We tried a sample design and then modified it to make these.

We needed a full twelve compartments. I thought the wine box didn’t look  great so covered them with scrap paper and PVA glue.

The white is better than wine box colour but I do think it looked better before this stage. Here’ how the boxes looked on the table, they really did take up a lot of room didn’t they?

The new solution is so much neater and has definitely freed up extra space.

I’m now playing with some Masham which is a longer fibre and has taken me a little time to adjust to. Earlier this morning I had visions of spinning my own wool so I could crochet a blanket but I’m realising that I’m a little way away from that yet. Onwards and upwards.

In the end we had just over 40 boxes and the van doors did close, but only just. Five minutes after setting off we went back to drop stuff which should have been left behind. Thirty minutes after setting off we realised we’d forgotten the trolley for moving all those boxes when we arrived! Five hours after we set off (for the third time) we arrived at our destination.

It took a further 3 hours to unload and set up the stall but we were pleased with how it looked and did receive lots of compliments on the layout and quality of our fibres, very gratifying.

It was cold in Wales (actually from what people have said it was cold in Yorkshire too) and I was cold all day Saturday. The natives were friendly, the other stallholders were friendly, we met lots of new people, put faces to names and generally had a very good busy Saturday. Learning from the previous days experience I put on an extra layer and was even colder on the Sunday! People came in with tales of floods, trees down, roads blocked and snow on the hills. Worst of all, they kept telling me how nice and warm it had been last year.

This morning we took the van to the mill and unloaded, sorted out orders from the weekend and then I was out teaching all afternoon. Since returning, I’ve dashed around like a mad woman so that when my daughter came home from piano I can give her my undivided attention. To make up for not seeing her this weekend we have a girls day out planned for this coming Saturday and I’m so looking forward to it.

Despite the cold, wind and rain I can imagine we’ll be making the journey again next year.

]]> http://www.angelabarrow.co.uk/Blog/2012/04/wonderwool-wales/feed/ 0 http://www.angelabarrow.co.uk/Blog/2012/04/so-busy/ http://www.angelabarrow.co.uk/Blog/2012/04/so-busy/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:13:07 +0000 angela http://www.angelabarrow.co.uk/Blog/?p=3645 So busy just now and so sorry that I’m not making as much felt or blogging as much as usual. Ian and Margaret have now retired from the fibre business so Yvonne and I have been very busy at the mill. Next week is our first large show as we take Adelaide Walker to WonderWool Wales, exciting stuff but so much to do!

We’re still searching out new products and have just taken delivery of oatmeal and brown Blue Faced Leicester pencil rovings, lovely stuff it is too. After Yarnival, I brought home a spinning wheel (thanks Kate) and since then have set it up but not managed to do any actual spinning, until tonight. I’ve played for about 15 minutes and after struggling to get it started on the bobbin seem to have done quite well at producing a lumpy bumpy yarn (in BFL of course). I’m not aiming for a specific yarn at this stage, I’m happy with whatever I manage to produce

I’ve been receiving lots of help along the way too. Pan (youngest boy cat) thought he’d really help things along by stepping on and off the treadle, usually whilst I didn’t want the wheel to move. And Tatty, well, see for yourself

Apparently it’s essential to pre-warm the fibres before spinning – that’s her story and she’s sticking to it!

We drove into town to the next post office to discover a complete lack of parking spaces, after circling twice Hubby dropped me off and continued to circle until I finally surfaced. Arriving home at 3.17, just in time to let C into the house, we showered, changed, packed and left for the Lake District  at 3.37 promptly getting stuck in heavy traffic.

Calming down as the we progressed north, we arrived in Keswick 2 hours later on a lovely evening. We stayed at the youth hostel overlooking the river, a great spot, and dined on Mexican fare. Just as we were settling down to some pre-bed reading, C told us she had really bad back ache and couldn’t get comfortable. We didn’t have paracetamols, neither did the hostel or the three closed shops / supermarkets. In desperation we ran to a corner shop we’d remembered on the back streets and tracked down the tablets with a minute to spare before they closed!  It wasn’t looking good for the following morning.

Just for once, we were up and breakfasted early ready to set off by 9am. C still had back ache but we thought we’d give it a try anyway.

You can nearly see the hills through the haze, it was very warm as we climbed a short steep ascent onto the moor.

You can nearly see the other sheep behind this Herdwick, it’s the one that looks like  a rock. Don’t they have the sweetest faces?

We nearly managed to get a photo of the three of us sat on a stile (holding camera at arms length and hoping for the best), but we did manage the walk and had lunch sat outside the cafe at Grange. Once home, C spent the reminder of the day prone, complaining of back ache again but thankfully she seems right enough today.

It came from Kate and I’m very grateful for it as I really fancy having another go at spinning. It’s been in a loft for quite a while and has a screw missing (which of us doesn’t?) and needs a little TLC. Fortunately for me, Freyalyn is very good with spinning wheels and is leading me through it’s restoration and has already fitted a new drive belt. I now have the replacement screw and hope to be up and running very soon.

That’s me demonstrating and talking to people about felt making. But I also had a stall for Adelaide Walker.

Without the help of Hubby and daughter there’s no way I would have managed on Saturday so a big thank you to them. They carried boxes, set up, sold fibres, talked to customers, took photos, packed up and carried more boxes and all without complaint. I think they enjoyed it.

In the knit and natter corner was a loaned wedding dress, yes really, it was brilliant and blankets and toys to publicise Kyōyū kyōyū . After lunch I saw three men in this area getting to grips with knitting/crochet. The trees outside were covered with knitting in various guises and my felted corset (see yesterday).

The bike looks brilliant covered in knitting and there was a crocheted hanging basket and plants but most adorable were the Hebridean lambs. Now why weren’t they on sale? I wanted one not that I think the family would have approved, a step too far perhaps. But no detail was overlooked.

Yep, even the toilets had customised signs!

P.S I was asked from where I obtained my silk chiffon. I buy from Whaleys in Bradford.

They wanted to produce a wall hanging to send to a school in Pakistan with which they have links. The idea was to create logos based on the theme of friendship. In preparation each child drew or described what friendship means to them. There was some stunning artwork created and some perceptive words used.

The greatest challenge for me was that they wanted to create it in one day involving every child in school. Yes I did say every child, all 7 classes, all 200 children (approx) aged from 4 to 11. This meant an average time with a class of 40 minutes to include, explanations/instructions, the activity and tidy up. Amazingly we managed it and created two hangings, one for Pakistan and one for the school to keep. Guess who forgot to take her camera with her? Fortunately the school has promised to send photos which I’ll share with you as soon as they arrive.

NEXT? – Yarnival of course this coming Saturday. I have the fibres prepared but I now need to arrange my work for sale and gather my demonstrating kit. Oh and of course I will give you another update on the garment making too.  See you soon.

One thing which I hoard and which I never have enough uses for is beach glass. The whole family is trained to support my addiction of bringing back bits of glass and we’re inordinately excited if we manage to find some in an unusual colour like red for instance. Some pieces are used and the rest are hidden in margarine cartons under the stairs – what a shame, until now.

I still need yet more jars for the glass but keep trying to find something more unusual in the charity shops. I don’t want all the jars the same. The square glass vase at the back was earmarked for the charity shop (really not keen on the shape) but earned a reprieve as a cone container. Two have shells in, one has green beach glass and the snallest has a small collection of beach pottery (good intentions to include in mosaics – hey! I could include some in a driftwood heart). The clear beach glass will need a considerably larger container

This colourful assortment of felt balls has been living in my work cupboard and the contents are regularly spilled acros the floor as I drag other items out from the back. The eagle eyed amongst you may have worked out that this is a glass jelly mould. I did try buttons in it but that didn’t work for me.

I have to admit I’m not very good at rules but I would like to pass this on to Wool love -  functional fiber art a great felters blog with lots of clear photos on every project that Heather undertakes and to Fiona at TizDuster where there’s always plenty of activity including felting, polymer clay modelling and jewellery making.

As for random things about myself hmmm – I don’t like coconut, I love chocolate, I hate to be too hot and I wish I lived by the sea as I love the sound and smell of the sea and beach combing is so much fun.

I also received an email from Sally, a textile student, who informed me that she’s been inspired by my work!  It’s a brilliant feeling to know that my work has inspired even one person. Sally asked where my inspiration came from and any tips on working with felt. I thought I’d share my answer to her with all of you.

I find inspiration comes from details of textures,colours and patterns in nature e.g. bark of a tree, colours in rock strata and I also love stylised art, especially art nouveau and work from the 1950s. I’ve  discovered that I’m not a big fan of straight lines, I like curls, spirals and waves and just adore colour and texture.

Top tip – try as many wools as you can don’t just stick with Merino. There are some fabulous British wools of which Blue Faced Leicester is my favourite. Have a go at whatever takes your fancy and don’t worry if it doesn’t work out it’s only felt, no-one dies. Keep good records, how much: fibre, soap, rubbing and rolling and what shrinkage. Sounds a bit boring but allows you to understand the wool and how it behaves and allows you to control it ,rather than the other way round.

That’s all folks – I’m off now to see if my head with still fit through the door.