Lots of things to photo - more socks on the go, the neckwarmer for Vicky - but I've been to lazy/disorganised/cold to do any yet. However, I now don't have to take the camera or card into work so they might get done this weekend. I have a whole weekend at home in front of me - apart from a trip to Ikea on Saturday (which would be horrible apart from the fact we can stock up on meatballs and they do the most amazing almond cake, not to mention Christmas presents) and the farmers' market on Sunday morning and Harlow Carr later on Sunday. We need transport this weekend so a van is being hired again.

Why am I burbling? Off to warm up downstairs before my fingers go numb.

Dyeing for Christmas orders...

Out of the dyepots over the weekend - I have a lovely lady who order fibre from me for Christmas presents to her spinning friends. There are four lots here, each one consisting of 200g of fine merino and 50g of camel/silk, two of Redleaf, one Damson and one Moss. The colours are actually richer and darker than the photo appears, but it was taken by flash in poor light last night so it's flattened out a little.






An Angel for Baa Ram Ewe's knitted kNativity. I can't help feeling he looks a little surprised.

Finished stuff, and spinning at last!

The Elsewhere cardigan finally photographed - I've given up hope of being organised enough to do it on me and in daylight. I've worn it a couple of times and I'm really pleased with the shape and drape, but slightly uncomfortable with the colour, although Ma said it looked good on me. I think it's a bit bright. It will be made again, I'm sure.







This hasn't been worn yet, but I'm sure it will get lots of hammer in the future. I've tweaked the pattern, as I didn't like the garter stitch edging at armholes and bottom, so I've done a stocking-stitch hem with a purl turning row - much better. Long too, but also quite snug - without really trying too much I seem to have got the body size spot on.








And a detail of the neck ties - twisted and cabled self-yarn.









Started spinning this last night during Defying Gravity - I do enjoy spinning (or other anachronistic crafts) when watching sci-fi, it's such a rubbing-together of different universes. This is moss coloured cashmere that I dyed a few years back and then kept back from selling because I liked the colour so much. But there's very little - probably less than 50g - so I'm still debating whether to ply with itself for a very small amount of yarn or run it along another single. There isn't enough to sample. Not the easiest spinning - I had the Suzi on its highest ratio without the accerlerator head and a very light tension, and fluffed up the top preparation so I was nearly spinning woollen with a long draw. There's some pleasing irregularity to the yarn, but that may largely disappear in the finishing.

Came home yesterday...

... to this. It was a 100g ball of BFL superwash sockyarn. After an hour's work it ended up being four smaller balls of grubby BFL superwash sockyarn. And then the soddin' cat had the cheeck to try and get on my lap WHILE I WAS STILL WINDING.

Sometimes I really don't like my cat.

Pffbt

I have one new project knitted, dyed and finished.

I have a sleeve of the Tangled Yoke cardigan (IK Fall 07) nearly finished in beautiful Bowmont Braf 4ply that I dyed in deep sea green.

Last night I decided to pull some bright blue aran bfl from the stash (traded earlier this year) and cast on an Elsewhere, after seeing at least two of them on bodies at Eden Valley's meeting last Saturday.

But the computer at home is dead. And really I'm finding it so hard to get organised enough to photograph new things in daylight, and then remember to bring the camera card into work to download the photos here.

My computer man was supposed to be coming on Tuesday evening, but that got cancelled at the last minute - and even though I'd told him a couple of times at least that it wasn't starting up at all he still wondered if it could be sorted remotely. Anyway, once I've finished the Soddin' Pirate Coat (see other blog) he and his son Tom will have to come and collect it, and I won't let it leave the premises until I'm up and running again.

Nearly packed.

Off to Mungrisdale in the Lake District tomorrow morning, tucked away under Blencathra, to teach a workshop at the Eden Valley Guild. Here's most (but not) all of the stuff I'm taking.

Three large checked bags, full of my dyed fibre to sell as I've had several requests to make sure I bring it. The silver padded bag in the foreground is my Little Gem wheel, much easier to pack than my Suzi Pro. It had it's own kate and extra bobbins and a nostepinde tucked inside too. The green box contains several pairs of hand-cards, a couple of pairs of hand-combs, a spare kate or two, spare bobbins, some big cones of thread and various bits of spinning impedimentia. Oh, and spindles. The shoe box is full of various and exotic yarn samples. And lastly the brown paper sack has clean shetland fleece, shetland roving and a few different balls of wool tops. Plus some books tucked away.

Because we've got clothes etc for tomorrow night, plus dogs, plus the bike I hope I'm collecting, there's no way I can take a plastic crate or two of things wot I have made to use as class examples. People will just have to remember the marvellous things I've made (!) and admire the yarn samples.... At least there isn't a tent in there too.

So we're off at 7am at the latest, hoping to get there for ten. Teach all day - Mark will go out with the pupz somewhere. Then off we go to the other side of the country, and spend tomorrow night with Denise and Tim and Deefa and Holly, who will hopefully not laugh at Bil's poor scarred face.

And Ma is leaving for Nepal in the morning too. We popped up this evening to drop off her camera, lipsalve, suncream and various other bits and pieces that for some reason I'm supplying. I still don't think Pa really knows what's going to hit him, especially as we're not around this weekend either.

The cat knows we're going too. I'm being infested as I'm trying to type this. And she'll probably try to smother me in my sleep too, not to mention jumping up and down on the keyboard.

No rowing; withdrawal symptons already.

Don't dye in the dark

or at least not by natural light. The colour on the right was my attempt, last night, to dye some superfine merino in Caramel. Unfortunately I have changed the source of some of my dyes since I wrote the recipe and it came out far too orange.

The one on the left is more like it - more brown, not orange, and the white areas were specifically requested. It was an order for 500g, so there's another 200g bubbling away (one left over for sale) and then I've put a blend of greens and the same brown in the other pot.

Merino and alpaca laceweight in Triton. Perhaps a little greener than is showing on my monitor for this photo. I seem to be leaning more towards this blue green at the moment rather than my more usual acid/yellow greens - odd given the time of year.








And this is Steelsheen in the same yarn, dyed for a swap on Ravelry -I have fallen in love with Symphonie multicoloured wooden dpns (due to the lovely Sarah giving me a set for my birthday) so when I found someone offering sizes I didn't have for sale or trade, I was prepared to be generous..... There's two lots of fibre going off with this yarn too.