Hello out there...

Very remiss of me not blogging. Internet service up and down. Upgraded to 4G Mobile so hope it becomes better.
Here on the farm this week we have had a whopping 6 inch rainfall resulting in flooded paddocks. We have a huge drain through the property and it is fast flowing and very high, about 18 inches below the bridge. Unfortunately thinking we were not going to get more than the first 3 inches we closed the door that takes water into the drain, so waking up Thursday morning found my Studio surrounded by a sheet of water. Water was lapping the verandah around the house as well. Due to the height of the drain, water was not going away as fast as it usually does.  To add to this proble, the property up the road from us unfortunately has flooded and is running down the road drains, seeping onto our propety around the Studio area so we are on Floodwatch. Everything is up high for the present until everything settles down.
I cancelled going to the Nagambie market, thankfully, as it has now started to rain again. The sheep and cattle have got some dry ground, so hopefully it will be okay!

Looking from house to our next paddock

Studio surrounded by water

Back verandah area

Luckily I had visitors from the Art Mooveau group, to the studio for a get together with coffee and cake on Wednesday. Lots of woollie goodies went away in their hands.
Some hand dyed wool tops and fleeces went over to the North East last Sunday and have new owners. So have had  productive sales this week to make up for lost markets. A recent visit over to Echuca also saw 19 skeins of wool yarns go to a new owner as well.
Once the rain event has finished will have to get more wool dyed. Do not want to increase the drain problem at the moment. So spinning a multi coloured yarn and some Alpaca for a client using handcards to prepare the fibre. Tedious but showing promise.

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!!!

Update...

It's good to know that friends and families are safe. In trying not to overload the phones so disaster messages can be sent out, we play a waiting game until we are informed all ok.

It was amazing to hear my hometown of Pyramid Hill had flooded around the Hill and up to the town boundary, and people were using canoes for transport. Luckily my old home was not flooded and old friends two doors up were not flooded, although they have been part of the workforce with the sandbagging etc.

Let's hope the water runs away reasonably quickly, to allow normality to return.

Early February, I will be giving Spinning lessons at a newly opened shop in Rushworth.

Wendy Cooke is the proprietor of Rushwool Knit and Yarn, and kindly asked if I could do lessons, and we have decided to do lessons on a Monday for a three week block. As it is a small area classes are limited to 2 persons, which I hope to give each person more attention. I am looking forward to this as it has been one of my future goals.

Check out http://www.rushwool.com/

Photos below of recent works:

... English Leicester/Corriedale Blend

.....Handspun from tops (EGMTK)

....Hand-dyed Natural grey processed wool yarn

...Handspun from hand dyed wool tops.