More Toadstools

Some weeks ago, I traded a handmade shawl pin for two sets of handmade glass beads. I had mentioned this before, but that was before the trade took place. By now the beads have arrived and I absolutely love them! I am stunned there are people who can actually make something like that with their own hands. Well, some people out there probably think similarly about yarn, I guess ;-)

I have already spun one set of beads into a yarn - and here it is:


The other set is also red, but with black spots and I intend to spin a ladybug yarn from light green wool or maybe wool/silk blend - and I am really looking forward to it :-) I'll post a photo as soon as I am done.

The beads were made by Potzblitz - viiieeelen Dank nochmal! :-)

Join Harry Potter in the Room of Hidden Things

I've been wanting to spin more Harry Potter yarns for quite a while now. And one idea has been sleeping at the back of my mind: I wanted to turn the Room of Requirement/Room of Hidden Things into a spectacular art yarn. I imagined a dark yarn with lots of weird stuff in it, and it took me a while to get everything ready. I used many silver-coloured charms of different shapes: forks, spoons, hats, coat-hangers, umbrellas, teddybears, and more; and I rummaged in the depths of my drawers for some glow-in-the-dark ghosts and a kind of eye (both types I had made from polymer clay previously), some bone skulls, and some shells and bells. I also added lots of facetted glass beads. I chose black merino wool, grey and black alpaca fibre and some sari silk of greens and blues for the project and tried to spin a yarn more wild and irregular than usual. I do like the outcome :-)



It's funny - I've had some sari silk for years now, and I hardly ever used it. Probably because I don't keep it where I keep the rest of my spinning stuff, so I always forget about it - but that's definetly going to change, that stuff is great! I love the texture of yarn with added sari silk :-)
Hopefully, this yarn will be in the shop soon!

I really need to plan more Harry Potter yarns, it's always fun to spin those and the theme is one of my favourites :-)

Amazing Pumpkins

I've just received word from one of our customers about a beautiful shawl she has made from one of our art yarns. Maybe some of you remember the Wild Pumpkin yarn I spun for myself, and which I've knitted into a gorgeous bag - if not, you can look at it here ;-)

When I posted pictures of the yarn and bag on Ravelry, JumperCables asked me to spin a similar yarn for her and I happily did so. Now she blogged about it and kindly allowed me to use one of her pictures.

Here you can find her blog entry and more photos - I think she'd love you to visit her blog :-)

I am thrilled to see another of our art yarns transformed into something stunning and wearable and I am very happy JumperCables has given me the permission to show it to you, too. Thanks again!

Finally!

I am very relieved and happy: I am now finally able to use my spinning wheel again, after nearly two months of abstinence due to injury. It feels good to be back at the wheel and to spin art yarns again, which I wouldn't want to do on a drop spindle anymore.
Here is my latest creation:


It's made from hand dyed wool/silk blend, spun with lots of texture, and I've spun in textile flowers and leaves, as well as different kinds of glass beads.

Oh my, I am happy :-)

We're Back!

Hello everyone :-)
We returned safely from Norway a few days ago. We had a wonderful time, quite a bit of rain, but also enough sunshine for various outdoor activities. Like spinning, for example :-) (Well, yes, I do admit it's not exactly an outdoor activity per se - but it's fun to spin outside for a change!)

This photo was taken at the lake of Hagalid, a very small place up in the mountains of Hjelmeland:

A beautiful place, and so quiet and peaceful! I spent quite a while sitting on a stone and spinning while Twisted and both our husbands engaged in more exciting activities, catching trouts for our dinner :-)
At this point let me just say that getting a fishing permit for lakes in Norway is not something you should try - it's hopeless! Nobody seems to know where to send you and it was quite frustrating, especially since it seemed so easy when we read about it before we actually went there and found out. Luckily you don't need a permit for fishing in the ocean, so that's what we (that is to say, everyone but me ;-)) did in the end.

We also visited Landa, a prehistoric settlement and now a living history centre. We encountered a cute little black pig, a few bunnies, some wild sheep who were actually shedding their wool but were too quick for us to go and collect some, and - we found the spindles ;-) There were two baskets of fibre, a few spindles, and no one in sight, so we just presumed the tools were there for everyone to try and we kind of pounced on them :-D

After a while, a small group of other visitors came by and I think I heard one of the boys watching us spin say something like "vad kul", which is "how cool" in Swedish and probably something similar in Norwegian. I did like that :-D

We also collected a few mushrooms, my companions caught more fish, and we rented a small motorboat and spent a good part of two days on the fjord. All in all - a wonderful vacation :-)

Odds and Ends

There's nothing new, really, I just wanted to let you know we haven't forgotten our blog readers ;-)

I still can't spin on a wheel, but I'm feeling a lot better and can walk again, though not without pain.

We won't be able to participate in the Tour de Fleece this year, because we'll be on vacation. Which reminds me: we will close the shop for about two and a half weeks (starting Thursday morning, our time zone), so if you need some yarn before we leave, be quick ;-)

I'm planning a new knitting project to take with me to Norway (yes, that's where we'll be going :-)) and have decided on the Myrtle Leaf Shawl (ravelry link) from Victorian Lace Today. I'll be using handspun and hand dyed dark greenish/blueish icelandic wool which has been lying around for a few months now. Hopefully I'll make enough progress to show you when I return. But I also need to work on the Scarf of HoRRoR, so we'll see... ;-)

I have taken advantage of my non-spinning situation by creating this beautiful shawl pin from hammered silver wire:

...which I have then bartered for delicious redcurrant and elderflower/orange jelly :-) I had registered for a German trading forum previously, that's where the trade took place. I already have a request for another pin like this and I'll be swapping it for handmade glass beads I can spin into yarn. I hope to show them to you when I get back!

We'll be back at the end of July - take care and be creative! :-)

Turning the Great Wheel

I've wanted to tell you about this for ages, but somehow I never got around to actually doing it. Now that I am temporarily unable to use a spinning wheel, I can at least write about my experience on the Great Wheel or Walking Wheel :-)

In September 2009, my husband and I went to Ireland on our honeymoon. We spent a few days in Dublin, then slowly made our way to the west coast, visiting the Boyne Valley with Newgrange and Knowth, spending time in a cute café in a small town called Slane (where I knitted a cowl - which reminds me I have to find the pictures again), visiting Trim Castle and Locke's Distillery Museum, and finally ending up in Galway, as intended. We spent a few nights at a cozy B&B called Liscarna. After a few days there, on one of which we visited Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands, we drove on to Clifden. There, we spent a few nights at another recommendable B&B called Kingstown House and drove around the countryside during the days.
I was delighted when, as I consulted the internet for yarn or fibre shops nearby (as I did in every town we passed, by the way ;-)) I found The Sheep and Wool Centre, just about half an hour away from Clifden. We just HAD to go there :-D And we did.


It's a museum of sheep, fibre and fibre-related crafts; a shop; and a café. You can read more about it on their website if you like. Anyway, we went there and stated that we wanted to visit the museum. We were the only people who did, somehow all the others were satisfied with the shop and café. After having watched a film about local (sheep/fibre-related) history we were given a spinning and carding demonstration. When I told the lady I already knew how to spin she was delighted, as for some reason there don't seem to be many spinners left in western Ireland. I hinted that I really wanted to know more about spinning on the Great Wheel, since I had read about them but could never really imagine how to work with them. And then - she not only showed us, but let me try it.

Unlike with a more modern spinning wheel, you don't treadle with your feet and use both hands for drafting the fibre, but you turn the (really large) wheel with your right hand...

...while drafting the fibre with your left hand only:


While drafting, you hold the emerging yarn in a right angle to the wheel. As soon as your arm doesn't seem to be long enough anymore, you hold the yarn parallel to the wheel and it will be wound around the spool - turning the wheel with your other hand all the time, mind you!

It was weird and unfamiliar, and I did have my problems with the technique, although Orla (I think she was called) seemed to think I did fairly well. It was fun, and I think if I practiced I would make good progress. I don't want another wheel, though, I already have three and don't know where I'd put such a large one ;-)

It was a great experience and I really recommend visiting The Sheep and Wool Centre - so if you have the chance, go for it - and say hello from me :-)