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

Has summer actually arrived, or have we been left out somehow??? I am still waiting for that warm sunshine and blue sky up here in the North...please tell me that it will still get warmer!!!!!!

Meanwhile I am sitting in my workshop...with the central heating going...and a hot water bottle for the evenings....sigh....BUT the chilly and windy weather has not kept me from being very very busy! I handpainted new yarns all day yesterday and they are currently drying on the wool rack, plus I have dyed a new bulk of wonderful shiny silk carrier rods, which will be displayed in my ebay store as soon as they have dried properly :o)

Here are 2 new fibre bags that are now for sale in my ebayUK store, and another gorgeous gorgeous handspun Merino yarn of my "Mylady Greensleeves" design, which is repeatable (with the pattern slightly different but the colours will always be the same) and such great fun to make!!

I will never get enough of those wonderful combinations of green shades!

oops, I almost forgot that I also finished a new colourway of handspun and handpainted extra soft and squishy Merino slub yarn! The colours are very warm shades of purple, blue, yellow, pink and peach, W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!! Here is a photo of the new lot:

 The shades are not pastel but a good deal stronger than that. You see, I have indeed been busy ;o) So do feel free to Visit My eBay Store for more fibre and yarn information and also check out my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com for new handspun yarn designs!

EVERYONE HAVE A VERY GOOD SUNDAY!

Guess I am in that famous purple mood again ;o) and this is what I have finished while I was in it! All displayed in my ebay store and my Etsy store www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com , handpainted gorgeously soft Bluefaced Leicester and Merino wool rovings for all the handspinners and feltmakers out there!

and I have also displayed this purple yarn beauty below, a handspun and handpainted extra soft and extra squishy Merino slub yarn, suitably called "Purple Dragon" - Feel free to Visit My eBay Store for more yarn information:

 I hope you like my latest designs - got loads more coming up soon :o)

Here they are!! My latest lot of finished custom orders, both beautiful, squishy and yum handspun yarns ;o) The first order contains 3 skeins of handspun white Bluefaced Leicester and Merino wool for a very sweet lady in the UK, who plans to knit a baby blanket for a new arrival within her family. She said that the baby will be part Australian and part Northumbrian. So what better to choose than Australian Merino and my favourite BFL wool, which comes from sheep originally bred in Hexham, Northumbria? I have spun this lot into a very nice and well balanced sport weight yarn:

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The second order was for 5 chubby skeins of "to dive into" squishy rainbow slub yarn, which I have spun for a really nice lady in Australia, who plans to knit these babies into a cosy blanket :o) :

 And I have also finished a new OOAK yarn design for my Etsy store! A gorgeous and colourful handpainted and handspun Bluefaced Leicester yarn in vibrant oranges, purple and peachy yellow, which I have called "Maasai Bride II". Here it is:

 For more yarn details please go to my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com .

Within the time that I was busy with the custom orders I also placed a bunch of newly painted wool rovings in my ebayUK store and also on Etsy, I just didn't display them here because I always ended up working late into the night and never got around to adding anything to my blog. So it's well worth visiting my online stores for loads and loads of new colourful fiber beauties!! ;o)

Here is one lot of undyed pure Cashmere & Silk roving I have just now listed in my ebay store. What can I say, this blend is heavenly soft and smooth and makes my heart beat faster just looking at it!!

 It is indeed as beautiful as it looks on the photo.

Well, I will now go back to my next project, which will be......a new load of greasy Bluefaced Leicester fleeces, that I picked up from my neighbours farm some time ago..... like I can never get enough of sorting, stripping, dipping, washing, dragging and drying those babes...sigh...but still, the finished result of a white grease-free fluffy fleece is such a reward, over and over again...it's just hard work getting there. So let me get started, and once the fleeces are washed & sorted I will certainly display a photo of them here on my blog as well. Now here is the dirty version of what is yet to come:

 This photo actually shows 3 whole fleeces altogether. BFL fleeces are rather small, very curly and beautiful, but indeed small in quantity. The average weight you can expect to get from one fully grown sheep is 1.5-2kg, 2.5kg if you are lucky! The ones I received from my neighbour are all lambswool fleeces of the flock he reared last year and which he intends to use for breeding purposes. I see his beautiful animals out in the field every single day, and it is an absolute joy to watch them. I believe that the Bluefaced Leicester is one of the most beautiful sheep breed in Britain!

Well, gotta go now and get greasy ;o)

Goodness me, has it really been almost 3 weeks since I last added something to my blog????????? I can hardly believe it, except that I have actually grown fast into my armchair, where I have been sitting day and night, behind my spinning wheel and finishing a dozen of custom orders that came in all at once at the beginning of June. So apart from making new yarns and handpainted fibers to restock my online stores I also spun away making wonderful special yarns for very lovely people! :o) I will not be finishing all orders until the end of the month, but here are 2 hanks of the "Tigereye" Merino yarn design a lot of people are fond of, and that I have so far repeated 4 times since the original sold some months ago. I too like these wonderful earthy but vibrant shades of mocha, apricot, fox red and amber, they go together so well!!! So these two hanks are finished and will be going to a new home in Germany:

 yes...they are GORGEOUS!!!!

I have also managed to finish 2 new hanks to go onto my website (which desperately needs restocking!!!!!) at www.needleworks-pleasure.com , one is my popular Pinata-Slub Yarn Design, and the second one is a beautiful  Bluefaced Leicester yarn I can never get enough of :o)

I will now go back to my spinning wheel and try to finish another skein of squishy rainbow slub yarn that I am currently making in bulk for a very very lovely lady in Australia. Once they are finished I will certainly display them on my blog as well. Until then......EVERYBODY HAVE A GREAT SUMMER AND HAPPY FIBER CRAFTING!!!