Sunshine!

So, black gives way to blue....
I have been looking forward to getting back to the dyepots, and this week has afforded me some amazing weather, and the headspace to do so.
The soundtrack to my dyeing has been my beloved Alice in Chains, notably Layne Staley AIC.... his voice just hits something inside me that makes my heart sing. 
The harmonies between him and Gerry Cantrell are magical too :)

I know you guys probably don't share my taste in music, especially when it comes to AIC, the lyrics are quite dark at times ...

This song though, off their 1990 'Facelift' Album, contains a lyric that is resounding constantly at the moment....

'Memory, set me free, yeah

I don't care no more ...'

Always been an Emo... :P

So, my lovely friends, here you have it... my tentative return :)

Dyeing Yarns I love to dye, to music that feeds my soul.

I hope I did you proud ?

Colour is COMING !

I dyed this yarn up in November last year, and cast it on to make a 'West Hills' as sanity knitting over Christmas.  Green is my favourite colour (of course) and garter stitch is very soothing. Also, the simple repetitions in the pattern were what I needed.
I took a photo, whilst on holiday last year in Cornwall, of some seaweed I saw on the beach. The way you construct the colour spots reminded me of it... so I tried to mimic the textures... as well as trying to create a general reptilian feel to it :)

All in all, it was a really fun knit... with just enough brain usage to keep me interested :)
This yarn is just up my street when it comes to dyeing. It's a 75/25 Sock weight Merino~silk mix, spun in the same way as my Flump sock, so a high twist 2ply. There's just enough silk in there to help with drape, and just enough merino to allow for 'memory', so it won't stretch itself out into oblivion.
Stretch is great when you've made a scarf (like me) or a shawl, but if you want to make socks, or a hat, you need a little memory :)

The stitch definition is divine...

It dyes beautifully too, again the mix allows for the powdery colour you get with Flump, but with a little shine too, from the silk...

Now the weather 'seems' to be improving a little, I am really looking forward to getting the dyebaths out and having a mad colour day, as I have a few new albums to listen to.

Plus, I think I've been woefully neglecting my lovely knitters by only dyeing fibres!

So... watch this space.

Colour is COMING *GRiNS*

Troughs... with a side helping of Indecision

The Black Dog has bitten me really hard over the last couple of weeks.
The annoying bout of insomnia is still hanging about, making it hard for me to formulate clear and confident decisions. 
I doubt my decision~making on a GOOD day, so this fog I am currently wading through is maddeningly debilitating.

It's not all bad, am still getting the basics done... I mean, I had a wakeful baby who trained me well for this sh!t... 
I am still spinning every day, and have also been dyeing fibres for the shop so I am still really trying to keep a positive spin on things, you have to, eh? 

At least the Dog hasn't robbed me of the ability to do that... YET >.<

A few weeks ago, I put a couple of my handspun min-skeins up for grabs, and the lovely Marce (aka Brownberry) was the lucky recipent...

She has a podcast, called 'The Brownberry Chronicles', where she talks about her life, her knitting and other great stuff, like what people send her in the post.
In her latest episode, she opens the package I sent her containing my Handspun, it's a bout 39 mins in but I'd highly recomend you watch it all ! !

It was a complete surprise to me that she was going to put it on her podcast, so, seeing her reaction and especially the look on her face was such an unexpected joy. 

A little overwhelming to begin with if to completely honest, because of the headspace I am currently inhabiting, but once I'd processed it, it gave me a real sense of achievement and happiness. You know what, I might actually have been proud of myself... yeah, don't all faint with the shock :P 

But ultimately I was just happy that I'd made someone else happy, you know? 

It's only every now and then I get to experience the effect of what I do has on people in real time. Words on a feedback page, or comments on social media don't come alive quite so much as seeing the look on someones face :)

Thankyou, Marce, for your amazing words, and I cannot wait to see how you incorporate my handspun into your work. 

It's gonna be awesome, I know that much !