Chaos, cat-flaps & Kraftykoala yarn…

February 4, 2010 · Filed under Shop Update, me and my family · Tagged , ,

Three great things:

1. Sometime last week we had a dark, gloomy kitchen left to us by the previous inhabitants of our house. Sometime next week we’ll have a bright, shiny new kitchen installed by DH and my dear dad (we call him B as my readers will know). Right now it’s chaos. Washing up in the bathroom sink, cooking only things that can be steamed or toasted on the dining room table. My Denby is packed safely away, with the exception of the cereal bowls which are in constant use and live in the bread bin with some yet-to-be-combed fleece… this was DH’s idea, not mine. The bowls seem happy for what it’s worth.

2. Our cats are 6 and nearly one. They don’t want to be inside, they don’t want to be outside. What they really need is a door of their own. And so, as part of the New Kitchen we have installed a state of the art cat flap. It swings inwards, it swings outwards. We no longer have to wait up until they come home at night. Is this what its like having sixteen-year-olds?

3. I have new Kraftykoala Sock Yarn! Heaps of it in 5 glorious new semi-solid colourways exclusive to me! *ahem* exclusive to Brownberry, is what I meant to say… And just as soon as I can get some photographs they will be on the shop in all their glory with angels chorusing “HALLELUJAH” in the background. See, it’s all about who you know ;-)

And a thanks to Nicsknots for passing on the lovely idea about choosing 3 little things to blog about!

And no thanks to my ipod which cheerfully took my carefully constructed blog last night and did goodness knows what with it, humph.

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Have a peep inside…

January 29, 2010 · Filed under Shop Update

… the shop!

Brownberry Yarns, Zauberball

We don’t get many visitors yet, as we’re really just an online shop, but my local knitting group visit from time to time and well, to be honest, I’m super house-proud (don’t laugh, anyone who’s seen my house recently…) and so I wanted the shop to look pretty and visitable :-)

Brownberry, Artesano, Herdy etc

So, what do you think? Vistors are welcome, by appointment; please note this invitation is for knitters who don’t mind a little chaos around the place ;-)

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The Addictive Nature of Kool Aid

January 9, 2010 · Filed under Shop Update, me and my family · Tagged ,

So as if the Christmas period isn’t hectic enough I decided to squeeze in some Teach-Yourself-Kool-Aid-Dyeing time. DH looked on in complete bewilderment and wondered if I ought to put my feet up for once. Pah. They don’t like it there. Up, I mean, they prefer pottering and pootling, mooching and a-pooching; I get it from my mum.

There were a few things which came together at the right time to get this little adventure on track…

1. My Mice Rug project (see my Ravelry project page and previous blog entry);

2. I’ve had the Hippy Feet kits almost ready for the shop for a while now, only lacking full instructions for the kit. I didn’t feel happy writing out instructions without having tried it for myself;

3. I had half an hour spare and needed time away from the computer!

And so it was that on Christmas Eve with my objective firmly in mind (dye the waste fleece ready for stuffing my rug, in the rosy pink, olive green and baby blue colours so clear in my mind’s eye) I headed for the kitchen. I had a method printed off from an issue of Knitty which I wanted to try for myself so that I could type out some instructions for the kits from my own experience.

I weighed out batches of fleece, rinsed and soaked them. Then the magical bit, mixing that powder with water to see what colour you might just get. You get an idea from the picture of the drink on the packet so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise like getting green when you wanted pink. I did try a couple of batches on the hob but it seemed to take a long time so I switched to microwave power. Alternating 2 bowls seemed to work quite well, one in for 2 1/2 minutes, swap and zap the other for 2 1/2 mins, repeat until the water is pretty hot; too hot to put your finger in anyway (about 10 minutes per bowl). Then the hard bit, leaving the bowls to cool before rinsing the yarn and seeing what colour I actually got…

The pinks you can see above, pretty!

The baby blue and olive green however, they were a different story! They turned out like this:

… and have become, embraced by some black acrylic yarn, my ‘practice’ rug; a rug for TheBoy, to test the method for My Rug. It’s going very well, very quickly and I’m very chuffed with it all *smiles smugly* hurrah. And the Hippy Feet Kits are loaded up on the shop at last.

So, that was how it started; I’ve since treated myself to quite a little stash of the powdery goodness and wondering just what’s next…..

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Look what it did!

January 6, 2010 · Filed under me and my family · Tagged ,

I’ll not pretend I’ve been anywhere today, none of us have really have we? Go on admit it, we’ve stayed home with cups of tea and knitting or spinning projects. I did step just outside the front door though, so I could share this:

and this:

It’s not yarn, but it’s pretty!

Next? I’ve a shop update to do, I’ve been busy with Kool Aid… more about that soon!

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A New Year

December 31, 2009 · Filed under me and my family

I’m not such a fan of New Year as it has become; I don’t like loud parties, staying up late or fireworks upsetting my pets until all hours.

However I do relish the thought of a clean slate, a tidying up and closing off of the old, dark year and looking entirely forwards to new possibilities, dreams and hopes, and to snowdrops and daffodils and the lighter days they herald; Spring.

Resolutions? I’ve made them all before… But at the turn of this year I am going to start looking after myself better; more yoga, less wine, more water and more fresh air. That’s all.

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My Mice Rug Project…

December 26, 2009 · Filed under me and my family · Tagged , ,

This is one of those projects that you dip in and out of;  you know it’s not going to yield Instant Results but that the End Result will be all the more satisfying for being so far away.

The fleece is of course the reason for my previous blog – though I hasten to add that the 2010 fleeces that will be up for grabs won’t be the ones left unloved in the barn after the others have gone to market; what a happy accident that was!

Anyway, take a peek here, on my Ravelry page, to see what I’ve got planned; I’ll update once the loom-knitting starts….

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The Fleece of Mice!

December 18, 2009 · Filed under Shop Update, me and my family · Tagged , ,

I’ve been playing around with fleece from this particular farm since the summer. I’ve learnt heaps about processing raw fleece thanks to both spinner-friends and trial n error. I’ve washed, dried, pulled, combed, carded, discarded and spun this fleece and I have come to love it without question.

The ladies in question live on mum and dad’s fields so I get to watch them growing, grazing and fluffing up during the year. And each year their lambs grow up destined for our freezers. It’s a real priviledge to be a part of this down-to-earth-ness after all the materialistic hustle and bustle I see every day.

And so, the farmer, Ian, says I can share the enjoyment of these fleeces with you all come next shearing day so I’ve loaded up Mice Fleeces onto the shop for pre-orders from now until May-ish. I’ve priced the fleeces at £5 which I think is about right but I’ll review this nearer shearing time to make sure it’s in line with other fleece prices. The sheep are Welsh mules, a cross breed, but we think there’s some BFL in the mix; the staple is fantastically long and all crimped and lovely.

Why have I called them Mice Fleeces? Well the farm, on Anglesey, is called Maes, which means field but is pronounced mice. I thought that Mice Fleece sounded nice and, to be honest, I do like a bit of whimsy.

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Knitting in treacle

December 13, 2009 · Filed under me and my family · Tagged , ,

I really have not got much knitting done recently. I keep telling myself how this is the perfect time of year for knitting; long, dark evenings, the cosy feel-good factor of the festive build-up, the UFO’s in a towering heap by my desk… But none of it’s enough to get those needles clacking. There is a pool of treacle around those project bags and progress has ground to a halt. Am I the only one? Please tell me I’m not alone!

Knitting, i miss you. I’ll be back soon I promise. Just as soon as I’ve got the house ship shape for Christmas, written cards, wrapped presents, made mince pies, seen TheBoy through his first school play, posted out the pre-Christmas orders for my lovely customers and kitten-proofed The Tree. We’ll be back together soon.

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Hallelujah!

November 25, 2009 · Filed under Shop Update · Tagged , , , ,

I’m pretty restrained these days when it comes to Stash Enhancement. Well, I have everything I need and more right here. But at first sight these Zauberballs had the better of me and I grabbed two without pause for thought at Fibrefest this summer.

blackberry

It’s the unique-ness of them that I love. The way they look strangely like the balls of yarn my mum winds from skeins and not at all like other commercial yarn. The long and beautifully blended colour changes that would have indie dyers stretching yarn across a field and back to reproduce.

crazy little fox

The yarn is the perfect blend for sock knitting; 75% wool & 25% nylon and soft enough too to create stunning shawls. I thought long and hard, but in the end, what’s not to like?

summer meadow

And so, I brought them into the shop and I hope you love them too. Because, after all, it’s all about you.

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Nude Ewe Yarns & The Sock Blockers are back!

November 25, 2009 · Filed under Shop Update · Tagged , , , , , ,

My first shipment of yarn from the Nude Ewe sold out really quickly and I wasn’t able to re-stock right away; this isn’t commercial yarn after all. The Wes (Wensleydale) is still not available but happily the Heb and Speck have both arrived.

Now, I’m thinking that a felted bag pattern in black and cream would go a treat with these two and so I will welcome any suggestions for patterns you might know of to suit!

Also back in stock are the fabulous Sock Blockers from the Laal Bear:

Available in Small, Medium or Large and priced at £10; these are going to make some great Christmas presents… in fact I’d even go so far as to say they’d be the perfect stocking filler……!!!

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