I just love a competition! Thank you to all our new followers, I hope you enjoy stopping by on occasion to say ‘hi’ or just to catch up with what’s going on with the group.

I’ve done the drawing of the prize for the Cashmere Fling:

And the winner is:

Yay!

Rest assured the Cashmere Fling will be with you very soon. Have a great weekend everyone.

Sitting around the table on Monday night, I was about to divulge about a weekend online purchase; someone pipes up and guesses ‘Wollmeise 8ply’, they were wrong of course. My response… ‘there’s Wollmeise 8ply?!’ Of course everyone was shocked that I didn’t know this piece of information, don’t ask me why! So now you know too, apparently Wollmeise comes in 8ply, you don’t have to thank me 🙂

I never thought that I would be a spinner. Not because I thought spinners were freakier than knitters as such ::giggle::. But because I gave spinning a go a number of years ago, before Richmond Knitters even before my first Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show. AND I FAILED… TERRIBLY.

I had done the guild beginner course (not that there was anything wrong with the course, I had a brilliant teacher). I got an updated tetanus shot because we were handling unwashed fleece (ergh!) and I had my MIL’s wheel on borrow. In hindsight… I blame the wheel. It was an old traditional style wheel and I don’t think it had had a sip of oil in quite some time. It was sooo damn hard to treadle, making it so hard to concentrate on drafting whilst the wheel was moving in the wrong direction. It was incredibly frustrating, I thought it was me and I thought spinning was just one of those difficult things I would never master let alone fill a bobbin.

Fast forward to the Bendigo Show where Sharon bought her first wheel (about 3 years ago). I was very jealous by the prospect (recalling my failure), nothing really beats handspun. That year I bought my first spindle. Sheesh, if Sharon can do it, I’ve got to try again! The spindle turned out to be a rubbish, read: too light and unbalanced for a beginner; so back to the guild I went where I purchased an identical Ashford heavy teaching spindle to the one Sharon had loaned me. The black electric tape around the hook still makes me smile. That is the first time I had actually spun yarn, where some drafting was involved. By now Melanie was also heavily in on the act by doing the guild course; things were getting serious.

Today my free time is divided between knitting and spinning; I still love knitting a little more than spinning, but I can’t imagine my life without it. Being able to choose beautifully dyed fibres to turn them into yarn and then resulting in a one-of-a-kind handknit is the ultimate sense of satisfaction.

Don’t get me wrong there are still plenty of non-spinners who come to Monday nights, but bit by bit the spinning bug has at least given most people a crack at spinning on a spindle. It’s wonderful to be able to share my latest skein of handspun on a Monday night by a captured audience. Best reactions to FO’s come from Melanie… always 🙂

So if you really think you’re not a spinner, give it a try, or try again, most people learn a lot faster than me.

This is my mum with her handspun, handknit shawl I made for her birthday last year.

Don’t forget, if you follow our blog before August 19th, you have a chance to win a skein of my handspun. The ‘follow’ button is at the bottom right of this window when viewing the blog on a computer.

Let me cast your memory back to this little surprise post where I was taken aback by the amazing dye job undertaken by some talented women for my birthday.
The fibre is BFL/Silk. The fibre itself was beautiful, but the colour made it all the more delicious to spin. Now I have to work out what to make it into. It’s saying ‘cowl’ or ‘mitts’ to me, any other ideas?

Announcing our first ever competition!

Become a follower to our blog and you’ll be entered into a draw to win a skein of my handspun! The fibre is IxChel’s Cashmere Fling! It was soooo soft to spin and even more delicious after it was washed. The content of Cashmere Fling is: Cashmere 5%, Tencel 40%, Glitz 40% and Bamboo 15%.

All current followers will be entered into the draw. Prize will be drawn August 19th.

The moment has finally arrived. In recent weeks Tony’s scarf has been completed behind the scenes. Chris used her patented blocking technique on the scarf and I have to say, it looked like a million dollars!

Some gratuitous modeled photos:

Tonight was the night of the hand-over. Poor Tony didn’t know what hit him!

So here’s how it happened. Melanie called Tony over after he had delivered one of his amazing hot chocolate drinks. She began by saying how the Richmond Knitters had been coming to Kojo’s for over 2 and a half years.

CLICK (that was me taking a photo, I am my mother’s daughter, I didn’t want to miss a thing) Tony I think was rather unsure about what was about to happen…

And then Melanie did a wonderful job of presenting Tony with the scarf and also a Richmond Knitters mug.

Thank you Tony for taking care of the Richmond Knitters each Monday and for putting up with our requests for turning the music down and turning the lights up. We truly are lucky to have such an accommodating guy.

My first CafePress order arrived this week in time for my birthday. I’m now fully kitted out, so there can be no mistake about which SnB I frequent. I got a variety of items, so that I could judge the quality of the items before / if anyone else chose to buy from the store. I also like stuff with my knitting group’s logo on it!

When placing my order for a gi-normous mug, my dear husband said wouldn’t you like two? So you can have one for home and one for work? I do love his thoughtfulness at these times.

I love this hoody, it is light-weight and comfy and could possibly come to the gym with me in the chilly mornings of winter we’ve got coming up.

I also teamed up the pink logo, with the pink 3/4 sleeved top. I hope you all like pink! You do have a choice of other colours in the sleeves, but the logo is currently the one pictured for this top.

My most favourite item of all I think is the tote bag (badges sold separately). It is a good heavyweight canvas, perfect for carting things to knit night!

If there’s an item you want to see in the store that’s not there, I’m taking special requests. Make sure you check out the sizing guidelines for each of the clothing items if you’re going for a T-shirt etc, the sizing might vary from the sizing you’re used to. I’m bringing these things to knit night tonight, if you want to check things out.

There, I’ve said it. Just the mention of the name of this regional Victorian town still ignites excitement in me five years on. I dwell on Bendigo like I dwell on Christmas or my ehm-hem, birthday.

For the uninitiated ‘Bendigo’, is the premier Sheep and Wool Show of the year. It’s the Aussie’s version of Rhinebeck (probably on a smaller scale, but I can’t be sure of that… I’ve never had a holiday based on a fibre festival… yet) The show is held in July at The Prince of Wales Showgrounds, Bendigo each year. For the fibre-obsessed, you really can’t miss it.

There are sheep, lots and lots. There is yarn, miles of it. Fibre, so much you can’t see for the fumes. It has everything, well most things (I’m trying to talk it up here). Despite all these amazing things, which should be reason enough to make you want to attend, my favourite things about the show, in order of bestestness.

1. The Storeholders/fibre farmers: They are passionate people, they are passionate about what you’re passionate about. And they want to talk to you, lots.

2. The Sheep Dog Trials: Call me juvenile, but I find these hil-ari-ous-ly funny and fascinating to watch at the same time.

3. The Storeholders (once again): This is me blissed out spinning on the Majacraft stand, whilst engaging with the maker of my future wheel. I could have stayed all day, and they wouldn’t have minded, not one bit.

4. Catching up with friends you don’t get to see all year round: With the yarn fumes this is really fun. You’re dizzy, happy and relaxed and the squeeing goes on and on (you have to be there to appreciate that).

5. The fibre and yarn is pretty good too. This goes without saying. I arrive on the first day each year, because I’m afraid the best stuff will go first. This isn’t necessarily true, just don’t come between me and the yarn/fibre I have my eye on…

So why am I telling you all this? It’s only April! Preparation, people, preparation! Which day/s are you going? Are you day-tripping, staying overnight or all weekend? What’s your budget? What are you looking out for?

Luckily this only happens once a year…