Fleece Dyeing

This week was a busy fleece dyeing week. Above is a blue, donkey brown mix with pale silver and blue where the colours meet. SOLD

And then an earthy mix of brown and olive. The English Leicester is just a wonderful wool to put in the dyepot. The lustre enhances the colours. SOLD

Used burnt orange together with green and yellow here. SOLD

And I was delighted with this blend of blue, green. purple and the softer shades inbetween.

These are all for sale on the website listed at side of blog. The wool in these colour blends is English Leicester/Merino blend.

Our wonderful dog, Mopsy is going to spend the next couple of months with her breeder. Mopsy is due to give birth to puppies in two weeks. We will really miss her. Guess we will just have to give Darwin double the attention. I will post photo puppies when they are born.

The Dogs

This is a very pregnant Mopsy. She likes to sit most of the time so I had trouble getting a photo. This morning she was helping David with the problem of fixing the car locks. Last night a failed thief drilled holes in the locks.

Here she is a pretty as ever. Puppies are due in a couple of weeks. No home birth here - Mopsy is going to stay with her breeder.

And the boy! Darwin insisted on having his photo taken. Well I think that was what the noise was all about. Love his pose next to the tree - he was doing the lean on tree very well. Perhaps he hopes to be a model for a magazine. Yes, he does need a brush.

I have some dyed fleece to show you but it is dog dinner time so back later.

New Knitting Purses

These are the new products in my online shop http://www.hawthornecottage.com.au/page.php?base=7 They have been made for me by Missy Mao Mao http://missymaomao.blogspot.com/

The fabric is an Aunty Cookie knitting theme. The purses are red vinyl on the back and are lined. The square purse is for circular needles and will hold one of HC's 15mm circular needles and keep it under control.

I'm definitely having a set of these for myself when I get more stock. Thanks Missy Mao Mao

Frankie

Meet Michele and Mark's dog Frankie. Frankie is a pugalier and so full of energy. On Wednesdays I have been going to Melbourne to visit Michele. One of the best times in the day is when we go to the park with Frankie. Last week we didn't have the ball flicker so Michele and I took turns in throwing the ball much to Frankie's disgust. We were pathetic. No bowler in the Australian test team need fear they will lose their place.
I have so much planned for today and the weather keeps changing every few minutes. I started off in sunshine to walk dogs and then rudely got rained on. Not that I ever complain about rain, just like warning. Mopsy is looking very pregnant but still wants a long walk and is full of beans.

The best thing for me to do now is some hat finishing for tomorrow's market. By lunchtime the weather may have decided on rain or sun.

A Touch of Frost

There was quite frost on Friday. The sheep didn't seem to mind and were happy eating crunchy grass.
T came up for the weeknd to help with a few chores. We spent Saturday afternoon collecting all the dead wood and made two bonfires. David will probably burn them this afternoon. I have been wanting to have a clean up for ages and felt very satisfied although tired on Saturday night.

This is my yarn drying in the loft. Such a wonderful place to dry the yarn. Friday was a huge dyeing day. The shop needed stocking and I had a few orders for 8 ply. Dyed some semi solids to use with the hand painted yarn.
The market was quiet to start with yesterday and then there was quite a flurry. I must remember to wear more layers next week as it was very cold yesterday. Saturday wasn't too cold here and I hadn't checked the forecast for Sunday. Won't happen next week.

Took Darwin for along walk this morning. I needed the walk and there is never a complaint from a dog. Mopsy is looking pregnant and was slowing down when we got to the top of the hill. The puppies are due early September.

I'm off to Melbourne again this Wednesday. Michele is having chemo in the morning so will meet her at the hospital. Then we'll have lunch and walk Michele's dog Frankie. Must remember to take a photo of Frankie this week.

The Dyepot & the Mittens

Apart from a day in Melbourne yesterday with Michele and a Dustteam lunch on Tuesday I have been productive in the studio. Still winding the 8 ply from cones into hanks. Quite a chore but then getting the yarn in the dye pot is fun. I dyed pastels - soft green, lemon mauve and pink

Then a bright red and orange

Just love this new green I combined with a sky blue

And some 5 ply in purple, blue and green.

These fingerless gloves have created havoc. They are just a simple pattern knitted in some Bluebell I found in some yarn given to me. The problem is that Darwin thinks they turn my hands into the best play things ever. I usually wear red knitted gloved but was finding I had to tak them off to clip and unclip the dogs so mittens were more convenient. Not so sure about that now. I'm off to walk the dogs as it is getting windy. Best to get them walked and in bed early today.