colourways

The Shwook hat pattern calls for five different colourways. Inspired by the traditional use of natural colours in FairIsle patterns, I've settled on the following colourways: 

• Natural black
• Natural brown
• Grey (blended during carding)
• Beige (natural dyes - walnut)
• Natural white

Who knows, I might even end up giving my yarns local dialect names, just like in the Shetlands. 

from hillside to hat

 

I've been searching for my first proper "spin to knit" project for a while. I was very tempted to join in with Liesl and spin some sock yarn. Only problem is, my spinning skills and equipment are not quite yet up to the task (spinning worsted) and I think I'd be very disappointed to see all my hard work fall to pieces at a worn out heel.

Then Melody started talking about Shetland, Fairisle and hat knitting and I knew I'd found the project for me. The Shwook hat by Hazel Tindall is a low yardage hat that suits both delicate and more rugged (like mine!) yarns alike. It will also be a good opportunity to widen my knitting skills and finally try some Fair Isle.

Melody's idea for a knit-a-long during Shetland Wool Week has come-a-long at just the right moment!

I've got about six weeks to spin five 25g skeins of 2 ply jumper weight yarn in five different colour-ways ready to cast on the hat for the 4th October.

I'm incredibly excited about starting this project. There is something both incredibly rewarding and therapeutic about each stage of the process of turning a dirty bit of fleece into metre upon metre of soft knitting yarn.

I'm also excited by the prospect of documenting each stage of the journey here on my little blog. From hillside to hat, as it were.

planning a project

I've been spinning my own yarn for nearly six months now. In that time, I've accrued an array of samples, ranging from nobbly, bobbly (over plied yarns) to some fairly reasonable attempts. I'm starting to get a pretty good feel for how the wheel and spindle work and just generally what spinning is all about.

Although knowing how to card raw fleece and draft fibres is essential, I realise that they are not all I need to know to become a self-sufficient spinster. To be able to truly spin on my own, I need to be able to make all the decisions for planning a project before I even begin to weigh out my raw fleece. 

I don't want to become a spinner who guesses at my yarn needs, or bluffs my way through projects, hoping that I'll produce something usable only to be deeply disappointed with the end result.

And besides, aside from the folly of omitting it, I'm sure planning a yarn project from start to finish can be as rewarding and stimulating as any other part of the process. 

What I need is a project designed to reinforce spinning theories and my current set of spinning skills with practical experience taking me through the steps from fibre to fabric...

 ...to be continued!

"a" for eagle

Arriving at the plateau, we hear the piercing cry of a startled marmot. Our eyes immediatly look upwards and there above our heads, we see a golden eagle soaring high on the light summer winds.

Spotting a golden eagles may be a rare occurence, even here in the Pyrenees. But whilst listening to the radio this morning, I was thrilled to discover this morning that golden eagles are infact all around us.  

Our modern lower-case letter "a", an ancient relic of Egyptian hieroglyphs, is infact based upon the shape of a perched eagle. 

la fête des bergers

There's a noticable chill in the air as I set up my little spinning corner this morning. A clear sign that Autumn is not far away. But as the waves of tourists start to arrive, the temperature slowly rises. 

By the time the little herd of sheep is rounded up and brought down the ski slope hillside, the sun is shining summer bright.

Throngs of tourists have come up to the mountain for an "authentic" day out, to catch a glimpse of a pastoral heritage which some would say is fading further away with each passing year.

They gather around the sheep fold, patting and prodding the livestock waiting to be shorn. They sun themselves on the hillside, watching the sheep dog demonstrations. They crowd around me and my spindle and wheel.
  

in the orchard

There's something wonderfully therapeutic about picking fruit. Even on an especially slow day, when I'm not up to much more than sitting in the long grass and gently knitting a few rows whilst my love does all the hard work. 

 (I've finally succumbed...Melody's enthusiasm for Fairisle is contagious...)

be kind

Be kind to your sleeping heart.
Take it out in the vast field of light
And let it breathe.'               
Hafiz

During group therapy at the thèrmes today, we were encouraged to think about being more "kind to ourselves". The psychologist asked us to share with the group the things that make us happy, that help us to be kind to ourselves.

Knitting and spinning were of course at the top of my own list. Whilst I learn to find my own rhythm once again, it looks as if there might be a lot more woolcraft going on around here for the next few months. 

la fête du mouton

A few weeks back, I joined a little association of local producers and hand crafters. Earlier in the week, we were each invited to set up a little stand at our village's annual "Fête du Mouton". 

Although I was a little nervous at first (it's not easy to spin good yarn when your hands are shaking!) I soon got into the swing on things. 

My little stand pulled a large crowd throughout the evening. I took onlookers through the processes of fibre production from sorting to carding to spinning on both spindle and wheel. It was a wonderful experience to be able to share my craft with locals and visitors of all ages and nationalities. At one point we even had a ball of my yarn and a pair of needles going round the assembled crowd with onlookers doing a row or two here and there.

And to think I've only been a spinster since mid-March. 

(Photo credit: Marie-Bernard Hourtané)

buttercup (hand-spun)

This was my first time experimenting with turmeric. I was hoping to produce a mustard-yellow yarn (I've got a burning desire to knit some mustard colour mittens for the autumn...). It ended up more like a buttercup, but I'm very happy nonetheless - especially with the heather effect I achieved by "tie-dying" the skein. 

※※※

"Buttercup"

Ingredients: 70g of washed and carded wool. The fibre used was white Barégeoise from Gèdre.

Spinning: Two singles spun from rolags in the Z direction, using the woollen technique.  

Plying: two singles plied in the S direction until balanced. 

Finishing: Wound off into a skein, washed and dried weighted to set the ply.

Dyeing:  natural turmeric, dyed in the skein (tied up with elastic bands)

Quantity: 70g giving 220m of finished yarn

 

plateau de belle vue

Là-haut. Au-dessus de 1500m. L'air est pur. Le soleil tape fort. 

Des champs d'iris. Des vaches broutent. Des abeilles bourdonnent. 

Et moi, je marche. Lentement, certes. Mais je marche quand même.

C'est comme un renouveau. Comme si tout venait de recommencer: 

La vie. La santé. L'amour. L'été. 

Doucement. Lentement.

Sans s'abandonner. 

※※※※※

Up above 1500m.  The air is pure. The sun is strong.

Fields of irises. Grazing cows. Bumble bees a buzzing.

As for me, I'm walking. Slowly, yes. But walking all the same. 

It feels like life has only just begun. As if everything is starting afresh:

Life. Health. Love. The summer. 

Gently. Slowly. 

Not giving up.

(Notre première balade en montagne depuis l'automne dernier /
Our first mountain walk since last Autumn.)