Dyeing Workshop with Wendy Koolhof

Last Saturday - 16th April - I joined with five other lovely ladies to work with Wendy in her southern Tasmanian studio for a workshop on textile dyeing.  [Wendy Koolhof and Mahdi Chandler are those super creative Text-isle Tarts and very involved with Stitching and Beyond in Tasmania]. Woking with Landscape dyes we created rainbows of colour using the yarns and fibres of our choice together with a foray into shibori (I thought is was tie-dyeing but we are not allowed to call it that any more apparently !!). The day was fantastic - gorgeous blue Huon Valley skies and surrounded by bird song and Wendy and her husband's hospitality - together with that undercurrent of creativity that occurs when you get a few fibre fanatics together.  Here are some pics of our results :

I played with some of my hand spun superfine tasmanian merino and was thrilled with the results......something woven coming up! And, I created a lovely silk scarf for my mum for Mother's Day using shibori techniques...never done that before!
Thanks Wendy !

MAKING STUFF

Here are my new cards from yesterday, all labeled, packaged up and ready to go to the new shop!

Also, here are some new superfine Tasmanian merino scarves wot I have just finsihed for an order.  One more to go so I had better start warping !!!

 

Three Superfine Merino handwoven Scarves



Closeup of one on right

These scarves were all woven on my little Ashford Knitters Loom with a 12.5 dpi heddle and the gorgeous 19.5 micron superfine merino fibre.

The left one is using our own handspun in an open weave which was then fulled in the washing machine to a firm fabric.

The middle one is mill-spun superfine warp with the weaving a window pane pattern variation using alternating millspun and handspun.

The right hand one is all mill-spun and there's a closeup of the balanced weave at right.  The one that I have still to do will be a leno using the superfine handspun.


MORE PICCIES

My new (secondhand) 80 cm Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom !!!!!

Thanks to Belinda in the ACT for packing it up so beautifully and sending over for me!!

PS Thanks for the kind wishes y'all - I'm still sick  :(

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

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 !!

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!

Getting ready

Conara in the Darke

 Lots and lots to do....and ran out of black ink in the printer !

I decided to do new labels - sometimes I think I'm more concerned with the marketing than the work itself, but then I remind myself that it's got to look good and that includes good labels!  So I have been playing around with ideas and also working on that "range" concept.  You know, the one that makes you focus on exactly what you are trying to achieve.  I think the labels have helped !!   Rowena now has everyday and hundreds & thousands for commercial wool and synthetics and then conara and pure for the pure wools and the new spun for the handspun and woven!

Here is a lovely silver grey scarf woven from some of the Bendigo Mohair Farm persian lamb and mohair I have had in my stash for positively years!  Barb has had a great time spinning it and the result is gorgeous.  The warp is a (coned) french pure wool with an interesting finish.

And look as this stunning italian Filatura di Crosa Buffo which looks great in an open weave.  I laid it on a kid mohair warp and mixed in some good old Australian Cleakheaton Astra Khan.  The resulting wool and suynthetic mix makes it light and luxurious! This is a fashion statement scarf. 

Some of the 'pure' scarves

The finishing takes longer than it does to make them!  But there they are, all nicely steam pressed, labelled and hanging on the "competed" rack waiting for next Friday morning!    ...or at least about half of them......so I'd better get back to it. 

Launceston, University of Tasmania Academy Gallery, Niche allwrappedup Market for Tasmanian designers and makers.  10am - 4pm Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August 2010.  Supporting St Giles.

The daphne's out

Barbara's spinning

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!