Still busy spinning

Welcome to the Dales once again - we're having a mini heatwave here but thanks to our altitude there is always a lovely breeze happening.  All this sunshine is bringing all the blossom out - finally, and I'm hoping for a lovely crop of apples and crab-apples......maybe I'll get my crab apple jelly this year!  I have a small clump of raspberries developing and a blackberry against the wall and I might even get some blackcurrants if I can beat the blackbirds!!

Inside, where it always so cold in winter, it is blessedly cool thanks to 2ft thick stone walls which means of course that I can still spin and my hands don't get sticky.  I'm not much of a one for sunbathing so it doesn't bother me and I get my vitamin D when I'm walking my lovely friend or sat in the garden with my cuppa!  I'm not doing much of that right now though, we have a lady pheasant nested in my flowers - around10 eggs when we managed to sneak a look.  Of course we have to keep my lovely friend away, she put her nose to the ground and has already flushed the pheasant once but thankfully the bird came back to the nest - I reckon another week maybe then we can use the garden again!

Here is one batch I've spun of the lovely local 'black' wensleydale which I plied with some dyed white wensleydale, spun a little finer.  I quite liked the soft rainbow effect.

This is a lovely big 150g hank I spun consisting of 14 different natural colours of british wool - I am so lucky to have all these different fibres at my disposal to 'play' with, its great.

Here is the hank a little closer in, I decided to call it Creative Britain,

 hope someone takes an interest in it!

One of the good things that has happened for me this last month is that a lovely lady is developing a wool shop in the centre of Hawes at the head of the Dale, she keeps a basket of my yarns there and has sold a good many for me already.  Thankyou so much Jenny!

  If you visit this way call in on her the shop is called Past and Presents 

but could be changing its name soon to show her new venture.  

This is another of my 'Landscape' yarns using natural colours. This one is called 'Orkney Islands' as I used the wool of the sheep native to those isles - the North Ronaldsay which is one of our rare breeds.  Its quite a kempy yarn but soft and really springy for all that.

Here are some more of my coloured Wensleydale singles, in hanks, labelled and ready for the off!

 

This little trio is still natural colours.  The mottled brown is cleaned raw merino that I spun straight from the fleece to give a wonderful nobbly yarn.  The white yarn is another of our british breeds, the Dorset Horn.  It really is a lovely clear white and would take dye really well I think.

Thats me just about all spun out for now I think, hope everyone has a good week-end and not too much sunburn happening!!

Best wishes, Ash.

I have been busy!!

Hi again, finally I have got myself organised....well maybe just a little! and I am trying to get back into my routine of blogdom!!  I haven't been sat around twiddling my thumbs too much....well maybe initially as I got to the bottom of all my little health niggles.  Not only have I been waiting for my damaged fingers to sort themselves but I found I had ended up with severe anaemia and stomach problems.  Lots of pill popping later I think I am beginning to fight my way back!!  Thankfully!!

I am still avoiding my quilting as that still would put too much pressure on my finger ligaments but yippee....I am spinning and have found that cross-stitch is ok as the technique for stitching is that bit different, but more on that one a little later!

We have not had much of a spring here in the Dales at all, very wet, windy and oh so cold still...... but I did come across this little beauty on one of my dog walking sessions, a clump of wild cowslips, it was so good to see them!  Even better to be out walking and not having to catch my breath - how silly was I not to realise that something was going wrong.  The anaemia meant I didn't have enough oxygen in the bloodstream, of course I was going to get breathless whilst my muscles were gasping for air!!!

 

 On that self same walk I came across these lovely ladies, some of our local wensleydale sheep with their gorgeous lambs, don't you just love the shaggy hairdo?  This leads me nicely on to my recent spinning - wensleydale wool.

 

I've bought myself a new supply of the 'fluff' from a local supplier, some in the natural cream and 'black' (which is really a lovely soft shade of brown) and some the had been hand dyed by another lovely lady.  Just today I have my own session of dying to get even more colours!

Then I have been busy spinning it into singles yarn which keeps the colours lovely and clear....

 

......and here are some of my finished hanks, all ready to go for sale, hope someone wants them!!  :-)

I am having all sorts of trouble getting to grips with this new blogger system so I think I shall leave it there for the moment but I promise to be back soon and let you in on other things that have been happening for me of late, on the creative front that is!!

Best wishes to all, its been good keeping up with your postings even though I've kept quiet myself.

Take care, Ash.

Still around!

Just calling in to say hello to everyone and yes I'm still around - just taking my time about things right now!  Lots of ideas awaiting these horrible fingers of mine healing themselves,

that new sewing machine gets ever more tempting, never mind the cost!

The weather is awful today....wet, windy and cold....so I'm off to get the log fire on the go and then

put the kettle on for yet another cuppa and maybe get some more doodling done.

(Just come up against this new blogger system, I get my head around one lot then have to re-learn how to do things...can't they leave well alone!  It would be ok if we were all techies!)

Catch up soon.

Ash

Friday Flowers

Still stuck on a creative lull and beginning to wonder where life is taking me!!!.........

.......So this Friday I chose this gorgeous tulip for its vibrant cheer and the promise of the spring sunshine that lit up those wonderful petals. Taken on a trip to the Lake District last year it reminds me of a happy day with family.
This being Easter week-end too I took myself on a virtual trip around the world with the courtesy of a translate button - the wonders of technology, which is true when it is used for the right reason!

So here goes.......
Joyeuses Paques - french
Frohe Ostern - german
Hyvaa Paasiaista - finnish
Gleoilega paska - icelandic
Casca Sasta - irish
Selamat hari Paskah - indonesian
Buona Pasqua - italian
Priecigas Lieldienas - latvian
God Paske - norwegian
Wesolych Swiat - polish
Xpnctoc bockpec - russian
Felices pascuas - spanish
furaha ya pasaka - swahili
Glad Pask - swedish
Pasg hapus - welsh

Happy easter to all.

Isn't it wonderful, all that variety that we have on this world but it surprised me too the similarities that lie underneath all our languages!!!
Have a good week-end religious or no.
Best wishes.

Re-directing this week!

Things are a little slow in my world right now,
health issues seem to be coming to the fore that need sorting. :-(

So I took to meandering through some past work this week which I have written about in my quilting blog - see right ..... please call in on me there I would love to hear from you all.

Hope you all have a good-week-end and a busy week after, full of the things you love to do!!

Friday flowers

As we are officially in spring now - I've gone for some lovely, soft lemon
crocus this week.....
I know they are not flowers but we have lambs around and about us too.
Soon all we shall hear is the call of the babies to their mums'when they
are wanting feeding and the mums' panicked bleats as their offspring
disappear off to the other side of the field
in their 'lamb gangs'!!

Got to love 'em!!

Friday flowers & an 'oh dear!'

I remember taking this photo last spring - a cherry tree so loaded with blossom
it seemed like its branches must touch the ground!
It was one of those gorgeous, clear, spring mornings where everything
just seemed right with the world.


Things aren't quite the same this year, not yet anyway but I live always in hope!
I'm taking an enforced break from my world of stitching, spinning, crochet etc -
a couple of weeks but it feels like forever........
a while ago I slipped and fell whilst walking the dog on a frosty morning, managed to bang up a couple of fingers on my right hand, not broken but badly bruised, in my wisdom I thought a little time and they would be fine......well its going to be a little more time yet and rest from what I love doing the most to let the damaged tendons heal......

As if that wasn't insult enough I also have to use decaff. tea and coffee. For how long, don't know yet, as I'm trying to get to grips with, and get rid of heartburn too.
You have to love doctors but they know how to put a damper on living!!!

Here's to that bright ,clear spring morning this year when everything seems just right!! :-)

Friday flowers

I couldn't resist this gorgeous 'edged' primula last week
at the garden centre close to my sons college -
I wasn't going to spend anything there.....
ooops, bad move!! :-)

Things.....

An all sorts of everything post, nothing finished at the moment
but our little world is quite busy!
This first photo is my son and our dog trying to beat each other as to who can get closest to the fire - you'd think they would be up in flames too! Its a regular thing for Tips to do this of an evening - not sure about her sometimes!

Another evening and the two teenagers had a bit of a retro session - out came the old lego box after years in hiding and we all had a great time re-living memories through lego pieces - can you believe that?


Did I say nothing was finished, losing my marbles I think!!!
I knitted this scarf from some yarn on sale - meant to be for a birthday two months ago, better late than never I guess. Its a 2x2 rib but with an extra stitch that causes the rib to become staggered, gives a lovley texture and still stretchy like a true rib but not quite so formal....

My crochet flower, in the colours of a purple hellebore, is beginning to find a home.....

I've made a stencil to use on my blackbird wall-hanging....

.....and marked it up. It will be a quilted inner border.

...and of course there is the ever present little black missile requiring her legs stretching.
The landscape is looking a little 'winter weary' around here but the hazel catkins
are bursting out everywhere, spring is definately stirring and stretching her arms!

And just a little more proof, my viburnum shrub in the garden is smothered in
early season flowers, it feels so good!

See you soon, have a good week-end.

Friday flowers

How these weeks fly by!
Almost Friday I should say but its late'ish on Thursday evening and I know I will be
busy come the morning.
Blue is my colour this week, this gorgeous lavender blue of the true geranium flower,
I love the deep veining and sometimes wish I could see it as the bees do,
wouldn't that be wonderful!