Spinning

Arts & Crafts - spinning

Les petits details

  vintage marvels around the house

Precious possessions and give aways

 Auntie Annie`s spinning wheel- will need some attention  before it`s returned  to its former glory but such beautiful piece of art

Auntie Annie`s spinning wheel

 lovely  brown alpaca fleece -a gift from Marian

 Freshly washed ads left to dry in the sun

                                           quality fleece from Wye Community  Farm

                           

Spinning in progress

  Shortly after attending Marian`s workshop,  I decided, it`s time to progress and purchase a spinning wheel, so we scanned some ads and we came across a  Kromski Minstrel spinning wheel ( top of the range,  made by a Polish firm with worldwide reputation- Kromski & Sons  )
 The seller ( and yet another fascinating person, spinner, lecturer, with plenty of experience in dyeing wool using natural dyes)  was from Southampton area so we agreed to meet half-way, in  Horsham.
 It was a good deal and my Kromski came with some beautiful, washed fleeces, a video tutorial and some other extras, not to mention plenty of advice, and contact No. in case I needed some more help.
 Yet again, Marian`s words have proven true: Spinners are a very special race of people.

                                               

Photo by Country Beehive

                                                       My  first experiments with natural dyes

                             

 and silk 

final result

 as we were already in Sussex, we decided to take a `longcut` and  visit a few historical places down South ( Eastbourne area)

with closer inspection of  Pevensey Castle ruins and 1066 country

  see more

A certain ploughing match and what have come of it

                                                       Memory spin
                                                             or

                                            our very first  spinning experience
                         
A couple of years ago, we  went to a local ploughing match where we met Marian .
 She is an amazing lady, very gifted in various areas and infecting with her enthusiasm
 She is also a local artist: spinner, knitter, weaver ...you name it.. and founder of Orca Gatherers

 Needless to say, she inspired us to the point, we decided to learn the art of spinning
 So here we are, November `09, in Marian`s enchanted workshop, all set and keen to learn
the spider ways
                                                             

carding away

and ready to begin 

short lunch break on the deck of Marian`s boat

Miss O enchanted by  her new drop spindle

  and the final result

  Also: must see! Some beautiful shots of Marian`s spinning loft by her son,  Michael Marsh

Crochet

Something entirely new to me.
 Just over a year ago we got into spinning and with lots of beautiful  sheep wool, alpaca and other natural stuff, I decided, it`s time to make some use of it.

 So we tried our hands with needle felting, knitting ( which I knew a bit) and finally, crocheting, which  always seemed to be so very complicated and hard to learn ( but, I must admit, I never tried to go beyond single crochet and chain link). At a car boot sale last year I came across a great book by Dasha Capaldi  New Ideas for Crochet and,  step - by step, then , with some help from you tube instruction videos ( yes, I am that kind of learner; must see it to understand) I managed to progress slowly but surely and now producing .... well... this`n that :)
 My youngest daughter is following my foot steps and all the rest of the family( male and female alike)  asked for a personal crochet set too

 Here are some recent `exploits`. Newborn size beany  hats