Artisan Threads

Testing blackberry

2011-10-26T19:06:00.001+01:00

Just sent this to test the phone. Very lazy I've not updated this months. I attended Gansey fest in Inverness the other week and this is my exhibition.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

candyflossdyes1

2011-07-16T23:36:00.001+01:00

Dyeing with Candyfloss Dyes

2011-07-16T22:41:00.000+01:00

This is my first video it's a first for me, I've posted posted the clip on youTube and then linked it to my blog. Wow! it worked. I only used my phone, as I don't have a video camera. If I say so myself, not bad for a first try.
I have a list of workshop dates on my website http://www.artisanthreads.co.uk/ This was a workshop dyeing with my candyfloss dyes. These are the same food colouring pigments that are used in Kool-ade dyes without the sugar and made in the UK. They are very easy to use without the need of any special equipment, suitable for wool & silk.

Vintage Sock Machine

2010-07-30T16:49:00.000+01:00

My new vintage sock machine

Spent many hours trying to set up vintage machine, not really knowing what machine I have. You tube videos on other machines not really the same as mine but they all must work in a similar way. Even though I did not seem to make much headway. I then emailed pic's to a very nice lady from Krankers, vintage sock machines and I think I could now be on the right track. I think I could get hooked on this.

Crochet neck wraps

2010-07-27T18:34:00.000+01:00

Handspun Jacob

Crochet cords & flowers

Having a stash of yarns that I have spun and then dyed to see the effects I could get. I find myself with numerous skeins of yarn from many breeds of sheep and some unusual fibres. So I now need a stash buster, that is simple and quick. So I turn to my much loved crochet hooks. As simple is best a theme on a rectanle with a vintage button to set it off. Various weights of yarn could be used just varying stitches used. Simple.

Yet another attempt.

2010-07-11T13:02:00.001+01:00

Let's see if this photo arrives.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Mobile Blogging

2010-07-10T17:26:00.001+01:00

Well I have spent ALL afternoon playing with mobile blogging with my new blackberry and after deleting several test blogs I have now resulted in returning to the laptop. With practice I will get it right but I just feel like a snail. Slow and a bit dim, some of the posts are in cyber space and for some reason 84 OLD emails ended up on the phone. Heaven knows what buttons I pressed to get that!!!!
This cyber technology is not my forte I need to return to my comfort zone of fibre, spinning wheels, knitting & crochet. So now with a glass of Pimm's at my side and with much pleasure I am returning to the silk tops that I dyed with my natural dyes and spinning with an Indian supported spindle lace weight for a Russian lace weight shawl. I will try with this phone to take a photo of the spindle and silk and post it. But there is no guarantee what photo appears. watch this space.

New Seaweed Scarf Pattern Freebie!!!!

2010-03-04T17:44:00.000Z

Check out this glorious scarf pattern! Everybody has a few odd skeins of yarn laying around the house - put one to good use with this floaty scarf!!!! Warm enough for winter, COOL enough for spring!

Seaweed Scarf

Chunky Yarn use size 8mm needles
Double knit use size 4mm needles

100gms yarn

Method,

For chunky yarns cast on 18 stitches

For double knit cast on 27 stitches

Row 1 : knit across row

Row 2 : knit across row

Row 3 : cast off 6 stitches { chunky } 9 stitches { double knit } knit to end.

Row 4 : cast off 6 stitches { chunky } 9 stitches { double knit } knit to end then cast on 6 or 9 stitches depending on weight of yarn.

Row 5 : knit across row

Repeat Rows 3, 4 & 5. You can always add an extra knit row to create an uneven structure. Knit until you run out of yarn, making sure to end with a knit row but leave enough to cast off.

This is a great pattern to play with by adding more stitches or knitting with pencil rovings and then felting the scarf. Beads could be threaded on to yarn and a bead added to the beginning of each cast off row.

Just make sure if adding extra stitches or length for felting make sure you have extra yarn to complete project. But do experiment with this pattern as it will give you confidence to try some freeform knitting.

New Design

2009-11-28T16:49:00.000Z

Using handspun and a very easy T - shaped jacket pattern and to top it off a vintage fur collar. This little jacket now dresses up casual jeans. The collar is detachable to allow the jacket to be washed. The yarn, vintage collar and pattern is availble from my web site. http://www.artisanthreads.co.uk/

Just because I have opted to use a natural coloured yarn that does not mean that a coloured yarn would look as good.

At last!

2009-11-20T21:39:00.001Z

Well lets hope that all is in place, an afternoons work and the web site http://www.artisanthreads.co.uk/ this blog and facebook should all now be linked. With luck it will make me keep them all up to date. This is dawn in the Scottish Highlands, maybe a dawn of a focus for me!

Published new web site

2009-11-12T19:25:00.003Z

After weeks of work I now have published my new web site www.artisanthreads.co.uk
I still have other pages, links and new items. But I thought I would publish what I had and keep the rest to add as I tweek the site. The old site is gone and it is like sweeping away the cob webs.

Keeping up to date

2009-11-09T20:37:00.004Z

Well it has been a while since I added any comments to my blog. Most likely because I have been up and down the country. Wonderwool Wales, Woolfest, Portsoy Boat Festival and the FibreFest. What a great time I have been having and meeting very talented people. Not to mention some amazing ideas and technique's that I have been taught.

My monthly workshops in my studio I have enjoyed greatly and my aim has been to keep the day light hearted and informative. I aim to get my clients going home with a sense of achievement.

Time has also been taken up in building my new web site, which if all goes well I should publish this week. Not being very computer literate this has been a challenge and a lot of hard work from friends which I could not done without their help and support. I am trying hard to link my blog, facebook and web site all linked together as in the past I have jut put my head in the sand.

Spinning lesson on South West Train

2009-02-06T17:06:00.005Z

Well what an adventure, I went with my son & his partner down to Hampshire to visit Maggie Oliver [secretary of British Coloured Sheep Breeders Association] While I gathered information on fleece, breeds and small mills we took time out to visit Carol Keats at Willow Close Studio. http://www.easistes.co.uk/webbsgreenfarmwool

What a lovely clever lady. Carol was very generous with her advise, skills and inspiration. Our time in her studio flew by and was not nearly long enough. Her passion for fibres & colour is infectious and at each turn was happy to demonstrate her teaching skills.

my son brought a 2nd hand spinning wheel that Carol had in her studio, nobody gave any thought to the fact that we had to get home on the TRAIN! We bundled into Maggie's car, with wheel and I might add several other purchases and headed for the station and the London Train. Not to waste any time, an hour & 40Min's into London. We started a spinning lesson as we journeyed home. The train guard had not seen a spinning wheel before let a lone have spinning lessons on a train.

I have heard of extreme ironing, has anyone else taken part in extreme spinning. I would be interested of anyone else's unusual spinning locations.

Handspun & naturally dyed

2008-10-24T10:59:00.003+01:00

Yet another pile of sample dyeing, this was BFL uncarded and the fleece was cleaned, then dyed. The lovely corkscrew curls in the fleece gave me a lovely texture and as the fleece took the dye in different intensities the range of hues is great.

I have not knitted these up into test squares but I think it will knit to approximately aran weight.

I have a pile of welsh mountain so with luck I might get time for more experiments this week end.

Handspun Yarn

2008-10-23T11:48:00.004+01:00

Well after dyeing my Suffolk fleece with natural vegetable dyes, using a herbal mordant. I decided to spin without carding the fleece to give texture to the yarn, I also found that the dyed fleece had interesting areas of different hues of colour and I thought that the yarn would be slightly variegated, instead of a flat colour. I hope the sample photo's reflect the effect I was trying to achieve.

Highland Guild of spinners weavers & dyers

2008-10-13T10:32:00.002+01:00

Well what a busy weekend, after a great morning experimenting with freeform knitting & crochet and learning to throw the rule book out the window and play with yarns and shapes. I then had to get my head round planning our Guilds exhibition for 2009, never done this before so I feel like a fish out of water. Like the freeform workshop I would like to throw a rule book out the window, that is if I could find one!!!
Has anyone out there got any advise for a novice Exhibition co-ordinator.

Flickr: Your Photostream

2008-10-10T21:56:00.000+01:00

Flickr: Your Photostream

Yarn forward Magazine

2008-10-10T18:33:00.002+01:00

What a wonderful surprise our next issue of yarn forward arrived in the post this morning. to my Coffee in hand I settle down for a lovely read and to my surprise there we are on the article about the 'Woolfest 2008' It made all our hard work preparing fibres and dyeing yarn all worth while. I have to say that out of all the knitting mags available this has to be the most interesting and innovating of them all. There is an ability to collate stylish knits and interesting articles. If I could only have one magazine, THIS IS THE ONE.

Woolfest 2008

1st time blogger

2008-10-10T01:20:00.000+01:00

Well here we go, they say that there is a first time for everything. So why should a blog be any different.

We have put our toes in the water and started our small business with natural fibres, yarns and silks for spinners, felters, knitters, embroiders and anyone else interested in natural fibres for textile art. We also only use natural vegetable dyes and herbal mordants. Our aim is to encourage ideas and to stimulate a journey of discovery that all things are possible by just planting a seed of an idea.