The current project are various - small scale and practical is the production of lots of fingerless mittens, which have re-connected me with knitting - I bought some lovely ones in the artisan market at Frome in September and then shrunk them in the wash because they got in with some towels which I washed at 60 degrees - I was very upset, but thanks to the lovely people in the Online Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers http://www.onlineguildwsd.org.uk/ I found some patterns for mittens, adapted and merged the patterns and techniques to get exactly what I wanted, and have been knitting furiously ever since - every time a friend sees my mittens, I get another order! I am now mostly using Debbie Bliss Donegal, which is wool and mohair and wonderful marled colours - the present pair I am knitting are deep brick red, gorgeous.
The other project is BIG - I am testing the capabilities of the Brinkley loom which I acquired from Jane Meredith http://www.plantdyedwool.co.uk/ in the summer by attempting a tapestry wall hanging. With my partner and friends I went on the Balmoral back in July, sailing from Penarth to Padstow, and had plenty of leisure on the way to muse on the shades of blue, grey and white in the sea and skyscapes. Inevitably this has ended up as a tapestry design, and I have been sampling to learn what effects the different yarns and locks I have been hoarding can achieve. My favourite yarn is some indigo-dyed silk from Anne Campbell in North Wales - she works a day or two a week as resident spinner at Trefriw Woollen Mill, and a friend brought back a sample of her yarns from there a while back. The lustrous blue marled silk was just too good to miss out on, and so I asked Anne to dye and spin me some more, which she duly did. It is stunning, and now that I have sampled it, I can't wait to get on and weave! But I am being disciplined, and making sure I am 100% happy with the design before I warp the loom and commit myself!
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