Making a start

Hello! I don't seem to have been here much recently, and I'm feeling a bit shy, so just peeping in with Herdy for bright, pink reassurance.

There's quite a lot that I'd like to say, but I don't know how to, at the moment, so I'm going to evade that little difficulty for now by joining in with The Yarn Yard's Making Monday blog project.

Just little things for now...

I've turned this...

...into this...

...which is the first clue from the WestKnits KAL mystery shawl
The yarns share two colours each, so it's going to be low contrast, but no issues with the colours clashing.

I've also persuaded my much neglected sourdough starter to show signs of life - look - bubbles!

If there hadn't been any life left in it, it would have been evicted from the kitchen

Woolfest

Yay! I made it to Woolfest for both days, met lots of lovely people, had a good natter with friends, and am now sitting on a sunny beach in Cumbria. (yes, you did read that correctly - sunny and Cumbria in the same sentence)

See you in a few days!

Chocolate!

Is it wrong to buy chocolate just because the wrapper is a pretty colour?

Or indeed, two bars, because they looked nice together? I wouldn't usually buy milk chocolate, but it is Green & Blacks, so my husband didn't mind...


OK, I bought some more - dark, this time. I liked the way that the wrappers complemented each other. And no, I haven't eaten it all yet!

Yarn at I Knit Weekender

Autumn in the Woods, originally uploaded by sparkleduck.

This is probably my favourite out of the yarns that I sent to the I Knit Weekender. It's a merino lace / cobweb weight, in a colourway called 'Autumn in the Woods'. It's autumnal, without scaring those who aren't exceptionally fond of orange.

Copper Beech, originally uploaded by sparkleduck.

This is another of my favourites - a merino / silk lace weight in 'Copper Beech'. The true colour is slightly browner than I can see on my screen right now. I dyed some baby alpaca / cashmere / silk laceweight in this colourway this week - just one skein, to see if I liked it, and it's not going to escape - it's going to become a Damson shawl for me. I think I'll be dyeing more of this one...

The Birds Ate the Berries, originally uploaded by sparkleduck.

This one is 'The Birds Ate the Berries', on a 100% merino sock yarn. It's a high twist yarn, and quite bouncy. It was inspired by the evidence left behind (usually on your nice, clean car or windows) when the birds have discovered the brambles.

If you missed it at I Knit, there should be sparkleduck yarn available from the Woolly Workshop shortly.

I Knit Weekender

It's the I Knit Weekender, starting tomorrow - or should that be today, now?

Some of my hand dyed yarn will be there with the Woolly Workshop.
There will be:

• Merino / silk laceweight - 725m / 100g - 70% merino, 30% silk
• Organically farmed merino laceweight - 673m / 50g - 100% merino
• Wool / silk laceweight - 1200m / 150g - 50% wool, 50% silk
• Merino / Tencel laceweight - 800m / 100g - 50% merino, 50% tencel
• High twist superwash merino sock - 330m/125g - 100% superwash merino

As with all hand dyed yarns, they are best treated gently and handwashed. Sock yarn, obviously, should handle a bit more of a beating...

I'm hoping to get an etsy shop up and running very shortly, and make the sparkleduck website somewhat more exciting when I get some more time. It's a tough choice - dye more yarn, knit something, go to I Knit, spend time at the computer making things pretty, or watch ducklings. Yes, ducklings, in September. I'd show you a picture, but I've lost the lead to download the photo from my phone.

Hello, world

I've temporarily escaped from the Aeolian shawl of forever to grab some blog space ... but I hear the knitting calling again...