So that was that!

Having been counting the months, weeks and days until "R " day, it finally happened on Friday. How do I feel? Sad, well yes, because I will miss some of the people I worked with, but no because I really didn't enjoy the job!

So what next? Well, there's the Certificate of Achivement in spinning, there's the current warp to get on the loom and the yarn to order for the experiment in Ikat weaving. Then there's the embroidery machine and all the various bits of equipment and experiments with multi media etc. I don't think I will have much free time to feel sad about not working for the LSC!!!

I have a few days before I need to pack for the trip to Cornwall for Christmas, so I'm just going to have fun and play with a few of my toys! There will also be time to get the cards done and the presents wrapped and I might even go in for some fancy ribbon work!!!

The first issue of Quiltwow came online on Saturday. I haven't had a lot of time to look in detail, but it looks promising. Now I have more time available, I may be able to meet up with other wowies etc.

Until then, though, there are always the ducks to feed and more time to spend with this small person. I saw this fleece fabric on a market stall and just had to have it!

Paint shop pro and other distractions!

All this talk of displacement maps started me thinking about what they actually are. It's my day off so I'm entitled and the fact that I have a million and one other things to do isn't important. I am one of the best at displacement activity so it should be a doddle. So for my efforts see above. Not exactly enthralling but I've learned something valuable. It always takes longer than you think and the result is not always worth the effort. There I shall leave it for today!

Never let it be said!

that I do things by half! This is the new collage picture for my latest postcard project. Initially I thought that I would find Picasa very useful, but having used it a few times now, I find that I don't like the way it arranges the folders and I haven't found a way to amend it. There will be a way I'm sure, but as is usual with computers, you need a lifetime to find the answer and it's not intuitive. So, it's back to good old Paint Shop Pro version 7, I think, but familiar and I know where my files are and how to retrieve them. This image is a composite of the two photos below, with a bit of jiggery pokery and layering.

Sadly, when printing this image onto treated silk, the clolours are much darker and duller than they appear on the screen, so this will be another learning curve. This time, I think I will turn to fee machine embroidery and hope to lift the colour with bright and metallic threads and beads.

I have been practicing with the new sewing machine and have learned to progamme stitch combinations. These will be useful for the little velvet evening bags that will be our bread and butter post R day, I wish. They will have hand spun silk cords and tassels, dyed to match, the yarn being spun as we speak. So what has happened to the cotton yarn? Well, I've plied what I've spun so far and there I will leave it until I can think of a use for it. All the loose bits and scrappy broken bits will be useful for embellishing. And so back to the coal face!

It's art Jim, but not as we know it!

Well, it's sort of finished, but a bit ragged at the edges. It's a bit tricky keeping the postcard square and to get it to size after stitching.In a rush to finish as usual but it was valuable experience. More practice needed in getting the images to blend and a bit more thought about how to highlight the main features of both. Roll on R day, which is now only 7 weeks away and 30 actual days in the office!

I think I'll try the embellisher for the next one, but it may have to wait until the dgd's trousers and sweater are finished. The shrug is completed and was much admired. Photo to follow when I can find my camera!

Looking forward to a rugby fest tomorrow. Can we bear to watch? Just in case it's needed, I see the BBC website has published the rules in what they describe as "simplified form". If you have a week or two spare check out the link at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/rules_and_equipment/default.stm

It's all very interesting I'm sure, but simple it ain't! What I want to know is, is it essential not to have a neck in order to play good rugby? I've noticed that not many of the players have them, so I imagine there's a factory somewhere churning them out as in Lord of the Rings!

And on that note, back to the sewing machine tutorial!

And another thing!

Not satified with the speed at which the cotton yarn is progressing, not enough time to get the new warp on the loom, scared of the new sewing machine and the dgd's shrug to finish, I thought I'd start something new. Like you do!

So having been a WOWIE for some time, I thought I would check out the Quiltwow taster and I've signed up for that too. This is the link http://www.quiltwow.com/ If the articles are as good as the taster, it will be money well spent.

I was really impressed with Carol Dpwsett's article on postcards and thought I would have a go. Downloading Picasa proved to be a bit of a nightmare because I made a typo in the URL and was taken to a site I don't wish to revisit! Enough said! Check out the link http://picasa.google.com/. It's simple to use, but it will take a bit of practice.

I chose these two photos from my existing folders, but without much thought except that they were both images I was particularly fond of.

This is the combined image waiting for me to start stitching. So watch this space.

In the meantime, I overcame my fear of the new machine and completed the embroidery I started at a workshop back in September. This was based on Alison Holt's methods and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. The new machine is taking a while to get used to, but now I have mastered the threading process, I am managing to make progress and no more broken threads. It occurrred to me that I had read somewhere that the machine embroidery threads deteriorate with age and I have had some of them a while. Anyway, here is the result. It's not as finished as I would have liked because the stitching was so dense, I was in danger of breaking even more needles, but on the principle of "less is more" here it is!!!

Too much information!

In the absence of arty crafty photos, I'm posting my latest photo of the dgd. Note the new shoes!!!

Visited the Fashion and Embroidery show in Harrogate on Saturday. There was so much to see and it was not as crowded as I had expected. There did not seem to be as many suppliers, but I suppose that is only to be expected given the number of similar shows around this time.

This one is really all about the exhibitors and there was almost too much to take in. I went on my own this year and that meant I had time to talk to people and as ususal all the textile artists were very willing to chat and share techniques even if you weren't buying.

Didn't take any photos. mainly because most artists don't like it, so a bit of a boring blog. Things I specially liked? Well Jane Hall's exquisite insects and butterflies and some design work for some new ideas; The International Feltmakers with my friend Sonia Middleton making pebbles with wool tops and foam; the Bead work exhibition and so on and on. I picked up a leaflet for the Shaun the Sheep Picknit and loved the knitted gingerbread house. Knitting it seems is big these days!!!

That reminds me, I must now finish the shrug for the dgd. I have finished the knitting, and it just needs sewing up. Then I must finish my postcard. All this talk about displacement activity leads me to confess that there has been no progress on the cotton spinning front, but I will do it, sometime honest.

It's been a while

Doesn't time fly! We've got over the colds, fed the ducks, had the birthday parties, dealt with the garden and finally made the decision. Yes we're moving to Cornwall. Of which more below.

My attempts at spinning cotton have made some progress. Having abandoned my Ashford double drive wheel in favour of a Lendrum, with scotch tension and a stretchy drive band, and suffered hours of frustration, I have now succeeded in making a yarn of sorts.

I have replaced the drive band with cotton string and reduced the tension on everthing, I can now spin direct from the sliver using a long draw. The yarn is still a bit fragile, but I'm getting there.

At a recent guild meeting a friend asked me what I was spinning. "Cotton" I replied with a swagger. Her response was, "why". This caused me to think. Why was I doing it. In fact, why do we do anything we don't have to. I couldn't lie and say, because I'm enjoying it, because it is so obviously not true and the end product is unlikely to be much use. But, just the fact that I have learned how to do it gives me a real sense of achievment.

Thinks! Can I contemplate doing the certificate of achievment once I have retired. I have enquired and got the syllabus. It doesn't look too daunting but......

R day is fast approaching. Our house is on the market and we are starting to clear the clutter. It hurts to get rid of things, so I have added to it by getting a second hand Bernina 180!

What with learning to use it, spinning the cotton, knitting a shrug for the dgd and the rugby world cup how can I find the time to go to work!! Only 2 months to go and I don't have to worry about it anymore. Come on England!

Global warming

So here we are in Porthleven on Easter Sunday with the sun shining and a cold wind blowing. Yours truly with a nasty cold, caught from the dgd, but determined to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather that we are blessed with yet again. Do we get wonderful weather for our holidays because I am married to a lovely man who takes such good care of me? I don't know, but I'm sure it helps.

Lots of family stuff, cliff walks, birds, meals out and some shopping. Just a lovely relaxing time and such a pity it has to end.

The lovely warm weather seems to have brought the doom merchants out from the wood work. Where ever we went we found people who were moaning about the fact that the lovely weather was just another example of global warming. Everyone is now worried about the size of their carbon footprint?

Ours is not very big really, but are we are concerned and are always asking if we're doing enough.

Everyone is talking about global warming and what it means, but just because we have wonderfully warm sunny weather at Easter time, I don't think we have to start panicking quite yet. I remember Easter weather that was every bit as warm and sunny as the past week has been. Yes I know that the rate of climate change is something that has to concern us and also that we are much too fond of cars and aeroplanes for our own good, but geological history shows that our planet can look after itself. So do what you can to conserve, but don't forget to enjoy life too.

So no spinning for the last week or so, and now I need to get to grips with my cotton sliver. It is frustrating, but I'm determined. Watch this space!

Guess where I'm going!

Twenty two months and getting to grips with life's journey. How I hope hers will be a long and happy one!

I don't know what made my dd decide that living in the middle of nowhere was a good idea, but on a day like this with the sun shining and the birds singing, she has a point.

One morning early, standing outside her back door, I was intoxicated by the sound of skylarks overhead. Last week, driving past the pig farm, just out of shot, I noticed that the road verge was covered in cowslips! What a pity my dd is oblivious to nature, especially when she can take a photo like this!

Looking at this photo, I felt the frustration of a weekend trying to spin from cotton sliver melt away. This was the result which, as you see, resembles bird's nesting material and not a nicely spun yarn! Oh the agony of watching the leader wizzing away from me through the orifice, then finally getting some twist in only for the yarn to break as it wound on to the bobbin.

I finally did what I should have done first and googled handspinning cotton. I found a tutorial that had the asnwer. The URL is http://www.cottonspinning.com and it's worth a visit. At last I have managed to set my wheel up to make it suitable for cotton spinning. I changed the drive band to a much lighter one and have reduced the tension so the flyer only just goes round when the wheel turns. I have also raided my old Ashford scotch tension for it's tension spring so now my Lendrum only just pulls the yarn onto the bobbin instead of yanking it out of my hand. Now all I need is the coordination and a bit of time to practice. Dare I suggest taking my wheel on holiday to Cornwall tomorrow?

Anyway, even if I can't squeeze it in the car, I can dream about changing this into a lovely yarn that will be strong enough to use as a warp so I can weave with it. Watch this space!

Is it summer yet?

The last few days have seen us bathed in lovely warm sunshine and we have been getting out the t shirts and dusting down the barbie. Today though it's grey skies and rain so winter appears to be back.

Yesterday I took advantage of the sunshine and took daughter and grandaughter to Temple Newsam House to see the new lambs and other fluffy feathered creatures. GD was not overly inpressed with the animals but was in her element in the playgound especially on the swings. Note the look of concentration! That means she is enjoying herself!


When D and I had had enough , we decided to get an ice cream but lo and behold Leeds City Council, in their wisdom, have decided that they are only going to sell ice cream at weekends. So we had to make do with tea. Not the same at all on a hot day. We live in crazy times!


Back to the spinning now and I am plying my Alpaca and silk yarn. I am very pleased with the way it's turned out. Even though some of it is very fine, it is very strong and I can't break it easily with my hands. I hope to use it to weave, so the stronger the better. Will take a photo for posting next time.



Next project is to spin some cotton sliver using the fastest ratio! Will I be able to keep up?

Busy days out

A second visit to the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester on Friday to see the Indigo exhibition. Our first visit was a bit rushed but this time we had time to sit and watch the video presentation and to look more closely at the exhibits.


There were some real gems but my favourite bit of all was the basket of samples that you could pick up. Oh that indigo smell! It's better than chocolate!


Ideas to follow up were making a warp to dye and try IKAT weaving on my new loom, and to find out about aqua leaf indigo dyeing that gives a beautiful turquoise colour. I'm also going to try using starch paste as a resist to dye some fabric for a quilted cushion.


I resisted buying Jenny Balfour-Paul's book, but it will go on my birthday and Christmas wish list.


Saturday was York, once around the walls and then to the City Screen to see the live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Juan Diego Florez may be short, but he has a lovely voice!


So Sunday was resting the sore feet and getting to grips with spinning some Alpaca/silk blend tops I've had for a while. I decided to use the fast flier on my Lendrum wheel to make a fine yarn, but with a high twist. Not easy, but I did get the rhythm going after a while. The secret appears to be to get the fibre prepared so that drafting is kept to a minimum, almost like threading the fibre onto the bobbin. I found that trying to draft was frustrating and the yarn was very uneven. I'm not sure Mabel Ross would approve of my methods.



Another mental note, plan before you start and work out exactly what you need to do. Is it too late to change after a lifetime of, oh it will be alright.

Just the start

It's scary when you realise that you are approaching the end of your 6th decade and wonder where all that time has gone and what you've achieved. I don't think I've done too badly, could perhaps have done more to help others at times, but there's always tomorrow!

One thing I have done is learn to hand spin and weave and over the last few years these skills have done wonders for my self esteem and have kept me sane.

This is my first post on this blog and I hope to keep it up to date with details of my work and some of the other stuff I get up to from time to time.

My latest spinning project is making a reasonably robust yarn from a commercially died wool roving in order to knit a shawl. I was attracted to the colours, described as Caribean Skies, a range of beautiful blues, through blue green to lilac. See the photo above.

I have spun it semi worsted straight from the roving and have plied it to get the maximum range of colours and shades. I have almost completed the yarn so the next step will be to wash it and then I can start knitting.

Although the colours are lovely, the quality of the roving left a lot to be desired. It was expensive and it has proved to be very poor value for money. It turned out to be a blend of different fleeces, so contained lots of different staple lengths which made it difficult to spin. There was also a lot of grass seed and other plant debris mixed in with it.

It's very sad that the quality of commercially produced rovings can be so poor, but we live and learn! So the lesson for today is, next time, I'll be choosing more carefully and I'll be doing my own dyeing!