Everything changes but the fundamentals remain.

Very soon, sooner than you realise, it creeps up on us, I will be leaving work at RingaRosie and beginning a new chapter of my life. I am returning to University 25 years after I left to start a PGCE. I have loved working at RingaRosie and I have learnt so much and met so many lovely people that it will be a very difficult thing to say goodbye. Obviously as it is the very best LYS I will be a frequent visitor for my knitting supplies (like I don't have a spare room full of wool at all really). But it has been a home over the past couple of years and Barbara has been a very good and generous boss and I hope a friend, I will miss her!

The crochet blanket in king Cole Merino DK continues and these little squares are a fun carry along project to I expect to do some on the way to and from Uni in September. It's a nice pick up and put down project which I shall no doubt come back to over the coming month and years and it's now a nice size to work on with it over my knee keeping me warm. Actually it is a little cooler this evening than it has been and I notice the nights are drawing in. Summer isn't over by any means, I still have a week in Mum & Dad's caravan to look forward to after all!

The top-down garments keep coming and the third one is finished with the addition of it's buttons yesterday. It's based on the Custom Knits book instructions for Favourite Cardigan - I started the neckline higher and knitted it longer but apart from that it's pretty much as written. The yarn was in the sale too so a bargain knit!

Modeled photos to follow when it's not raining and DH isn't stressed by the summer holiday child care!

My other recent project has been some spinning of a merino cashmere and silk blend, no decent finished photo for this yet but a nice work in progress picture for you in the meantime. I am teaching a spinning class in Septemebr at Artison, so if you've a hankering for learning something new why not see if they have any places left? The food and friendly atmosphere are fabulous and I can think of few more pleasant ways to spend an afternoon that spinning!

Finally for now, another recent crochet project included just for it's bright colours and happiness. Do I know that Uni is the right thing to do? No. But I do know I will regret it if I don't try. Everything changes. Follow your bliss and do what makes you happy :) Wish me luck!

Spinning Again

Life is what happens when we're not looking and it's been creeping up and surprising me in a bad way for the last year. My mum's dementia has really thrown me and it's taken a long time to adjust to the news of her illness. My kids leaving home was also a big shock even though they are happy and busy and doing well, nothing seemed to go as I had thought it would. My head has been spinning.

Things seem to be assuming a new kind of normal. I have a plan again at last and things to look forward to. In September I return to university to begin a PGCE in primary education and meanwhile I have been teaching spinning again. 

Last Sunday I had a wonderful day at Artison where I worked with a group of 6 beginner spinners. It is a wonderful thing to be able to share your enthusiasm with people. A great day. Very affirming to have people leaving with their enthusiasm nurtured and enabled. It makes me want to spin! I have recently been lucky enough to buy an e-spinner about which I hope to blog very soon. Spinning without a ballooning ankle is very pleasant indeed although I don't think anything could ever surplant my Timbertops wheel, dear old lady sits in my living room, waiting patiently until I find time to spin.


I am still wandering a little in a wilderness of uncertainty, oh for the confidence of youth and the sureness of ones 20s. I wander with friends though and this helps greatly. 

Suint or no Suint the Fleece Goes On.

The second fleece came out looking cleaner and I'd say the whole thing was a qualified success. Qualified by the fact that the fleece absolutely reaks to high heaven and even when rinsed really well still has a considerable and foul wiff! Qualified by the fact that although now white it still has dirty-ish tips and is still very greasy with lanolin.

Years ago people learnt to spin with fleece, they mainly spun from fleece, they made their own fibre preperations and carding is hard work. Spinning in the grease was a lot more common that it is for new spinners now. What I have after the FSV may be a perfect preperation for spinning in the grease, I don't know how to assess that, I don't have the experience or skills. But I do know that I learnt to spin using prepared tops, tops in many rainbow colours or white naturally coloured tops. Tops free from lanolin. This is where my comfort zone is, this is how I like to spin. I do not want to get my carders or wheel dirty, I do not want to spin greasy fleece. So from now on it's hot water and detergents for me :) Tried it, decided it's not for me. So back to the white clean fresh lovely fleece I'm used to. Back to the lovely colourful tops hanging in my hallway :)


This is my current spinning, beautiful BFL Tops from Wildcraft in Mont Blanc colourway.


In other news Sock Club is very nearly ready to ship. Today will be spent tweaking the new sock pattern for this months colourway. I need to grab DD1 to get a modeled photo to put on the pattern before she leaves for the day :) Once the parcels start to arrive I promise there wil be photos here too but for now it's a secret so shhh! No spoilers today.

But every bog post should have a photo or two so I'll go photograph some BFL locks I am going to dye for the shop - before and after photos, here's 'before' today, and 'after' will follow when they're ready :)

Fermented Suint Vat

Here's the rinsed Polwarth fleece that I used to start the FSV all wrapped in mesh bags and draining in the yard. This fleece was very dirty and had a small anmount of vm and a lot of lanolin, the vat has been soaking and brewing for 8 days. This fleece still needs washing with warm/hot water and a detergent to clean it of the lanolin. I need to let it dry first so that it wont felt when I put it in the hot water but Dh wont let it in the house because of the smell so I hope it doesn't rain tonight lol




The stinky FSV in the box, all the water from the draining fleece went back in here but no fresh clean water was added. This smells like liquid sheep manure (I'm not sure it's anything but - to be honest) but the fleece is very white apart from the tip and still feels full of lanolin.






This the Romney before it went in the Vat beautifully skirted and free of Vegetable matter and ready to go into the disgusting mucky water. This is the real test of the Vat's powers. I still need to wash the Polwarth it's very white but the tips are still disgusting and the smell of the FSV is disgusting too. Theis fleece is a Romney Shearling and it's beautiful but quite grubby so if the FSV does it's stuff it should come out nice and white after a 2 day soak and should just need rinsing (several times) and drying to be ready to spin.

Come In Spinner

The lovely David (on Rav) has his own etsy shop selling beautiful handdyed fibre, yum yum.
My creation
Originally uploaded by Jam_mam.

In a past sale I bought these batts

and I started spinning them last night

and they spin beautifully. Oh my, that's it I am not a knitter any more, now I spin!

Before I started spinning I used to look at blogs with fibre on and think, yeah, ok, but what's that about? Now I love love love to spin, I love to get new people spinning and I love fibre. Oh dear, I need more time.

I am still adding to the 'spin a sweater' project and still changing my mind frequently about what to knit when I am finished spinning, but for now I am enjoying the squooshiness of the handspun, soft and fluffy, more yum yum yum.