June 2010 (16)

Wednesday, June 30 2010

R&R

Life has been a little on the hectic side over the last few weeks, and so today was supposed to be a day of R&R.  However I started to do paperwork and Stevan decided he needed a workbench in his shed, and so began hammering and nailing spare bits of wood together, and before we knew it most of  […]

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Tuesday, June 29 2010

Decisions, Decisions!

When you are an independent yarn dyer it can sometimes be really hard to decide what yarns to include in your range of hand dyed yarns.  Some work, and some do not, and sometimes you can make the mistake of thinking that something will be popular just because you happen to like it yourself.  And  […]

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Monday, June 28 2010

Leftovers!

Sometimes leftovers are just lovely, and that is the case with some of the leftovers from Woolfest!  I've put some of the Silk/Merino laceweight up in the shop for your delight.  I'll do more as soon as I can, but there is sock yarn to come, as well as a very small amount of alpaca/silk/cashmere  […]

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Sunday, June 27 2010

All over again for another year

Well, who would have thought that something that is planned and prepared for for so long could be over so quickly!   Setting up for Woolfest seems to take so long - my trusty assistant, Stella, and I took hours to set up on Thursday, which isn't really surprising given you are trying to make a  […]

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Friday, June 25 2010

Woolfest 2010

Day one is over.   It has been a lot, hot, tiring day, but Woolfest has its same great atmosphere, same great range of stalls and stallholders (some old, some new, some nearly new like me), and the same great public coming through the door.The Ripples Crafts stand looked good, although there is  […]

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Wednesday, June 23 2010

2 Year Anniversary

We've been living at Tigh na Creag for 2 years today.   It has been an eventful 2 years!Things haven't always gone according to plan, but we intend going out for dinner tonight to celebrate the passing of two eventful, happy years.And then tomorrow I'll head south for Woolfest.  I hope to see many  […]

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Friday, June 18 2010

Breathing Space

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit on the tired side!   There was no resting after I got the big order out for the US fashion house at the beginning of this week as I then had to go straight into dyeing for Woolfest.  I already had a fair amount of stock, but there were a few gaps, so  […]

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Wednesday, June 16 2010

Otherwise Engaged

Many, many moons ago I went to secretarial college in Cape Town.  I've forgotten the name of the college (although I'm sure my Mum will remember!), but I do remember having to study "Deportment" which involved lessons on how to dress for the office and how to walk while carrying a tray of  […]

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Sunday, June 13 2010

Weaving - Part II

Despite having rather sore fingers this morning, I did return to the willow weaving class to complete my basket.  At first I really didn't believe that I would ever finish it.  It looked rather untidy:and although basket shaped it looked so far off being anything functional, let alone an attractive  […]

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Saturday, June 12 2010

Weaving

Today I had a complete change of scene.   Not wool weaving, but willow weaving.  Top Left Corner had organised a willow weaving workshop and I went along to give myself a complete break from the wool.   Our (very patient) teacher, Tim, had some wonderful examples to inspire us as we began our bases  […]

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Friday, June 11 2010

Knit Today! Hearts and Flowers

It's all happening at the moment!  The latest edition of Knit Today magazine has a beautiful pattern by Rita Taylor called Hearts and Flowers.  It is knitted using the Assynt Winter colourway in my 4ply Bluefaced Leicester.  If you want to have a go at this shawl you will need two hanks of yarn, and  […]

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Colours

Thank you all for your lovely messages regarding my last post.   I'm really sorry but I simply can not give you any further details regarding the company or the colours they chose.  Being a high fashion firm they protect the sources of their products very closely, and I can not break that  […]

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Wednesday, June 9 2010

Challenges

When you are a hand dyer, and a sole trader, you have many titles:Chief (and only) DyerChief (and only) DryerChief (and only) LabellerChief (and only) PackerChief (and only) Accountant...... you get the idea!  And every now and then, just to keep you on your toes, you get thrown a little challenge.I  […]

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Monday, June 7 2010

Action!

Well the last few days have been very tiring, very hectic, and quite exciting!  Saturday began with a very small disaster when the stand threw a temper tantrum and collapsed.  Fortunately it was half an hour before the gates opened to the public, and so by 10.00am you'd never have guessed that there  […]

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Thursday, June 3 2010

(Almost) Ready!

Gardening Scotland 2010:Before:Ready for shoppers:

Tuesday, June 1 2010

Home Grown Talent

[caption id="attachment_3021" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo courtesy and copyright of Barbara Macleod"][/caption]One of the biggest problems facing communities such as Assynt is the lack of jobs for younger folk.  Inevitably, after finishing  […]

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