brightdyes

what a month

2007-11-10T18:34:00.001-02:00

The extension finally got started, my garden is now a huge mud pile, I belive it will be worth it but I just wish the next few months would be over and it was finished, we are blessed with wonderful builders and good friends of the family so we trust them no end, and with names like Derek and Eric I have to stop myself calling them Eric and Ernie.

On the knitting front I made my first forest canopy shawl out of hipknits aran silk

It is a great pattern and the silk looked a treat, this was the MIL's birthday present.
I also managed a hat in an hour

this arrived as part of the autumn swap on the crafty yarns and threads forum. I had asked for something chunky as my eyes had been playing up with double vision ( all fixed now due to much stronger glasses and prisms )
slowasasnail came up trumps with this yarn and the pattern that went with it.

As I said what a month, I am leaving my school dinner job on Tuesday. I have now got a job working with the little angels breastfeeding support agency. They are finally moving into preston and I will be leading on it, well so far there is only me but I am so thrilled about this. They are so pro active contacting all mothers offering support before it is needed rather than waiting for people to contact them. With any luck we can have a real positive affect on the breastfeeding rates in Preston.

Did you all see last months Simply Knitting magazine aswell. I was only expecting a little mention but got a really lovely write up, kept me smiling all month and the orders are still a flooding in.

Club yarns are dyed and drying and will be out the middle of this week.

If you have a spare two minutes a good friend of mine has just started blogging, keep a look out for them at the big wool fairs next year. I have decided not to do a stall next year as I would rather go and spend instead of earn but do stop and say a huge hello to the Laal bear

Finally a little pic of my little pumpkins on halloween

AWOL

2007-10-08T07:03:00.000-02:00

but back again, firstly the old eyes failed me. I have lived with double vision all my life, it is now controlled by prisms in my glasses. Over the last month they stopped working, but after a lengthly trip to the opticians I can now see again, and of course my new glasses are beautifully purple.

The knitting took a huge leap backward but again we are on track again, I have almost finished my hogwarts sock swap socks, only a bit of the foot to go now and they can be on their way across the seas.

Mersh is striking again, It is great having him at home more but terrible loosing £50 - £60 every day they are out, we can only hope it is resolved very quickly

I have cast on for another clapotis, I bought some aran silk from Terri, I couldn't just leave it sitting there, I am on the third straight repeat

I have also been dyeing mini yarn

Sharon has been treating herself so needs some socks to match, this is the best I could do.

On the dyeing front things have been very busy but my favourite has to be my witches of pendle hill pure bfl sock yarn

I have had to keep a skein of this all to myself

Also keep an eye out for the next edition of simply knitting

manic

2007-09-12T15:09:00.001-02:00

I have not stopped since getting back from fibrefest. I have the most fantastic time, we camped with Wooly wormhead and Cledry Yarner. It was a first time of meeting wooly wormhead and she is a real Gem, especially for putting up with my two pestering her every two minutes. It was also great to see cledry again, our stalls were quite near each other again so it was fab to be able to go visit. I was very pleased how my stand looked and very glad I could fashion a back drop so I could display the centre piece properly this time.

during out time down there we also had to visit diggerland. If any of you has small children this place is a must to visit. We had a great day especially Jack ( or should that be ME )

After getting back dear Sam started school, and is loving every minute of it, they have already had their sports day which was cancelled at the end of the last term. As far as I am aware he had never been on a space hopper before but that was not to stop him

I also recieved the most fantastic present off the ever lovely Aknita

and a close up

she is such a sweetie, the colours are just perfect for me, and I am quite looking forward to wearing it during the approaching autumn evenings.

On the shop front, I am holding a massive and rather silly sale, BFL Alpaca sock yarns are only £7 and merino and normal sock yarns are only £6 so go grab a bargain whilst they are still there

last days of freedom

2007-08-29T03:39:00.000-02:00

three of them start school next week, Sam starts school on Thursday, so we thought a day out on the beach at Lytham was in order, it was great to see them running around, they even went in the sea, for a change the tide was not 4 miles away.

Off to Fibrefest today, give him a real treat at diggerland whilst we are there before he starts.

see you there or tuesday when we get back

FibreFest and an award

2007-08-21T04:14:00.000-02:00

http://www.fibrefest.co.uk/

so who is coming, I am really looking forward to this, it is not just a fibre festival there is a load of other events taking place at the same time, loads to do with the kids, swing boats and other rides, it looks like it will be a fun weekend.

The camping bit will be interesting, I am a seasoned camper, however I do appreciate the facilities at most campsites. This time we will have access to a tap and a toilet, and with my two darlings that can attract mud at 40 paces it is safe to say you could see them being bathed in a bucket outside the tent.

If you do make it please come and say hello.

CJ nominated me for this award for being a rocking girl blogger

Thanks so much, now I need to nominate some others, so here goes

confessions of a yarn addict

because she is just that and I can't wait to meet her at Fibrefest

daily drivel
her yarnimals and cow pie makes her a true rocking girl

And Knitbert

I could read her tales all day, and she is truly a lovely person in the flesh aswell

eagle eyed

2007-08-16T18:56:00.001-02:00

there was a falconry display on at the local park today, well it was a display of falcons rather than a falconry display. It was delivered by the most arrogant falconer I have ever come across, kids got fed up very quickly and the call of ice cream and slides were far more interesting. I got a few nice pics though, and a great ice-cream

Bright Dyes Blooms in the shop

2007-08-13T05:28:00.000-02:00

I have to wait untill friday before I can send them out but they are ready for ordering.

aswell as the ones pre made I can turn any of my instock yarns into a bouquet, or I can custom dye a yarn for you if you don't see what you are looking for.

brightdyes bouquets

2007-08-12T08:40:00.001-02:00

All I need are the shipping boxes and they will be going live in the shop.

They are the perfect present for any knitter.

All bouquets come with 100g hand dyed yarn, bouquet of artificial flowers and a packet of real seeds and a gift card with your personal message on.

1 - BFL alpaca sock yarn

2 - BFL alpaca sock yarn

3 - BFL nylon sock yarn

wheres mine mum

2007-08-11T04:31:00.000-02:00

I actually finished this on Wednesday so it only took me 6 days, he absolutely loves it and it has not left his side since, the only porblem being that Jack wants one now, I am not doing a star again but have started a pentagon for him, but it will take me longer than a week this time.

The club yarns went out today so depending on the back log should be with you very soon.

Sams star afgan

2007-08-06T06:06:00.000-02:00

After seeing this fantastic star afgan by nevisknitter, my Sam decided he had to have one. I started on Thursday evening and I am about half way through it

He has chosen all the yarns himself, and he is choosing which order they go in.

Happy Birthday Sam

2007-08-01T17:36:00.000-02:00

Today is my little boys 4th birthday, I am in denial that he is 4 already and even more so that he will be starting school in september.

My Hogwarts sock is coming along a treat, I am using the BFL Alpaca sock yarn and it is knitting beautifully. I would post a picture but then that would ruin the suprise.

Bag pattern now available

2007-07-24T17:44:00.001-02:00

please click here to download file

bad mail, bags and a name change

2007-07-23T05:18:00.001-02:00

I have had several parcels returned to me in a burnt mess, they include some etsy orders and the club yarns, apparently they were in a van crash and smouldered. The new ones are almost ready for sending out, then I can claim my money back from them, thanks goodness for proof of postage.

This is the first pattern I have ever designed. It takes 2 hanks of BFL DK and only took me a day to knit felted in the washing machine it is a large and very strong bag, I will be writing it up as soon as I get chance, the I cord is fab and only took me 15 minutes to finger knit, again instructions will follow asap.

In case you have not noticed I have also got a name change the posts are now signed Miss Mandy of Fliwick, this is due to the Hogwarts sock swap 2 that I am in, normality will return once the swap is over.

Hogwarts sock swap questions

2007-07-17T03:35:00.000-02:00

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

Gryffindor

2. Shoe size?

UK size 5

3. Foot Length?

23 cm / 9 inches

4. Foot Circumference?

23cm/9 inches

5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.
a. boyes 2.75mm
b. addi 2.5mm
c. they are the only ones I have tried

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?
I would love to try knitpicks any length and either 2.5mm or 2.75

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?
N?A

8. Allergies? Do you have any? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals?
no allergies, I don't smoke, I do have 2 parrots who don't get near my knitting

9. Are you an international participant (outside US)? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
Of course

Don't forget that you can still join the sock swap ( http://hogwarts-sock-swap-two.blogspot.com/ ) I think sign ups may close soon so please be quick

Harry Potter sock swap

2007-07-14T08:33:00.000-02:00

I have just applied to join the next round of the Harry Potter sock swap, I dyed several skeins for the last round so hopefully I will do the same this time and get to knit with some of it aswell.
I have been sorted into the Gryffindor house of course
WIDTH="88" HEIGHT="130" ALT="Want to Get Sorted?">

I'm
a Gryffindor!
fingers crossed I get to join in the fun

milkies all gone

2007-07-13T03:38:00.000-02:00

Well for the first time in 4 years I am no longer a breastfeeding mother, as of last Sunday Jack is off the boob and hs decided that milk in a cup is just as good.
I feel both very glad yet slightly saddened that my breastfeeding days are over. Sam weaned at 2 and a half and Jack has now done the same, I did feed them both for 9 months so I think I have done my bit for them.

It doesn't seem two minutes since Jack was born on my front room floor

and now look at them

On another good note planning permission has gone through on our extension so just building control to get through now and then the games can begin.

full te brim

2007-07-09T16:07:00.000-02:00

The great thing about having an allotment is the goodies, tea tonight consisted of

my first early spuds

my favourite poddy peas as the boys call them

cabbage freshly earthed up, steamed and served with a dollop of butter

the shallots are waiting for pickling tomorrow after a good soak in salted water

and of course pudding of blackcurrant crumble.

what could be better?

frogged frogged frogged

2007-07-08T06:14:00.000-02:00

my mystery stole has bitten the dust, all down to a missing stitch.
Note to self :- use life line next time
Back up to row 30 again

10% off sale

2007-07-05T19:19:00.000-02:00

I have almost finished listing what travelled back with me, so in celebration I have a bit of a sale going on.

if you type in woolfest in the discount box you will get your 10% taken off, and don't forget that everybody who buys from me this month will get entered into a prize draw and will win a skein of their choosing.

mystery stole 50 rows in

2007-07-03T18:44:00.001-02:00

still worthy of a photo though, the pattern is coming along nicely, I am really enjoying it and the fact that it is a mystery pattern is making it all the more fun to knit. there are over 4000 knitters now in the mystery stole knitalong on yahoo

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysterystole3/

still time to sign up and join in the fun

so what did I buy and a prize draw

2007-07-03T03:41:00.001-02:00

This was all I had chance to buy at Woolfest, and I even had to send mum out to buy that for me, my dream of spinning my own sock yarn is getting closer.

Just for Aknita The staples came out fine and actually helped to shape the shawl so mum is well and truly forgiven.

now for the prize draw, anybody who buys a skein of yarn in July from either of my shops will be entered into a prize draw, The lucky winner will recieve a skein of yarn of their choosing

wonderful woolfest

2007-07-02T06:14:00.001-02:00

I am back in one piece and I loved every minute of it

first comes the pics of the stall

putting the stall up was a lot of fun, mum helped me no end, but I did have a little heart attack when she STAPLED my shawl to the back drop. when I had recovered from the shock of seeing metal punched through my beautiful work I realised that it did actually look quite nice, so forgave her quite quickly.

The Friday and Saturday went so quickly, I met loads of people I had never met before and loads of people it was lovely to see again.

my stall was next to Cledry Yarner , it was great to have such a nice person next to me.
I had a huge hug with the badger and aknita.
I finally got to meet Sprite maker of the Yarnimals n and Jeni and Andy from Bluefaced.com.

Camping in torrential rain was interesting, and not helped by hubby and Jack getting a stomach bug on the last night, that said however all I can say is roll on next year.

lace garland shawl

2007-06-24T07:06:00.001-02:00

I bought the yarn for this at Harrogate knitting and stitching show last year, I over dyed it as it needed more purple in it.

the pattern is from shawls and scarves the best of knitters magazines

here is a size reference my nearly 4 year old

and Sam showing how lovely it looks on

my dilemma is though is can I display it at Woolfest? I have dyed it but it is not with the wool that I sell even though it can be made using wool that I sell.

mystery stole swatch

2007-06-23T09:42:00.000-02:00

I am very pleased, I am not doing beads as I am not a beady person, I am using my BFL laceweight and 3.25mm addi lace needles, the needles are devine, I am in love with them, much better than any other needle I have used.

So hopefully when I get back and unpack I will be raring to go.

4 days to go

2007-06-22T15:20:00.000-02:00

and the excitement is building.

I have another kilo of lace in the pots, I did another kilo of Merino yesterday, tomorrow is all labelling, Sunday is price signs and notices day, monday I must fix the trailer. I don't want it falling apart on me like it did last year and the nice men of the ASMA had to rescue us, Tuesday we have a dental hygenist talking to us at the local childrens centre, the afternoon will be packing and finally Wednesday monring we will be off off and away.

On another note a lot of you know that I am training to become a breastfeeding counsellor with the ABM, I have just handed in module 7 for marking which means only one more to go and I am fully qualified, it has only taken me 2 and a half years to do it. I have really struggled with some of it but am feeling very proud of myself for getting this far.

7 days till blast off

2007-06-20T16:29:00.000-02:00

this time next week I will be sat in my tent wondering what on earth I have let myself in for, I am so excited it is unbareable. here is my progress so far and this is only a small snippet

what me and mum are wearing so you will be able to spot us a mile away

a taste of Merino 4ply

a little bit of Alpaca BFL 4 ply

a smidgen of Laceweight BFL

and a touch of sock yarn
as I said this is only a small portion of what I am taking, there are boxes all over the place full of lovely luciousness.

regarding the mystery stole CJ helped me decide that Turquoise is the way to go. I just need the time element of it now

mystery stole

2007-06-17T16:31:00.000-02:00

I am quite excited I am joining in with the mystery stole by Pink Lemon Twistthe theme this year is black and white, but I am not a black and white kinda girl so I am tempted with a solid colour and turquoise is screaming at me.

I have a load of undyed laceweight BFL. I may just have to start it in undyed and maybe dye it once it is finished. there is a beaded option, but I think I may give them a miss, mainly because the boys love beads and would hate for them to get a hold of a few and eat them.

I have almost finished the woolfest dyeing, still a lot of labelling and a few notices to be made, but we are getting there. I do still have about 8 hanks of Alpaca BFL left so if anybody does want some please e-mail me, it is priced at £10 a hank plus postage.

15 days

2007-06-11T06:22:00.000-02:00

only 15 days untill I head up to the lakes, my front room is looking more like a yarn shop, with baskets all over the place not including the boxes full aswell. I have all my stand sorted out, I bought all the covers yesterday and some really beautiful fabric.

These next two weeks are going to fly by.

BFL Alpaca

2007-06-06T17:30:00.000-02:00

your first glimpse at the BFL Alpaca sock yarn, it feels so soft and knits up beautifully, I can see some lovely shawls, scarves and socks being made with this.

I have done a tally up today of what is dyed and what is to dye. so far there is just over 20 kilos dyed with just under 10 to go. My passes arrived yesterday, makes it seem all the more real somehow.

On a more personal note we have applied to have the house extended, we want a two storey extension which will give us a proper sized kitchen with dining room, and we are keeping it as a three bedroom upstairs but making them proper double bedrooms rather than the tiny box rooms we have now. The planning officer came around today to check on us and touch wood so far we have no objections. there shouldn't be as every other house around here is extended in some way. I just can't wait to get started. I know it is going to be hard work having it done but it will be well worth it. We should here around the 9th of July so keep your fingers crossed

26 days untill Woolfest

2007-06-03T18:50:00.001-02:00

the title says it all really, only 26 days to go.

I have been dyeing and making up crochet kits today, each kit will contain 250g of aran BFL wool in 5 colours which is more than enough to make a crochet blanket measuring 60x60cm or you could knit a lovely blanket with it. I also started on my new Alpaca/BFL sock yarn which is just so lovely. I am getting really quite excited about it now.

I am half way through the Club yarns now aswell so they will be sent out next monday.

Secret Summer Santa

2007-06-01T18:47:00.000-02:00

we have had a secret summer santa swap on the crafty yards and threads forum, and Santa delivered at my house today, and it was just the most fantastic pressie ever.

this is the project bag it arrived in, a really great size with a good size pocket for my bits and pieces

700g of sirdar Spree, I had never felt this yarn before and it feels great

a friendship magnet, some green tea and some foot scrubs

hand made sock bag, hand made dish cloth and felt sock book mark, lovely kitty purse and great sheep keyring

a very clever row counter made with the most beautiful beads

and my favourite is a hand embroidered gardening hat with the words head gardner and some flowers on it.
my lovely santa had also included a print out of a garnstudio crochet pattern, she had bought me a shawl and sock pattern and put it on a CD with some of her favourite patterns.

I feel like the luckiest girl around, the gifts were perfect ( even made me cry, with tears of joy of course )

after much searching my Santa was the lovely Franney, I can't thank her enough.

The Inspirer

2007-05-31T07:08:00.000-02:00

mmmmmmmmmmm quite a lot of this is true for a change

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer

You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends.
You are also unconventional, irreverant, and unimpressed by authority and rules.
Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives.
You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're qutie the storyteller!

You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist.

What's Your Personality Type?

The wanderer returns

2007-05-30T04:36:00.000-02:00

Well after the most fabulous holiday I am back into the swing of things.

Cornwall was fantastic. We stopped at Get Knitted on the way down and that was a real treat, though they had lost the keys so we had to wait for over and hour and a half whilst they drove some all the way from Heathrow to Bristol. It was lovely seeing my laceweight on display, I felt all proud.

this is where we stopped in Par Sands, a great caravan site and really quiet at that time of year

there was a really nice cliff walk to the next bay along in Polperris where they served the best dinners

the gratuitious eden project shot

one of the very few shots I actually like of myself, probably because I am hidden by the boys

And finally something I never thought would happen in a million years as I am terrified of them

of course though now I am on the final lap for woolfest only three weeks left, but I have a load more yarn coming in, including a very special BFL Alpaca mix sock yarn which is so beautiful, but will promise only to keep a few hanks for myself

Cornwall here I come

2007-05-10T18:11:00.000-02:00

I am off on my hols and I can't wait. A lovely trip down to Cornwall for 2 weeks ( with an overnight stop in Bristol, then past a certain Get Knitted on the way )

The kids are hyper I am hyper, the house is practically all packed in my suitcases, the parrots are all packed away to my mums so tomorrow morning we are gone.

The shop will still be open and orders can be placed but won't be sent untill after the 26th of May, The only problem being that once I get back I will think of nothing else apart from Woolfest and the daily count down will begin.

marvelous merino

2007-05-02T16:14:00.000-02:00

I have been a busy bee, club yarns have all gone out, a little earlier than I thought they would, but I am really pleased with them.

I have been busy dyeing ready for woolfest, I have placed one of each of these in the shop as I must take the rest with me. the merino is just so beautiful I love it

happy hooker

2007-04-27T17:38:00.000-02:00

well the woolfest wobbles are over, I am a happy bunny again and confident I will do my best. the merino I have been dyeing is so lovely it had to cheer me up, it is so sproingy ( is that a word? ) just by looking at it you fall in love with it. I will post some pics soon.

I have been wanting things to display, my creatures of the reef shawl is coming on holiday with me so hopefully I will be almost finished with that by the end of the two weeks. I have some socks, scarf, booties and hat, so I am in crochet mood. I am making up a good few squares to either display or use as a back drop depending on how many I can do.

these squares are made using this months club yarn, I love it, I really like the hints of pink here and there. I don't know what the other colours will be, I will just decide once these are done.

My etsy shop is going well http://etsy.com am making new friends and selling to america more. etsy has a lovely feel about it and I could trawl through all those shops hour after hour

woolfest wobbles

2007-04-25T18:12:00.000-02:00

I am having major woolfest wobbles, panicking that I am not good enough to do it or that nobody will want to buy my yarns, it hasn't helped that I have seen the list of those there and there is some pretty impressive names in the hand dyeing market, fyberspates and the natural dye studio just to name a couple.

I am still not too sure how to lay out my stall, and still only dyed half of what I want to.

Then in the same breath I look at what I have dyed and I am so proud of them I practically beam. I think it is just the unknown and once I am there I will be fine.

Knitting has taken a back burner as I am spending all my spare time dyeing. The club yarns are ready for dyeing next week and sending out the week after, completely different to last months and that is just the way I wanted it.

busy busy busy

2007-04-20T18:47:00.000-02:00

I have been so busy these last few days so an update is long overdue.

firstly last weekend I attended a crochet course at Wool in stockport and what a great course it was. the shop is a fantastic place and Aileen who owns is is a gem, she taught us well, really clear instructions and the patience of a saint. So this week I made this for a friend who is due her baby soon

Sam had to be in on the picture.

I have been up to my eyeballs in Harry Potter yarn aswell this week dyeing Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw yarn for the sock swap. I am a little dissapointed that no Slytherins have come forward, I quite fancied doing one of those so may have to just so I can make up a full set of them.

Here is the Gryffindor Yarn I dyed for Terri, she has started her sock now and I think it is looking really fab, but then again I am really biased

last and not least I opened up an Etsy shop aswell, I think it makes it a little easier for people in America to buy from me as there is no conversion to be done on their behalf.

www.brightdyes.etsy.com

the net is a lovely place

2007-04-12T18:20:00.000-02:00

The very lovely Joy
sent me this the other day as a thankyou for lending her some addis so she could try out the socks on 2 circs method. I have met some really lovely people from the internet and I am always amazed by how nice and generous they are.

Due to popular demand I have had to reopen the sock club. It will not be with BFL yarns but with normal sock yarn of 75% wool and 25% polyamide. It will run along side the BFl club and will have the same colours dyed. the price will be £27 for a UK membership and £32 for orders going abroad.

I recieved a custom dye order today, somebody is taking part in the Harry Potter sock swap and their partner is in Gryffindor so she asked me to do the house colours, the yarn will knit up in stripes of about 5 - 6 stitches wide. I loved dyeing this and look forward to the pictures of it knit up.

club yarn a go go

2007-04-10T16:26:00.000-02:00

The first installment of the club yarn has left the building. I was quite sad to see them go. I really hope that they are loved by everyone as much as I love them, there is a little something in every parcel aswell.

I also recieved another 5 kilos of pure merino 4ply today that I can't wait to start playing with, but I need my new swift to arrive first as it all requires winding into hanks before I can play with it.

childs play

2007-04-07T06:46:00.000-02:00

I love this one, I hesitiated whilst dyeing thinking it may look a little too garish even for my eyes, but in reality I am very pleased with it.

I am in full woolfest mode now, I have even ordered myself a new swift so that will cut my winding time by half which has to be a good thing.

The new wools are listed in my shop, I may aswell be selling them rather than just keeping them in a box untill the end of June. I can always dye more, right?

This months club yarns will be sent out on Tuesday so those of you who are waiting it will be with you very soon.

getting ready for woolfest

2007-04-04T16:21:00.000-02:00

Time is a plodding on and I really had a good talking to myself about getting on with my Woolfest wool, here is the first 2 kilos worth, I am dyeing 5 hanks of each colour and hoping that will be enough, I have never done anything like this before so am just kinda hoping that I neither take too much or too little. I am working on taking roughly 25 kilos.

10 kilos of sock yarn
5 kilos of pure bfl sock yarn
5 kilos of beautiful pure merino luxury sock yarn
the rest will be a mixture of bfl double knit, laceweight and bfl nylon sock yarn

wow just writing it down makes it sound like such a lot, but I will get it all done, the next problem will be how to transport it there with hubby, kids and tent in tow.

get knitted

2007-04-03T04:07:00.000-02:00

http://getknitted.com

finally I can shout about it. if you look down the left hand bar you will see where all that laceweight went. I am so thrilled about it, it feels great to see it in what I see as the best yarn shop in the country. I am hoping now that I can convince the hubby that we need to stop off in Bristol on route to Cornwall in May, just so I can see it sitting there on display.

This months club yarn is all dyed and is drying, I am just glad I dyed one for myself. It is my 9th wedding anniversary this week so I used my wedding flowers as inspiration, they will be posted out either saturday or next tuesday.

We made our Easter Bonnet yesterday for the easter fair on the park next monday, we always go rolling our eggs, they did 90% of it themselves I just did the stapelling. I highly doubt they will win any prizes but for a 3 and 2 year old I think it is fab.

7 parks walk

2007-03-26T06:33:00.000-02:00

A few of us from my local Childrens Centre decided that we would take part in the 7 parks walk around Preston yesterday. It takes in the biggest 7 parks and covers 13 miles. We collected some sponsermoney for the Baby Beat appeal for our maternity hospital http://www.babybeat.co.uk/

Here we are at the start

looking all refreshed and raring to go

this one is about 10 miles in and is on the docklands

Miller Park about half a mile away from the end, it really is a lovely park and it is where we had out wedding pictures taken

and of course at the end well worn out and ready for a good radox bath

with a very big thanks to the Crafty yarns and threads ladies and Mershys work friends we raised about £60, I will let you know the full total when we have all combined our totals.

pictures of the plot and socks

2007-03-26T06:27:00.000-02:00

I have to thank my grandparents for a lot of the hard work, they have been fantastic this last year or two whilst the kids were too young for me to spend too long down there. we had another great planting spree over the weekend with asparagus going in, as well as peas, purple sprouting brocolli. The spuds will go in as soon as I am sure the last frost has passed.

These are finished just in time for my 7 parks walk on Sunday

they are artesano alpaca humming bird, 6ply, they are really soft and lovely, a real treat for my feet

allotment dreams

2007-03-20T18:09:00.000-02:00

it is that time of year again when I get all vegged out, I spend my days wondering what I can grow this year at the allotment, how can I win the war against the demon rabbits and slugs. The boys are very interested this year and insist on throwing seeds all over the place and whilst my back was turned they dug up my freshly moved strawberry plants.

I have just bought 2 new blackcurrant bushes and another goosegog bush. I will take my camera down next time and show all how pretty it is looking especially as now my shed is the right way around again ( it suffered considerably in the bad winds a few weeks ago and landed on its roof )

Knitting is painfully slow, I must finish my dk alpaca socks for Sunday, the shawl has increased 1 full row.
I have however just spent a long time winding 2kgs of wool into balls for a good friend.

my mind is also turning to woolfest more and more, the plan is to dye 25 kilos I am about 6 down now, I just don't know where time goes.

all wound up ready to go

2007-03-16T08:07:00.000-02:00

I am really pleased with this lot, keep an eye out for it.

after a trip to lidl yesterday I bought a load of yarn to have a go at IVY from knitty.com

I am a bit nervous really as I have not yet completed a wearable item for me other than socks and hats, but as the yarn was an absolute bargain I have to try.

2007-03-09T17:03:00.000-02:00

I love a sunny day. I have 25kgs of blue faced leicester yarn delivered yesterday and here is a good few kilos of the laceweight yarn shining beautifully in the glorious lancashire sun before it takes a journey down south, well anywhere south of Wigan is south to me.

I have closed the lace club now and will open another later in the year.

But the sock yarn club will be raring to go as of Saturday night 6pm 9th of March, I can only do 12 places as I have a ton of work to do and don't want to stretch myself, I want to put a lot of love and care into my sock club and will be including a little special something with every hank of yarn, so grab your places, the cost will be 30 pound ( I can't find the pound sign on my keyboard I have no idea where it is ) and that will include 3 hanks of sock yarn 1 hank sent out the second week of the months of april may and june.

how much wool

2007-03-09T10:05:00.000-02:00

poor hubby's face was great when 25 more kilos of wool found its way into his space yesterday, lol. I will add pictures as soon as I get a chicken poxed baby to sleep later

lunar eclipse

2007-03-04T06:19:00.000-02:00

usually the weather up here is terrible so sights like this are a true rarity, and to top it all off I actually managed to stay awake to see it.

sights like this never fail to impress me

bad knitter

2007-03-03T08:30:00.000-02:00

I have been a very lazy knitter lately I am knitting a pair of walking socks out of artisan alpaca hummingbird, as I am walking the 7 parks walk, 13 miles around Preston on the 25th of March, In aid of our maternity hospitals baby beat appeal, but apart from that my needles are quite quiet.

I do have big news on the dyeing front but that must remain a secret untill I can scream about it.

25 rows down 200 to go

2007-02-22T09:02:00.000-02:00

now i have got some new addi needles for this I can put the plastic denises away and hopefully start flying with it.
I do feel better that it is a top down construction as I know that every row there is 2 less stitches so I must get quicker and quicker, the yarn is absolutely lovely, I am really pleased with how soft it is yet how great it knits up.

Also fresh out of the dye pot is this new colourway which will hopefully be up on the website later on today

back in the land of the living AGAIN

2007-02-21T16:34:00.000-02:00

no sooner had I recovered from the wisdom tooth episode I have been wiped out by a horrible viral bug thing really knocked me off my feet. I have recovered from that and now I have the cold that almost everybody in the country has got.

on top of that my dear son Sam has chicken pox and looks like this

good old chicken pox, as you can see he is quite pleased with hisself and is showing everybody he can that he has loads of spots.

one of the lovely ladies on the forum has started making the most beautiful stitch markers and these arrived today

they are the most beautiful stitch markers I have ever seen, hopefully she is setting up an etsy shop and i will post as soon as she does but be ware she is being hounded for business.

back in the land of the living

2007-02-10T05:22:00.000-02:00

I had a wisdome tooth out recently and it has knocked me for six, I have had to sleep almost constantly and usually generals only take it out of me for a day or 2 this seems to have lasted the full week.

my shawl has been put on the back burner due to lack of concentration and I have been bitted by the toy bug.

may I introduce Millie Doll

she is for a very good friend who has just had a lovely and beautiful baby girl called of course Millie.

On the dyeing front this months lace club yarn is drying and is I think quite beautiful, I just hope the recipients like it as much as I do.

dish cloth swap

2007-01-19T18:08:00.000-02:00

I wish I could put up a picture, but my dish cloth for the swap on the crafty yarns and threads forum has been sent off today. I will post a pic as soon as my swapee guesses who sent it. I was never really inspired at the thought of knitting dish cloths, but after knitting this one I can see me making quite a few more.

on the dyeing front I had 2 custom lace orders, the first I really love and am considering making it one of my colourways, the second one just screams at me to knit the fibretrends shoalwater shawl with it.

almost solid

2007-01-18T18:00:00.000-02:00

I am so in love with this lace yarn, the almost solids really show off the stitch patterns perfectly but also have that hand dyed quality that gives the yarns a different look to commercial ones

lace club open

2007-01-17T18:32:00.000-02:00

I have entered into the world of yarn clubs, the first one is a lace club running for three months. each month the member will recieve 100g ( 1200 metres ) of hand dyed lace weight blue faced leicester yarn, in solid and varigated colours. here is some I snuffled for myself

I have cast on already ( I mean how on earth could I resist ) for the creatures of the reef shawl by fiddlesticks, it is a top down pattern which appeals to me, the casting on of 437 however a little daunting went quite well, I am a full 4 rows in, only 218 to go.

also fresh out of the dye pot is 3 skeins of goth pink opal yarn for a certain Murdo

intro to the world of blogging

2007-01-17T18:27:00.000-02:00

well after a while debating I am finally here, I read so many blogs and get engrossed in them so I thought really I should have one.

The blog will be a knitting and dyeing blog. the knitting is my hobby and the dyeing is for my shop www.brightdyes.wahmall.co.uk.

more about me first. I am a work at home mum to 2 beautiful boys Sam and Jack, Married for 9 years now to the ever patient Mersh ( although I believe he was christened Stephen ).