Ewe Give Me The Knits! Fibre Gallery

Finished Something

2008-09-30T18:52:00.003+10:00

This is from the previous fibre club, Hippy Heaven. Sports weight, and I am a bit of a slacker, I did not count the wraps around the skeiner, so no idea of the yardage. I have no internet downloads or uploads either, we are on dial up speed. ahhhh!

Long time between posts!

2008-07-29T09:59:00.005+10:00

Hiya Everyone!
Well its been a very long time since i have made a post in this gallery!
I hope everyone is doing well and still keeping on with their fiber endeavors! Hopefully this post might inspire some others to post what they have been up too!

Life is busy huh? it definitely is for me anyways!

Here are some yarns i have spun up from Mandie's offerings, i have more detail on them in my blog ifyou would like to go have a peak! It's now at

How does Lili's Garden Grow?, seeing as i accidentally deleted my last blog!..ooops

Again I hope everyone is well !
Cheers for now!
Suzi

forgot

2008-07-01T14:31:00.002+10:00

sorry. i forgot to tell you all that i have a new toy. A pfaff needle felting machine. It is great fun and i think lots could be made with this toy.

If water is an issue i suggest thinking about it. it did cost 500 , so Mandi that needle got the prize, but next will be my loom.lol

The brown thing is cardboard that i placed there.

when i have something show i will pop back.

cheers

Natalie.

hello /pfaff new toy/felting

2008-07-01T14:23:00.003+10:00

Hi Mandi and everyone!

It has been some time from my last post.

I have to say how much i love all the bright spinning and nice felting going on.

I have been very busy with art school, just dropped off my mid term work.

I have been felting every week of late for my market stall at wesley hill castlemaine and penny who owns a shop in castlemaine.

here are some picture.

hugs Natalie

Mid Winter Update

2008-06-16T10:13:00.004+10:00

Hi all,

It's been a long time, but I've finally got round to finishing up some projects.

Secluded - Merino Tops

Jewels of Denial - 1st Fibre Club

Green Agate - Crossbreed

There's more to come soon, I hope. The Tasmanian winter is much more conducive to spinning and knitting than QLD ever was.

Margaret

Finallly I managed to get a bit done!

2008-04-27T14:33:00.003+10:00

This is the Corredale from Mandies Club Issue 2,it spun so easily,the plying was a dream and now ifI can fit it all onto the Louet Bobbin ,it will be ready to wash and fluff up a bit,not sure what Ill do with it yet!!!

Next will be that gorgeous Optim,the last parcel in the Club,I had so much fibre that Im dont know if Ill do the 2nd club but it sounds wonderful,so we'll see!!!! Hubbyhas just found some of my stashes in the new kitchen as hes been

doing some cooking lately,may have to find another hidey hole!!!

Pretties

2008-03-16T07:37:00.003+11:00

Because I am a slow blogger, I am somewhat behind on publishing my Fibre Club pictures, here is the wool from two deliveries ago ..... (hanging head in shame)

See what happens when you find some wool that you had forgotten about!

2008-02-25T22:39:00.004+11:00

I went through my stash the other day and I found this lovely merino cross Amethyst that I bought from Mandie last year. I had actually completely for gotten about it, but seeing it again made me want to use it for something, so I did. I sandwiched a layer of hand dyed mohair between two layers of merino cross wool, so it shines when the light catches the mohair and it is light and soft.

This scarf is very light, and it will brighten and spunk up your every day outfit.........and since this is only half of the wool that was there, I might stick this one on etsy, ( see my profile for the address) and make another for myself.

Cheers

Maria

Droolworthy fibres

2008-02-04T22:59:00.001+11:00

This is Mandie's "Love in a Mist" Merino top on the larger Majacraft bobbin, and "Aurora Borealis" Merino/Silk on the smaller Ashford bobbin. The Merino spun beautifully, but the Merino/Silk spun like a dream - gorgeous stuff the Merino/Silk blend.

Droolworthy.

I plied the two singles together, the Ashford Jumbo bobbin is stuffed to capacity - good thing I ran out of Merino/Silk single. I'm not sure if I could have squeezed much more onto that bobbin. I do still have a bit of the Merino single left, which I have wound off onto a smaller bobbin for safe storage.

I will have to consider what to do with it - maybe it'd be a nice treat for Flossie to ply with one of her singles. She was asking me if she could try to spin silk just the other day - if I had any silk available for spinning, it'd be mine, all mine. Perhaps the hand dyed treat will soothe the silk seeking beast within.

Does she really spin or is it just all talk and felt?

2008-01-19T10:30:00.000+11:00

Yes I have finally gotten my act together. After seeing a couple of wool tops in Mandie's shop, that I immediately saw as a jumper for my son, I guess I had to start the spinning wheel and forget about the felting, just for a little while.

This Mandie's "strayleaf 1 or 2...;-) before I started spinning.

And this is halfway.................

And here is the result, plied with white Alpaca, since I thought that 200 grams is not enough for a whole jumper.

Since I'm already writing and adding pictures I thought that I would just share a couple of the latest scarfs that I have created.

First one is made of white alpaca with tufts of silk randomly spread over one side. It is very light , long and narrow.

The second one is a bit wider, it is also white alpaca with randomly placed white tufts of silk on the front. It has "holes"that are "backed"with silk chiffon and I have used golf thread to stitch 3 simple lines around the holes.

That is all for this time folks......

Happy spinning, knitting and felting out there :-)

Cheers Maria

Far Horizons

2008-01-07T16:31:00.000+11:00

Here is the lovely merino top, Far Horizons, 460m of lace weight (100gms) chain plied, looking forward to something lacy and perfect with this one. Thanks Mandie!

Christmas presents and more

2008-01-03T22:22:00.000+11:00

A Happy New year to all you fiber lovers out there.
As usual this time of year has been very busy with getting the Christmas presents ready and sent of to all corners of the world.I thought that I would share a few of this years Christmas present creations.

This first one is made of different shades of Alpaca wool, some from my own others sampled from different places.

The second scarf is made of Mandie's Moroccan nights merino wool and black Merino wool.

Last but not least . A couple of smaller bags made of grey/brownish Romney cross, with needle felted decorations.

I'm almost finished with a jumper for my son, - so I can show that I actually do spin and knit, but I want to have it all finished before I take a picture, so you will have to wait ;-)

Cheers Maria

Mai Tai!

2007-12-31T22:50:00.001+11:00

Just in time for the last for the end of the year I spun me up a very sweet cocktail - Mai Tai! Started out as a lovely Merino top, now it will likely become another scarf, a very colourful one at that! Navajo-plied to preserve the colours as best as it was possible, and I looove it!

Spinning

2007-12-22T07:53:00.000+11:00

Even in the hot weather there is nothing as soothing as spinning. Here is the first part of my journey with this month's fibre club offering. This was a terrific idea Mandie. Love it!!

Fibre Club

2007-12-08T11:10:00.000+11:00

My first bundle of roving from the fibre club is spun and has had its bath to set the twist, mmm wasn't the Polworth nice to spin? Now what to make ..... All that's left is for the humidity to ease off so the skeins can dry.

First Fibre Club Arrival

2007-11-23T09:17:00.000+11:00

No photo to post yet- as I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone in the club who hasn't been lucky enough to receive their parcel yet...mine arrived today and Woo Hoo! another SOFT, lovely creation from our friend Mandie. I am so excited to start spinning this- and the extra bit is perfect for the current popular trend ( or so it appears to me) and is a welcome surprise addition- just brilliant Miss Mandie! ( like I'd ever doubt you ! :) ) Thanks for making the club a fun addtion to my day. :)

PS.) Please give my thanks to your Wool Dude- he is AWESOME!

Socks

2007-11-18T17:23:00.000+11:00

This is the first time I have knitted socks from my handspun yarn ... not too shabby, a little thin, but feels nice when tried on ... Mt Fuji, plied with itself, 100gms, approx 380 metres.

I have been a little bit busy........

2007-11-13T17:17:00.000+11:00

I really enjoy looking at all the creative and beautiful yarns that people are making.....it is so amazing to see how the wool changes once it gets spun. I havent done any spinning for a while, but I have been busy with other things, so here is a sample of some of the things I have been working on lately.

These little "bags"are made of local sourced Romney wool and then felted and decorated with various materials.

Then there is a few new scarfs to the collection, all made with Mandie's beautiful wool.

This first scarf is made with Mandie's Mulled Wine Merino top, and I have added a little bit of angelina for sparkle, though it doesn't show up on the picture.

The next scarf is another "double, made with Mandie's Kooky kingfisher top and Mandie's hand dyed Enchanted merino top - sorry Haven't got a picture :-)

And then there is the "jacket "that I have been wanting to make for a long time, I just needed the time and the "right" wool to come along. It is made on gauze, with a little bit of white,light green,pink and a moss green merino tops, covered with Mandie's Meridian 2 top. It is not quite finished, I want to put a silk or maybe a velvet binding around the edge, but i have to find the right colour first.

And then last but not least, the two scarfs that I HAD to make yesterday when I received the bamboo tops from Mandie, Private dusk is on the black scarf, and Tally limit is used on the red scarf.

Well I think that is it for this time...

Cheers Maria

Featherbell

2007-11-07T10:04:00.000+11:00

Hi all,

It's taken nearly a week of trying to get these pictures uploaded (anyone else having issues with blogger?), so here they are:

Featherbell as conceived;

I felt that what we really had was twins;

Here they are having a final hug before parting;

Margaret

Sorry I haven't been around much!

2007-11-04T21:33:00.000+11:00

Hiya Ladies!
Sorry i haven't been around much but i have had the flu and it has been dragging on for me...and a few family hassles with not so well parents! and with my own family, times flies before you know it!
I have done a bit of spinning but not much lately, so some of theses are from a little while ago!

So here is some pics with some brief explanations of what i have been up to in the fiber world!

The first two pics is of some roving i got from Miz Mandie and dyed just with food colours! I was going for a Halloween type feel and i think i nearly got there but not quite....so i have called this yarn "trying to be Halloween", i plied the singles on themselves to get the finished product!

This next yarn is called spun from a Merino Silk roving of Mandie's called "Sacred Space" again i plied this in on itself and it feels lovely and silky!

This is a spun single from Mandie's earlier roving called "Ramen", this i spun with some pink Angelina.

ok..this next yarn is spun from dyed locks...some i got from Mandie and as i am writing this, i have no idea what they were called!!!...i would have kept the label...somewhere, it also also mixed in with some of my own dyes locks too....they are the more red and pink colours...

This next one is a baby batt from Mandie, and some dyes locks called "Intrepid" mixed together.

So that is kinda it for a while but i have been doing some other spinning and hopefully i will get the pics up soon!

Cheers

Suzi

Optim - Tigerlily

2007-10-31T15:44:00.000+11:00

Hello everyone...

Thought I would share my first spin of one of Mandie's fibers. I'm a newcomer to her fibers. This one is optim in the Tigerlily #2 colorway.

I had a tough time drafting it in the beginning and toward the end of the spin, I think I got the hang of it. I have one more optim fiber so will try again. I love the resultant singles. So soft!

Have been enjoying everyone's posts here. Such gorgeous work all around.
cheers,
naomi

Whirly Wed. -"Softly Spoken"

2007-10-31T12:15:00.000+11:00

Thought I would share the results of the roving "Softly Spoken".

This is how the the singles looked- spun on my Ashford Turkish ( Love that thing! so versatile!)

Final yarn is a 2 ply. (Plied with itself. My first try with a multi coloured roving.)

Thanks for looking. :)

Gotland Lamb - In Progress

2007-10-30T13:40:00.000+11:00

I seem to have a basket and spindle and/or knitting in just about every room at the moment (in spite of the pressing need to remove things and pack belongings for a move to Tassie). Here is my current basketful tastefully dumped in the garden just so I can be sentimental about the fungus. The 'official' name of this is White Grey Gotland Lamb and is destined to be a sock (even a pair, perhaps) for SSS.

Finished

2007-10-28T19:53:00.000+11:00

At last I can put something on here that Ive finished,yahoo!!!! Spun in single the first for me,I have the other 50g still on the bobbin and have another pattern picked for it too!

It turned out very much lighter than I thought it would be, as after a steam press it was feathery like and airy!! Im very happy!! Thanks Mandie for such fun!!!!

RAVLERY GROUP

2007-10-24T13:58:00.001+10:00

For the Love of Mandie - and EGMTK - come and find and join and share the fibery goodness. Or something like that!

EGMTK Ravelry group

Some Unusual Yarn

2007-10-24T11:48:00.000+10:00

Here are a few photos of the yarn I mentioned in my last post on the blog- this was the most fun I have had in plying0 I used a black feathers ( Moda Vera's flutter) yarn to ply one and a black 'ostrich' yarn for the other part. The base singles that I made was from some of Mandie's solid colour rovings ( rockmelon, old gold, and PURPLE!) along with some other I had to make a Bird of Paradise ( flower) inspired yarn. :)

I didn't intend to ply with such a bold black but that is how it worked out.

This was really fun to make. Two ply- spun on my Turkish Spindle.

*addendum*- I found the picture of the singles just off the spindle-so thought I'd put it here.

Other photos of the yarns can be found on my blog too- I try to vary the photos I put up on the blogs.

Optim pleasure

2007-10-19T17:04:00.000+10:00

Mandie assured me that the Optim was soft and boy was she right.

I planned to dye it a specific way, with a deep dark teal going through to a light sea green, and it took the Ashford dye really well.

Spun carefully to keep the colour graduation, I did countless happy dances in the loungeroom and forced my Wool Widowed Husband to 'feel how soft this is'.

After much swatching and knitting - I wasn't too happy with the result as I had another 'vision' of what I wanted.

The end result, after a skein was used on my Ashford Knitters Loom, can be seen on my flickr page - but here is a teaser.

(Click on the title of this post to be taken to my blog entry.)

First Yarns

2007-10-18T10:14:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone, I love seeing what everyone has bought and what they have spun.
I bought this at the start of the year and the orange was the first yarn I spun. The pink and green was the first try at plying. The hand dyed merino was so lovely to spin.

Fibre Floozies

2007-10-17T19:15:00.000+10:00

Today is Fibre Floozy Day (aka Spinning Wednesday). This one is "Transcend", a 22 Micron Merino Hand Dyed top from Mandie of EGMTK! Gorgeousness personified.

Here it is snuggled together with "Genesis", which I decided to use at the last moment also. I didn't take a pic of that on its own, but it's more green and yellow, with some turquoise added. Equally yummy! I tore both of them into thinner strips, then drafted them slightly.

You get a better idea of the "Genesis" colour, here it is together with the "Transcend", after yet more drafting and stripping. A lovely pile of colour on my lounge. I wanted to spin from each top together, to blend the colours together a little.

Here's one bobbin of finished yarn, I love how the colours change but also blend along the yarn. There's still another bobbin's worth (at least) to spin up, I've made a start. NBS (numb bum syndrome) caused me to stop spinning for the day. My right hand was also complaining a bit, it's never done that before - although I usually spin fleece in the grease. Don't know if the two are related, but my right hand had better toughen up somewhat!

I'm on a good thing here, just need to get the drafting a little smoother yet.

I haven't decided how I want this yarn to finish though. My considered options are: ply together with itself; ply with a pale yellow plying thread I have; or leave as singles.

I am knitting this into a scarf for my eldest DD. Opinions please... :-)

* entire post shamelessly copied and pasted from my blog*

Green Agate

2007-10-16T08:30:00.000+10:00

Green Agate was one of Mandie's commercially blended fibres. This one is a merino cross. I liked the subtle colours and I hope to make some socks with it. (Unless of course it gets hyjacked for something else :)

Below is the predrafting and the first bobbin of singles. The rovings were so fine that making nests was not possible - I just let them fall into the bowl and picked up the ends as they surfaced, to spin.

Plied yarn - 14 wpi

I'm really enjoying seeing all the different spinning styles - they're all so beautiful. Thanks Mandie (again) for starting this gallery, and thanks to everyone for contributing.

Margaret

Forever Young 2 Spun and Spun

2007-10-14T16:22:00.000+10:00

Hi all!

Getting a minute to post some pics of the latest finished yarn-
from one of Mandie's earlier rovings- called "Forever Young 2"-

Then here is the singles as viewed on my turkish spindle centre pull ball from underneath ( the tan/brown in the middle is the leader yarn, so ignore that please?! )-

What a difference the plying thread can make... I used a commercial mohair yarn in blue- so this is a two ply with a 6-7 WPI thickness.:) I am not a big blue fan- but let me tell you- this is one of my favourite yarns I have made! It is so soft and colourful . This one has real potential. :)
Here's a view in the 'cake' form, made using the ball winder.

Hope it makes you smile!
My next post is one that I can tell you in advance made me smile lots and lots while plying it! But for now I need to go- we are going to the beach for an hour or two!

Happy Sunday!
Sharon in SA

Spinning heaps....

2007-10-13T15:05:00.000+10:00

Hi, everyone....Popping in with my first post after bumbling away with the blogger account.I have been spinning for 20 years, and recently got together with Mandie, and Suzi, spinning together on a regular basis.
My recent acquisitions from Mandie are on the to do list, but I have finished a SS shawl from my own handspun, using the Kaffee Fassett pattern book, and homespun plain adult worksocks, homespun alpaca lace scarf, homespun scarf, and a beanie, all in the last month or so.
Congratulations to all the new spinners who are doing a good job.
Have also been spinning heaps and heaps, so I can start selling on a stall.

My first yarn!!

2007-10-12T18:33:00.000+10:00

My first post and my first yarn. Yay! I made yarn!

This is what I spun from 200g of Merino Cross Top in Amethyst. I think it will become a Montego Bay scarf for me.

It is too twisty in bits but I am chuffed all the same.

ETA: I spun this on my free hand-me-down Ashford Traditional wheel.

Neptune's Nemesis

2007-10-09T22:22:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone. Quick intro: I started spinning in May, and I love it. I already have an embarrassingly large fibre stash and many, many ambitious plans. The trouble is, I love trying new things and have ended up with a bunch of WIPs.

I got my act together this weekend and finished off a pair of fingerless mitts that have been languishing for a while.

This was from Mandie's Neptune's Nemesis merino. It was heaps of fun watching the colour changes, though I wish I could have gotten them to match up. This was my first Navajo ply, and there were a few tangles and breaks but I'm happy with the end result.

Edit: Forgot to put up a photo of the roving!
Here we go:

More Yarns!

2007-10-09T18:30:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone!
I have some yarns for you to take a peak at that I have created over the last couple of weeks!

First one is a yarn from a roving called "Mashed Taters, carrots and peas", it's one of Mandie's real early ones! Unfortunately i don't have a pic of it before i spun it, but here it is spun and then plied with some fluro yellow thread!

This next one is two Optim Fibers called "Tiger Lily and Cloned" these i spun and then plied together and this yarn is super soft and silky to touch!

The Next one is called "Giggle Pot" and for this one i did remember to take a pic of the roving!!! I then actually had a go at Navajo Plying which was fun, but i did over twist because i was going too fast!!!

And last but not least is a roving called "Deep Space" and i have spun this with a shredded silk scarf that i found at the Op shop!

Cheers everyone and have fun with your fiber!

Touchstone, recreated

2007-10-05T16:51:00.000+10:00

The great Touchstone merino top has finally jumped off my bobbin, after getting navajo-plied - and I so love it! This one is destined to become a pair of fetching fingerless mitts!

Storm Clouds

2007-10-02T16:27:00.000+10:00

Last week I swapped and changed between several projects - I don't subscribe to the 'one thing at a time' theory. The images below show one project and I thought you might be interested in the wool combs I use, as we don't seem to see them much here, in Australia.

Picture 1: Mandie's dyed locks "Storm Clouds"

Picture 2: Staples being lashed onto the comb (these are extremly sharp)

Picture 3: After combing is completed the diz is used to form a roving

Picture 4: Singles in a nest of rovings

I reached this point to discover there is no picture of the finished yarn- but I'm sure you can imagine it.

Margaret, in Brisbane

2007-09-29T23:23:00.001+10:00

Hello again .
I Have been mighty busy with visitors and being away, so I have only had time for one creation, but I thought I would share it with all you wool and fibre lovers out there.

This scarf is made with black merino wool and one of Mandie's optim tops. It has two sides to it, as you can see.

I have really been admiring all the beautiful spinning that every one is doing. It is so interesting to see the before and after pictures of the top and then the wool after the spinning. That is all for this time.

Cheers Maria

Some more yarn I have been working on!

2007-09-29T12:52:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone!
I have been working on some yarn, and yes the housekeeping has been let go a bit...lol...oh well!

I decided after going through my stash of EGMTK's hand dyes that i would start from the beginging and work my way through! I found that i have quite ALOT of Mandie's lovely hand dyed tops as well as some of her commercial ones!..ooops

So the first one is called "fruit fizz" and i thought i had taken a photo of the top but apparently not....this i spun with some lovely deep purple sari silk and then plied with a light blue sparkly thread. Thanks Mandie for hunting down a pic for me!

The next one is called "Ashrai", this is I spun again with some lovely blue sari silk and it set off the pink and orange colours wonderfully, this i decided to keep as a single.

The last one for today is the "Pumpkin Spice" which I plied with some of Mandie's great gold ply...this stuff just about goes with everything and seems to really help bring out colours in the fiber!

mandie's dyes

2007-09-27T10:36:00.000+10:00

Good morning everyone!

Well i spent the day dyeing .....Oh no,... I'm dyeing. :) lol

ok, i will stop now.

I would like to say thank you again to mandie for sending my order sooo fast! Its tops to know one does not have to wait AND that mandie does NOT over charge with postage.

There is a lady that sells batts and charges more than some over seas orders.- although they are nice batts.

I had to laugh though... as i thought mandie had not put the finn because the box was so small.lol

silly me!

Thank you too, Mandie for my little gift. its always a surprise, but makes one want to order again just to see what the next gift is.lol- great idea Mandie.

anyway, As i Nealy always order only dyes from Mandie here is what i have dyes.

silk cap

hugs to all

Natalie

What Maeve (22 micron merino) showed me

2007-09-26T21:46:00.000+10:00

Disclaimer: Uneven spinning was not the fibres' fault in any way. It was smooth, slippery and extremely cooperative. The fibre-wrangler was completely responsible for the results of this post, and the yarn is more purply with greater contrast than in these 2-D representations.

Sometimes I get carried away.

Dinner parties usually involve me stressing that there won't be enough food followed by me thrusting takeaway through the car window of guests, and a fridge stacked full of tupperware.

When I learnt to spin at Canberra Spinners and Weavers Guild, Leigh, one of the teachers impressed me with her skill and she spun really fine. In my mind:

fine spining = good spinning

After a year of producing sock and lace weight yarn exclusively, I came to the realisation that a single-mindedness for fineness does not a well-rounded spinner make. 'Maeve' was to guide me to spinning a different thickness. I did a few samples and aimed for 3-ply double-knitting weight (8-ply in Aussie). Of course I overcompensated (ie carried away in the opposite direction), and ended up with a 2-ply that vasillates between an aran weight and DK (approx 300m, 200gms). My new mental equation:

spinning to order = more skillful spinning

sorry

2007-09-25T15:09:00.000+10:00

i think i should give this up!
Two of the pics are not ment to be in there. sorry.
p.s the mare in my cinta and her now 4 week old foal with sterling in back gound.

help?

2007-09-25T14:55:00.000+10:00

thanks for fixing that up Mandie. I know this is not the place but i still can not work out how to put a photo on my profile. does anyone know how please?

here is another fibre fibre pic, to keep on topic.

thanks Natalie

this is my latest children's hat range that used Mandie's pink tops and two others. they are sold in Castlemaine.

Mt Fuji

2007-09-25T10:36:00.000+10:00

here is 300metres of fingering weight Mt Fuji, thank you Mandie

Spun on a top whorl, Ashford, only the second attempt at spinning on this gadget. I am really pleased with the results.

gaps

2007-09-24T13:45:00.001+10:00

really sorry about all the gaps. have no idea why.
natalie

** All fixed Natalie**
Mandie :-)

great spinning folks

2007-09-24T13:08:00.000+10:00

Hi again all.

Sorry if my intro was a bit rude but being the trusting person i normally am, i have been taken advantage off too many times. I have now worked out how to post photos and thought i would pop some in here.
I have been checking out the other post and would love to say how nice an yummy some of the spinning/knitting is on Mandie's gallery. Great work!
Mandie's hand dye tops are so delightful to work with an get ones juices rolling, although i often miss out due to them all selling out FAST. lol
On another note, i have made it to the blog world and started my own under "heartfelted" .
Here a few things i have been playing with, I went to the stitches show a few weeks back and bought some "paverpol" this i have been using with Mandie's fibre to make fibre sticks. They came from the idea of silk rods, mostly for mixed media work. I will be selling them on my Esty shop, ebay an web when up.

Here is some silk paper i made with some green tops .

cheers Natalie

the half spun Verde

2007-09-22T16:35:00.000+10:00

I finally got around to taking a picture of what I have spun up of the Verde so far. It has been named Ssssnake by my 4 year old. Its a 2ply laceweight, approx. 250yd. I have enough of the roving left to spin up another skein about the same size and when thats been done I will be adding it to my store.

Willow - Before Shot :-)

2007-09-22T10:07:00.000+10:00

I've just dug out a before picture of Willow for Margaret - if you would like pictures of fibres that you've purchased feel free to grab them from the website...or if they've been taken down please email me and I'll send you a copy :-)

Willow Merino Top

I am loving this Gallery..and your enthusiasm - it's awesome to see everyone's creativity at work!!

Willow

2007-09-21T09:49:00.000+10:00

Hi all - a progress report,

I recently purchased Mandie's "Willow" tops (sorry - don't have a picture). I then blended it with some blueish silk using hand combs. The spindle is a new one from John Reeves aka Spindlemaker.

I will add a picture when I've finished the knitting.

Margaret, in Brisbane

Rawwrrrrrr Top & Spin day with Mandie!

2007-09-20T14:55:00.000+10:00

Hey Ladies!
I had a Fab time at Mandie for spin day! Super fun! Here is a pic of some yarn i spun up and plied with a lovely light blue thread! The roving was one of Mandie's great fibers and i dyed it with some Food dye and it came out a very vibrant red and blue with white in between! My husband has decided he would like a beanie out of this so i shall endeavour to get that knitted up in the next couple of days!

OK the next pic is of the Rawwrrr Top that Mandie had for sale a few weeks ago and i love how this turned out! I plied it with some gorgeous gold plying thread (again from Ms Mandie!) and it is so soft!!!! I don't know what i will do with this one if anything at all!..lol...might be just there to feel and look at!

Cheers Everyone!
Suzi

Adding More EGMTK! Fibre/Yarn Photos

2007-09-19T14:51:00.001+10:00

Hi again-
Thought I would try to put here all the rest of the yarns I have made from EGMTK! stock-- then just update as I go whether it is more yarn ( likely) or a F.O. from the yarns...( not so likely any time soon-lol ).
My very first true yarn I made was from Mandie's plain machine dyed rovings- Raspberry:

I dont' have a before of it but here is while it was on my spindle- and the finished yarn-of which a photo also hangs in The Yarn Gallery on their website. :)

CLOWN FACE

Before.......... and After:

(spun on my Babe spindle)

Here's Drought Busta- Before: I got the "apple" you can see on the far left...

Then on the spindle:

and this is unwashed ( and over spun! lol )

and the last shot- after being washed and dried.

(Plenty of twist left.)

Here's

Hickory Stick-

Before.................

and after:

( This is a bit washed out looking- it isn't really quite this light in person.)

and finally- last but not least-

Limited Light....

Before....

...on the spindle surrounded by itself split into lots of pencil rovings....

and the finished yarn. :)

Thanks for looking!!

Sharon in SA :)

Keep 'em comin'

2007-09-17T21:10:00.000+10:00

I'm really enjoying seeing what everyone's made from Mandie's fibres. The variety and different uses is really inspiring.

Thank you to everyone who has shared so far, I'm looking forward to seeing many more...

Thank you to Mandie for getting pushed around and putting up this blog...

2007-09-17T19:51:00.000+10:00

Maybe just one more tonight- I did say I had about a year's worth of EGMTK-fuelled spinning to report on !
This is some of the lovely merino/alpaca/silk top that Mandie had- I'm not sure if she still carries this particular colourway or fibre combo. I started to knit this into a lace scarf as an exercise in learning to knit simple lace and in using up 50g of fibre in a useful way. Maybe one day I will finish the scarf!

2007-09-17T17:52:00.000+10:00

Here are some batts I blended from Mandie's fibre- mostly merino, alpaca and angelina, and dyed with her Landscape dyes.

Here is the resulting yarn:

And the scarf!

2007-09-17T17:38:00.001+10:00

A quick pic of the lovely Gotland tops I bought from Mandie a while back, and the resulting yarn:

Lovely to spin! I forgot I had this yarn, hmmm, I will have to knit something!

Felting

2007-09-17T11:19:00.000+10:00

A most mysterious and wonderful soft scarf made with Mandie's "Moroccan nights".

Another wonderful soft and featherlight scarf made with Mandie's" under the sea" merino top.

Hello Spinning and felting ladies.

What a great idea to create this place, and I have really enjoyed reading all the comments and looking at the pics - there are a lot great things being created out there :-)

Two years ago almost to the date, my dear partner thought that he would give me a spinning wheel for my birthday, I have to admit that I had been mumbling about it for a while, but never really got around to doing anything about it. So after talking to a few people around the place he finally found one. He thought that now he would get to watch the television in peace and quiet without me commenting on the movie or talking to him during the most exciting bit of the movie - well instead of talking there is now rustling of bags and the sound of carders...he he, little did he know.

About a year ago my love affair with the wool took a new turn - I wanted to felt. And boy have that taken over my brain.... I really have to control myself otherwise I would be spending all my money and all my time on wool and felting, and not any on my now 1 year old son and my uni studies....and I'm sure that there are some of you very creative ladies out there that knows the feeling of just wanting to get in and make something with the wool that you have just received in the post from Mandie? ;-)

Anyway, I better finish this and try to post some pics of some of my creations.

I'm looking forward to seeing more pics of what people are doing out there.

Cheers Maria.

PS as you can see the pics somehow got in before the text, oh well I guess that I will get the hang of it maybe next time :-)

2007-09-17T08:24:00.000+10:00

Let's see, the majority of my spinning for the last year or so has been Mandie's fibres. I'm afraid my pics don't really do it justice, I'll try to take better pics for this blog in the future ;-). Here's some yarn spun from a handdyed roving in the colourway Mandie calls 'Nyassa'. It's even better in person, the colours as my camera sees them aren't quite right.

Here's one more:
I can't remember the name of this colourway, but to me it's always been 'the citrus merino'. Maybe it was even a custom dyejob? Anyway Again, WAY prettier in person than the pics. Plied with a fine single spun from a small lot of bewetiful english leicester locks that Mandie also dyed.

This is a horrifying picture of the yarn- my camera doesn'e "see" greens properly, especially in daylight:

And the mostly-FO (ends not even woven in when I took the pic)!

EGMTK's Pumpkin spice in a thick Sheepychic single....love it!

2007-09-16T22:44:00.000+10:00

Hi all... what a fab. EGMTK's line up! My turn... hehe. Mandie.. the other day we discussed spinning some Merino / Silk Machine blended roving in a big thick chunky single to bring out the colour clearly. I tried it with some of your Pumpkin Spice... it was really nice to spin!! I'm thinking of knitting it into a hippie style dreadlock beanie. All the best, Ruth...

Finally, about my handspun

2007-09-16T17:26:00.000+10:00

Late is the hour that I post (as in I needed a week to finally get round to doing it!!), but here's my contribution, so far:

that's from 200 gr Merino in the SHYAMAL colourway, plied two singles together counterclockwise. I just love the softness, and the great colour changes, and it was the softest ever fiber I held in my hand, until ...

the new merino came!
That's the colourway groove gansta, navajo plied, and the colours are a lot richer than my camera deemed to catch. and just great!

At the moment I have more of the new handdyed merino on my bobbin, just didn't find the time lately do spin the rest of it up.

Spinning!

2007-09-16T17:04:00.000+10:00

Some spinning done and finished today,its from the Lotus Blossum top beautifully dyed by the master dyer herself! I was surprised to see how fluro it appeared when I undid the plait and again how different it came up again when I spun it! Simply gorgeous,still dont know what its telling me it wants to be,may just look at it for a while!!!! Soft and wonderful to spin it was like butter to handle!!! Im thinking of spinning a further 80g or so of white and dying it to use as a contrast so then that'll be enough for socks!

What I have spun

2007-09-16T17:00:00.000+10:00

So far I have bought one batt from Mandy and I also won some roving in the "find the ad in Yarn Mag" competition.

This is spun from the Sea Faery Batt and was named Age Copper by me, it sold in my store in less then 24 hours (so far its my only sale hehehe, I need to buy more of the batts I think).

and this is spun from the Jericho roving, it is named Boyz 'n' Girlz and there are two skeins of it.

Currently on my wheel I have the Verde roving which has been named Sssssnake by my 4 year old who grabbed the roving when I recieved it and proceeded to make it "hiss" at me. Hopefully I will have that done by the end of this week and up in the store.

dye, spin, knit the Monkey off my back

2007-09-15T14:18:00.000+10:00

A 100gm bag of superwash merino arrived one day. It was surprisngly cloudlike, and very slightly offwhite. I knew from first touch that our relationship was going to develop rapidly.

A few nights later I took the superwash on a date - we spent an evening in the microwave. It was it randomly dressed with some koolaid and Queens food colouring (hot pour method if anyone is interested).

The superwash was an amenable friend, and pretty much spun it self. I stripped the roving in half lengthwise, then divided each half into pencil strips and spun them randomly from a bag. I was surprised to find after a week that I had 100gms of navajo plied sock weight. The yarn is not as soft as a nonsuperwash merino, but is not scratchy or itchy on the neck.

Two weeks of knitting of the bus and the monkey socks pattern by Cookie A were done. I think the random colour changes are held together by the V lace pattern.

Thanks for introducing me to superwash Mandie!

WOW!!!

2007-09-15T12:53:00.000+10:00

I've just dropped by quickly to see what's been happening here - WOW!!
Thank you all so much for taking the time to post pics and write about what you've been doing with your EGMTK! fibres - keep it up!!
What's that noise? Can you hear it? OOOOOOOO!!! It's the dyepots calling.......gotta go :-)
Talk again soon...and THANK YOU :-)

Thanks Mandie!!

2007-09-15T10:42:00.000+10:00

Oh this is a lovely place to come and post our fun treasures we are spinning from your wonderful fibers!!! I have several fun bags of locks and fibers and have to admit have been hoarding them for myself and fondle them on a regular basis but have not spun them because am saving them for ME projects and not to put on my etsy site to sell so as soon as I get some spun will post them here and can see my other yarns and such on my blog and etsy site!! thanks so much for letting me post and letting me join in the fun!!! I'll be back!!
big hugs Linda
http://alteredvisions.typepad.com/altered_visions/
http://www.primdollie.etsy.com/

Clown Face

2007-09-15T10:29:00.000+10:00

Hi all,
This is the "clown face" commercially prepared roving that Mandie sells. It really tones down nicely while still retaining the pretty rainbow colours.

Then also for your viewing pleasure, I give you Mt Fuji, in the bag, and as a WIP.
Have a good day, and its probably best to keep away from the shop this week as I hear all the roving is going to be boring and I will have to buy it all and save you guys the trouble of looking, since I'm so nice and thoughtful that way.....
Gemma (the crazy one)

Don't you love the way it looks like a volcano sprouting from the top of the spindle?

Hello and thank you Mandie

2007-09-15T10:20:00.000+10:00

Hello Mandie and everyone.

Thankyou Mandie for thinking of me and inviting me to join your gallery!

My name is Natalie and I am the very sidetracked hand felter from Elphinstone, 15mins from Castlemaine, Victoria. My home based fibre business is called HeartFelted Creations and my livestock stud is Nemcala Park. I came across Mandie's great site from Purple who is on my Aussie Felt Makers list. On my very first visit I could not help myself and spent a small fortune! lol. I was very impressed with how fast my package arrived- yippy! I have made a few things with Mandie's fibre but mostly felt sheets that will become "something" in the near future.

I have been Hand Felting for just over ten years now and in that time have learned many new things. I have won a few awards for my spinning, knitting and felting. I sell at the market building in Castlemaine twice a year in their art shows as well as at a few good fairs and shows. I have also been commissioned to complete several works with many sent overseas as gifts for important occasions such as weddings, 21st birthdays and christenings.

I hope I can inspire you to have a go at felting and perhaps create some wonderful pieces!Whilst I am very happy to play show and tell, my ONLY ask is that we respect each other and remember that my designs are just that. Mine . I work very hard in creating the designs and do not wish to see copies of my work on other websites without my knowledge and permission please.

Just before I go, a good friend and I have started a mixed media fibre group (not spinning or weaving) which we have named, "Twisted Fibres". We hope to meet other folk who enjoy mixed media fibre arts, perhaps on a monthly basis, whilst conducting small workshops and "show and tells". Our next meeting will cover microwave dyeing using Mandie's dyes. Dates are being worked out presently. If anyone is interested, please feel free to email me.

Ok. I hope to show you some photos, however I seem to be having trouble uploading them.

Natalie

A Place to Share!

2007-09-15T09:16:00.001+10:00

Wow is this going to be a neat place. I can hardly wait to see what everyone does... especially to see the rovings that I missed out on and what they have become in someone else's hands!

I am slightly embarrassed to say that I have spun quite alot of rovings from Mandie but have yet to do anything with them... my blog has alot of pictures of my stuff- but think this is a better place to share- and I almost always take too many photos of my yarns to put solely on my blog- so thought maybe I can put different ones here than on my personal blog and if anyone would want to see more- they can! I am also going to put the before pic of the roving/fibre with my finished yarn to help jog the memory of the item as you may have seen it in the store. :)

Not sure if i should start with most current or back to the start... probably most current as that will be most fresh in everyone's mind's eye- don't you think?? Here we go:

First up is the most recently spun ( on my Ashford Turkish Spindle- Mandie sells them- get one- I kid you not- it is fantastic for making heavier yarns- love it!!!!)- it is called " Forever Young 2 " ( to the person who got Forever Young 1- I'd love to see how yours looks!!)- there is a bit in the middle ( we are looking at the bottom of a centre pull ball that is formed after you take it off the spindle....) is a bit of the leader cord showing. Didn't take that off yet as I didn't want to disturb the form until I had a photo.

This one isn't done yet- haven't decided if I am going to ply it or just set it as a singles....

Then there is:
Limited Light-
This one is done- a set singles- washed it twice ( by accident the second time- brain foof happened)- so it is getting quite felted- but not totally felted.

And below is the Moroccan Nights, which is not an OOAK- so if others have this one- I'd love to see how yours have come out, please?

OK- that's enough for this time.... I have lots more to share- but need to get moving - Saturdays are our time to get out and about without always rushing! I *think* we are making a trip to "Walking Wheel Studio" here in South Australia- our one and only spinning store! Thankfully it isn't too far away and so far I have resisted temptation to go have a look- or else I was stuck in the car with a sleeping child ( long story!).... am really looking forward to meeting the shop's owner - Bella Head. Some of you may be familiar with her from Yarn Magazine articles. My hubby got to talk with her before- so I am looking forward to my turn! lol

Hope you like the photos. I appreciate being able to share them with you. Thank You Mandie for setting this up for us all.

Hi everyone

2007-09-14T23:11:00.000+10:00

I have several (or more) of Mandie's hand dyed fibres to choose from - which one should be first? The Merino, the Merino and Silk, or the Optim? Decisions, decisions...

Gotta say, I'm a tad nervous about unplaiting them, where to from there? Do you break it up into smaller pieces, or spin from the length as it is? I've just spun from fleece so far, so I'm not sure.

I have a greenish/blue one that I plan to knit for my daughter. She likes green. I think green belongs outside, on grass and trees. She wants a scarf, knitted like "VVVV", and not "~~~~". Her non-knitting terminology. I'm thinking rib, so it's reversible - or I'd have to do it in the round to make a tube so both sides are the same.

I could take some with me if I go to the Guild tomorrow - I've got a residual cough from the flu I had FOUR weeks ago, so I'm not too sure - the cough gets a little nasty at times, although the doctor assures me that I'm not contagious.

I should also say thank you to Sharon, for spilling the beans about Mandie's site.

Thanks

2007-09-14T19:04:00.000+10:00

Hi Mandie,
Thanks for inviting me to add to your bloggs - it has been a real pleasure finding your website, (thanks to Juleen)- I enjoy looking at all the different fibers - haven't had time to spin up the fibre I bought recently, but looking forward to doing that and THANK YOU for sourcing the BioDynamic wool breeder - the fleece will be lovely I'm sure. I am finishing off some Llama (mixed colours) I had before doing anything else.
It is so relaxing getting back into spinning after such a long break.
Spinning is such a meditative practice, I recommend it to anyone - regardless of what you end up doing with the spun fiber.

Best Wishes,
Maryanne.

Hello!!!

2007-09-14T16:17:00.001+10:00

Hi Everyone!
Suzi here, i live near Mandie in Central Vic. I must admit to buying quite a few fibers off Mandie (well lots really!) but i think you will all agree they are beautiful and very collectable!!..lol...but i guess there comes a time when you really need to do something with them! I am also a learner spinner only learning about a month and a half ago...even though i had an electric spinner for nearly 12 months before i went near it....i was kinda scared of it and i didn't want to ruin the gorgeous fiber with my lack of skill!
I also knit...but im a basic knitted...i knit beanies and scarves at the minute but i do want to learn to knit socks...cause again i LOVE all the sock yarns that are about! I also have a friend due to have a baby so a few little jumpers might be in order there too!

So i thought i would post some pics of a couple that i have spun and i will take some photos over the next couple of days of other fibers i have spun! Please bear in mind that i am LEARNING still! ..lol

I am really looking forward to seeing what everone else has been doing with their purchases!

Cheers

Suzi

This is Mandies Elemental Batt that i have actually left as a single for now! I love the turquoise and brown combo!

This Is Mandies Tropicana Roving that i spun then plied some with a white thick spun mohair (not by me) pictured below and then i plied the rest on itself and thats the last pic!

I hope you all enjoy having a peek at what i have done so far!