Autumn Giveaway

Organic Merino Aran

Goodness the summer has vanished - and it feels like it too from the drop in temperature and amount of rain that is falling (well here in Northern France at least!).

a closer view - isn't it soft and squidgy looking?

We started the giveaway in June with the Summer Organic Cotton Boucle (colour still to be chosen - Sarah!). For the Autumn we though we'd offer something warm and comforting! Our choice this time is 3 x 100g hanks of Organic Merino Aran weight yarn. The Merino is not a British yarn, but is pure Merino and beautifully soft and warm. Organically certified and processed the dyer still refuses to go through the hoops!!! We are offereing 300g of the yarn which should be plenty for a hat and scarf to keep the Autumn winds at bay - try looking at Woolly Wormhead's site for some fab hat patterns, I have a scarf pattern that I will include with the yarn! The recommended needle size for the yarn is 4mm and the approximate hank length is 150m.

We have decided that as not everyone wants to join facebook we will also include followers of this blog, if you do NOT wish to be included in the draw please drop me an email and I will miss your name out!

Hope you like our choice of colour - it is Logwood and Lac, the yarn is handpainted and there is our usual guarrantee that if you find any problem with the dye in terms of rub off whilst knitting up then you are entitled to a replacement yarn.

Good luck to all!

End of the Red Dyes Workshop

Today was the last day of the Red Dyes workshop, it's been running on the Online Guild for the whole of April, I have really enjoyed doing it and because it's all online you get written responses and photos of how people are getting on - so there is a record of it all, it's very rewarding!

The photo shows all the samples I have dyed during the workshop. On the far left is my madder (it's orange!) cochineal is in the centre on the right is sticklac and bottom left is brazilwood. There is a silk hankie in there (very hidden) that was painted with madder, lac and brazilwood extracts. The workshop has been good for me - it's made me look at some of my methods and try out new ideas. The kind of thing you don't have time for in the general run of being in the dyehouse. I am determined to get back to doing more research! (OK that's research and spinning I have to do more of - so what is going to lose out I wonder?!)

I have a lot of dyeing to be getting on with over the coming month - at the beginning of June there is the Ravelry Day - I have a stall and am running a workshop - and at the end of June is Woolfest. It's not the dyeing that takes up all the time it's the hanking up! It really seems to take forever, I have now got John looking on the web for any hanking machinery that we could use. It really is so time consuming when you can only do 1 hank at a time! To be fair John is fantastic at making things - I have a super ball winder for the linens, but he just hasn't had time to deal with the wools issue! I'll just have to plan to do so many hanks per day!

For once we are home for a Bank Holiday plus my sons are both coming home - so it'll be like Christmas!!! (wonder if I can get them hanking up?!) Hope the weather is better than it has been today! Nick I have to collect from Chester station tomorrow lunchtime (which means some retail therapy may be required in the morning whilst waiting!) David will drive himself up later in the day. I think this is going to be a nice weekend!