Ball, Balls, Balls

Been busy this week spinning and winding balls! There were 8 mill-spun hanks (Meskills, NorthEast Yarns and Jarob Farm) that had to be wound up and several bobbins of mine and Barbara's handspun.  I must admit, although I've been a spinner for more years than I care to remember (must be more than 31 as that's how old my eldest is......and I had black sheep before I had him lol) it's been an intermittently practiced pleasure. Alternating with spinning has been all sorts of other stuff including work, raising kids and gardening together with .....the list goes on. However, just lately, and inspired by Barb's product, I have had the urge to get the wheel out and I have really enjoyed it!  Part of that has been the absolute joy of working with the Tasmanian superfine merino wool tops - this fibre is truly magnificent to spin and I'm looking forward to blending the handspun singles and 2 ply with the mill-spun 2/16s on the loom. I have a couple of orders for superfine scarves and have decided on this approach.   So, the ball winder has been busy.......




Lots of balls



Clarence Point Alpaca (Rusty) 2 ply handspun

Meskills 8 ply mill-spun Corriedale and
Tassie Superfine Merino handspun single on right

Finn X dyed in the fleece 2 ply handspun

Finn X Dyed in the fleece selection of handspun sinlges with the 2 ply on left. 
These are all from the same fleece that I got from Lesley Rorke at Bendigo this year

Hand dyed silk fibre spun single (also from 2010 Bendigo)

Tas Superfine Merino handpsun singles in two textures

NEW NEW NEW

.....Hope you all have checked out the new  madeit sister site craftumi?  where best friends shop for craft supplies :: buy & sell craft supplies :: art :: craft :: hobby

It's really great to have a dedicated spot for craft supplies - makes it soo much easier to find just what it is that you need.

I have my superfine merino tops listed on madeit but shall be moving them to craftumi as soon as I get organised  (organised is VERY HARD at the moment, but VERY EASY to List  lol) 

Check out all the goodies that are available........
• Art • Bag Making • Beads • Books & Magazines • Candle & Soap Making • Ceramic, Pottery, Mosaic • Fabric • Fibre & Yarn • Glass Art • Jewellery • Kits • Leather Craft • Wood Craft • Metal Craft • Millinery • Needlework • Packaging • Pattern • Photography • Printmaking • Scrapbooking & Card Making • Sewing & Quilting • Storage • Toy & Doll Making

Gorgeous Tasmanian Superfine Merino Wool Tops



100g Pack Tas Superfine Merino


I'm very excited to be now able to offer for sale 100g packs of Tasmanian Superfine Merino wool tops.  From the Japanese Mill that processes this fibre which is sourced exclusively from Tasmanian growers, the tops have been scoured, carded and combed and are ready to spin, felt or use for other crafty pursuits.

Natrual, lustrous, creamy white, the 19.5 micron average superfine fibre just about jumps all by itself onto the bobbin!

Go to my madeit or etsy shops and you'll be able to purchase some for yourself!

Barb and I have just started spinning this wonderful stuff and the spun yarn will be woven on the Ashford Knitters Loom for the autumn 2011 range of handmadebyrowena scarves, wraps, jackets and other outerwear, plus our NEW RANGE of baby products coming soon.  We are just so excited to be able to share it with you !!

Eastside Makers Market

We're off to Hobart on Sunday 5th for the Eastside Makers Market!  Bags packed ready and a NEW product....(watch this space ).......

Allwrappedup again!

I was just so so pleased to be able to make my donation to St Giles Launceston based on my sales for the two days just gone of Niche allwrappedup for August 2010.  I don't have much disposable - us crafts people work hard and profit little in $$s  (but lots in other benefits) - so it's a great way to share with the kids at St Giles who really need all the love and assistance we as a community can give them!  The staff are singularly magnificent in their care.  I know this from personal experience as two family members have benefited from their help!

So, how did we go ?  Well once again it was an absolute pleasure to be surrounded by such fantastic, happy and friendly designer makers from Tasmania.  We had a great time and apart from a few relatively minor hiccups out of most every one's control, everything went really well.  Saturday especially was busy and throngs filled the space to near capacity more than a couple of times!

To all those who stopped by Rowena to say hello - thanks for making my market stall a happier place and to those who liked my wares enough to purchase, I truly hope you enjoy your scarf for many wears to come!  Thanks for all the encouraging comments, the new ideas and the reinforcement of what I am already doing.  I was also encouraged by the interest in the new Superfine Tasmanian Merino Lambs wool scarves and in the Conara range made from the lustrous Wanstead Park English Leicester yarn!   It seems also that we can sell balls of Barb's lovely handspun - there was much interest.  Perhaps, if I can get guaranteed supply, I may be able to find time to hand dye and ballup the superfine and sell in small lots - wouldn't that be a pip (to quote Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy).

I must get busy now on my trusty AKL as there are three orders to fill and Jude and Felicity and the girls from Eastside Makers Market have encouraged me to part with the readies for a spot at the next market in Bellerive on Hobart's eastern shore next Sunday 5th September 2010. ....and I really need to update Etsy and MadeIt .

...another Niche all wrapped up!  Thanks Selena and to Zoe who looked after us wonderfully at the Academy Gallery venue!   Do hope those who were at the Boatshed venue had just a great a time!

PS...the jacket sold !  Thanks to Lee's mum for the first try-on - it was so wonderful to see the garment modelled by someone whom it suited!  And to Trish who missed out - I'll barter when I get another made.  To Pat who won the battle, do share won't you !  LOL.  Enjoy!

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS...new page on tab at top of page.  Everyone deserved a spot but thanks to those who were happy for me to take their pic and post to this blog!

Not long now - Niche allwrappedup August 2010

It's coming quicker than ever. August 27 is next week and I just hope we'll be ready.  So much still to do..........

Barb has been spinning for me (as I just don't have time to do it all) so in addition to the brand new  pure  range woven from Tasmanian Superfine Merino Wool and the conara scarves woven with Wanstead Park's sublime english leicester wool, we will have the stunning spun range of accessories handwoven using handspun wool !    Of course there will still be plenty from the hundreds & thousands and everyday scarf and wrap range to tempt buyers.  Hope to see you all there !



A scarf or wrap is an accessory for all the year round - Rowena accessories cater for all weather and fashion occasions!

A Beautiful Day for Weaving and Gardening

Confetti Scarf

What a glorious day for weaving - especially when you don't have to go to "the day job" ! I've started working with some of the beautiful yarn I bought back from Bendigo. Here is the Shiloh Silky Wool in shade "Confetti" laid onto a warp of Tasmanian Super Fine Merino Lambs Wool 2/22s. I think the bronson lace variation emphasises the lightness of the yarn and the subtle variations of the hand-painted fibre are not overwhelmed. I'm really pleased with this scarf!

After the recent rain and the endless fogs and  overcast days, it was wonderful to see blue sky and sunshine! Judging by the garden, the depths of winter are not always so bleak. ......

Weeping Flowering Apricot

All my helebores are out and the weeping flowering apricot is a picture - it's wonderful scent welcome in a time when not much else is out.  The daphnes are absolutely loaded too and it won't be long before their heady scent arrives.

Helebores - Tasmanian Winter

Winter 2010 Range Release

Well here are my new scarves for winter!  (See the Slideshow at the right hand side).  Lots of lovely new colours and patterns and some stunning new yarns. There are just a few left from the "Autumn 2010 Collection" so I have included them so they don't get left on the rack....it's sad being being shelved, especially when you are a lovely scarf or wrap  LOL.

This winter I am very happy to have more of the wonderful Wanstead Park English Leicester yarn represented in the collection - all items with this fabulous Tasmanaina wool in them are from my Conara range.  Likewise the partnering of Darke Doings Fine Tassie Merino with the sumptuous Noro yarns and other luxury fibres.

NEW NEW NEW are the pure Tasmanian Fine Merino scarves and wraps.  19 micon fine Tassie merino has been millspun in Roberts Tasmania's Japanese partner's mill into lustrous and lofty 2/16s yarn which is as light as thistledown. I am delighted to be able to offer truly Tasmanian garments and accessories to you.  Thanks to Eric and Roberts' Tasmanian Merino label!

Over the next few weeks I wil load selections from Winter 2010  range into my Madeit and Etsy Stores and of course, all and more will be available at my stall at the Junction 2010 Niche Market at the end of August!

Niche allwrapped up for St Giles

Just received notification from the organisers that Rowena is once again accepted for the Nicheallwrapped up Market to be held end of August.....  Yippee!

This event was astounding for me at the May venue and if I only can make half as many people happy with their scarves and wraps it will be wonderful!

This time we'll be part of the Junction 2010 event  http://www.junction2010.com.au/  which will be a fantastic spotlight on Launceston's Arts community and hopefully having Niche as part of the activities will not only raise profiles, encourage people to invest with the local artisans but bring lots of traffic past Niche stalls and raise heaps for Gt Giles !

......weaving...weaving....weaving......absolutely gorgeous Tassie 19 micron fine merino wool into fashion statements........glitzy bling scarves for everyday.........warm warm natural corriedale and Tassie english leicester wool snugglies for the coldest of winters...handspun and handwoven one-offs..........busy...busy...busy.

Scarf ~ Noro in the Darke

Thought you might like to see the makings of this lovely scarf using my Ashford Knitters Loom (AKL).  I used a weft of Darke Doings superfine millspun Tasmanian merino on a warp of the beautiful Japanese Noro Taiyo in autumn tones. It was woven on the AKL using a 7.5 dpi heddle and the warped length of 2300mm gave a finished length of just over 1800 mm.  Width finished is 170mm.  I used 3/4 ball of the Noro and about 70g of the merino - equivalent to about an 8ply.

This is the Noro Taiyo Yarn - colour No 9


Cotton, Silk, Wool and a tiny bit acrylic.  Yummy !

The warp tied on

.......and  rolled onto the back beam.  I use A3 paper to make sure the warp threads are even and there are no bumps.  Helps stop slipping as well!

Looking sideon with the heddle in the rest position, you can see how the shed opens up.

And so we start to weave.  In this scarf, I used a leno twist pattern.  There are ten shots of plain weave in between each leno sequence.

Close-up of leno twist

The scarf was finished with a simple twisted fringe.

Finished product !