Out and About.

This was the result of a workshop I took for the Bucks Guild of WS&D's in Amersham on the 4th March. The theme of the day was using as many different fleeces as possible and preparing them in different ways. The skeins here show the variety of finishes we came up with.
Carding, combing and spinning from the fleece were all tried as well as the large wool combs seen below left.
Thankyou to all those who took part and the organisers of the day.

 

This was the wonderful sight that greeted us as we arrived at the hall in East Hendred to the Wingham Wool day organised by the Kennett Valley Guild. It is a spinners dream to spin all day and sample as many different fleeces and fibres as you like.I recommend this day to anyone who has not been before, bring your purse as the shopping opportunity is second to none. You have missed this year but future dates will be on www they may be coming some where near you..winghamwoolwork.co.uk

A Few Setbacks.

I have had a very bad back recently which has made any kind of work difficult, even sitting to knit or spin. This has meant missing out on my weekly knitting group and the monthly meeting of The Bucks Weavers Spinners And Dyers. A real shame this last one, the talk was on 17th century spinning and I was really looking forward to it. Still hopefully I'm on the mend now and can get back to work.
The next knock back came when a dear friend decided to move back to the US and take the Ashford Traditional wheel that I have my jumbo flyer on with her. Well it is her wheel and I have had it for ages so I can't really complain. The flyer does not fit my other wheels so I can't spin any very thick yarn at the moment. A rethink is needed and I have fallen for a Majicraft Wheel so watch this space.

(I don't think that is the right spelling of Majicraft.)

Best Laid Plans.

The plan was that I would go on holiday to Northumberland and take some lovely pictures of the fells and the hardy Hexham Black Face sheep that are kept in the area. Well a bad back starting day two of the holiday meant that I spent most of the time laying on a sofa, literally my bed of pain.
HBF sheep live out on the fell all year round they lamb outside needing very little help. Extra food is only given in the worst of weathers. The fleece of these tough little animals is very course, straight locks that the rain slides off, dense and hairy for warmth.
You might think that the hand spiner would have little use for this kind of fleece but it was an interesting exersise spinning it. I found it very easy to spin an even yarn. Making it a good fleece for a beginer to start with. As long as you don't want to wear the result and have another use like rug or bag making in mind your item should be very tough and last a long time. The sheding of the hairy bits will be a problem if you are not careful when sorting the fleece at the start. Leave out the worst of the gard hair.
Sorry no photos I'll try again next time.

Jacob Fleece

I have just taken on a commission and I don't usually do that. In the past I have found myself spending a lot of time working on a project that I do not like which may or may not be going well. There is usually a dead line, and that does not suit me either as my work has to fit in with the rest of my life and I can't always spend my time as I would like.  Luckily the client has always liked the finished article.

This time is a bit different as the client has supplied the wool from her own sheep, a flock of Jacobs in our village. I helped on shearing day and know the sheep personally. I love that. The wool is lovely to work with and I have made a similar jumper before so I know that I will enjoy doing it.

Jacobs are a medium size sheep, brown and white with two or sometimes four horns. Easy to look after and very friendly. Two colours in the fleece make for supper patterns in the finished yarn.

Fleeces and Demos.

This has been a week of collecting fleeces and doing demos at a farm open day. Both things over lapped a bit.
I often get calls from various by contacts when they have fleece to sell. This year it started early because it was so warm farmers sheered early. Some of the fleeces are not such good quality because of this, a bit shorter mostly. Which can make them more difficult to spin. So far I have picked up Ryeland, Black ,Welsh Mountain, Shetland and a few unidentified bags of  white fleece. That can some times be a problem when deciding what to do with them but they look fairly good quality and they should dye well so I am pleased. That won't be the end I'm sure. I can't open my shed door with out all these bin bags of dirty fleece falling out. There is lots of washing to do this summer.
The farm open day was a bit disappointing as so few people turned up. It is such a lot of work to stage these events and I feel very sorry for the organisers when they don't go so well. I don't mean it was a total falier, the people who did come had a great time especially the children. My friends and I had a lovely day spinning. We did not sell any thing, but neither did any of the other stalls, well not much any way. I did buy some fancy dog biscuits for my lurcher Mia. She liked them which was just as well as they were expensive for dog food. The over lap came when I was given two bags of BWM fleece buy the farmer which was very nice of him but as I have so much already I gave it to my fellow spinners. It is sad to think it is not worth him trying to sell it, the wool board is not interested in coloured fleece.
We were opposite a stall advertising Medical Assistance Dogs. So interesting they way they can sniff out different things from fluid samples, cancer cells, diabetes, lots of different illnesses that can be hard to detect in a lab. They only work in laboratory's not on people, although I think I would prefer a dog to some people I have met in hospitals. A worthy charity to support if you are looking for one.

1st day introdution.

This is day one of this blog so here is a little bit about myself.

I live in a small village in lovely countryside, although we are only forty minutes from London(England). I have always been a country girl and gain lots of inspiration from the natural world. Hand spinning and dyeing are my great passions.I opened my Etsy shop a few months ago and would love to be able to earn a living from my work but have to work part time for the moment. It is over thirty years since I first learned to spin and have I found plenty of ways to pass on my skills. Teaching, taking workshops and giving talks to all sorts of groups. But there always seems to be new things to learn as I go along.

Other passions are my dogs, horses and rabbits. You will be hearing about these from time to time as they often are connected with my work, especially the rabbits. They are Angoras, and I love to spin angora it is hard to beat on softness. I hope you like the picture of my lovely Melody. How could you not!

Gardening is another hobby, I grow a lot of the plants that I dye with and will be explaining how to do this from time to time, as well as how to use them.

I'm afraid I am a multi project person. There are at least two or three things in my work box at any one time. There have been as many as five before now. I try to be a bit disciplined and get things finished. Remembering that I am trying to run a business is hard when I am enjoying myself so much. It never feels like work. All this means that I will have plenty of things to shear with you as I go along.

Please shear your projects with me, any comments, helpful hints, etc will be welcome. We can all learn from each other.

Bye for now, Gilly.