, although I can't really remember that much of it, I apparently needed help serving it up, (thank goodness I had been cooking all-day and it was all finished) and then we had fireworks, (I remember those), lol, then apparently there was karaoke (and apparently my brother was the karaoke king....), but I was asleep by then.

Then on new years day after a huge fry up, we did some spinning because people bought their wheels!!....

This pic is taken from the top of the stairs looking over the gallery.

And lastly on new years day, there was a frosted coated countryside, that was so magical I felt like I was in Narnia, its was stunning, this is the view from the back garden...

sale - getting there

OK, I was having major problems updating the website yesterday, and so the uploading of the sale stuff continues, today, and then, and how excited I am, there will be lots of dyeing this week, and lots of new gorgeousness uploaded on the website. These will be added all week, seeing as it is an impossible task to do it all in one day!!

And later on today I will do Christmas post, I have so many things to show you, including my spinning which I am very proud ok, lol, and all my new years resolutions, hehe!!

ok, back to the grind stone......

New Years Sale

ok, sorry firstly for not getting one here yesterday to say sale was slightly delayed till today, I was knackered, and for some reason, typepad is not liking my having two blogs, and its making it a nightmare to log on. So I am just about to start that sale, things will go on about 3.30, and I'll just carry on until all the odds and sods have gone, there is some batches of things enough to make jumpers etc, but there will be lots of bargains, so enjoy yourselves.

I have lots of holiday photo's to show you, new years spin-ins, and spinning stuff, all fabulous stuff, so I will save that for tomorrow.

By the way, the link for the sale is in the yarn page

There is a fancy way of doing the sale, but not quite figured it out yet....

Happy shopping

xxxxx