It's what inspires you that counts!

Inspiration can come from all sorts of sources, yet for many of us it is 'the yarn'. The 'must have' that gorgeous texture, feel, colour or just it's plain craziness!

I am having that reaction with the wonderful silk and stainless steel yarn from Dairing. I managed to get to their Richmond shop in Lennox St. to find a beautiful store. Yarns and more colours and their wonderful designs. I was there to buy yarns, which I did....

but I also checked out an amazing range of yarns, from the stainless steel to linen to linen paper. So now I have something to play with...

Linen paper! I saw a jacket knitted with this and, I think, it was the silk and stainless steel and it was gorgeous. It keeps suggesting to me, for some unknown reason, crochet, so I might team it with some mercerised cotton and a crochet hook and see what I come up with.

What I'd like to have a look at is their amazing designs, clothing and jewellery. Again, beautiful design and maybe a gorgeous something to wear for Christmas!

I was so excited by my purchases, that I've done three scarves for the market. They're done on the knitting machine and I manipulate the fabric to try and create folds that force the fabric to behave interestingly. I think it works!

I do feel a bit of a fraud when I say that ALL the previous scarves have sold.....I bought the first cone at the Handknitters guild and despite it being the only one it went, so next, at the Sheep and Wool show I bought two and a play cone. The play cone is still being played with but the TWO have gone. I did make a mistake and only bought four, when I'd written in my diary, buy SIX....next time. It is surprising, as usually people need a choice of colour, but there seems to always be someone who just loves them.

So here are the next three:

Now I have to go and put tags on all  the finished pieces, in time for Rose St. Market tomorrow.

UFO's the journey continues...

Remember my post about my personal unfinished objects? Well the first one is finally finished! Here are my lovely pair of socks.

I think, now, that I've done enough socks to know what I like! So the next pair will incorporate all those elements that I would like in a plain pair of socks. A k2p2 rib at the top, slip st heels AND toes, and, of course, the right length for each foot.

Of course they're already started with some yarn that was a gift from a good friend. And then there's...

the yarn I picked up at Bendigo!

See what happens when you finish a UFO, you get two more!

Bendigo in a day

The Australian Sheep and Wool show in Bendigo (or Bendigo, Bendi, or other terms of endearment) is an annual pilgrimage for those of us that appreciate wool in all its forms. This year, with the train being replaced with a bus service due to works on the line, we decided to take a car and travel together. This enabled the usual chatter, plus the bonus of a side trip to the Bendigo Woollen Mills.

I managed to spend all my money (?) on beautiful yarns, wonderful tops and NO fleeces (I have TOO many unspun fleeces.) I've even managed to pack them away....sorry....before taking pictures!

I did manage to see sheep! There's always a wide variety of breeds and the judging of the fleeces can be viewed and increases your knowledge of breeds and quality. I did manage to have a quick look at the Cashmere and Mohair goats. Next year, I'll make it to the alpacas!

A trip through the various woolcraft sheds is never complete without a visit to Lewis Harper, the wonderful wood turner.

The Woolcraft competition is wonderful, with a shed full of spinning, weaving, felting, crochet. Young and Novices and the more experienced testing their skills and displaying their craft...and...

the Experimental Spinning group won first prize in the group entry class!

So, a brilliant day, with good company, laughs, treasures, finds and plenty to keep me occupied for awhile, at least till next year!

See you there, sometime.

Just cleaning up...silk and steel!

I thought I'd better see what was remaining on the little camera. Silk and steel! A lovely yarn picked up at the Handknitters Guild fair from Dairing a new crowd in Richmond with some wonderful yarns.

Because of the silk and steel mix this yarn has a memory. If you squash it, it stays somewhat squashed. I had to try it. However, it is expensive, so I ran it through my knitting machine. They recommended a tension of 8 which is quite loose, however, the added stiffness was probably the reason. I did it on 7 and tried to create folds to try for more 3-d effects.

I was reasonably happy with how quick and how interesting it was. It displayed nicely on my little neck stand and was sold at Rose St. Artists' Market last Sunday.

So it was a success and I will be definitely be making a trip to Dairing to see what goodies I can play with.

A new toy!

It's been awhile since I had a new camera. I've been using my husband's very lovely little Nikon coolpix. It's packs quite a punch for a little compact. But I had to move on.....

It's a lovely Canon from Ted's Camera store, they had an end of financial year sale and I think I did very well. Unusual for me, especially when all I wanted when I went in the store was a battery for the Nikon and a quick look at what they had. Haven't always been happy with the service at Ted's but the lovely lady at Northland was very helpful and I couldn't resist.

Suffice to say I'm happy and now I'll have to take more pictures!

UFO's and other excuses.....

Ok, so I haven't blogged for awhile. I'm busy. It shows....

Usually, I don't have many personal works on the go, but they've escalated. (Almost out of control!)

First, there's the lovely deep green short sleeved cardigan that I've been working on for awhile. I'm up to the sleeves with only the last ball left, so I have to do them in tandem from the top down till I run out of yarn. It's messy, so not so good at Snb or on the train.

Then there's a pair of socks I started at SnB one day when I'd forgotton some needles, or something and 'had' to do something, and 'nearly' finished at a slow day at Rose St. I do so want more socks.

Then, there's my niece, who's just turned 21, the first of the next generation. As well as a beautiful hand-made box from Ivanhoe Makers Market and the talented Smiljan, I wanted to knit her a blanket, just for her. After finding the pattern, and the yarn, I managed to get it almost half-way by her birthday, I am going slowly along, and the deadline I set myself is likely to pass by. Sorry Hayley, but it will get there.

Then, my gorgeous son, Michael, has asked for a handknit jumper.....hooray! I had just the pattern. He liked it. We decided on the colours. I've ordered the yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills, it's arrived. I've started....

And finally, I've ordered the yarn to go with the Twist Collective pattern I bought and am really looking forward to knitting.

Oh, and that doesn't take into account the unfinished Yarn Forward knitalong blanket and the black cardigan I want to design and knit. I haven't designed for awhile and I know just exactly what I want to do!

Then add on to this all the fingerless mittens, shawls, scarves and assorted goods that I need to stock my market stall. All the drawing, painting and printmaking that is proceeding slowly as I work on my minor, works on paper, second year project. Various other assorted projects, it's a busy year. I'd like to say that I'm going to regularly get back to blogging, but who knows.

I have worked out a setting on my camera which has given me some lighting freedom, (thanks Leanne - photographer extraordinaire!) so here's hoping.

Experimental Spinning

I continued spinning my 'water' yarn and finished it in time for the 10x10 challenge at Experimental Spinning.

I filled a bobbin with 'water' and on another I finished off the top spinning finely, which I plied with the thick, then Navaho plied the remaining fine.

  

After all that I had these two skeins:

I am very pleased with the contrast between the two yarns and feel that I've managed to capture some of my original thoughts about the nature of water.

In search of further inspiration I went in search, through the magazine stash, of pictures of water and discovered, not surprisingly, that water displays itself in many forms. Here is some of my selection for your inspiration.

Isn't it amazing! The colours, the texture and the possibilities that might be revealed with further exploration. Hopefully, I'll manage to use these well in the creations for this year.