Damn VM!!!

This is a frustration overload post. Last week I dyed up two 200g lots of Australian Superfine (17 micron) Merino top, in the Vegas and Wild Orchid colourways. I wanted to make M some pretty dresses, and since I haven't been able to knit anything but my handspun lately, I thought I would seriously enjoy the projects. The dye jobs turned out beautiful, I was really happy.

Well I hung them out to dry, BUT forgot to peg them. That night the wind was wild (it's often very windy where we are). The next morning I woke to find both rovings on the lawn, and coated in lawn clippings!! Roy had just mowed the lawn.

So now it's going to take me literally hours to pick out all the VM out of the roving before I can spin it! To add to my frustration, I just picked up my new Joy sliding flyer from the post office but now have nothing to spin!

By the way, Ashford NZ (they rock) found the last electric spinner (for my model) motor in captivity and sent it over. Dr Mike did the heart replacement surgery but Sadie was a little noisy, so Dr Roy opened her up again and finetuned things, now she spins like a dream! I only use her for plying these days as she has awesome huge bobbins and I really enjoy treadling with my new Joy.

We're going camping in one spot by the coast over Xmas, and guess who will be coming along? Suzie! (my Joy). I like to take her out to the back yard and spin while watching the horses next door. She's even been out to Citinits, travelling on the train. I'm so pleased with my choice of wheel...

Heart transplant failed :(

Thank you lovely ladies who left a comment. It's nice to know someone is out there ;)

I have bad news; Sadie's heart transplant failed. I drove to the sewing machine shop nice and early... but the guy took one look at the spinner and went out back... and came back with a motor probably older than Sadie itself. I took it home, Roy and his offsider took a look at it, pulled everything apart but couldn't make it work. They're pretty clued on when it comes to things like this so I took their word at it. Drove back to the shop for a refund. Sigh... still no wheel. I am so spin-less; I just don't feel much like knitting.

Plan B: I am in contact with Ashford for a replacement motor heart, so all is not lost... yet.

Also, I will soon have a new Ashford girl in my life; I have just placed an order for an Ashford Joy spinning wheel!

AND, Jolly Jumbuck is now an Ashford dealer :) I am slowly loading the products up at the shop

Open heart surgery

I haven't posted for so long, I don't think anyone is reading anymore. Anyhow...

This is Sadie:


She is a circa 1990's (???) Ashford "Motorized Spinner" that I recently purchased off the first and only owner. I have been resisting learning to spin for so long, always saying "not till Matilda goes to school", but I had to give in. I bought a drop spindle but was horrible at it, the spindle wouldn't spin for very long before changing directions.

So when Sadie came up for sale in the Hand Spinners and Weavers Guild newsletter, I snapped her up. She's great to spin on, but a little bit like driving an automatic as opposed to a manual car.

Two nights ago, her motor just seized. Roy had a look at it and says the motor is stuffed. Fortunately it was labelled "Sewing Motor" so we've found a place in Perth that services and sells parts for sewing machines. I'm looking forward to heading there tomorrow, and hopefully Roy can wire in her new heart. I've been going bonkers the last couple of days; have some lovely hand-dyed fibre to spin for a swap, but no wheel.

Cinderella's Stash

Look what the lovely Donna sent me the other day:
(bugger the picture upload on blogger is not working at the moment I'll come back and fix it later)

A library bag for Matilda, with a gorgeous little piggy embroidered on it. It is a nice size large enough for the largest picture books and the puppets she loves to borrow from the library. And a drawstring too to keep everything safe.

A pack of 5 velour wipes for Abby's new bub. She/he won't be a cloth baby but Abby has admired my wipes before so now she can use them too. I will be making more for her but nothing beats the quality of these ones.

Two mumma pads for me, one in lush red velour and the other in a tiger print. Almost makes me wish for my moon-tide now but they'll be tested out next month. Love my mama pads!

And, a tester crochet dishcloth which will be put to good use as I've often wanted to make dishcloths but other projects get in the way. The stitching is immaculate and Donna has asked me to assess shrinkage etc. I think they will be a hit.

I wanted to add some of the goats milk soaps she had as well but too late Donna is too efficient in sending out her parcels :) I highly recommend this shop, I know she's a mate but I'd recommend it anyway even if she was a stranger!

Everything was just so fantastic, quality wise. The stitching is perfect and there are no loose threads etc. Kudos to Donna for sourcing such quality products for ther utterly gorgeous store:
Cinderella's Stash

MY DAY IS RUINED!!!

Right now, I don't know whether to cry, or cry even harder. The tears have been flowing as have the swear words. Let me explain...

I had a lovely morning with the family, and looking forward to Citinits at 2.30pm. I had a couple of skeins of yarn to wind first though, to take along for various people.

The first two skeins of sock yarn went very well. OK, now I'm ready to tackle the 200g skein of laceweight 50% merino 50% silk (ie. very expensive yarn). I was planning a huge shawl with this yarn, it's equivalent to Zephyr Jaggerspun and just gorgeous.

Well, it didn't go so well. Pictured above are the results three hours and many tears/swear words/knots later... (the photo doesn't show the true colour of the yarn, which is "Grapeful Dead" and purpley grape)

I'm too depressed (and too late) to go to the knitting group now. And I missed out on swimming with M and R as well as I refused to give up on all that lovely yarn. Which is not so lovely right now. If I was cruel enough to torture some other poor knitter with the mess I'd put it up for free on the Australian Knitters group on Ravelry. But I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. So I want to burn it or something. A nuclear bomb would be nice too.

Silk! Merino! Laceweight! 200g! RUINED!!!

Think I should have stayed in bed today. Oh well at least I learnt a lesson and that's not to dye such big skeins of laceweight, and to unwind into a ball before reskeining in case there's a tangle. I hate myself right now. Even more than I hate that pile of beautifully coloured yarn.

First pictures

We had a sneaky hen who's been hiding her stash of eggs, and the first we knew about it was when we heard the cheeping of little chicks. She started off with six chicks but two of them didn't make it.

Here's the first pictures of the little chicklets:


And now all the other ladies are getting broody again (in two separate nest sites). One nest site is in the corner of my dye studio and there's three of them on there! Whenever I get too close while dyeing they show their displeasure... One of them even attacks me! I don't know, maybe having chicks is the latest vogue in Chooktopia ROFL

Mother Envy

I *really* envy those women who are lucky enough to have their mums close to them, both geographically and in the relationship. I'm really missing my mum today, for some reason. She is in the US with her new husband and his family. It's not fair! I want her here with her family!!!

We only had about three years together in Perth (I had recently returned from 8 years in Oregon) before she met K and they got married last year. He's lived in Arizona and has kids and grandchildren there so they decided to live there first to obtain mutual visas. The plan (promise?) was to spend winter months on two continents, but unfortunately it's not working out that way. Deep down, I know that I'm really angry at the situation but on the other hand I'm thrilled that she has found happiness again, later in life (after the death of my beloved stepdad a few years ago). But who knows how many more years we are granted and I really, really want us to be together!

It makes me cry sometimes when M does something new, and mum is not here to see it, any of it. It's not about childcare, it's about spending time together. Even now I try to mention Grandma a lot to M so she doesn't forget. Kids grow up so quick and mum is not here to see any of it! She also has a couple more grandchildren here in Perth, and some in Brunei. Yes, we are an international family!

I've decided that, whether she wants it or not, I'll always live within driving distance of Matilda. There's just something very special about the adult to adult relationship you have with your parents that just can't be truly appreciated until you've had children of your own. I only had a little bit of it with mum but it was really special.

Oh and another thought, lately I've met a few daughter-mum pairs who knit/craft together and they are so inspiring! I am fully green with jealousy when I look upon their relationship...

Alright, I'll stop being maudlin now. I've emailed her and hope to hear back soon (hint hint if you're reading this mum!! -- Love you!!)