Whangamata

This weekend is the Whangamata Learning Exchange weekend. I will be there with my fibre and yarn, and have a new 'Workshop in a Bag' to make it's debut.

I'm packing up the husband, dog, fibre and wheel on Friday morning, and will be at the Whangamata Memorial Hall complex all weekend, learning and sharing new skills.

You might already be registered (leave a comment to say hi!), but if not, we'll be open to the public on Sunday between 10 and 3, it would be so lovely to see you there. Make sure you introduce yourself!

And now, off to the studio, to pack up the silk hankies!

Travelling Woman

I blocked my Travelling Woman on the weekend. My my it is lovely!

The silk yarn has amazing drape.

And the sheen!

I'm so very pleased with how it turned out. And there's likely to be another in my future!

spot the difference

December 2009

August 2010

Public Service Announcement :: Miracle Dandruff Cure

I was washing my hair today, and realised the shampoo I've been using has totally cured my dandruff. I thought I should tell you, because you might have dandruff too, and be looking for a miracle cure. (It's one of those things you don't realise is getting better until one day you remember you used to have dandruff that crippled your social life and now you don't. O.k. it wasn't quite that bad, but some days it sure felt like it!)

So, dandruff is kinda gross, which is whey they sell products like head and shoulders to cure your flaking scalp. And you know, I probably wouldn't be telling you about my miracle cure, but my flaking scalp really was awful. And so it means this cure is even better than you might originally have thought. (And way better than H&S, which in my opinion totally DOES NOT work!)

If you have a hippy supermarket, you can probably find it in the personal care section. Takaka, you have it (it's where I got mine). Motueka, it's probably fairly safe to assume you have it too. No judgements here. Otherwise you can get it from their website. Oh look they sell it in family sized containers too! (In case everyone in your family is prone to, as their website puts it, eruptions. Heh.) And now that my scalp is not flaking away from my head, maybe I can use the Vanilla and Coconut stuff, cos that sure sound like a winning combination!

(Just a note, this is a personal endorsment, and I have been in no way compensated to write this post. I have only used the Olive and Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner, and cannot recommend any of the other products, although they may well be just as good.)

From the Weekend

I've been making muffins a lot lately, Michael likes to take savoury ones to work for his breakfast. I make a simple recipe with cheese and corn and some herbs and spices. He likes lots of chilli!

Mum gave me a Dish magazine subscription for my birthday this year. I'm always attracted to the sweet recipes, and made a yummy pear and gingerbread pudding the other night. It was delicious, but had more butter, sugar and white flour than what seems advisable or necessary. I adapted the recipe to make muffins for work this week. (if they are a success, I'll share the recipe later.)

I wrap our muffins up and freeze them (on separate sides of the freezer!), then we pull them out on the way to work, they're thawed by morning tea. (Michael get's his out the night before. He eats them on his way to the morning meeting.) It's an effective way to prevent all the baking being eaten by mid-week.

This weekend I also repotted the tomato plants- the seeds were planted on the first new moon in June as per Louise's instructions. There's one runty one, but it should catch up by October. I also planted some seeds, spring onion, more tomatoes, tamarillo, and some flowers for the front of the house.

What did you spend the weekend doing?

Fibre Friday :: new silk in the shop

I spent some of my day reskeining and photographing yarn and fibre to list in the shop. This silk really is as amazing as it looks!

I also spent some time knitting in the 4 ply silk, I'm knitting a Travelling Woman, which is a free pattern. I hope to get it finished so I can take some photos this weekend. I picked up some blocking wires today so I can get it all straightened out if I finish it in time.

I can also use the blocking wires to get started on blocking my crochet blocks, I just need to start weaving in some of those ends!

Have you got a fibre project on the go?

Second Big Reveal

Spinning a Yarn has a new look and a new home!

Simone designed my new logo

and I made a rudimentary new home for myself at spinningayarn.co.nz, I'd love for you to pop over and check it out.

Kitchen Update

We are a wee way from being completely finished (painting the windows, tiling, fixing that crooked blind, painting chairs, drum shade....the list goes on....) but I thought I'd share some photos to give you a sense of just how far we've come!

First, a refresher of the 'before':

And now, the big reveal!





Some of my favourite parts of the kitchen:

::double cutlery drawer (twice as much space in one drawer, why wouldn't you?!)::rubbish bins with paper recycling drawer on top (soft touch self closing drawer too!)::plate drawers (how did I ever fit all this stuff into cupboards?!)::spice drawer in the pantry (more organised version soon)::

Pantry shots:




Hot water cupboard makeover, same cabinetry, new doors, would you ever know?!



That fabulous floating shelf again:



And Louise, this picture's for you!!

Loving the chalkboard door!

Pictures from the weekend

A fibre project

Cannelloni filling

Orange and Poppy Seed muffins

Roast Pumpkin Soup

Fibre Friday :: Super Bulky!

Super bulky is here!

A wholesale order for Wild and Woolly in Devonport, heading off on it's merry way tomorrow morning.

And some up in the shop for you, in hydrangea (purple and blue) and forest (earthy green).

I've been wearing a simple scarf for most of winter, in a cheery orange colour

:: a simple scarf ::

With 10 / 12 / 15 mm needles cast on 3 or 4 stitches. Knit until yarn runs out, and cast off. Use tails to join the two ends of the scarf together. Wash in lukewarm water and stretch to desired length to dry. Wrap several times around your neck to create a layered look.

:: spun sliver yarn details ::

100% NZ Wool (Romney/Perendale)
super bulky/ 4 wpi
10-15 mm needles
100 g/ 30m
$15

Other ideas for projects include hats, bags, slippers, cushions, or you could make a blanket like Frances did!

In other exciting news, I've dropped a day at work, so will be spending Friday's (my first was today) pottering around the studio dyeing and winding up skeins of yarn. It feels like a step in the right direction!

Maths is not my strong point

So 60 squares x 4 colours per square x 2 ends per colour = 480 ends. Let's think about that even less, ok?

Crochet Explosion

60 Sunbursts, ready to turn into squares. All different (there are 60 permutations of 5 colours in which each colour is not repeated in a sunburst.)...or are they?

So 60 squares x 4 colours = 240 ends to weave in. Lets not think too hard about that!

Tea Towels as Art

I'm trying to decide on a tea towel to buy, to stretch it around a canvas for my kitchen. I made an etsy treasury here (no screen shot because my screen isn't big enough to get the whole thing in the frame!)

But these are my top contenders:

source

source (and check out the kereru!)

source

source

I really really like some of the others in the treasury too (especially the EAT YOUR GREENS) but feel it needs to be a red print.

Which would you choose?