Tongala Village Green Market .....

..is on this Sunday. I have more handspun yarns for the winter knitting season. I also have natural coloured tops for spinners and felters.

February is nearly over and what a summer we have had. More people have been by abnormal weather events than we have ever known. I hope it settles soon.

I thought that when I dropped some work hours it would give me more time for my craft, but this week has been extra busy - Seymour Alternative Expo, Saturday; Beechworth Old Schoolhouse Gallery, Sunday to meet up with the North East Yarns. (This gallery is worth a look as several stalls belonging to several indidual artists or a group of artists, have been incorporated into the one building ). There is also a tearoom to partake in fabulous teas and scones. Monday, teaching spinning, Tuesday work, Wednesday Ballarat visit to the Hospital, my ex MIL is unwell again, very tired. Thursday handed over the Suri handspun, Friday work, Saturday off to Kyneton to look at some Lowline heifers. Need more stock, lots of grass.

Have had to mow the sheep paddocks to mulch the Bathurst burr, looking much better, the grass will start growing with the new dew. Sheep are looking better, so hope no more fly-strike. Have a new shelter set for a shearing area and yarding to be completed. Looking forward to a bit better facility.

Surely it can't be February already....

The weeks are going so quickly, I am sure Easter can't be that far away.

But I have been busy, so I thought I would bore you with some of my current projects, some for me and some to sell.

A year or so ago I joined the Wangaratta Spinners and headed off to the Guild in Melbourne, where we participated in a "sandwich" ie each participant went round in a circle dropping small amounts of fibre on to the floor, which were then divided into equal amounts for each person. Lots of fun!! I finally carded and attempted (my version) of a thick and thin which I plied with a multi coloured rayon thread. I don't think I did too badly with this. Now I have to decide what to do with, maybe a beret or a neckwarmer comes to mind.









Last year I took on the job of spinning this Suri for a client. It was a very long fleece ( 2years growth), so sometimes hit the too hard basket but, here it is the finished product. Hopefully Cheryl from Chersam Alpacas will be happy with the result. I haven't weighed them yet, but a total 11 skeins have been produced.









Before I started weighing batts or tops prior to spinning I would have leftovers sitting on the bobins for awhile. I have come to the conclusion that these should not be wasted and I thought I might sell them as Mystery ends, because they will be a mix of Alpaca and wool.

Wool laps from Bendigo Woollen Mills can produce some surprise packages. This next skein is a blend of white, green and mauve. I have carded small amounts separately, then split and recarded to give this baby blue effect. This would look lovely as a baby's shawl or any other project for someone who likes pastel colours.

And, finally a wine tote depicting wine bottles and grapes as the base material design.

Sponge bars have been replaced on the knitting machines, so it is time to get them working and me to use them. The basic machine is easy but the electro card machines I have to learn.

With all this humidity we have been having, I have had to watch the sheep like a hawk, and try and treat fly strike as it occurs. A few sheep have been affected including the older ram who is really having a bad time. These fleeces will not be very useful this year.

I hope all those out there who have had a bad time with floods and exceptional weather systems are faring well. Bring on cool weather!!!