Dying Wool and Gardening

It’s about a month to Woolfest and with 10kgs of sock yarn, 3kgs of baby alpaca and several kgs of fibre to dye, this week I’ve been cracking on with dying some of the sock yarn. In fact I’ve not done too badly, 2kgs of Sparkle sock yarn, 2kgs of Falklands Merino and Bamboo and today 2kgs of Blue Faced Leicester and Silk.

Here is the Blue Faced Leicester and Silk Sock yarn drying on the line this afternoon.  I also got the 10kgs of stock replenishment fibre weighed, packed, labelled and priced.

On Sunday I spent the day in the garden and was able to plant out some of the Kale plants I bought earlier this month from Pauline and moved the tomato plants into much bigger plantpots. My courgette plant is not enjoying the cold weather we are experiencing at the moment, but it seems to have picked up over the last couple of days with the warm weather we’ve been having. I’ve also sown some French Bean plants and a lettace/salad mix which hopefully will start to sprout in the next week or so.

The coming week I’m hoping to get the final 4kgs of Falklands Merino and Tencel Sock yarn dyed this weekend, but the main thing that is happening is the shearing of Ghilli and Grommet on Wednesday. Prey that we have fine weather as where they now live there is nowhere undercover to shear them!!!!!

 

Tynedale Spinners Gathering

On Saturday morning, with the Bongo campervan packed with lots of fibre, we set off  to Stocksfield for the Tynedale Spinners Gathering, through some very heavy rain and flooded roads. Once at the Community Centre, where the gathering is held, the van was unpacked in no time, thanks to some help from ladies in waterproof coats. Thank goodness all of my fibre is individually packed in plastic bags, inside the bags I carry them in.

Once set up, and in next to no time, fibre was been sold. I’d been asked to bring some of my dyed baby alpaca tops. So last week I dyed up 1 1/2 kilos, thinking that would be sufficient, well it sort of was! I came home with only 300gms.

 

Some of the Guild members using the fibre they have bought.

I always enjoy this Spinners Gathering, more so now, as this is my own Guild, and I always want to sell a lot of fibre, but at the same time, you don’t as it’s only 5 weeks to Woolfest and I will have to replace all the fibre I have sold. A nice situation to be in, but it will be a bit manic over the next few weeks, as I still haven’t caught up from Wonderwool. Ah well back to the dyes and the oven!!!!!

First plant in the veg garden

The courgette plant