A SHEEPish update

Well, it was lovely to chat to Lesley of Devon Fine Fibres on Savile Row. I didn't realise that she is the main fleece supplier for the cloth weavers who supply the tailors of Savile Row. It shouldn't be a surprise, though - the fineness of her British rare breed Bowmont (Merino x Shetland) fleeces is second to none. At approximately 15 microns, the fibre is just beautiful. There was a woolsack full of the raw fleece which, I must say, looked very clean - it was just so beautifully soft.

This beautiful breed is has the Merino look, without the thick neck folds - and the finer facial structure of the Shetland. They all seemed plenty happy enough, munching on their hay and delighting the crowd with the hopping, skipping and jumping. "Spring is bustin' out all over" was playing in my mind. And in a small space like this it is easy to see how "sheep" as an adjective has come about. Where one went, the others followed all huddled together.


There was also a small flock of Exmoor Horn sheep - their fleece is significantly coarser, but still fine for knitwear. These guys seemed much more relaxed with all the crowds around, and this guy on the left looked as if he was having a real conversation.

These pictures aren't the best, as they were taken on my phone, but the trek across the City to see them was well worth it! Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit Lesley on her farm and see them in their 'natural' habitat. I would love to spin one of her fleeces but, it seems, there is just so much demand for them commercially - that would be why the Savile Row tailors are so exclusive!

Celebrating Wool Week

It's officially the start of Wool Week and I am so excited! I work in London and there, generally, isn't much in the way of fibre-y "stuff" to see and do. Today, however, Savile Row (lauded for its impeccable tailors) is being turfed over and a flock of brightly coloured sheep brought up by Lesley from her farm in Devon. Even better, Lyle and Scott are sponsoring a Sheep Parade in Covent Garden tomorrow, which is even closer to my office.

HRH Prince Charles is patron of the Campaign for Wool, a fantastic organisation which hopes to bring this wonderful resource to the forefront once more. british wool, and the cloth made from it was once the pride of the nation. Now, we are so consumed with cheap, throw-away fabric and our fantastic wool is burnt in huge piles as farmers cannot even cover the cost of shearing with the price that fleeces can muster. This versatile fibre can be used in all sorts - the finer, softer fleeces make wonderful knitwear while the coarser fleeces can make the most hard-wearing rugs and carpets. Or even building insulation! It seems heretical that such a resource is wasted year on year.

As a hand-spinner, I really appreciate a beautiful fleece. There is nothing more satisfying than knitting with yarn that I have spun, watching the project develop from raw (and often filthy!) fleece to a beautiful scarf or hat or sweater... one that I know will last an absolute lifetime.

Wool is wonderful... spread the word!!

Updates!

Well, the sun stayed out long enough for me to take some pictures when I got back yesterday evening which made me so happy!

Au Naturel - 100g/345m Bluefaced Leicester sock yarn £9.00

Waterway - 100g/345m Bluefaced Leicester sock yarn £9.00

These next yarns are 80% alpaca and 20% silk and it is the most beautiful, softest yarn with a beautiful sheen to it. Each colourway shown below has two skeins of yarn as each 100g skein has 262 metres which I, honestly, feel is not enough for a pair of socks. Because of this, I will be selling them in lots of two hanks, unless people particularly want just one. Two hanks are priced at £21.00 and one at £11.00.

Apricot jam - 100g/262m Alpaca/silk sock yarn £11.00

Fuschia party - 100g/262m Alpaca/silk sock yarn £11.00

Inversion - 100g/262m Alpaca/silk sock yarn £11.00

Harlequin - 100g/262m Alpaca/silk sock yarn £11.00

Rosegate - 100g/262m Alpaca/silk sock yarn £11.00

I hope you all enjoy knitting with these as much as I loved dyeing them!

Happy September!

I love September. Mainly because it means that Christmas is SO. CLOSE. (Although that means that I really have to pull my finger out and get on with the Christmas knitting.) But, also, because Autumn is coming, and I just love the short period of time when the leaves turn and the mornings are much crisper. Summer, my favourite season, is pretty much over. It's still quite warm out, but the mornings and evenings are far cooler now than they were just a couple of weeks ago.

The Bank Holiday weekend was far busier than anyone's long weekend should be. The Farmer's Market on Saturday was brilliant, and it was lovely to see Christina again. On Sunday I went to visit my friend Claire at her farm, and time just ran away with me! And Monday was spent dyeing LOTS of yarn. My space for drying is limited, so the hanks were in the airing cupboard to dry and, while it is relatively warm in there the heating is not on, (I refuse to put it on until next month) so the drying process has been slow. By the time I get home in the evening the light has all but gone, so I will be photographing all the skeins this weekend. This weekend I have a lot more to dye. I'm slightly upset that the fibre I ordered a week ago has not arrived. Yes, it was a big order but I have never waited a week for delivery. It's not as if I NEED it now, but the thought of the lovely squooshiness, which should be with me but is, in fact, either still with the supplier or squashed in a box all alone with Royal Mail makes me sad. What makes me happy, though, is that I will have some beautiful new yarns over the next couple of months, including alpaca/silk and merino/bamboo sock yarn . I love how the different fibres take up dyes so differently.

My alpaca is still on the bobbin, and I just nees to spin up some silk for plying. I also have a rather lovely camel/silk blend to spin, that I have been asked to make a scarf with. Whether I shall knit or weave it, I don't know yet.

Forgive my lack of yarn and fibre photos. I shall, instead, leave you with Schnarfums who managed to curl up in to a tiny ball and almost fit in to the brand new cat bed. Crazy creature...

Forgive me, interwebs, for I have sinned.

It has been over two months since my last post! Working in the US is to blame. I am, however, full of updates...

I have been spinning! These are all Falkland wool:

Scotch Mist - approx 200g £30

Heathered - approx 200g £30

Wunderland - approx 200g £30

And, my, I have had SO much fun with these fibres!

This Wensleydale was a joy to dye. The colours were just slurped up, and it has this lovely sheen to it.

That's not cheese, Gromit - 100g £8.00

And these two braids of BFL/silk should, I'm sure, be spun and then plied together. The photos do them no justice, unfortunately! Squishy and so soft...

Wenceslaus - approx 100g £9.00 SOLD

La bohème - approx 100g £9.00 SOLD

Oooh! Merino! Unbelievably fluffy.

Nymph's grotto - approx 100g £9.00 (two braids available)

Lady of the Lake - approx 100g £9.00 (two braids available)

And, my favourite of all, Falkland. I honestly couldn't come up with a reason why it would be my favourite. I mean, it's not quite as soft as Merino, is not lustruous like a longwool, nor is it as bouncy as other breeds from merino, like Corriedale. But there's something that keeps me coming back to Falkland each time. I love its qualities for both spinning and dyeing.

Antheia - approx 100g £8.00

Kleio's lament - approx 100g £8.00

Rhodanthe - approx 100g £8.00

Spill - approx 100g £8.00

And, finally, I have a couple of sock yarns to add. I have a lot more, so will be taking photos this weekend and adding them very shortly.

Ember - approx 100g/375m Merino £9.00

The Fisher King - approx 100g/375m Merino £9.00

It seems that the summer is well and truly over. The evenings are drawing in and there is a definite chill and dampness in the air, which is a bit of an impediment when it comes to dyeing - my airing cupboard will, no doubt, be working overtime! I am dyeing up some new sock yarns this weekend - a beautiful medium-high twist 80% alpaca/20% silk sock yarn - and I hear that the showers should be intermittent. Hopefully, I can manage to dry them with relative ease. I am also spinning up some BEAUTIFUL alpaca fleece (photos to come). I started when the weather was grotty, so decided against washing it first and am just flicking the locks out and spinning them. I'll just make sure that the yarn is very well washed as they just love to roll in the dust.

The next few months are looking rather exciting! I continue to attend the farmer's market at Shabden Park Farm and, whilst the number of knitters and spinners who attend is limited, there is such a huge interest in the old art. Strangely enough, quite a lot of yarn was bought in July, on what was probably the hottest weekend of the year! In addition, I will be attending Heathfield Ecology Centre's Green Fair on Saturday September 18th, (such a worthy cause) and the Christmas Fair at the Fairfield Halls November 27-28. This is not to mention Unravel in February. Lots more to come!

Open Day at the farm

Well, yesterday was the first Open Day of the year at Shabden Park Farm, and what a roaring success it was! Most of the usual suspects were there with their stalls, including Peter McCarthy, (probably the best baker in the county) Anila's, (I love their goan curry paste) Pimpernel Fisheries (mmmm... crab rolls!) and A Gem of a Cake - although I didn't get around to buying any cupcakes as I was pretty busy on the stall, I was eyeing them up! The Epsom spinners attended, and it was lovely to meet Jill and Christina. There was a straw bale climbing frame, tractor rides, shearing demonstrations and all sorts for the whole family. And the weather was beautiful throughout! We really couldn't have asked for more.

I have a large stock update to do, and will definitely get down to that this week. The days are much longer now, so I should still have plenty of light by the time I get home!

Away with the fairies

I wish it was the fairies I've been away with! It seems that real-life has called and I have had no time to update here. I have some more yarns and fibres to update, but will wait until Saturday evening as I am going to be at the Shabden Park Farmers' Market on April 24th! Mayfield Lavender, one of my favourite places locally, will be at the farmers' market, too.

No doubt I will have lots to update with. In the meantime, everything in previous posts that does not say "sold" is still available.