** NEEDLEWORK'S PLEASURE** SPINNING & FELTING FIBRES, HANDSPUN & HANDPAINTED YARNS

Please note that my blog site has now been moved to

www.alltheprettyfibers.wordpress.com

My updates and yarn&fibre infos will continue there. I hope that you will enjoy my new blog site as much as you have enjoyed this one on auctiva!

Yours, Heike

Okay, so I haven't been able to write anything new here for a whole 4 weeks but I have been drowning in custom orders for handpainted rovings and handspun undyed yarns, not to mention the temperatures I have been enduring for the past 2 weeks (talking of 30 Degrees Celsius + and a humidity of about 70%!!!!), which did not make things any easier for me.  I don't think I will get used to these hot summers here, I so much more preferred the cool North of Britain....SIGH..... Anyway, I also finished 2 new batches of wonderful natural soaps, due to be displayed in about 6 weeks time once the curing time is over... yes I have been a very busy bee indeed :o) Here are some absolutely gorgeous handspun yarn designs that I finished recently, and which are already displayed in my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com . I have also added new handpainted ultra soft Merino&Silk rovings to my website at www.needleworkspleasure.com . Feel free to have a look there too ;o)

I will certainly try to come back to my blog more regularly as so many things are happening here right now. There are craft fairs going on everywhere in Germany, and we will have another medieval market taking place in the next town in Hirschhorn in September!!

Everyone have a lovely (and not too hot) summer season and HAPPY FIBRE CRAFTING!!!

Finally, finally...ooohhhhh FINALLY....I have finished my new lace weight yarn design!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took me a total of 26 work hours for this beauty, believe me, I never thought I would finish it :o) But here it is: My "LADY OF THE LAKE", with a whopping 1100yds in 4.4oz of yarn ready to be turned into wonderful lacework or woven delight.

A very fine 50/50 blend of super soft Bluefaced Leicester lambswool and pure mulberry silk. I am indeed very satisfied with the result ;o) This beauty is now displayed in my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com . Feel free to view it there for more yarn details.

Another colourful handpainted set of new sock yarn made it off the wool rack today and is now listed in my ebayUK store. I have called it "VIRGINIA":

So for the next few days I will take it easy on the spinning because the lace yarn was truly time consuming. I think I will sit down with some plain and simple Falkland or BFL wool, the best of the best :o)

EVERYONE HAVE A VERY GOOD SUNDAY AND HAPPY FIBRE CRAFTING!!!

On Saturday my sisters and I went to the very popular medieval spectaculum in Worms. It was my first medieval market since my return from the UK, and it was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!! One thing is for sure: Next year I will have my own medieval robe to wear! Man I swear, about 3/4 of the visitors wore medieval garments from all sorts of periods and countries, I was completely overwhelmed of the dedication and passion of these people. You could tell that they had put all their love and lots and lots of detail into the clothes they wore, so amazing!! I took as many photos as my little memory card would hold. And in case you are missing pictures of a handspinner's stand...there wasn't any!! My sisters told me that last year there was a handspinner present and selling her handmade yarns and fibres, but I do admit, I wouldn't have wanted to sell any of my yarns and fibres there yesterday,  I mean, it was about 30 degrees Celsius, and who on earth would be in the mood to sell or buy warming wools???? There were several market stands of feltmakers though, and I loved their products! Here are the photos I took from the spectaculum:

A gargoyle in making!

...and even the tiniest feet are participating :o)

Yep, any country, any period...which clan would the man wearing this kilt belong to, I wonder?

There was also a stand selling CD's and books, and I bought the latest CD of SAVA, a German artist and singer of mythical/medieval/traditional music, and anyone who likes Loreena McKennitt will truly truly love SAVA. Every single song is marvelous, her voice is beautiful and candy to the ear!!

So before I turn on her music and go back to my spinning wheel (still working on a very time consuming and labour intensive new elf yarn design!) here is my latest handspun Merino summer yarn design that I finished 2 days ago. I have called it "Charade", and it will be displayed in my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com tonight ;o)

I have taken two photos with the strand being turned inside out, so all the colourways can be viewed properly. The skein looks quite different indeed on each photo, but it is really the same design :o)

Everyone have a great weekend and

HAPPY FIBRE CRAFTING!!!

This time I am really going to display ALL the photos I took from the area where I now live. It took several goes until I finally remembered to take the camera with me on one of my walks with Sam. It is a very beautiful and green area, and yes I have already found several farmers and hobby farmers who will be more than happy to sell their fresh fleeces to me this month, once they have started shearing. Fingers crossed I will be able to introduce some wonderful German breed handwashed fleeces and some supreme German baby alpaca fleeces , due to arrive around June. If I am happy with their quality I will certainly display photos of them here on my blog, wash and sort them and then put them out for sale in my ebayUK store and in my Etsy store ;o)  As to my regular updates of new fibres and yarns I have been sort of giving up being on time because I have been working around the clock for the past couple of weeks and moving in 6th gear!! That way I produced a lot of new drum carded batts, handpainted rovings and handspun yarns that are now all out in my online stores and on my website. So please do have a look there too, everything has come out just beautifully and yummy.

Now, here are the photos of the beautiful Rothenberg area located in the vast Odenwald in Southwest Germany. They just show an approximate 2 mile radius around the house:

The sheep above are from a neighbour, who keeps them as natural lawn mowers. The blackfaced one is indeed a beautiful Suffolk sheep (yes, they also exist over here!), and the whitefaced ones are German Merino. Of those I will be getting their wonderfully clean fleeces, hopefully some time this month.

I will be going back to my dyepot now because I am not finished with today's tasks yet....and it's already 19.00h. So let me go and do some painting!!

Everyone, HAPPY FIBRE CRAFTING!!

I have just finished 3 new lots of the same colourway: Bluefaced Leicester roving, mulberry silk and ultra soft merino/silk. The colours are very very vibrant and truly stunning, have a look:

Fabulous colours! The rovings are now displayed in my etsy store www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com and on my website (under handpainted fibres) at www.needleworks-pleasure.com .

Man, I have been trying to remember to take my camera with me on my walks with Sam so I can show you guys the beautiful area I live in right now. And I keep forgetting about it because I have soooooooooo many things on my mind....I am currently trying to figure out the German tax system, and I somehow believe that there isn't really a clue to it, meaning that there isn't anything to understand  :o(  While I lived in the UK the British tax system was much easier to calculate out for me and my small business, but there are way too many things to consider when you try to do a calculation over here. I guess I will go and buy the latest tax software....perhaps it will make me a bit wiser...perhaps not....

Anyway!!! There will be more handspun yarns and handpainted fibres coming your way shortly. All drying on the wool rack right now. And I will try to remember taking the camera with me this week! ;o)

I had a marvelous Easter weekend indeed. I gave myself a day off to meet my family and search for easter eggs and chocolates with the kids.....great fun!!!! The weather couldn't have been better, blue sky, warm sunshine, only a slight breeze, and lots of birds chirping around you. Man I really love spring! Things have finally settled after our move, and I am now diving into making new yarn designs and creating vibrant colourways for my fibres. With the days finally getting longer I get new ideas for what I want to make, and I certainly have more time in the day to also work later in the evening without having to use artificial light. I have just now displayed two new drum carded batts, both to be found in my Etsy store www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com :

both lots are gorgeously soft and squishy...an absolute delight to work with!!

Plus I finished a new lot of my popular camel down/silk design "An Elf's Dance" 2 days ago, a luxurious lace yarn and very evenly spun:

 it's really one of my favourite yarns! Also displayed in my etsy store.

Well, I will go and work on another yarn design I started last night. It will have fresh spring colours in it, and I can't wait to see it finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o)

Everyone have a very good Easter Monday!!

It's a beautiful sunny day!! Bees are humming, birds are chirping, old dogs are snoozing away and church bells are ringing in the distance... :o)....that's how I like it! The last 4 handpainted rovings from last week's dyeing session have just come off the wool rack, and I have displayed them in my etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com . Two of them are Bluefaced Leicester wool and the last two are yummy Falkland wool. Here they are:

 I hope that you like the new lots and that the weather is just as lovely where you are!! :oD

Man, either I am getting old, or I just don't like moving that much anymore....neither does Sam, bless him, he's 14 years old! Plus I have been quite ill for the past 10 days, and that never goes well with packing, moving, unpacking and living in chaotic circumstances. But now I am better (still a bit tight on my lungs which were rustling like there was no tomorrow...), most of our stuff has been unpacked and set up, and I have also started dyeing fibres and yarns again. I so need to start exploring the new area we live in now....forests and fields as far as the eye can see, and loads and loads of healthy air. Yep, it was a good decision to move into the Odenwald area, one of the most beautiful places in Germany! Anyway, I will take photos of this area soon and display them here on my blog ;o)

Here are a few new handpainted rovings and also some undyed silk and baby camel down yarns that have found their way into my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com . The Merino/Silk lots can now be purchased in my ebayUK store :

Feel free to Visit My eBay Store and my Etsy store for more yarn and fibre details :o)

EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT EASTER TIME!!!

Finally I am ready to move house!!!! This time it will be a move to our permanent accomodation, the place we live at right now was just temporary since we had moved over from the UK last September. Ooooohhhhh I am absolutely excited about the new place. It's far far out in the country in the middle of forests and wide fields, where you have farms around you to buy fresh eggs from happy chicken and fresh milk from healthy cows grazing outside enjoying the sunshine :o) The new place is quite large (5 bedrooms), and we found it just in time before the clipping season starts over here, so I can spread the fresh fleeces for sorting and washing. This will be my view from the dining room, the living room and from the master bedroom:

Sam will absolutely love the area, it's a good place for an old dog to grow even older with ease! As soon as we have explored the surrounding nature I will certainly take some more photos. The village is quite small with just 1000 people living here, BUT we will have a bakery and a very tiny post office, which will be open Monday through Friday from 10am-12am .....oh dear, that doesn't leave much space for me to juggle incoming orders on the day of my postal round....oh but I will manage for sure!! ;o) So this week there will be loads of packing to be done, and I have now finished my last custom order before the move, here it is, a wonderful skein of pure baby camel down/silk lace yarn, 70g/500yds:

it will go to its new home in the States tomorrow.

I won't leave a note in either of my stores nor on my website regarding the move because it won't affect my customers at all. People can order the whole time and dispatches will not be delayed (not even when the post office is open for a mere 2 hours a day!!!!!). So let me go now and continue packing!

Everyone have a very good week and enjoy SPRING!!