2023-03-27 06:42
I mentioned in my previous fibre based post that I was currently spinning Jacob Fleece, so why Jacob?It's easy to spinI can divide up the colours and blend more natural shades for my k… Read More
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Travel, Fibre And Thread Blog
travelfibreandthread.blogspot.com
mixing textile art with a love of motorcycles
2023-03-20 06:51
A quick trip out to check out some charity shops whilst Ian was off work led us to Beeston, just a few miles from home. It was a bitter day and not terribly successful on the buying fr… Read More
2023-03-06 14:51
Back in January I realised that I was getting very low on white fleece, bad time of the year to buy and wash/dry it myself so when I saw a small wool mill advertising that they could s… Read More
2023-02-19 16:43
The plan was to go to Poolsbrook Park campsite, I checked the availability, no problems, went in to book and someone swiped the Saturday night pitch from under me ! So back to the dra… Read More
2023-02-07 07:35
Last post I made a comment about charity shops, well I was very successful over the east coast break :-) I collected some books, bobbins and even a lace making pillow.As you can see, a… Read More
2023-01-23 10:44
We have just got back from our first trip of 2023, cheated a little by taking the car and staying in a Premier hotel but looking at the figures using the van wouldn't have been much ch… Read More
2023-01-12 15:27
over the last couple of weeks since the New Year, I've met friends for coffee, managed to get some yarn washed and labelled, done a little spinning, some fibre prep and some knitting.I… Read More
2022-12-31 09:00
At the beginning of December I said that I was done with knitting because I needed to spin some more yarn. I am am slowly making inroads into the fleece stash and the wash bag is filli… Read More
2022-12-27 14:12
Christmas is always a good excuse to grab two or three nights away and this year was no different. Van packed we headed back to the Norfolk coast and pitched up at Cromer on the Norfolk coas… Read More
2022-12-05 10:14
Just joking, I'm taking a break simply because I'm running out of yarn so the next couple of weeks will be focused on spinning.My knitting tally for the last two months is seven hats… Read More
2022-11-21 13:13
Hi, Its been a wet week and today the temperature has dropped drastically from the 16c that we had in Kings Lynn a week to around 6c and wet.You may remember that whilst in the va… Read More
2022-11-14 09:21
Kings Lynn.Yep, dragged the van out again, packed extra bedding as summer has passed and headed down to Norfolk. We have travelled around the country for the last 30 odd years by… Read More
2022-11-09 16:26
HiI had to go into town at the beginning of the week for as eye test, yep new glasses are needed. On the way down I noticed that the paint pots have been out down Bridlesmith gate.I'm… Read More
2022-10-31 08:31
HiWe are slowly recovering, Ian has returned to work but is exhausted when he gets home, and I've found that my cold has just left me feeling blaaah during the daytime.However, I did l… Read More
2022-10-24 12:22
Hi,I'm back, survived the heavy cold, survived living with a covid suffer (just) and currently still feeling a little under the weather and moody.I eventually picked up the knitting ne… Read More
2022-10-02 06:52
The leaves are changing colour and its definitely getting cooler. The heating is not yet on but we have switched from salads for most meals to cooked meals and the kettle is definitely… Read More
2022-09-24 13:32
HiWelcome back to the workroom for a quick crafty update 😀Firstly some knitting. As you may expect, I took some knitting on our recent trip, especially for the long drive up which en… Read More
2022-09-23 12:01
HiFirst I must say sorry for not posting in the last four weeks, I was busy packing before our trip and seem to have been washing and knitting eversince we got back. More about the kni… Read More
2022-08-21 14:42
Hi,My wrist is beginning to feel a lot better and I have spun a couple of skeins of lleyn as I suddenly realised that I am going to be short of yarn to knit with during our upcoming ro… Read More
2022-08-05 06:19
HiLast weekend saw us out and about again in the van, this time heading towards Shrewsbury for Shrewkfest. This is an ukulele festival held on a farm with the stage in a cowshed ( a ve… Read More
2022-07-24 14:20
After the heat of last week (39c which for us in the UK is HOT) the weather changed, cooled down and even rained so we headed back out in the Van. This time we headed for Leyburn in th… Read More
2022-07-17 20:27
I know I promised yarn bomb photos but it didn't pan out that way. Netherfest was great fun, history talks, music, dance all managed to lure me away from taking photos. On Friday I fou… Read More
2022-07-12 15:27
We seem to be in the grip of a rather warm spell with the forecast saying it will get even warmer ( for the UK ) This meant that the best plan of attack for Sunday was to go out for an… Read More
2022-07-07 11:53
I have my laptop back so I'm taking the chance to try it out whilst grabbing a coffee and sausage sandwich at my favourite cafe.The offending files have been removed and since this use… Read More
2022-07-03 16:34
My apologies for not posting but my laptop appears to have picked up a virus of some kind so it's currently disconnected from the net awaiting repair. Posting from my phone is awkward… Read More
2022-06-22 06:48
Last weekend we were back on the road and also back in Yorkshire. We booked the Bridlington campsite earlier in the year when we found out that the Race the Waves event was going ahead… Read More
2022-06-13 07:42
Last week turned out to be fleece delivery week. After clearing the decks of almost all my fleece stash, I've started to restock with freshly sheared fleece.The first to arrive was the… Read More
2022-06-12 06:53
We rarely travel over bank holidays mainly due to Ian working but last weekend we had the chance to grab a couple of nights away and found a relatively cheap campsite at Morecambe just… Read More
2022-06-10 06:41
May knittingI forgot to post this at the end of the month, not so much spinning this month but a reasonable amount on the knitting front.4 skeins of yarn 3 Jacob and one Texel/ncmThese… Read More
2022-06-06 05:55
The last three nights of our recent break were spent at Tewkesbury Caravan site, opposite the Abbey and pretty much in the centre of the small town. We had booked the site much earlier… Read More
2022-06-04 07:03
The weather turned as we headed down toward Penzance, we had booked a small campsite that I last stayed on a few times back in the eighties. I must admit that I had not been expecting… Read More
2022-06-03 15:50
Wednesday 1 June was shearing day at our local inner city farm and when I saw their advertisement on Facebook I contacted them to check that they had some Guild spinners attending. As… Read More
2022-06-02 12:54
Short and sweet post, whilst at the museum we were lucky to be offered a tour behind the scenes, chance to see the unrestored rides some of which we have never seen before and a sneak… Read More
2022-05-31 11:38
Hi,Today is Sunday and since my other half has decided to take his motorcycle and travel up to Yorkshire on his Round Britain Rally (visit points of interest in each county on a given… Read More
2022-05-28 07:00
Hi,I'm sorry, I really didn't realise that it had been so long since to I posted on here. My original idea of weekly posts went astray due to a bit of travel and other things.So, quick updat… Read More
2022-05-01 12:00
Hi,Time for a quick fibre update. I have been continuing to try and wash all my raw fleece and I am now down to just four bags ( one of which arrived yesterday )I still have a lot to p… Read More
2022-04-19 15:15
Hi,I was at a loose end on Saturday so packed up my wheel and headed off into town, first stop was at the independent traders market for a coffee (accompanied by an Easter chocolate)I sat sp… Read More
2022-04-08 10:36
Hi,Just a quick update on fluffy things. I currently have more bags of fleece drying on the line ready to continue with the stash spin down as most of the yarn in the previous post has… Read More
2022-03-31 09:38
Some of you may remember that I wrote a post at the end of February listing all my raw fleece that needed to be washed or tossed. Its now one month later so I thought that I would give… Read More
2022-03-29 13:13
Hi,Sorry for being a little more quiet than usual but I've been up to my neck in wool and yarn (separate spinning post coming soon ) and we took advantage of the recent unusually warm… Read More
2022-03-17 07:48
Busy, busy, busyFirst spinning demo for two years later this morning, I was going to just sit and spin but we've thrown it open as a demo / have a go session so I've been grabbing fibr… Read More
2022-03-08 13:26
It was cold and frosty this morning but the sky was clear so three bags of fleece are blowing around on the line.I took myself off into town for a wander round and a coffee, first stop… Read More
2022-03-06 20:40
Its Sunday so its baking time although I'm beginning to suspect that it may be cheaper to just buy a cake and a packet of biscuits !Ginger cake, ginger oat biscuits and Scottish oatcak… Read More
2022-03-04 09:27
Thursday morning saw me in my usual spot a Cafe Sobar with my lace pillow, I am currently working through some old patterns as I've found that I have forgotten quite a bit over t… Read More
2022-03-02 21:15
No fleece washing today, its dull, dismal and wet outside and I'm just grabbing a cuppa whilst I work out how many layers to put on !Today is parcel day, DPS are due to pick one up and… Read More
2022-03-01 21:08
So, just over two years ago I handed my manager a letter asking for retirement. I'd looked at the figures and decided that I could just about get through the 6 years or so before I'm eligibl… Read More
2022-02-28 12:25
Its nearly the end of February and hopefully we will get some warmer, drier weather soon. With this in mind I decided to take a quick stock take of my raw fleece waiting to be washed. Some o… Read More
2022-02-21 20:25
I've been playing catch up with this stitch as I only found out about it about two weeks ago !So far I have completed the January band and will start on the February one this week. The… Read More
2022-02-16 16:38
When I spin, the resulting skeins are generally around 110gm as I prefer to be on the generous side for yardage .As a result I often have combed fibres left over, just 20 or 30 gram, w… Read More
2022-02-09 21:00
Hi,I know that it hasn't been the coldest or snowiest of winters here in the Midlands but I'm feeling ready for some proper sun, the chance to leave the washing out and all the windows… Read More
2022-01-30 16:18
As some of you may know, I am trying to seriously destash the house and hopefully cut the contents by at least a third. The pile of boxes for the charity shop is getting large ag… Read More
2022-01-19 13:36
I've finally managed to sit down and think about fibre plans for 2022. I've not set any real goals although an American spinner has invited me to join the 365 spin challenge which is t… Read More
2022-01-15 10:12
We have just returned from a long weekend back on the East Yorkshire coast. This time we left the van at home and booked into the Premier Inn on the seafront at Bridlington as we neede… Read More
2021-12-29 09:16
HiJust a quick craft update before the New Year arrives, the craft destash finally amounted to 7 carrier bags full which will be donated to a playgroup/afterschool club.I finished the… Read More
2021-12-27 22:02
That just about sums up our short break, super windy Christmas Eve with gusts in excess of 30mph made sleeping interesting with the van rocking slightly. Nowhere near as bad as the sto… Read More
2021-12-22 14:08
The boiler repair man was here yesterday so I shut myself in the workroom and popped my fibre odds and ends through the drum carder. This is a mix of Jacob, Black Welsh Mountain… Read More
2021-12-17 17:53
HiI've been busy over the last couple of weeks so not a lot of crafting. I managed to knit another black and white hat and gave some attention to the big red thing.Vehicle update, car… Read More
2021-12-03 11:50
I don't want to be all baa humbug but you will not see a great deal about Christmas festivities on this blog. we gave up celebrating it a few years ago mainly because of the over comme… Read More
2021-11-24 16:36
What's in the box ? I know some of you may already have seen this a few years ago but many of you haven't.I'm giving a very small lacemaking demo/lesson with another lacemaker of… Read More
2021-11-22 20:59
Hi, just a quick update, Ian took the car down to the garage to get a quote on the damage and check that it was still road legal ( the other cars owner should cover the repairs with th… Read More
2021-11-22 06:22
oops, looks like I forgot to post last week, sorry but I really didn't have too much to share or show other than some spinning so I'll combine that with the next post.For now, I'm going to u… Read More
2021-11-09 06:36
The house is now warm which means that the radiators are strewn with yarn and knitting, the heating works a little differently to before so it will take a while to find the proper temp… Read More
2021-11-03 16:06
I'm sorry that this post is a little late but we have been busy moving things around so the gas men can install a new boiler which involves rerouting pipes etc and trying to destash as… Read More
2021-10-22 11:38
We have just two more trips planned for this year and we are keeping our fingers crossed that they can still go ahead. So, for the time being, its back to business as usual. Mittens ha… Read More
2021-10-18 19:15
Last weekend we made a quick dash to Cornwall to catch up with friends who we hadn't seen since June 2019. Many arrangements had been made to visit last year but due to the obvious dis… Read More
2021-10-07 18:27
I had planned to stitch on the other red thing this week but then had a request for some mittens and dyed yarn so I made it a spinny/knitty week instead.As I had some combed fibre oddm… Read More
2021-10-02 14:53
Two days ago I was still wearing my normal cut off trousers and tops and today I'm in long skirt, jumper and (shock horror) socks !! I don't think I've worn socks for at least 3 maybe… Read More
2021-09-27 18:57
Our travels are over for a few weeks, next trip will be dependent on both covid and fuel supplies but hopefully a last look at the sea for this year. We have been chatting about next years p… Read More
2021-09-22 18:54
Once again plans made earlier in the year didn't work as hoped and we found ourselves on a campsite near Glouscester for a couple of nights. We are familiar with this area as we used t… Read More
2021-09-21 09:30
Our next campsite had been booked at the beginning of the year simply because they had space and it didn't look too far from the coast, however it turned out better than expected. We d… Read More
2021-09-19 19:05
Follow the Atlantic Highway down into Cornwall they said, beautiful views they said, they lied !Wet and foggy!! All the way to our next campsite. A couple of weeks ago we messaged some frien… Read More
2021-09-17 06:00
From Minehead we carried on down the coast past peaceful villages, over Porlock hill and with this being the steepest hill in the UK it meant that going down the other side involved a f… Read More
2021-09-15 12:56
We have visited Minehead a couple of times before, once a few years ago on the bike as part of the Round Britain challenge and again three years ago when it snowed.This time it was som… Read More
2021-09-11 11:41
We finally managed to pack everything ,including the kitchen sink, into the van and set out for a few days relaxation. Again we have headed south both for the weather and to try a… Read More
2021-09-04 06:00
August bank holiday, why not go to the beach and have an ice-cream? We headed back to Bridlington last Saturday, leaving early and getting down to the Harbour cafe for breakfast a… Read More
2021-08-30 14:55
As we have had a few days of reasonable weather, I washed the skeins of Ryeland and Texel together with the latest mitts. The pattern works well with the slightly thicker rustic yarns… Read More
2021-08-25 11:29
pre-wash HighlanderSo, not my most even spinning but its good enough :-) spun beautifully, nice shine, soft, feels like a woolly Romney haha.I'm going give this a wash, soak, ball it u… Read More
2021-08-24 15:00
Hiyou can find part one hereOnce dry I gave the fleece a final quick pick over and started loading it onto the combs, lock by lock to keep the fibres running in the same direction.like… Read More
2021-08-24 10:44
Remember I mentioned a new breed/cross fleece from highlander sheep?Well, I opened my front door just before we went away to find a box sitting in the doorway, a big box which has been… Read More
2021-08-22 14:49
HiWe managed to get back out in the van this weekend and headed off to Ferry Meadows campsite next to Nene Park near Peterborough. We have used this site a few times, a couple of Chris… Read More
2021-08-17 10:01
I'm in a bit of a lull at the moment, no road trips recently although we have some planned. I'm keeping busy doing routine jobs around the house and slowly beginning to destash unwanted item… Read More
2021-08-09 06:28
No trips out except to the shops.No exciting weather just sunshine and showers.No stitching progress.It's really been a a bit of a non week, the highlight being moving all the stuff ba… Read More
2021-07-31 16:59
This week has been a bit of stitching, some knitting and yet more fibre prep.I've been tweaking the fingerless mitt pattern and I think I'm happy with it now. This works with my hand s… Read More
2021-07-27 12:43
On Saturday we grabbed our waterproofs, jumped in the car and headed off to the coast. Our destination was Bridlington on the east coast, we have never been there before so decided tha… Read More
2021-07-19 04:54
TDF is well and truly over for this year, the skeins have been washed and now waiting to be weighed, re-skeined and labelled.My spinning wheel is packed away for a few days and I've pr… Read More
2021-07-17 07:57
That's me done, simply going to put the wheel away for a few days and do something else.Last two skeins of Shetland and JacobTotal 2.022 KiloAssorted weights from fingering to chunky… Read More
2021-07-16 05:36
I'm now at 1864gm against my personal target of 2 Kilo, I still have a pile of fleeces that is growing. Looks like a grey Shetland is heading in my direction so maybe I should sp… Read More
2021-07-15 05:30
I'm beginning to promise myself that I will put away my wheel on Sunday and do something different for a bit !This is what the contents of the washbag look like spread out ( still not… Read More
2021-07-14 05:30
Today it was back to tackling the black cheviot from the Isle of Skye, yep the fleece from the sheep that must have stood on the coal tip! Teeny, tiny bits of what looks like coal even… Read More
2021-07-13 05:30
Two more for the wash bag, I finished spinning and plying the Ryeland from the weekend (100gm) and then spun and plyed the white cheviot (110gm)On the home front, I've unpacked most of… Read More
2021-07-12 05:30
I did , in fact, spin every day but not a lot ! here's the wheel after Fridays spinning, and after Saturday it looked pretty similar as it was hot and have you ever fallen asleep spinn… Read More
2021-07-09 05:30
107gm BFL/Swaledale.I'm taking a break from blogging for a couple of days as other things need my attention so my next update will probably be Sunday or Monday with an update on any sp… Read More
2021-07-08 05:30
Top is the unknown fleece spun yesterday coming in at 131 gm, bottom skein is cheviot weighing in at 125 gm spun and plyed today.I've no idea what I will be spinning tomorrow, its in a bag… Read More
2021-07-07 05:30
Todays spinning, this fibre was prepped at least a year ago and there isn't a label with it so I'm having to guess that's its yet more Jacob ! I plan to ply it tomorrow.Other than that, I've… Read More
2021-07-06 05:30
I know that today was supposed to be a rest day but i don't really like to leave things half finished so I spun up the other bobbin of hebridean and plyed all 4 bobbin giving me 128gm… Read More
2021-07-05 05:30
Not a lot to say today. 2 bobbins of jacob and one of hebridean.That's all xExcept.For anyone who is new to my blog.This is why I spin natural colours.I hope you all had a great w… Read More
2021-07-04 07:02
Brown Shetland bobbin two spun and plyed (112gm ) and added to the washing bag. I think that I may have a line full at the end of the three weeks. I do like to colour of this one.So he… Read More
2021-07-03 05:30
Today has really been a day of housework, fleece washing, zoom meetings and a little stitching. I did get some spinning done, 60gm Shetland.I did, however, take the opportunity to unpa… Read More
2021-07-02 05:40
Four bobbins of very dark Jacob, I bought this fleece back from the Isle of Skye in 2019 but I've only just got round to spinning it.Plyed the first and third bobbin and realised that this t… Read More
2021-07-01 05:30
Back to the Shetland / Romney, 2nd bobbin spun and both plied together.I've now reached the point where I colour code my skeins, a loop of yarn or embroidery thread round the skein and… Read More
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