Fibre East 2016

We had such a great day at the Fibre East Festival on 30th July. These first pictures are the competition exhibits. The checkered top is a woven piece that Larry made for me. I love wearing it because it is so comfortable. It goes over a jumper and adds extra warmth.  He made it really well.

The purple cardigan lying flat in the next picture is my entry. I spun the wool myself and knitted the cardigan to a bought pattern. I am looking forward very much to snuggling up inside it when the winter comes.

What follows are some of the exhibits from the traders. The garments are all original and beacutiful and I can hardly begin to describe what a feast for the eyes it all was.

Here is a swift in a new design, to me.

These were the stalls in the big hall. It filled up a lot by lunch-time. There were several marquee tents outside showcasing all kinds of roving, prepared wool, fleeces etc.

This is me examining the wares.

Lots of drum carders. They are very expensive, but invaluable for preparing raw fleece into roving. I don't have one.  I think they take up a lot of space and I haven't anywhere to put one. I would like to have one, but it's something for the future, maybe.

Just look at all the gorgeous colours of the yarns!

Handmade bags in unique designs. Yum!

I love the bobbly yarns.

I hope you enjoyed your trip to Fibre East with me.

What am I working on today?

I am knitting for my grand-daughter, Ruby. She was born in June and is growing fast.  I have made two dresses.  This is the first one.  I am rather in love with these purple yarns at the moment and they blend so well together.

I like the yoke on this dress. It's so pretty, but rather an illusion because it is not separate.  It is all part of the same thing.

This is the back view.

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This is the second one. Now I need to find a pretty top to go underneath it.

and the baby? Here she is, looking sleepy.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Fibre East 2016

This is where I'm going tomorrow:

http://www.fibre-east.co.uk/

and I'm looking forward to it very much. I'm crossing my fingers for good weather because all the exhibits are in marquees and they can get very hot or muddy if the weather's not perfect.

This year hubbie and I have entered something we have made - Larry a piece of weaving and me, a knitted cardigan/jacket, made with wool I've spun myself.  We are looking forward to seeing all the other lovely things that other people have made.

The marquees are always excitingly interesting with so many wonderful colours and textures on display.  I'm hoping to take some pictures to show you afterwards.

We may even get to see some sheep being shorn.

Blankets for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home

This is the fourteenth doggie blanket I've made for Battersea. I don't own a dog myself. I wish I did. but other members of the household are not so keen so for now.... but maybe not forever.

It's a great way to use up your stash and make some creative patterns whilst you do it. They prefer blankets that don't have too many holes (for their paws to get trapped in I presume) so knitting is better than crochet.

They also require dog coats and have a pattern for those, small, medium and large.

If you prefer to make very small items, how about making some toy mice for the many cats they have there?

Here is the link to their website where you can find the patterns and instructions.

Dog blanket pattern here.

Have fun making a blanket for a certain little someone?

We are expecting a new grandchild to arrive in June so I have been busy patchworking.  I just finished this cot quilt using squares and odd bits and pieces from a much large quilt I made for another member of the family. I'm pleased with the way it turned out and it was a lot easier to work on than the larger version, see below: