A successful Craft Fair... and some sad news

Well! The Craft Fair at the Fairfield Halls did turn out to be a success. And I must thank the ladies of the Croydon knitting Group for showing their support. The weather was incredibly cold, but the turn-out was a little better than anticipated. We were slightly disappointed at the lack of crafty stalls - there were a lot of people selling things like light-up plastic stocking fillers, commercial beauty products and even shoes. But there were some really special stalls, too. Our stall was in the foyer because the Angora bunnies needed a good supply of fresh air (Skye came on Saturday and Misty on Sunday) and both of them behaved absolutely beautifully, even when Basil Brush came out and disturbed the peace! (Please excuse poor quality of photos - these were all taken with my phone in the poor light available)...

Ice rink on the forecourt

Pretty! Bright lights from the Ferris wheel
on the forecourt

Tess spinning Angora fluff at our stall

My good friend Roz was there with her friend Anne, selling the most beautiful hand-embroidered cards, Christmas decorations and hand-made gift tags. Everything of theirs is so incredibly intricate and beautifully made! I now have a beautiful star decoration for my tree, some even more beautiful cards and the perfect tags for my gifts!

Roz and Anne's stall with hand-embroidered cards,
decorations and hand-crafted gift tags

There was also a lady called Joanne selling the most incredible hand-crafted jewellery all made with semi-precious stones and Stirling silver. This picture does not do her craft any justice at all, but I was drawn to it again and again. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a website, but I will update this as soon as I hear that she does.

So, the snow threatened over the weekend but didn't arrive until Tuesday and everything ground to a halt. It took me over three hours to complete the 13 mile journey home from work and, to make matters even more complicated, I arrived home to a FREEZING house as the boiler had broken down. Typical! As I am neither elderly nor do I have have small children I was not a priority case and it wasn't until yesterday, 6 days after the breakdown, that the gas man was able to come and replace the broken valve. Incredibly, due, I'm sure, to the breakdown and subsequent start-up of the boiler, I now have a leaking radiator in the bathroom and have to call someone out to fix it. Ugh. At least, though, the house is starting to warm up!

Snowed in!

The bad weather which kept me indoors over the weekend did, however, allow me to sit in front of an electric fan heater with a hot water bottle and finish a couple of Christmas knitting projects... Photos will follow after the recipients have received them!

The sad news I mentioned is that of Alfie, a 5 month old Labrador/Greyhound cross with a fatal liver condition. He has had four homes in his short life, all of which have passed him on after learning of his illness. It is treatable, but the surgery will cost £3,500. He is currently living with the kind people at the Happy Endings animal shelter in East Sussex. In light of this, I will be updating my Etsy shop this week, and offering a 10% discount on all purchases (details to follow). All proceeds will go towards Alfie's plight. I will also enter everyone who purchases in to a prize draw and the winner will receive a FREE(!) skein of hand-painted, hand-spun yarn. Yay! Please check back and I will update the shop very shortly with all sorts of goodies for your winter spinning, felting and knitting needs!

Emma x

Preparations...

...are well underway for the Christmas Extravaganza at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon! All the yarns and fibre are packed neatly in their bags, and other small bits to make the stall pretty are almost done. There will be a plethora of yarns to choose from, as well as some knitted winter woolies, unique tree decorations and learn-to-knit kits with needles, instructions and a choice of yarn. The weather looks like it may even play ball, what with the forecast of snow (snow!) in the area over the weekend!

I have a LOT of holiday knitting to do. Some of which are to wing their way overseas before Christmas, so I have a lot to be getting on with. My Etsy shop will close over the weekend for the Craft Fair, but shall re-open Monday, full of lots more goodies, and a special offer!

Yay!

Ding, dong merrily on high and stuff

Christmas is but 37 days ago. 37! That's barely enough time to prepare as it is! My handbag and my house and my desk are full (FULL!) of lists of presents to buy, cards to write, groceries, things to do... and on top I have a Christmas Craft Fair and Christmas Farmer's Market to prepare for! So, I also have lists of items I must take and things I must do in preparation. And that's all after my real job. Crazy!

But I love Christmas. I love the cold (when I'm indoors and toasty). I love the smells of baking and cinnamon and nutmeg and the pine needles. I love the unexpected visitors who I ply with mulled wine and fruit-filled pastries. I love the crinkling of paper and the sheen of ribbons; the happy Christmas carols playing in every store and, if you're lucky, sung by groups at the train station; the beautiful light displays adorning street lamps and shop windows like crowns and the twinkle of fairy lights and the coziness of chunky, winter knits and the beautiful glow that a room full of candles gives. The season imparts such a wonderful feeling for me, so to be able to be a part of some lovely events which will help others get in to the spirit is wonderful.

So, in preparation I have been dyeing and labelling and making up learn-to-knit kits for kids and knitting all manner of cozy items to keep people warm and, generally, preparing for a pretty, Christmassy stall!

I'm currently spinning up a second bobbin of some beautifully soft merino and cashmere. I'm yet to decide whether this will be a two- or a three-ply yarn but, whatever it will be, it has to keep the soft bounciness that this fibre has. Hopefully, it will make a lovely soft cowl. I am really hoping for some slightly better weather this weekend so that I can take some photos. It's so dark when I get home that photographing is impossible.

In the meantime, Schnarf is here to let you know what he thinks of all the festivities...

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!

Aftermath

The craft fair was really quite an enjoyable day out. It was great to meet some Ravellers and members of the Croydon knitting group. Thanks to all for their support! The spinning fibre and sock yarns went down very well. I do wish I had taken more yarn - there were a couple of disappointed faces when I said that was the last of it. Skye, the Angora bunny seemed happy enough being admired. She really is a dab-hand at all this show malarky.

I was a little disappointed at how un-crafty the show was. There seemed to be an awful lot of bought-in 'gifts' rather than hand-crafted items which, I thought, defeated the object. Also, there was absolutely no advertising for the event. There were, however, some DELICIOUS cakes! I bought enough cupcakes to feed an army, plus the nicest cake I've had in ages - chocolate and Baileys.

This week I'll be updating here with some more sock yarn, spinning fibre and some lace-weight, for those of you who are so inclined.

Back soon!

What's been cooking

The steamer has been working hard over the last few weeks, and I'm hoping to dye some more fibre and yarn before the craft fair on Sunday. These are merino rovings, all approximately 100g:

Oceanus - SOLD

Floralia - SOLD

Sophocles

Fish pond - hand-painted 2-ply merino DK, 100g (approx 300 yards) - SOLD


Oceanus - hand painted 2-ply merino DK, 100g (approx 300 yards) - SOLD


And this is about 100g hand-painted Falkland roving spun up to approximately a DK weight called Jellybabies' Picnik. It was chain plied to preserve the colours which came out very prettily.

I don't have any yardages, but will definitely be measuring these and updating when I post again with my newest hand-spun. Am so looking forward to the craft fair on Sunday!

Spinning and more...

Well, the past couple of weeks have been filled with major fibre shenanigans, (updates and photos to follow, I promise!) including spinning Falkland and merino/silk blends and carding some GIANT batts. My lack of updates here, though, have been down to all the preparation, following through and post-processing of another project which came to a head on March 6th when I was my friend Hannah's wedding photographer. Here are a few of my favourite shots of the day:






Back to fibre-y stuff: I will be at the Fairfield Spring Fair in Croydon on Sunday March 21st! My wares will accompany those of my friend Tess of Silkwood, and one or two of her Angora bunnies. The fair is only on for one day, and will be open from 10am until 4pm. It promises to be a great day!

Normal service will resume this week.