Something new and fun I've been playing with is spinning up singles. They are harder than they look, and take a lot of getting used to, but very satisfying when you see the bobbin filling up so fast! I finally felt like I had the technique down enough to try some thicker singles and got out my delicious 100% British Southdown. I ordered a bump of this for the shop, knowing that I'd find something great to do with it. Originally I thought I was just going to make similar yarns to my BFL collection, but with a different fibre. Nope. Sometimes things change for the better.
Southdown is a little more robust and perfect for pencil rovings. My tension is still a little tight and I absolutely can't watch anything while I spin this (audiobooks and podcasts only) but there is so much joy in the fat fluffy twists and filling up 4 bobbins in a few hours (and knowing I don't have to ply them!) that makes Pencil Roving a new favourite of mine. Just take a look at this big stack of full skeins that I produced in under a week:Don't you just want to cuddle it?! These are going to look so great dyed, I can already tell. Thinking I'll have to sell these in 100g skeins because they are so thick and juicy. Yum yum yum. Fibre Diet.
The shop is loaded with sets of Mini Skeins now! There are 4 colourways to choose from. Most of these are one-time deals as they are all made with Recycled coned wool, so once they are gone- they are gone!! Buy now!Okay, Okay. I went a little geeky when I was choosing colours... What can I say, I just see beautiful colour combinations in everything. Obviously, if you're a fan of what they are named after, awesome! But if you're not don't stress, they work for generic stuff too. i.e. the Iron Man colourway reminds me of changing leaves or Gryffindor, and the Hulk colourway reminds me of drives through the countryside in the summer. They'll make great stripes or gradient effects. Or just add them to your stash and pick them out for colourwork projects. :] 10g each and 5 colours in a set = 50g. Above is the Rainbow Bright colourway. I love the little pops of pink in the red and the texture of the blue yarn. Buy Rainbow Bright!Above we've got a Vampire inspired gradient. From fluffy black and white through to vibrant red, this would look awesome as a sock! Buy Fangtasia! Above is a spectrum of greens. I seem to have collected A LOT of green recycled yarns so it's really nice to find a use for it! Plus that dark green is SUPER soft. Like, I'm sure it's alpaca or something. Yummy. Buy Hulk! Above is a different angle so you can see how they sit together. I can just imagine this knitted into tiny leaves or accents on a sea of brown. I'm a big fan of that little flecks of red and grey together. Plus, we all know I love a good yellow. Buy Iron Man!
p.s. Wondering what the heck to do with your minis? There are a ton of great boards and projects out there on pinterest and ravelry, but I've put together my own board. Take a look.
OhMyGoodness, How exciting is this? I've been shortlisted (along with 4 other super talented people) for the category of 'Creative Idea'. We all go to London on the 11th for the judging. Wish me luck!! Check out more about the Handmade Awards or view the other catagories and their shortlisters (some really awesome people!). #handmadeawards to tweet or instagram about it! :] It's an honour to be picked!
Hi everyone. :] I've noticed that I really like 'getting dressed' to 'go to work'. What I mean is, when I come down stairs and open the door that leads from my house to the shop, I like to be dressed as if I was going to work in an office or studio where other people would be. Even if I'm just working in the shop all by myself all day, just doing accounts or editing photos. Somehow wearing real shoes and feeling 'photo ready' makes me motivated to get stuff done.Now, I definately don't do this everyday. In fact, due to my CFS, I often have to stay in comfy clothes all day. And some days I don't even make it downstairs except to feed the cat. I'm digressing... Basically these shoes make me feel like a bad ass business lady. And pink lipstick makes me feel grownup. Do you have a piece of clothing or a hairstyle or a type of beauty product that makes you feel super confident and like you want to make stuff happen?!
Everything is second hand except for my socks and leggings (ALL my leggings seem to have either paint on them or holes in them. Artist life!). Shirt is a hand me down from Dad. Skirt from Loot in Bristol, the Vest is handwoven but I found it in a vintage store (I think Repsycho in Bristol) and my shoes are actually from a friend's closet when they were having a clearout.
Can we just talk about height for a minute? I'm super tall. Like, nearly 6ft. And I'm not exactly a tiny person (or model-like). So I've always shyed away from heels of any kind. But in the last year or so I've been like 'Screw it!'... If I want to wear heels and they make me feel amazing, then I'm going to do it! So, I'm sorry friends if I stand next to you and seem like a giant while I wear my comfy comfy bright pink wedges. hehe. :] Love Kimxo
For those of you that made it to the shop on Yarn Shop Day, thank you! It was mostly locals that had seen the sign and the shop windows and wanted to know a bit more about what we were about. Which is exactly what I was hoping would happen. I opened the doors on May 3rd to say HI to the locals. We had cups of tea and a free project to work on. You can see even my Dad got involved! It was really wonderful to meet people and talk about the kind of fibre arts we love. :] Below is a little 'shop tour' so you all can see what it was like on the day. Enjoy! (Don't Amy's cowls look so great! It's wonderful to have them in the shop!) Probably my favourite little aspect of the shop, is the little cut-out where I can serve customers from. It was great to 'ring people up' from behind the counter. It felt like the big sister of doing markets. I can't wait till Autumn when we'll be open on the weekends. :] Here's a few photos of me outside the shop before we opened in the morning (Please excuse my sleepy, but happy, face). Mum organised some bright and cheerful planters. :] So nice.
Thanks for sharing in this adventure with me! Please know that the shop is still a work-in-progress but any comments/thoughts are always greatly appreciated. Basicaly I wish you could all come and have a cuppa tea with me!
