Craggauowen visit '18

Really enjoyed my visit to Craggauowen heritage site yesterday.
It was held in the castle for fear of rain - 'though it did not rain at all that afternoon there.

Plenty of visitors, spinning wheels, fleece and yarn crafts there and glad to meet other frequent fibre event attendees again.

Some photos:

WHEEL TALK

HAND-SPU HANKS

A GOOD DISPLAY OF FLEECE FROM DIFFERENT SHEEP TYPES

LIZ'S BLISS SPINNING WHEEL

NATUREL DYES

SPRANG

VERY LOVELY WOVEN RIBBINS MADE WITH A BASIC HEDDLE 

WHEN IN USE, TIED BETWEEN BODY AND A POST AND SHEDS MADE BY LIFING AND LOWERING HEDDLE

Also, I re-discovered how to spin with the stick-spinner I got from Ehe Feral Spinner while at the Roscommon fair this year. Thanks for reminding me Lindy - I tend to forget as I kinda can't believe it works - even when it does :).

Oval Garter stitch - change of plan

I've changed my mind about lacing the green strip directly against the blue in the mat. Not sure why - just seemed wrong when I pinned it out to see how it went. I'm planning on using a lighter version of the Red ocrs which is in the centre. Quite a nice old-rose sort of cool and for some unknown reason I like it against the blue and the green. There may be a "colour theory" about why that is or it may just be my idiosyncrasy.
here it be:

The green ring for the Garter Stitch oval mat

Around 340 gms of aran weight dyed for the next ring in this garter-stitch oval mat.
I had to redo the short rows I knit to fit the blue strip around the centre piece on one side as it was bulging out. I'm hoping the next strip, when knitted, will be easier to fit around the now shooter edge of the previous piece.
I'm using the dark green - well fairly dark - as it seems to be of the same value and... I don't know, it just seems right to me.
Knit on.

Alpaca Oval Mat

I made this about 1 month ago from raw Alpaca fleece that my knitting buddy gave me.
It was fairly tough to prep (these are DUSTY little beasts!). I dyed it and knitted it into an oval mat. It feels lovely and I do like the colours too - it was worth the effort in the end.

  No Connie, I know you like knitted matts but you can't sit on this one!

Beginning a new garter-stitch oval matt

I've spun around 650 grams of my woolly sheep's fleece and spun and plied it to around aran weight.
The plan is to knit it into a garter-stitch oval shaped matt.

Her's a hank draining after being washed.

I've knitted a swatch and chosen dyes. I've done the maths and guess what? it's "off" as usual when I try to relate how much of each yarn needs to be dyed for each ring n the oval. Never mind, I'll dye-as-I go.

The centre oval is dyed and knitted:

 The dye is "red acre", centre in progress, now complete and measured.

I like this colour against the blue so I've dyed the next hank a deep blue colour.

Finishing drying on the swift, the next circle:

 

Here it is, wound to a centre-pull ball:

Ready to knit doube-stranded strip to add to the center-piece.

TBC

E-Spinning along

Planning a new knitted mat so spinning from a stored medium-weight, medium staple length fleece. I sheared ti from one of my woolly ewes some years ago and washed and kept it 'til now.
I plan to spin most of this fleece aran weight on the e-spinner and then dye it in progressively longer lengths of different colours to knit into an oval shape.

The dying will be the most fun but right now it's just comb/spin/ply repeat.

So far, 327 grams spun and plied

Combs and nests

Plying n the E-Spinner - adding another 320 gas of plied aran-weight.

Meanwhile, leaving one's car door open can invite cheeky occupants (and may bring her toy with her):

Swirly mat

Finished knitting my hand-spun yarn into a swirly mat.
it's a squishy garter stitch swirl.
The photo is not great - a bit blurred.
Must take a better one.