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

I have been listening to this song for the past days while taking care of my admin. Even though I am not really a Beyonce fan I think that this song is very very nice and so very true...it's a man's world...what can you do...sigh... I hope you will be able to watch the video and listen to the song below ;o) HAPPY FIBER CRAFTING!!

Yippieh!! We got some snow overnight! The first snow I have seen in years because it was usually always too mild in Cumbria at the seaside for any snow to actually stay for longer than 2 hours. So imagine how happy I was to see my first wonderful snow...yes I know, most people will say "man, she's crazy...snow is bad news for traffic and everyday tasks"...I know, but a bit of snow doesn't hurt anyone, and I like snow, be it tons of it (that almost make the roof collapse) or just half an inch, I-like-it ;o)

Of course I had to take some photos when I walked Sam in the nearby fields this morning, here they are:

The cold winter days are perfect for staying in your snug home, have a nice cup of tea and sit behind the spinning wheel :o) I am currently working on 2 custom orders, finished a beautiful Merino yarn design in my "Tigereye" style last night (it's currently drying on the rack), and I also painted a few new lots of Bluefaced Leicester wool rovings, perfect for spinning extra soft yarns, for felting projects and dreadmaking:

2 lots are for sale in my ebayUK store and the other 2 in my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com . Remember, if you live in Europe and your country is not listed in my Etsy postage list please let me know and I will add your country to the list.

EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT WINTER WEEKEND!

Here comes my new lot of handmade natural soaps, filled with goodness and completely free from chemical ingredients! I absolutely love that colour, which I have achieved with special herbs, and the scent.....oh the SCENT!!! I have always been in love with Ylang Ylang essential oil, a very warm, deep and rich exotic scent, and I also use it in my lamp oils because I want to smell it everywhere in my home :o) I think I have made a really really good and very mild soap here. I have called it "1001 Nights"...of course:

All three soap designs are now displayed in my ebay UK store.

I have also displayed a new handpainted lot of pure Merino wool roving in truly gorgeous colours. For the last few times I have been using the rainbow dye technique which means that they are still space dyed but with smaller spaces and more shades within one roving than my usual 3-colour lots. Just to add a bit more spice to my range of goodies ;o) So feel free to Visit My eBay Store at any time! This lot below has got an identical twin which is displayed in my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com :

Here are my first 3 German fleeces I am introducing this winter! Veeeery interesting indeed and very rare too. All 3 breeds, the German Mountain sheep, the Rhoenschaf and the Coburger Fuchs sheep are on the list of endangered breeds, so let's support the German sheep farmers who still feel that these particular sheep need to be given a chance, and let's pick up their fleeces and turn them into something absolutely marvelous! ;o)

Most rare breed sheep have rather coarse fleeces and are usually smaller than their modern fellow sheep, which makes them unproductive these days, and that is really really sad. I have tried out the fleeces, I also have them available in handcarded batts, and they spin very nicely indeed and will bring great texture to any felting project. Furthermore the Rhoenschaf and Coburger Fuchs fleece are wonderfully fluffy and spongy, so any yarn made from these fibres will turn into fantasticly bouncy and hardwearing yarn! Here are some photos, the first one is the mountain sheep fleece, no.2 is the Rhoenschaf fleece, and no.3 is the Coburger Fuchs fleece, have a look:

They are really beautiful, and they will be easy to card, spin and felt!

 I also finished another 4-lot sock yarn design, my popular "Solway Firth" colourway, which is also now available in my ebay store, so please feel free to Visit My eBay Store for more fleece and yarn details :o) Here is a photo of "Solway Firth IV":

Right, I am finishing up for tonight, I want to follow the U.S. elections, I think I have never been so nervous about the outcome before ...I do know who I would love to see as the new US president...but this is a yarn and fibre blog and I don't want to become political here, it may offend some people, and I can understand that. After all, I am not American, but markets and global stability will improve or crunch further into the abyss with the next US president. Let's just hope that things will get better, it can't really get any worse than it is right now....can it?

Fingers crossed that the right man will win!! Good luck America! I wish you well. xxxx

I have started on a wider range of handpainted sock yarn, which of course will also be suitable for regular knitting, knitted felting, crocheting and weaving :o) I have also been asked to paint more than 2 lots from the same dyepot, so I am now offering 4 skeins of certain colourways which will be sufficient to finish a ladie's cardigan. The 4 hanks will have a total of 1600yds, and you need approximately 1100-1200yds for a medium size cardi/jacket/sweater. Here is my first lot of 4 called "Reve de Mer"(sorry, my PC hasn't got any French apostrophes...but I liked the name so much...), and another set of 2, painted in my "Sidhe" colourway, both lots always repeatable but still with slight differences if they don't come from the same dyepot. Please Visit My eBay Store for the complete yarn details:

And because I am running late again (as usual) with displaying my latest handspun yarn beauty, here is my new super fine yarn baby that I finished about 3 days ago...it's already displayed in my Etsy store at www.alltheprettyfibers.etsy.com and I really meant to put the photos on my blog on the same day but it was already very late and I am working such long hours at the moment. Anyway, here it is my "SKYDANCER" handspainted & handspun superfine Bluefaced Leicester lambswool/Silk fingering weight laceyarn, one hell of a beauty with lots and lots of silky sheen!!!

 Please feel free to view my Etsy store for more yarn details :o)

Well, I'm off now to paint new rovings for the autumn/winter season. Everyone have a very good Sunday!!