Melbourne Graffiti 2011
I love to see good graffiti and Melbourne has some of the best. On a recent stay with our son I wandered along the streets of Carlton and Fitzroy and was joyed to come across these few.
Scarf Exchange 2011
For the first time I participated in the Scarf Exchange - I really enjoyed crafting something from 150gms of fibre my swapper provided, "I'm a green person" was written on the form. So I crafted a green scarf full of square holes! The pieces, about 150 of them, were on display in Launceston and some photes below show just what a range of things can be made when everyone starts with 150gms of fibre.
Tour de Fleece 2011
Had MEGA fun participating in the TDF2011. Total distance pedalled = 5.812kms
After seeing so many great stages I MISSED the final run into Paris! Nevermind, finally I have measured and weighed, taken stock of, drooled over and labelled my tour de fleece products. Still have two bobbins to ply but I'm going to add a third single to that, not sure what yet. Have some lovely rose grey alpaca - some pure, some with blue suri and white silk noils added, some with green glass beads. A nice ball of wool / tencel and a crazy ball of many ends of fibre from various workshops. I love my random balls. The buttons are there, that was day 1 - a button workshop. And the last thing spun was some fleece from Ronaldsay sheep, apparently not highly regarded and so often locked out of good pasture and made to exist on the seaweed they can find on the coast of Scotland. I enjoyed that, spun it straight from the staple, it washed out into a nice skein, might use it for a seafarer beanie.
Day 21 and I had fun plying the coloured bobbins of random leftover pieces from different workshops, and also the rose grey alpaca bobbins that had smidgins of silk noil and blue-suri locks spun in. Those bobbins have realised a total of 325gms of yarn extending a length of 2.31kms! The mixed fibre ball is real fun, real springy and colourful, I'm sure it will make a great beanie for a kid somewhere. The alpaca balls are very nice, adding to my stash of ready-to-use rose grey alpaca yarn. I've added my Mad Moment graphic because my life has been CHAOTIC over the last 2 days!
Day 19 and I have singles ready to ply. Two are rose grey alpaca of which one has smidgins of white silk and blue suri entwined. Then there is a bobbin of black huacaya and a bobbin of BFL in varying shades of grey and white. Then there are two bobbins of a bag of odds and ends I found - no idea what they were all doing bunched in together but I halved each piece and spun two bobbins - one has lots of short pieces of the different fibres and the other has the fibres in long lengths so interesting to see how they come out plied. A ball of art yarn in the centre just to remind me I should start to get organised for an upcoming workshop!
Well I have a full bobbin of single rose grey alpaca, and prepped a load of batts with smidgins of blue-dyed suri locks and white silk noils just to liven it up a little to spin as thunmease second single - should make a nice ply of rose grey alpaca with just an occasional hint of silk and blue through the final yarn. And I couldn't resist getting ZsaZsa's cria saddle fleece and removing a bit of VM, just to feel that soft and silky fibre.
I'm spinning rose grey alpaca so the fibre / yarn pics aren't very exciting, but here is the source of that great fibre - young Middle Earth Gandalf.
Day 12 and I returned to the main event for me, spinning rose grey alpaca. I decided to see how it looked with green glass beads, what do you think? I've got about 40m, enough for a scarf trim or similar.
Day 11 and the last few days, including a rest day, have been a lot of fun. I took a break from alpaca and used 100gm of club fibre that I purchased from Jo in Huonville, 2009 #3 club fibre she had purchased from Ewe Give Me The Knits some time ago. It was too pretty to leave on the shelf, I spun it up and navaho plied it to get some nice strong lengths of colour in the finished yarn. It is soft and squishy - total of 240 metres and 112 grams.
Day 6, time to reflect on the work of the first 5 days. Have a lovely ball of yarn, alpaca/rabbit yarn, 1 single of each plied together. It is soft and warm looking. A total of 110gms in about 380metres in length.
Day 5 - time to skein and wash the alpaca/rabbit yarn and show off the red silk that will compliment it as it morphs into a scarf - some time in the future!
Day 4 Raggamuffin approves the yarn - an alpaca/rabbit combo
Day 3 Alpaca single, meet Rabbit single - you to going to get REAL close on day 4
Day 2 Beautiful rabbit fibre from my friend at Mareniko Angoras.
Archived info - allsorts
Rye Grass Staggers Information
Reflections on our move to Tasmania
JULY 2011
