A Mermaids Tale - my own blend

I had a crazy idea, quite some time ago now, to spin a yarn that was lime green and turquoise with sparkles and texture going on and to use some of the left over bits and pieces of Twilley's Goldfingering in the yarn if I could as one time I accidentally miscounted and cut far too many lengths for the fringing on one of the shawls and I don't want to just throw it away.  It just so happens to be turquoise.  I get lots of left overs of Goldfingering that can't really be used to make anything much so if I can incorporate it into my own handspun yarns that means less wastage and less going into landfill.

I already had a braid of merino fibre that was mostly lime green with a bit of turquoise but I bought a braid of turquoise merino fibre from the Wool Show that I went to just before Christmas.  I also had some Trilobal Nylon in Colbalt and Tussah Silk in a lime green that I bought in years ago and then some Tussah Silk Noil in pale blue and Hemp in Tropical Green that I dyed myself a couple of years ago.  I put these 6 fibres through my blending hackle in 4 equal lots, one lot for each ply of a skein and I am making 2 skeins.  I can't put the lengths of Twilley's Goldfingering through the blending hackle, they will have to be added in as I go.  My fingers did turn blue though and this was to do with excess dye in the turquoise merino braid, which was also ever so slightly felted in parts, not enough to throw anything away, it did all come loose eventually, but it was harder work putting it on the blending hackle than it should have been.  I didn't have any problems with the other braid of merino, that just pulled apart as easily as would be expected.

The blue goldfingering was already cut into lengths and there was 15g of that.  I then cut the lime green goldfingering into the same sized lengths but because there was only 6g of it I didn't get many pieces so what I did with the lime green was to then cut those lengths in half to give me more instances of when the green will be in the yarn.  I split the number of the lengths of each colour into two, for each skein, and then split them again into two for each ply.  I then put them into pairs of one blue and one green and then when I ran out of green I made pairs of the remaining blue.  In total I had 30 pairs

I worked out that the total length of Goldfingering for each ply was around 60ft.  The first fibre that I dizzed off the blending hackle measured roughly 30ft in length and the ones I dizzed off after that didn't quite measure that length but all I had to do was to work my way along pulling it out a bit thinner to get it up to 30ft in length.  The reason for doing this is that I can then break off lengths that match the longer blue pieces and I can add in the two lengths of Goldfingering, whatever colours they may be, randomly whilst spinning the woolly blend and at least they will then be distributed throughout the yarn as evenly as possible whilst still being random, if that makes sense. 

I did have a little trouble getting the ends of the Goldfingering to embed themselves into the fibres so that they wouldn't stick out or unravel but there were a few times that I had to go back and add a bit of fibre specifically over the join to try to help keep the ends in place.  Plying has helped this even more but I have noticed that there are still one or two that are sticking out.  I will leave them alone until I actually use the finished yarn to make something and assess what is happening with the those ends at the time of making something, because knitting or crocheting may bury any stray ends in anyway.  It was a bit tricky and a little time consuming but I love the finished yarn.

My fingers kept turning blue throughout the spinning process due to the excess dye having not been washed out thoroughly enough from the braid of blue Merino that I purchased.  When I soaked the finished yarn the water turned blue because of this and the finished skeins are now not as bright turquoise as I had hoped for but they are still nice.  I was initially a little disappointed but these things happen sometimes, especially with blues and reds, you can rinse and rinse and rinse and think its all done but then someone with a different water supply with different salts and minerals in the water and a different pH level comes along and puts your fibre or yarn in their water and it can start leaking dye again.  The vendors at the Wool Show had come from all over the UK so this is a possible reason, although it still shouldn't have gotten all over my hands.

So, the finished yarn?  It is Double Knit weight with one skein being 119g/313m and the other being 114g/270m.  The final fibre contents, rounded to the nearest half a percent is 79.5% Merino, 6.5% Metallised Polyester, 3.5% Trilobal Nylon, 3.5% Tussah Silk, 3.5% Hemp, 2% Tussah Silk Noil, 1.5% Viscose.

Advent Calendar 2024 Day 23 - Emmet

I have never heard of this character so I had to Google him and he is something to do with Jim Henson Studios and The Muppets as Kermit the Frog narrates the story.  All the information can be found in the first photo and if you click on the photo you can zoom in if you need to.

I don't think this design is based on the story but the colours in the design do seem to match the colours in the fibre.

I have undone the tightly wrapped little bundles and made them into braids to take any pressures off the fibres and also so that I can see the colours properly and feel the texture too.  This is not my favourite colour combination and, to be honest, its a bit too busy for my liking so I will need to tone it down somehow.

I did manage to find a photo online of the character of Emmet and the I can see how the colours match his clothing.

Advent Calendar 2024 Day 21 - Buddy

I know of this character as I have seen TV adverts and clips of the film but I have never watch the film because the lead role is played by an actor that I really really cannot stand.  I know that a lot of people rave on about this film, saying how great it is blah blah blah, but I really cannot bring myself to watch it.  All the information can be found in the first photo and if you click on the photo you can zoom in if you need to.

I don't know of the design matches anything in the film because I haven't seen the film but its an interesting design though.

I have undone the tightly wrapped little bundles and made them into braids to take any pressures off the fibres and also so that I can see the colours properly and feel the texture too.  I like this one as it will produce a multi-tonal yellowy-green yarn with flashes of white texture.  I will most likely pair it up with something with the same tone of green from either this year or a previous one.

Advent Calendar 2024 Day 16 - Tomte

This one is about Tomte, who sound very much like Nisser from last year. All the information can be found in the first photo and if you click on the photo you can zoom in if you need to.

The design on today's packaging does actually appear to have relevance to the story of the character that the fibre is based on, houses.

I have undone the tightly wrapped little bundles and made them into braids to take any pressures off the fibres and also so that I can see the colours properly and feel the texture too.  I like this one, even if does seem a little busy with the number of colours/shades.  One of the ingredients is dark green Shetland and guess what I bought from the Wool Show the other day, yup, dark green Shetland which might go some way to being put with this .

Spinning up "Boat Race" from March 2020

Not letting the grass grow under my feet I am straight on with the next braid of fibre which is from the fibre club back in March 2020.  It is called Boat Race and is 70% Merino, 30% Viscose and is lots of shades of blues and a bit of green, watery colours, but it is put together in such a way that is near impossible to pull all the colours out separately.  I could have perhaps managed to pull a few colours out but I would need really good natural light to do that and at this time of year that just isn't really available so I have had to try to keep the different colours as visible as possible in a different way.

What I actually did was to split it in half and then I just spun from the end without any pre-drafting, as that would encourage the colours to blend, and I tried to follow the strips of colour as it entered the draft zone, so if some dark blue entered the draft zone I would try to follow the thin strip of dark blue fibres for several inches and then latch on to another shade and follow that.  My intention was to make as variegated a yarn as I could and not to allow the colours to blend too much.  I'm not sure I actually managed to achieve that but I tried.

It has spun up to sport weight and there is 100g/300m.

Advent Calendar 2023 Day 15

The Tradition

Day 15 is called Krampus and the tradition comes from Austria. Krampus is one of the variations of "Santa's helper", where the helper is assigned the naughty list duties.  Krampus is an anthropomorphic goat figure with one human foot and a very long tongue. He is said to have accompanied Saint Nicholas on visits to children on the night of 5th December, immediately before the Feast of Saint Nicholas on 6th December, and he would warn the children to be good otherwise he will return on Christmas Eve with Saint Nicholas and punish naughty children with birch rods.  After WWI the Krampus tradition began to be banned and replaced their Saint Nicholas traditions with the kinder version of the American Santa Claus.

The Fibre

The actual fibre content is 40% Mohair, 20% Merino, 20% Bamboo, 16% South American Wool, 4% Viscose.  This blend represents arguably the most terrifying Christmas tradition I have ever come across.  This blend is called Krampus, who is like the polar opposite of Father Christmas, so instead of giving children gifts for behaving he scares them into behaving.  The figure of Krampus is large, horned, has fangs and even as an adult I think if some threatened me with Krampus I would probably start behaving myself.   This blend is very interesting looking, it's dark grey, as Krampus is usually depicted as dark greys, browns and blacks.  This contains Mohair, Merino, Viscose and Bamboo.  There is a lot of Mohair in here, which gives a nice drapey feel to it and whereas Merino blends tend to feel quite squishy this definitely feels smoother and a little bit more lank, which is actually quite nice, makes a nice change.  So the Bamboo and the Viscose that is dotted throughout here gives a lovely tweedy effect and actually the colour of the Merino has been lightened by the Mohair in it.  This is a very versatile blend.  If you're spinning it you probably don't want to spin it too tightly because the Mohair in it could risk it feeling a little bit harsh and a little bit hairy.  If you give it a nice light spin and a light ply it will keep the bulk of the Merino.

My Thoughts

I like this one.  It has lots of different shades of grey and black interspersed with blue viscose nepps which will give texture and interest to the finished yarn.  My initial thoughts were to work this with something equally dark from my stash but then I decided to buy an additional 50g when they became available.

The information that has been printed on the bags is not always correct and there are no fibre content percentages, these have been provided on the chat boards.  The percentages that they gave on the chat boards are incorrect and different to what was printed on the bags. They gave us the fibre as 60% Fable, 40% Mohair.  What?  I don't recall ever seeing a mysterious Fable animal in a field, is that a sheep, a goat, a horse, what is that?  Oh, right, Fable, as in the name of a blend in the shop, so we have to go find out what that is ourselves and work out what we actually have here.  Fable is 33.33% each Merino, Bamboo and Viscose Tweed, but wait a second, Viscose Tweed is itself made up of 80% South American Wool, 20% Viscose.   This means that the overall fibre content is 40% Mohair, 20% Merino, 20% Bamboo, 16% South American Wool, 4% Viscose. 

What I have done with my bags is to write the actual fibre content on the bag using a gold gel pen in the gap immediately below the printed details, pretty much the only thing that will show up on black are the metallic gel pens.  This is why I have not taken "new" photos of the bags.

Advent Calendar 2023 Day 13

The Tradition

Day 13 is called Sinterklaas and the tradition comes from The Netherlands. Based on Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, who was a Greek bishop in Turkey.  He is depicted as an elderly, stately man with white hair and a long white beard and wears a traditional white bishops alb with a long red cape over the top and a red mitre on his head. When he died stories of the goodness he did were told and eventually these became celebrated in the middle ages. Sinterklaas carries a big red book which records whether each child has been good or naughty in the past year. The feast of Sinterklaas is celebrated in the Netherlands on St Nicholas' Eve, 5th December, with the giving of gifts. The feast is also celebrated in other nearby countries on 6th December.

The Fibre

The actual fibre content is 60% Bio-Nylon (Rosso), 24% South American Wool, 7% Merino, 6% Viscose, 3% Stellina (Gold). Saint Nicholas has been dressed in red and white and that is what this blend is focussing on.  A blend of bio-nylon, wool, viscose and Stellina,  The red in this is the bio-nylon, chosen because it is biodegradable and even though Sinterklaas is dressed in red we really wanted to focus on the glitteryness and also on some of the textures that you see like ruffles around his hood and his collar and cuffs.  We have the lovely red and the glittery Stellina and you can see the really nice nepps running through this.  The great thing about this, it's got a very very large amount of Stellina in it, more than we normally put in which means it will show throughout all of the work you're doing but because this Stellina is quite soft it's not going to give you an itchy or scratchy feel. If you're spinning with it you probably want to draft it out in advance of spinning so that you can make sure you get a bit of everything in every ply and this really is quite a fun blend, there is a lot going on.

My Thoughts

I took a sharp in-take of breath when I opened this one and then squealed excitedly.  It's gorgeous! I can't wait to spin this one and I might spin it along with a white blend from last year's advent calendar that was pure white but very much similar to the white parts of this blend.  I'm not sure yet but that might be what I do with it.

The information that has been printed on the bags is not always correct and there are no fibre content percentages, these have been provided on the chat boards.  The percentages that they gave on the chat boards were not correct.  What they originally gave us was 60% Bio Nylon (Rosso), 30% Natural Tweed,  10% Glitter White/Gold.  They state that it is a high Stellina content blend, and it does look like there is a lot of it.  After discussion, the Natural Tweed is actually 80% South American Wool, 20% Viscose and the Glitter White/Gold is 70% Merino, 30% Stellina so this means that the final fibre content is actually 60% Bio Nylon, 24% South American Wool, 7% Merino, 6% Viscose and 3% Gold Stellina.  I can't believe that there is only 3% Stellina in the blend, it certainly looks like there is far more than that in the blend! 

What I have done with my bags is to write the actual fibre content on the bag using a gold gel pen in the gap immediately below the printed details, pretty much the only thing that will show up on black are the metallic gel pens.  This is why I have not taken "new" photos of the bags.

Advent Calendar 2023 Day 7

The Tradition

Day 7 is called Nisser and the tradition comes from Denmark.  They are actually called Nisse and are small gnome like creatures with white beards that live in homes and gardens and look after the area they live in as well as any resident animals.  They are one of the most familiar creatures in Scandinavian folklore.  In English editions of Hans Christian Anderson stories the word Nisse as been translated and replaced with the word Goblin.  Rice pudding with a pat of butter on the top is put out for them on Christmas Eve and if you skimp on the butter you risk them playing tricks on you for the next year. 

The Fibre

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The actual fibre content is different to that that was printed on the bags, see the comments in "My Thoughts" for full details.  The blend is made of Merino, Viscose and Bamboo and its this wonderful green shade because if you're living the garden you're actually going to want to be well camouflaged in the foliage.  The Merino brings the green to it then we have the Bamboo running through and also the nepps and tweedy-ness of the Viscose coming through as well which gives us a lovely amount of texture.  It's really soft which makes it versatile for spinning, crochet, wet felting and it will do all of that at a drop of a hat. 

My Thoughts

As soon as I opened the packet this one looked very familiar to me as I have something the same or similar in my stash called Riddle and I kind of know what I will be doing with this one, spinning them up individually but to the same thickness and using them both in the same project, maybe something with stripes.

The percentages that they originally gave on the chat boards was 50% Riddle, 25% Tweed, 25% Merino, which is different from the Merino, Viscose and Bamboo that is printed on the bag.  I have some Riddle in my stash and this is made of 33.33% Merino, 33.33% Bamboo and 33.33% Tweed.  We have already discovered that this Tweed is actually made up of 80% South American Wool, 20% Viscose. So, there is Tweed in the Riddle part and also extra Tweed has been added.  Figuring this one out actually made my head spin a little but I done the math and the actual fibre content, with figures rounded to 1 decimal point, is 41.7% Merino, 33.3% South American Wool, 16.7% Bamboo, 8.3% Viscose.  The also informed us that the additional Merino element is made up of two colours, Emerald and Lightning.

Top: 50g of Nisser containing 50% Riddle
Botton: 100g of Riddle

As I've already said a couple of times, as a customer/consumer I don't want to know the percentage of "other blends" that are in the blend and I shouldn't have to then do research or ask questions to find out what is in that blend and do the maths to add those fibre percentages into the main blend fibre content percentages.  Thankfully I was not the only one that brought this oversight up with them and they've been pretty good about it. 

What I have done with my bags is to write the actual fibre content on the bag using a gold gel pen in the gap immediately below the printed details, pretty much the only thing that will show up on black are the metallic gel pens.  This is why I have not taken "new" photos of the bags, as this one got quite messy!.

Advent Calendar 2023 Day 3

The Tradition

Day 3 is called Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii and the tradition comes from Japan.   The first KFC outlet opened in Japan in 1970 and its manager was Takeshi Okawara.  He came up with the idea of a creating a "party barrel" of KFC to be sold at Christmas after overhearing a couple of foreigners talking in his store about how they missed having turkey at Christmas whilst they are in Japan.  He marketed his "party barrel" at Christmas in his store until KFC themselves took the idea up and marketed it across all of their Japan stores for Christmas 1974 under the name of Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii, or Kentucky for Christmas.  It was a success and Takeshi Okawara rose through the company ranks quickly, serving as president and CEO of Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan from 1984 to 2002.

Previously, there was no Christmas tradition in Japan as the majority of Japanese people follow Shinto or Buddhism faiths, worshipping ancestors and spirits with only around 1% of the population following the Christian faith.  Today an estimated 3.6 million Japanese families treat themselves to the special meal at KFC over Christmas period.  Other families treat it as a time to have a romantic celebration, similar to St Valentines day, and have a meal in upscale restaurants and then there are some families that acknowledge the day but do not celebrate it in any form.

The meals are so popular over the Christmas period that you can't just walk in a get one.  Most people pre-order the meal weeks in advance and if you don't do this then you could be waiting in line for hours to be able to get one and daily sales at some KFC restaurants can be 10 times that of any other time of year.  It's not just barrels of fried chicken that is available, over the years the meals have morphed into banquets and you can now get fried chicken, cake and wine.  In a country that puts a high value on its elders, they now also dress up the company mascot, Colonel Sanders, in Santa outfits. 

The Fibre

The actual fibre content is different to that that was printed on the bags, see the comments in "My Thoughts" for full details. There are some kind of similarities with some colours maybe with some sort of branding but it is totally unintentional and this blend doesn't contain any interesting herbs or spices.  It has a nice bold colour provided by the Corriedale and although Corriedale is not as soft as Merino it does have the same stitch definition when its being knitted or crocheted.  It has a nice bulk to it, which you don't find in Merino blends and there are lovely little bits of Tweed running through it to add a little bit of extra colour and some texture. The lightness comes from the Lotus Fibre, which has just been blended throughout so instead of being a heavy dark red it lifts it quite a bit.

My Thoughts

I like this one, it's quite festive and could even represent Santa with the red suit, white trim and black accessories.  I'm glad that the blends are not all super soft and fluffy, I like having a bit of a more hardwearing fibre too.

The information that has been printed on the bags is not necessarily correct and there are no fibre content percentages, these have been provided on the chat boards.  The percentages that they originally gave on the chat boards was 60% Corriedale, 30% Tweed, 10% Lotus, which is different from the Corriedale, Lotus and Viscose that is printed on the bag and after some discussion it transpires that "Tweed" is actually 80% South American Wool, 20% Viscose and it took a little while to get the actual contents from them and work out the actual fibre percentages, which is 60% Corriedale, 24% South American Wool, 10% Lotus and 6% Viscose . 

As a customer/consumer I don't want to know the percentage of "other blends" that are in the blend and I shouldn't have to then do research or ask questions to find out what is in that blend and do the maths to add those fibre percentages into the main blend fibre content percentages.  Thankfully I was not the only one that brought this oversight up with them and they've been pretty good about it. I have now also adjusted the fibre content details on all other blends in my stash that contain "Tweed" to correct them to what they actually are.  Thankfully I have not made any shawls or anything with any yarns that I have spun using this "Tweed" content.

What I have done with my bags is to write the actual fibre content on the bag using a gold gel pen in the gap immediately below the printed details, pretty much the only thing that will show up on black are the metallic gel pens.  This is why I have not taken "new" photos of the bags.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 13 - Le Bourg d'Oisans to Saint-Étienne

Stage 13 of the Tour de France and it is a 192.6km long flat race that starts in Le Bourg d'Oisans and ends in Saint-Étienne.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

Le Bourg d'Oisans was passed through yesterday on the route and is today's starting town.  It is famous for its slate and minerals, including crystals, and has a rare environment with approximately one-third being part of the Ecrins National Park.  In the attic of Saint Laurent Church is the Museum of Minerals and Wildlife in the Alps and is a reception centre for the Ecrins National Park.

Le Bourg d'Oisans

The first town on today's route is Livet-et-Gayet, which has the Vernes Hydroelectric Power Station built in 1917.  Onto Séchilienne which has suffered a major landslide and then Vizille with its 15th century castle which originally was the home of François de Bonne (1543-1626) is currently home of the Museum of the French Revolution.  Eybens and Grenoble are next with velodome, sports stadiums and 16th century Fort de la Bastille.  Sassenage, where one of its three castles is now the Town Hall.  Just under one-third of the way on the route is Veurey-Voroize, with the headquarters of the daily newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré and 13th century Tour des Templiers, which is almost square at 15m by 13m but was not recognised as a commandery of the Templar order until 1314.  There is also 12th century Notre-Dame-de-Chalais Abbey.

Notre-Dame-de-Chalais Abbey

Onto Tullins-Fures which was once industrious in the hemp cloth, silk, metallurgy and paper making industries before the race takes in Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, the birthplace of Louis Mandrin, the most famous smuggler of the 18th century who was arrested, sentenced to death and executed in Valence at the age of 30.  His story has inspired TV and film on several occasions. 13th century Bressieux Castle in the town of Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux is free to visit all year round.

Bressieux Castle

The next town, La Côte-Saint-André was the birthplace of composer Hector Berloiz and a museum is dedicated to him and his life.  He is buried in the Montmartre cemetery in Paris, a place which I visited many years ago during a weekend visit to Paris.  I didn't see his grave but I did see that of Adolphe Sax.  Vienne is about 136km into today's route and has been in existence since the year dot, the first century and has an old Roman theatre which seats about 13,000 and is still in use today during the summer months.

Vienne

Onto Sainte-Colombe, with local vineyards and Rive-de-Gier, famous for its glass and Duralex factory, which manufactures glasses, cups, tableware etc.  The next town is Lorette, birth town of Alain Prost, French Formula 1 racing driver.  Saint-Chamond is about 15km from the end of today's race and is famous for its 19th century lace factories and also for Creusot-Loire, an engineering company that specialises in railway engineering, trains, trams and high-speed trains.  Sorbiers is was the new home of Kazakh rider Andrei Kivilev when he settled in France.  He was 4th in the 2001 Tour de France, and was killed during the Paris-Nice race of 2003 and is buried in Sorbiers.

The race ends in Saint-Étienne, the city of design.  In 1765 a great arms factory was built with approval of King Louis XV and it supplied French troops with ammunition.  There are a couple of art museums, the Couriot Shaft and Mine Museum and also the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, which hosted the Euro 2016.

Saint-Étienne

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Mads Pedersen for Trek-Segafredo/USA.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Simon Geschke for Cofidis/FRA.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Mads Pedersen for Trek-Segafredo/USA.

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: After a well-deserved flat section the riders will be wheeling in to Saint-Étienne at the end of today.  Saint-Étienne is twinned with Coventry; both locations known for their intense industry in the 1800s.

Today's challenge is related to the fact of the day; we're going a bit foody!  Can you make a yarn look like a cake?  Use colour and texture to see if it is even remotely possible!  Maybe there is a specific shade that makes you hungry, or perhaps some nepps give the effect of sprinkles?  Extra points if you can find a Coventry Godcake (and eat it).

Suggested Fibre:  Buttery Biscuit Base - of course!  A buttery blend of Blue-Faced Leicester topped with some shimmery sweet kid mohair.  Don't eat it...

What I did

One of the the fibres I purchased last month is called Crumpet Tweed and it's a kind of pale peachy colour so I will use that to make something that resembles sponge cake with sprinkles on top as it's the only one I can think of that fits the bill.

I found this one a little difficult to spin due to the sheer amount of nepps in the wool.  It is 80% South American Wool, 20% Viscose fibre.  I found a bowl, stuffed a tea towel inside and sat the yarn on top with a red-orange ball to make it look like a cherry topped cake.

The finished yarn is 148m of worsted weight yarn which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 444m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.

March's Club Fibre is here!

Happy little squeals could be heard from me this morning as I opened my little parcel from the fibre club.  Just as I expected after reading the letter and little bit of research, this fibre is all shades of blue with a hint of green.  I was having a little problem with light when taking the photos but the true colour is more like the larger photo.  Its 70% Merino, 30% Viscose, with the Merino being naturally dyed in Italy using Indigo and Woad.

April's Fibre is here - Peak District

We've had to wait for this one as she had issues with the processing company so the letter was late coming out to us as well.  I love this, its so pretty and different to anything else I have.  Its 50% Corriedale, 25% Whitefaced Woodland, 20% South American Wool, 5% Viscose.  Its not overly soft but its still lovely, certainly nowhere near coarse.

LF433 - Remember Me

My youngest daughter, who is on the Autistic Scale, has recently had to attend special workshop groups to teach her methods of how to cope with difficult situations that may be stressful, frustrating or emotional.  People with Autism really struggle with these things.  Whilst she was in the workshop group I sat in a lovely quiet part of the waiting area and crocheted, or at least I tried to crochet as much as I could but there was one woman, one of the workers that I will refer to as "gas bag", that kept talking to me every week incessantly about how I think my daughter is doing and probing into my feelings, she never shut up and never took the hint until the last week when I was very abrupt with her.  There is only so much a person can say on a subject and I'd said all I needed to by the end of the second week, which was weeks ago!

So, the project that I was working on, or trying to work on, was another Twilley's Goldfingering 1970's shawl and I kept this project just for the group sessions which meant that I started making the flower centres way back on 28th February and I started adding the petals on the 5th week of the group, getting 3 flowers complete in about an hour and a half.  The last week, the one where I got peace and quiet, I got 10 flowers completed in the same time, which shows how much of a distraction this gas bag was!

I am using all vintage threads for this, vintage silver for the flower centres, vintage red for the petals and vintage black for the main body.

It wasn't until I was crocheting with the black that I noticed that two of the flowers had 9 petals each and not the 8 that was needed so I had to undo the petals and correct them.  No doubt these are two of the three that I done when gas bag was talking to me.

I refer to this particular shawl as "remember me" because it reminds me of Remembrance Sunday and the parades that go with that.

Baby Jackets made with Eco-Friendly yarn

Some time ago, when mooching through the "end of line/end of batch" baskets at House of Fraser on the rare occasion that I travel into Birmingham City Centre, I came across an interesting yarn called Rowan Purelife Revive and I bought a few balls of it in two different shades.

From Rowans' website : Recycling is becoming increasingly important in a world coming to terms with the challenges of environmental, economic and climatic change. Rowan Purelife Revive is made from used garments which have been selected according to the silk, cotton and viscose content. These are then carded to make regenerated fibre, which is then spun into this beautiful, high quality yarn, which gives life to new hand knitting designs.

I like the idea of this yarn because I recycle as much as I can myself.   The yarn is 36% recycled silk, 36% recycled cotton, 28% recycled viscose and is a double knit weight yarn.

 

The pattern that I chose to use with this yarn is a vintage Wendy Peter Pan pattern and I got started on 28th June with the first one.  It wasn't until I had finished and sewn it up that I noticed that one sleeve was darker than the rest of the jacket.  Not knowing what to do at this point I carried on with the other colour yarn and made another one.

As you can see, the sleeve to the right in the picture is darker than the rest of the jacket.  Meanwhile, the jacket made with the darker shade has turned out lovely.

Because of the varied fibre content of this yarn and the fact that I only have dyes intended for use with animal protein fibres I was not sure what to do with the first jacket.  Do I bin it, do I dye it, if so what dyes do I use?  After much deliberation I decided to just try dyeing it with the dyes that I have and see what happens and if it goes wrong it can't get any worse than it already is.  I made up some dark blue dye and just went for it.

I have to say that I am seriously liking the result.  You can no longer see that the one sleeve is darker than the rest of the jacket and because it has only dyed the animal protein fibres in the yarn it has created a marl effect.  Fantastic!

If I ever have a problem like this again, or fall out of love with a yarn colour that is a mixed blend or don't like the way it knits up I will have no hesitation in getting the dyes out because I really love this effect.