Polwarth - Summer Skies

Back in April I spun up a compacted braid of Shetland wool that I called Lilac Sparkles and I said at the time that I had one more braid from the same supplier to work on.  This is it!

Its a pretty braid of Polwarth fibre, Polwarth is closely related to Merino and has a very fine fleece and I've recently made a shawl with some Polwarth that I prepared from fleece myself and spun up.

This one started out as a 140g braid in shade "Summer Skies" and it would have been interesting to spin this directly from the braid as it would have given a variegated yarn.

Sadly, I couldn't possibly spin this from the braid as it was too compacted so I had to put it through my wool combs to create lovely soft fluffy nests of fibre ready for spinning.  Look how wonderfully fine it is and how the colours have blended together.

I spun it up, noticing that it does still have slight shade variation throughout, producing an kind of two-tone effect.  I do only have 83g left out of the original 140g but I still have 274m of double knit weight yarn from this and it is really lovely and soft.

June's Fibre is here! - Rennie Mackintosh

The postman delivered my fibre this morning and as I opened it I said to my eldest daughter "I bet it's mostly pink with other a few colours".  It was a pretty good guess.  Here is a link to the letter for it.

Its got a bit of a "sheepy" smell about it at the moment, not in a horrid way, but in the same way that "new leather" has that distinct smell to it.  It's not the kind of colours that I would choose to buy but I do like it, it reminds me of a multicoloured squishy bouncy rubber ball I had as a kid.  I braided it up as I think they look pretty in the braids and I've managed to capture the colour brilliantly.  

Its really sad that there has been a bad fire overnight in the Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh building and it looks like it might be destroyed.  I hope that they are able to save it but I fear it will be pretty much a total rebuild.  If you've not seen the news about this here is a link to the BBC news page.

June's Fibre Club Letter

I was only thinking yesterday that the Fibre club should be coming soon.  Today I got an e-mail with the theme for this months' fibre and hints at the colours and fibre blend.

This month's fibre is based on Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The letter reads:

"On June 7th 1868 Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born. He was a leading light in the Art Nouveau design movement, and in his home city of Glasgow his influence is everywhere. Outside of architecture it’s hard to set foot in a gift shop without there being an item with one of his designs emblazoned on it. 

I’m not quite what he’d make of the mass produced items bearing his motifs…one of the originators of what become the Art Nouveau movement was William Morris, and high quality, craftsman made items were a key part of his aesthetic. Walking round a Mackintosh building and you’re struck by the exquisite detailing, and the thought that is put in to making sure everything in the building, including the furniture fits together. 

One of the very clear things that become obvious the more you look at Mackintosh’s work; he was not afraid of colour. He used stained glass beautifully in his buildings, and his original rooms often featured a wall painted in some stunningly colourful shades. One of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever been to for a yarn festival was Glasgow School of Yarn, held in the Mackintosh church. The main hall is dominated by a window in the most vividly intense blue. 

He was not an easy man to work with, obsessed with detail, and not willing to compromise on his vision. In 1914 he moved to London, after a decline in commissions in Glasgow. Unfortunately this move coincided with the start of World War I, and his practise never took off. He moved to the south of France in 1923, and became a water colour painter. He died in 1928 aged just 60 years old. 

Also of note is the woman who Mackintosh married. Margaret MacDonald was a hugely talented artist and designer in her own right. Together with Mackintosh, her sister Frances and James Herbery MacNair they formed a group known as The Four. They met at Glasgow School of Art, and together they were the driving force behind what became known as the “Glasgow style”. 

I’ve chosen a colour palette for this month that features on one of the most widely re-produced Mackintosh images. I also couldn’t resist using a Scottish wool. This is a properly fluffy, toothy blend"

I'm not all that familiar with Rennie Macintosh, other than with his "rose" design as my hall and stairs wallpaper features it so I am thinking pinks and greens with a hint of blue?

It should be here soon and so I will take photos and post again then.

I've bought some spinning fibre

I've treated myself to some spinning fibre that is actually ready for spinning, not as part of an ingredients box or kit that I am making to make my own yarns spun from raw fleece more exciting.

All of these I got from a fellow spinner who was clearing out fibre that she will never find the time to spin as she has a very busy life.

The first one, the larger picture, is from Cassiopeia Yarns who seem to have ceased trading, and is 190g of  Île-de-France, a French breed of sheep and one that I have never spun before in shade Demeter, named after the Greek Goddess of corn, grain and the harvest.

The remaining four braids of fibre are all from Hilltop Cloud, who is definitely still trading, and are all the same fibre base of 50% Merino/50% Corridale from the Nordic collection.  The Nordic collection is "inspired by the lands across the North Sea and the ancient mythology of the Norse Gods and Goddesses."  Of course, being Pagan, these appealed greatly to me and I couldn't resist.  There are seven colours in the range, I now have four of those.

First up on the top row in is Earth, Earth is as connected with the Norse Gods as Asgard is.  Then we have Frigg, wife of Odin and promoter of marriage and fertility.  One the bottom row we have Idun, Goddess of Spring and Rejunvenation and then we have Sif, Goddess associated with Earth, wife of Thor and known for her golden hair.

The colours from this collection that I don't have are Storm, Odin and Asgard.

Grey Cotton Wrap - Design A193

I'm on a roll with these wraps and this one looks really classy, I think its the colours.  I don't have any nice photos of this one yet, only the work-in-progress photos, but I will update this when I get round to taking the nice photos.