thornberry

When there isn’t enough time to craft, there still seems to be enough time to grow the stash.  Maybe it is my way of crafting by default - making plans, getting the supplies, and maybe then I’ll fool myself into actually getting things done.  In the past week these fabrics arrived:

The two on the bottom right are japanese prints from the lovely Retro Mummy; most of the rest are from the Flutterby line by Tula Pink for Moda.  Other than the three prints on the right hand side, I plan on using these in a quilt.  I have half a yard of each, but haven’t decided yet what pattern to use.

And what would stash building be without yarn?  At least I have definite plans for these.  This kid mohair will become a “mossy cowl”, from one of my Interweave Crochet mags (I think the pattern is available free online as well though).

This divine 12-ply 100% merino yarn comes from Pear Tree Yarns.  They had beautiful lacy shell-stitch scarves crocheted out of these yarns in a variety of highly covetable colours.  I can’t wait to crochet this one into a scarf for myself!  I’m going to try to do it without a pattern; I took a good look at the ones on display and I reckon that I can figure it out for myself.

The yarn came from the Victorian Handknitters Guild wool expo which was on yesterday.  There were loads of beautiful (and expensive) yarns to ogle.  I really, really like the Pear Tree Farm ones though - solids in beautiful colours, and incredibly soft. 

Z & S fabrics for me!  They had another sale.  Thanks Nikki for enabling that one for me!  Two little parcels, each tied with fabric (I have been piecing together the fabric used to tie the parcels - when it’s a large enough piece I hope to make something interesting from it).

In this stash, from left to right:

Tina Givens for Westminster Rowan; Freshcut by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit; Iota by Robert Kaufman.  I have one yard of each of these.  The Freshcut will become clothes for Stella.  The Iota fabrics may become incorporated into my Brown Owls tote or uniform somehow.

This range is Utopia from Free Spirit.  I have two yards of each.  A few different plans floating around in my head for these ones.  And to finish off, yarn swatches from Live 2 Knit.

This Melbourne lady does beautifully dyed yarn on different fibres and weights of wool.  They look so gorgeous on her website, I couldn’t resist getting shade cards.  I have way more plans than I could ever make real!

After taking Miss Clare to the Hi-5 concert last weekend I rewarded myself with a browse at the Southgate Market.  I came across an amazing stall of yarn and fabrics all grown, shorn, spun, dyed, and woven by the one family.  Ixchel Angora Rabbit Stud & Fibre Art is in Gilderoy, and luckily for me (but probably not for the bank account) Charly is at the market every Sunday.  There were so many beautiful yarns to choose from!  I bought some alpaca:

Same yarn, but photo taken with flash - the true colour is somewhere between these two photos:

and some angora/merino sock yarn.

Check out those colours (although the camera really doesn’t do them justice)!

Obviously, I will make socks from the sock yarn (not that I’ve ever made them before - and will I knit them, or crochet them?) and I’m still not certain of what pattern I’ll use for the alpaca - possibly a vest of some sort for myself.

When I emailed Charly for further information about the yarn (my sieve-like brain had already forgotten what she’d told me on the day) not only sent a friendly reply, but some photos of the animals that the yarn comes from!  The alpacas (Daisy & Chacoty)

and Cinderel the angora rabbit.

They don’t have a website yet but can be contacted by email on ixchel at iprimus dot com dot au.  Or you can find them at the Southgate Craft Market on Sundays in Melbourne!

By the way, other than being a happy customer I have no connection to them - but I think that their yarn is worth promoting!

This lot arrived today.

The pink wool/cotton/lycra mix is for a cardigan for Clare; the lemon cotton is for a short-sleeved lacy top for Clare; the green cotton is for a lacy jacket for me; the purple cotton is for a short-sleeved top for me; the orange wool is for yet another top for me; the cream cotton will eventually become a blanket for Stella.

I’ll be crocheting forever.