Back To Black!

Thanks for all the support and comments on the last post, I feel like I've been properly told off for moaning about my lack of writing confidence.

I'm not going to moan about having nothing to blog about last week, infact I have at least 19 wip's to finish off, so it is more a case of too busy knitting to blog about it, but I should have some finished objects and also a pattern to share with you by Friday! Although as it's the Christmas Crafts Fair Saturday, if I don't make it back this week you will know why!

Above is the silk I've been spinning for a friend, the brief was to spin black with silvery bits, to knit a scarf for her husband for Christmas, I think the 1st skein is perfect, but I had a bit of a disaster with skein 2 being slightly thicker than the 1st, so had to overdye some leftover grey to get more black. Still it was lovely quality silk to spin, it just didn't want to behave!

Eek! I have nothing to show you!

I have been beavering away on college homework knitting (we are on necklines) with good intentions of actually getting it done on time, apart from the time I'm being distracted by Scrabulous...an online form of Scrabble, although I can knit and play at the same time! Rosedale United is doing well, the sleeves are attached and I'm creeping up the yoke, stitch by stitch!

I gaze longingly at my wheel, I do have a commission of some silk to spin for a friend, to knit a scarf for her husband, so I will be there soon!

You may have noticed my small is beautiful button over in the sidebar, go and read the manifesto and you will understand what it is all about. I started this blog as a record of the stuff that I made, and basically it stays that way, but along the way I have met some very special people, and it makes me happy.

I really don't know where I'm going with all this at the moment, but I just want to make sure you all know how much I appreciate all the comments and love you bring my way. You make this blog the small and beautiful place that it is!

I'm not much of a writer, which is why I struggle sometime's with the public blog writing thing and my blog ends up with more picture's than words, although my friends also know that I can witter on via e-mail.

You also have to be a bit fearless and brave to 'put it out there' in the public forum of your blog, I don't know why I fear this so much and after making so many good friends maybe it's time I just came out of the closet and stopped hiding behind my hanks!*

I really admire people who can write, like Mrs K, as a prime example of someone who is good with words, can spin a story and make us all laugh with a good rant, I'd like to search for the writer in me, if there is one, and while I'm finding my voice, I'm also adding new blogs I've found on my journey, come with me if you like. The first one in there is note to self, and Kyran's writing this week also led me to flawed but authentic which is talking about Where You Find Inspiration, and from there onto Fluid Pudding. Fluid Puddings list of 100 things is one of the best I've seen so far.

Inspiration is a funny thing, a bit like co-incidence, I think another reason I think I can't write is because my thoughts aren't coherant and I wander off at a tangent, and expect everyone else to just keep up with it all. I'm still not even sure what I'm trying to say! No giggling at the back!

* what was I saying... usually if I write too much in a blog post I spend alot of time reading, re-reading and even just deleteing the whole thing and starting over, like writing words and talking about inner things is too much, so I'm just going to post this one, it's the third revision but I'm not going to over analyze it, just going to hit the button and put it out there!

Unfortunately, I can't even take the credit for the cat photo, but she's a right tart for the camera, our Willow.

I can spin a Rainbow!

That yummy Shetland Fibre from Jen over at Fyberspates that I bought at Ally Pally got spun at the weekend. I was a bit worried with all those colours that I would end up with muddy colours if I didn't chain ply... but I carried on and plied it as a 2-ply anyway...I just dont enjoy chain plying...maybe its not for everyone...anyway inspite of my worries it turned out ok!

Well better than ok really, I think its flippin great! It's one of those yarns that will eventually find something to be....I'm thinking gloves at the moment, but when it finds its voice it will speak to me. 165 g of squooshy handspun goodness, about a worsted/doubleknit weight!

The colours aren't dissimilar to this skein of pure gorgeousness that I was lucky enough to win over on JudyMacs blog. Its Cherry Tree Hill laceweight suri alpaca, and such divine colours, it would be a scandal to waste this yarn so I will be saving it for a special lace project, I have been looking for something fitting to knit Muir, and I can imagine it would make a stunning Muir, although I do also have that lovely Knitwitches laceweight too, still I can take a long think about it as I don't have time for a new project right now.

I was also lucky enough to win some Socks That Rock Lite over on Jills blog, and some stitch markers, a candle and a bath bomb, and chocolate, which didn't make the photo shoot, ( since I don't need to list bath bombs in my ravelry stash yet) I do have a project lined up for this here which I found over on Ravelry. The colourway is Highway 30, and I absolutely love it!

I did dye up quite a bit of fibre at the end of the Summer, and its being queued for spinning, as and when it tells me how it wants to be spun, I'm not always taken with my own dye jobs so I don't always take a before photo, although I really love these colours and was just having a go at plaiting, it may well make it onto the wheel next, it seemed apt to add it on to my COLOURFUL post!

What Colour Are You?

you are plum #DDA0DD

Your dominant hues are red and blue. You're confident and like showing people new ideas. You play well with others and can be very influential if you want to be. Your saturation level is low - You stay out of stressful situations and advise others to do the same. You may not be the go-to person when something really needs done, but you know never to blow things out of proportion. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Isn't this almost exactly the same colour I chose for my flickr widget?