Now that we’re pretty much at the end of March, I think it’s safe to post about the recent Fibre Club installment… Gumdrops dyed up on Corriedale. Corriedale was the very first fibre I ever dyed. Done up with Koolaid dyes, the fibre poofed up in candy colours and I was immediately smitten with the entire process. Sweet smelling, luscious hues, and fluffy fibre. This time, it’s done up in professional acid dyes to be light- and wash-fast. These colours just make me happy.

I’ve taken a bundle of this Corriedale, split the roving vertically into three somewhat equal portions and am now plying it into a 3-ply yarn. We’ll see what comes of it.

And now that we’re looking forward to April, I’ve re-opened the Fibre Club for new subscriptions for May to July. If you would like, you can sign up for the Fibre Club now…. Also, if you’re interested in spinning handpainted rovings, mixing and blending semi-solid fibres and playing with our Patrick Green electric drum carder and wool combs, we still have some space in the “Colour for Spinners” day at the studio! Come spin, come play with colour!

Ever since the weaving workshop that I participated in this past weekend, I’ve been feeling a little bit hyper and unsettled. Partly because I was exposed to how beautiful handwoven linen is… partly because I’m completely taken with the idea of weaving utilitarian kitchen textiles for a bit… and partly because it’s easy to misplace your own creative voice when you are overwhelmed with someone else’s. So I’m trying to decide what to weave next and am actually losing sleep over doubleweave blankets vs. 60/2 silk scarves vs. sock yarn baby blankets vs. linen tea towels vs. 16/2 cotton placemats.

One thing I did glean from Jane’s workshop this weekend was the need to focus on one thing at a time. No hopping around from technique to technique, pattern draft to pattern draft, making whatever Handwoven publishes in this most recent issue. Jack of all trades. Focus. Focus. Focus. Keep calm and carry on.

Honestly, I have been focusing on more and more dyeing… and have added both new colours and yarns to the “dyed to order” set. You can see them on the new “Colourways” page on the shop site. Over the summer, I’ll work on developing a series of new colours for Fall/Winter. My mind is endlessly racing with ideas and thoughts about what to do and what to make… it’s a good and wonderful thing to be motivated and inspired. But I’m also looking forward to Saturday when I can sleep in and just knit what I like.