And Now For Something A Bit More Cheerful

17th April 2015

Despite the sadness of the previous post I have been able to get some weaving done and also to welcome a new loom to the collection. Yes my new Saori WX60 loom has arrived!!!

 

What a beauty! Such a simple 2 shaft loom yet it can help you weave such amazing cloth. I was weaving on it within half an hour of sliding it out of it's box as it only needed the warp to be attached to the back of the loom and to tie it on to the cloth beam. The built-in bobbin winder is fantastic, no need to get up from your seat when you need a new bobbin. I'm smitten.... it's the old drop spindle thing all over again I'm afraid. Can you hear me eating my words? I have already woven off the warp that came with the loom ( already threaded and in the reed I might add) and at the moment I have a navy blue cotton warp which I did myself from yarn in the stash. Waiting in the wings are 3 more ready made warps purchased from Kim at The Saori Shed. This is what my first Saori loom woven warp looks like. The ends haven't been trimmed yet and I think I shall sew it into a summery top to wear with my linen trousers.

 

 

It was a black cotton warp and I wove mostly with cotton and some cotton mixes with a few additions of novelty yarns. I'm really pleased with the way the fabric drapes so I must get cracking and sew it up before the weather breaks! The next thing to show you is the first bit of Saori-style weaving I did on my Louet Spring loom. The warp is black lambswool and the weft mostly wool with a bit of mohair including quite a bit of hand spun. I was originally going to make a skirt out of the cloth (to wear with long boots) but after draping it across the dressform I recently bought I'm thinking of wearing it as a shawl.

 

 

It has a Scottish look about it.... you can almost hear the skirl of the pipes! And finally I wove a long length of fabric, again on the Spring, to make into a tunic-type top. The warp is a mixture of lambswool and a few ends of Jaggerspun Zephyr left over from scarf projects.

 

 

A lot of the weft yarn is my hand spun taken straight from the spinning bobbin and used as a singles yarn. It seems to have worked alright and I really liked the mottled effect of the merino/silk mix top that I spun. I have started another warp on the Spring, which I'm hoping to get finished soon, in greens and yellows and I'm only using hand spun yarn for the weft this time.

 

 

The green-blue yarn is some that I dyed a long while ago and chain plyed it to knit a jumper but never got around to it. The yarn making the warp floats is some that I corespun from a mixture of merino tops, alpaca and glittery bits mentioned in a previous post. It's going along quite nicely and I would like to get it off the loom soon as I want to wear it to Wonderwool in a weeks time. Yes. It's showtime again!! Yippeeeee!

Spring blossom and.......it's show time!

Spring seems to be well underway here at Deerfold. The hedge bottoms this year are a mass of wild primroses and wood anemones with the first bluebells and wild garlic beginning to show themselves too. I don't know if the wet winter has helped them or that we had such a dreadful spring last year we are noticing the flowers more now? Here are a few more photos of the latest things out in my garden and you must add the soundtrack of the birdsong yourself! Cue the blackbirds, willow warbler, chiff chaff et al.

A dwarf Azalea which I bought many years ago in Cornwall - I love the colour!

 

 

Mahonia

 

This patch of wallfowers has been in flower for the whole winter and is now into it's third year. The lovely burnt orange colour is one of my favourite wallflower colours and the scent is heavenly. Must dye some yarn that colour!

We have three wild cherry trees along our driveway which always look lovely at this time of year. With the recent heavy showers these past few days the petals are floating over the garden like confetti.

 

Not long after we moved here I planted a small group of Snakes Head Fritillaries in a sheltered part of the garden. I think they are settling in now and seem to be increasing gradually each year.

 

 

The star of the garden at the moment though is this hybrid Rhododendron - I can't remember it's name - which I can see from the conservatory. This definitely benefitted from the wet winter as the flower buds develop in the autumn and the plant likes to be moist at this time.

 

 

I hope the heavy rain that we are expected to get this weekend doesn't spoil the flowers. And I hope that it will not deter the crowds as ...... yes folks it's show time!!!! Yippeee! Helen, John and I will be setting up the stall tomorrow afternoon so we are ready for the crowds on Saturday. Let's hope the weather isn't as bad as forecast and certainly not as cold as last year! I've been told by Helen to wear my thermals! I'm not sure what I shall be looking to buy but I wouldn't be surprised if I came back with another drop spindle or two!

A Busy Summer Ahead

Since my last post I have had word from my friend Helen that she will be going with My Fine Weaving Yarns to all the fibre events that she had applied to. Yippee! So I shall be going along with her to lend a hand again. I can't wait! Our first event will be Wonderwool Wales on the weekend of 26 - 27 April. I hope the weather will be kind to us this year as it was very cold last time.

Wonderwool Wales 2013

 

 

 

Woolfest 2013

 

We are also off to Woolfest at the end of June. This should be quite special as the organisers will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the show. At the end of July I shall be off to Fibre East which I haven't been able to go to in previous years. Hopefully I will be attending one of their workshops but I will post about that nearer the date. Another new show is Bristol Wool Fair which is due to be held at the beginning of September, closely followed by Yarndale at the end of that month. All the accommodation has been booked and paid for, so I just need to start saving my spending money! I wonder what treats I can buy this year?