I've bought a Clun Forest Mule Fleece

I couldn't resist.  I saw the photos of this fleece and the high praise of fellow spinners for this ladies fleece and I thought, yeah, why not?  Its beautiful and weighed 2.2kg and I got straight on to cleaning it the day after it arrived.  Very clean fleece in terms of no vegetable matter or other rubbish, no dust, no dirt, no soil or sand fell out as I pulled it apart and I've never had that happen, I am usually sweeping up little mounds of soil and fine sandy grit type of material when I pull a fleece apart but not with this one.  Its got good crimp and so some locks needed a bit of extra cleaning on the tips but overall most of it is decent length staple and reasonably soft.

A Clun Forest Mule is basically a cross breed produced from a Clun Forest and Bluefaced Leicester mating.  I have never spun Clun Forest before and the Bluefaced Leicester I have only ever spun as part of a blend or another Mule Fleece, way back in 2013.

The Clun Forest sheep is a conservation breed, there aren't great numbers of these around.  According to my fleece bible, that I go to for good information about a breed, the fleece is uniform quality all over, which I can say is true, there were no obvious rough bits.  This fibre can take quite a lot of wear, its quite hardy in that respect and it has plenty of loft and bounce so will be good for things like everyday shawls, mittens, hats, jumpers.  It takes dye really well.

The Bluefaced Leiceter sheep is part of the English Longwool breeds of sheep that produces a fine, silky, lustrous long fibre.  Not usually scratchy but is durable enough to withstand a lot of wear and takes dyes really well.  This is one of the hand spinners favourite breeds as it is so versatile.

So, combine the traits of those two sheep breeds together and we have something that could be pretty wonderful.  This came from Dunja Roberts of All In A Spin, who is based in Cwmdu, Crickhowell, Wales, which according to Google Maps, is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

The photo on the right shows it rolled out but not opened out, it was certainly long.

Before and after washing.  Although it was a "clean" fleece, it was still dirty in terms of colouration.  Its washed up beautifully.

Mrs Browns Boys D'musical

We like watching Mrs Browns Boys so we got tickets and the four of us and a family friend went to see them live at Resorts World Arena, Birmingham.  My kids were asking which way we need to go from the car park to get to where the show was and was amazed to discover that despite this venue being built 39 years ago, it's had many names over those 39 years, and the fact that I am a Brummie born and bred and have never left the area, that I have never been here before.  Maybe I need to get out more?

We were supposed to be in the middle of the section right in front of the stage, about half-way back but when we got there we discovered that the stage was moved forward compared to the original seating plan which meant we were on the second row from the front.

We all had a great time, I thought my 15 year old was going to wet herself laughing, my 12 year old didn't get all of the jokes but she got most of them and was pulling shocked funny faces, as most young teenage kids do, but we all had a great time and would highly recommend going to see the show if you have a sense of humour.

June's Fibre has arrived - Stonewall

I have to say that I am not a fan of this one.  It's too bright and busy for me and needs toning down using a plain dark colour, perhaps black, and spin small chunks of colour broken up with black.  Lovely and soft though as its 100% Superfine Merino Wool.

Another go at a photo shoot

What's the phrase, Don't let the bastards get you down?  Yeah, that!  After the disastrous attempted photo shoot last week and the viscous comments I received from a certain person, naming no names, but if you're reading this you know who you are, bitch!  The same day I went and done some online shopping, looking around at different types and styles of jackets and I found one that I liked and that would work well with the scarf type shawls.  This one is from Marks & Spencers.  It is a leather jacket, sorry to all you vegans out there, but I am not a vegan and I don't need preaching to thanks.  You live your life the way you want to live it and I will live mine the way I want to live it.  If you want to dictate to others go live in a dictatorship country.

I'm happy with the results of this photo shoot.  I do need to do something with my hair though, will think about that, and I know I need to loose weight and will think about that too.

Here are a few photos from that photo shoot, the rest you can find in the shop.

June's Fibre Club Letter

June's fibre club letter has arrived.  I'm building up quite a collection of fibre at the moment whilst also learning some little bits of history that I've never heard of before.

The letter reads:

Fifty years ago, on the 28th June 1969 the Stonewall riots began. In America at that time being gay was illegal, and there were very few places where gay people were welcomed. Greenwich Village in New York City was home to people leading a Bohemian lifestyle, many who felt they didn’t “fit in” elsewhere ended up living in the neighbourhood. Bars opened up in the area where people could openly be gay, but police raids were common, and many people were arrested simply for wearing clothing that belonged to members of the opposite sex. Women would be arrested if they were not wearing 3 pieces of feminine clothing. 

The Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia, every week they would pay off the police, as the Inn had no liquor license. On the night of the 28th June police raided the Inn, but unusually the owners hadn’t received a tip off that a raid was going to happen. Over 200 people were in the bar that night, along with 2 undercover policemen, and 2 undercover policewomen. They had entered the bar prior to the raid to gather visual evidence, and rung for back up using the bars pay phone. Usually during a raid people would be lined up and have their identification checked , but this time people in line refused to produce identification. The police therefore decided to transport many individuals to the local police station. Those that weren’t arrested gathered outside the entrance, and quickly a crowd grew as passers by stopped in the street. As people were loaded in to a police wagon violence broke out, with some police officers taking refuge inside the bar. Riot police ended up being involved and a night of violence followed. On 6 following nights people again took to the streets and there were further clashes with the police. The New York Times, New York Post and Daily News all covered the riots, and this coverage probably led to one of the key legacies of the Stonewall Riots. Within 2 years there were gay rights groups in every major American city, and many in Canada, Australia and Western Europe. One year after the riots the first Gay Pride marches happened in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. 

One of the things that made the Stonewall Inn different to many other gay bars in Greenwich Village was the willingness to admit all members of what we would now called the LGBT+ community (at the time the word gay would have been used to describe all members of this community). Some of the leading activists of the riots were Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, both trans women of colour. Johnson was one of the first to stand up to police intimidation on that night. Marsha was a pioneer in campaigning for equal rights amongst the most marginalised of the LGBT+ community. The New York Times published her obituary in March 2018, 25 years after her death as part of a series entitled “Overlooked”, the link is at the bottom, I really recommend you read it. Earlier this month New York police apologised for the actions of officers during the riots. In 2000 the Stonewall Inn was designated a National Historic Landmark, and in 2016 President Obama announced the establishment of the Stonewall National Monument Site, to be cared for by the National Park Service. 

Finally, when developing my themes for the Fibre Club I try to shed light on periods of history that are maybe less well known, or highlight the work and lives of individuals who have otherwise been marginalised. I am not a member of the LGBT+ community, but have tried to make sure I did my research before writing the letter this month, and hope I have written it in a way that conveys respect and love for all human beings, whilst sharing information in a factual manner. Any errors are my own, I continue to try to do better, learn more, share more, and live my life according to my belief that all human beings are created equal and deserve to be treated equally.

Oooh, I am expecting bright and colourful, a rainbow of colour.

From the spoilers chat she has revealed that it is a superfine merino blend of streaks of lots of colours but will not be suitable for items that have a lot wear like sock or mittens and to keep the colours more distinct to spin from the fold a thicker yarn but if you want a blended look spin from the end a finer yarn.

First attempt at a photo shoot with new backdrop

Today I decided that I would try a photo shoot using my new urban style photo backdrop and take photos of some of the new shawls that I've made that can be worn more scarf like.  Its a warm day so putting a coat on and a scarf and pretending its autumn is going to be physically exhausting but it has to be done, there's no point waiting until its cold to get the photos done because everyone would have bought new scarves by then in readiness for the cold weather.

Today was more of a trial, than a "yeah, here come the final product photos", I need to see what works and what doesn't.  The only suitable coat or jacket that I have is an old orangey-red double breasted wool coat, as my usual coat is a Regatta walking/hiking/all weather 3-in-1 fleece lined waterproof coat that looks pretty silly with a scarf.

So, I took a load of photos, with different scarves, different poses, different expressions but this was difficult because of the sun so a lot of the time I was squinting a bit or screwing my face up against the sun shining in my eyes/general brightness of the day.  I'm not photogenic, I hate having my photo taken so this was a big deal for me.  I usually crop my face/head off all of my product photos as I am not pretty, I've never considered myself to be pretty.  I'm not blind, I can see my reflection in the mirror and I know what I look like.  I decided to try it anyway and ask for opinions in a couple of places online where Etsy sellers give each other advice, feedback and generally support each other.

Wow!  I was not expecting anyone to say "Oh, beautiful photos, well done you", but neither was I expecting anyone to say, and I will have to para-phrase here because the actual comments have been deleted now, but it was something like "To be honest I wouldn't buy the item because your face would put me off as you look miserable.  Perhaps you could find someone young and pretty who could model for you".  Now, I know all too well that I am getting on in years, I'm currently 46, and gawd knows I am not pretty but Jesus woman DO you have be such a BITCH!  There is absolutely no need for the comment.  Kick a girl in the teeth when she's down why don't you.

Thankfully, I had a number of people who gave constructive advice, such as "the coat clashes with the colour of the brick, maybe try a black or dark grey coat" or "do you have any dark, plain coloured tops that you could wear and try a photo shoot without a coat" and thankfully, I also had a few people who made counter-comments to hers and said that I have a nice, normal, friendly face and that youth and beauty is superficial and doesn't always sell a product, that there are plenty of older models and elderly models out there and to ignore the nasty comments.  Thanks, but they are pretty hard to ignore when they are so bitchy but I believe in Karma so we will just wait for that bus to come along and get her shall we.

The back garden is all done

Now that we are back from holiday and the kids are back to school I took myself off to the local garden centre to get some plants.  I didn't go with a definite idea of what I wanted exactly but I did know the kind of thing I was going to look for and go from there.

There were already a few plants that managed to survive, 3 roses, black mondo grass and geranium (cranesbill) and Liatris.  I bought a Verbascum - Dark Eyes, Dianthus - Passion, Poppy - Moondance, Petunia - Nightsky and a Garvinea.  I also bought some more solar powered garden lights from Aldi.

I also bought a large gothic style planter for the tomatoes that my father-in-law gave us.  We weren't planning on having tomatoes this year because we don't have room for them anymore so next year the planter will be used for something nice.  Believe it or not that gothic style planter was a lot cheaper than a plain terracotta coloured one, both of them plastic type of material.

Petunia - Nightsky

Verbascum - Dark Eyes

Poppy - Moondance, Dianthus - Passion, Oxalis, Lavender, Garvinea, Geranium Cranesbill

R.I.P. Ginger

Whilst we were on holiday we put our 3 chickens into boarding care for the week with a local place that looks after your animals whilst your on holiday.  We've used them before without issue but since last year they have changed hands and whether it is something to do with that or just coincidence but one of our chickens has been very poorly since we picked them up and sadly she passed away today.  We have to take our own food for them and she seemed perfectly fine when we dropped them off.

She will be sadly missed by her hen-house mates, who we will be keeping a very close eye on to see if they get ill as well.

Camping on the Isle of Wight - Part 3

On that same Thursday, after visiting the Alpacas we decided to go for a walk along the coast in the opposite direction to what we went last year.  It was definitely interesting. We passed lots of derelict buildings, or what was left of them, along the path, most of the rubble was down the cliff. We then came across an old looking holiday park that had lots of chalets and we didn't think we could go any further because the cliff path seemed to stop as it had eroded into the sea but then we spotted a sign that said we could walk through the holiday park and continue on the cliff path.

The holiday park had a few people milling around, clearly staying in some of the chalets that were further inland and in good condition but many of the chalets were in a state of disrepair with dirty and broken windows, old mattresses and furniture inside and right up on the cliff edge.  It was really sad because you could see what it would have been like in its hey-day but now it had come to the end of its life.  I didn't take any photos because I felt like it was wrong and would be prying.

Some photos of the coast and the sea from the last few days, its been pretty rough.

A bit further along the coastal path it came to an end and there were steps down to the beach so that is where we went as the tide was out and was not due back in for a while.  We are so glad we did because it was so beautiful and interesting.  Dark brown sand, which I have never seen in my life, sea foam, caves, all colours of rocks and we made our way back to the camp site along the beach. 

The last photo on the left hand side is looking directly down at the sand.  Strange but very interesting!

The first three photos in this next set are close ups of the rock and the amazing colours.

I found a couple of interesting rocks and a shell on our walk.

Camping in the Isle of Wight - Part 2

So, the first half of the week has been pretty horrendous in terms of the weather.  One poor family had to salvage what they could from their tent and pack it into their car and then drive across the Island to find a camping and outdoor retailer and buy a new tent as the tent they had was completely wrecked by the wind and rain.  They, like us, are booked on a particular ferry to go home, the ferries are really busy at this time of year so it will very difficult to change the booking and they are determined to make the most of their holiday for their kids. Thankfully, whilst it was very noisy in our tent, as everything was rattling and flapping in the wind, we are still in one piece and its looking like the weather is changing for the better.

Thursday, and we were off to West Wight Alpacas & Llamas for a visit.  They don't just have Alpacas and Llamas though and we didn't book and pay to walk the Alpacas but we had a great day.  There were a few baby goats wondering around, they're too small to be kept in by the fences, they just squeeze themselves through the gaps to play with everyone.

Chickens and fowl of all kinds.  I am fascinated by the colouration and patterns of the feathers, such as the middle row far right, that golden brown with a light stripe down the centre and dark brown edging is just absolutely beautiful and the colours and striking contrast on the cockerel in the top two photos is amazing. Nature is a wonderful designer.

The sheep, different kinds but I have a soft spot for the Wensleydale, that's the long wool breed in the two photos on the left and the bottom centre.

Alpacas and a close up of the face.  There is something fascinating about their huge eyes and their expressions that I just can't stop looking at their faces.

Alpacas and Llamas.  Can you tell the difference.  Obvious when you see them side by side as Llamas are bigger, their coats are different and they have huge curvey banana ears.  That's a baby Llama on the middle row, left hand side and his mother is in the centre.  The photo in the middle on the bottom row has a sad ending.  That is an alpaca giving birth and we went to get help.  Turns out she had been in labour for several hours but still not given birth.  Before we left we found out that they had to intervene and sadly the baby was already dead.

This last set of photos shows a horse/pony and donkeys.

We had a lovely time and didn't want to leave, we could have walked around again but we couldn't stay there all day, we had other things we wanted to do whilst the weather was nice and we didn't have much time left of our holiday.

Camping in the Isle of Wight, again! Part 1.

We just got back from camping in the Isle of Wight.  After much searching for somewhere on the other side of the Island that looked nice and could take a tent the size of ours and a dog we gave up and went to the same site as last year but this year we are earlier than last year.  Ermmmm, yeah, what can I say.  Weather: shite.  Mood: shite.  Had a good time: a few highlights but not really.  Coming back here next year: NO!

The camp site is basically on the top of the cliff right next to the coast on the western side of the Island so any wind is blowing in from the direction of the North Atlantic Ocean, across the Celtic Sea and along the English Channel.  Putting the tent up, ha ha ha, yeah, that was fun, not , in gale force winds but we had to do it when we arrived as the forecast was for it get a little worse and not improve until at least the next day.  We struggled and fought in the wind and we did manage to get the tent up but not as we'd have liked.  It wasn't sat properly on the footprint and it wasn't up quite right, nothing was aligning, it was securely tethered to the ground but was slightly askew and with the wind we managed to rip the skirting at the back, luckily not the main tent so we were very lucky there.

First night was really fun.  Not only was the wind and rain keeping me awake but I was uncomfortable and then suddenly aware that my air bed was completely devoid of air and I was lying on the hard lumpy ground of the field and I could feel this through the footprint, the inbuilt groundsheet of the tent, the deflated air bed and my sleeping bag.  Hubby very kindly gave me his air bed and he went and slept on one of our blow up arm chairs in the main tent area. Despite the weather, we did manage to get out and about a bit when it blow over for a bit and the first port of call was to see the animals on the farm we were staying on. 

The cocks were all strutting their stuff, there are quite a few of them but it was the guy in the bottom two photos that made me laugh.  There he was puffing himself up on the top of a fence post and as I took the first photo he looked at me and squawked at me and being the daft cow that I am I spoke to him and said "What's the matter, didn't I get your best side?" So he turned to face the opposite way and posed for me.

On Tuesday we went to Ryde to have a walk round and whilst there a hovercraft came in, that was interesting, wet and sandy!  Needless to say that my Canon camera did not come out all day and I relied on my phone for the pictures.

We went to Shanklin and Godshill but it wasn't as nice as last year, it was too wet and miserable to enjoy it properly and by Wednesday evening I was so miserable I had had enough and wanted to come home.  Thankfully we didn't do that because the day after we had some decent weather and was able to get out and about properly.  See Part 2.