Welcome to the blog of Fibrefanatic Designs. For those of you who have a love of texture and colour in relation to fibre, we have something in common. This blog is a journal of my passion for Art yarns and also the bits of my world that add to the mix. Thanks for popping by.



Saturday, October 30, 2010

Mohair locks



Mohair tailspun yarn on my wonderful Majacraft Aura wheel
These Mohair locks are bound for a project that I have in mind for me. The inspiration for the colour way was from a silk and stainless steel fine yarn that I found from wonderful shop here in Richmond Melbourne, Dairing.  Teresa, the owner, had knitted the most wonderful fine shrugs and tops from this yarn and it scrunched up and kept it's creased texture because of the stainless steel in the yarn - amazing!  I bought several bobbins off her and so the project started.  I now have a single spun in silk, wool and mohair, with the silk and stainless steel yarn as a wrap and now the Mohair tail spun yarn to go with it.  Now with the three yarns I must think about a project with me in mind.  Something will come to me, the creative process is interesting, but can't be rushed.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Rose Street Market

About four times a year I put my name down to help out at the market stall for the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of Victoria.  If you sell work at their shop then you are required to volunteer at the markets, which only seems fair and is a great way of doing some research as to what non spinners like.  As I produce yarn that I want to sell, it seems fairly pointless to keep spinning with no customers in mind, and attending these markets just keeps me informed as well as a lovely day out.

Yesterday was no exception, it was a "Pearlah" as my darling husband would say.  The toys at the front of the stall were a big draw card and got lots of cuddles and found new homes.  Skeins of wool did well as always and one of my friend's felted scarves is on its way to Ireland!  She was thrilled especially as she was manning the stall with me and got to chat to the customer.

DH came and met me for lunch and looked round at what was for sale.  This market in particular is totally dedicated to crafts people and artists so it was very inspiring.  DH will one day go back to furniture making and sell at various markets like he used to.  So a browse round yesterday was a tempter for the future.




Sales were good and I got to do some spinning, which drew a bit of attention.  Came home, had a glass of red and cooked a stir fry for dinner, a lovely end to the day.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Out of chaos comes organised chaos!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Melbourne and what better to spend it than to clean out my work room. Ahh yes the work room, formerly the bedroom of my eldest son who had a hard time figuring out what colour to put on the walls and where to put his shelves. Hence the patchy paintwork and the odd hole in the plaster. Anyway, I digress.

How come one new piece of equipment seems to provoke a whole reorganisation of every piece of equipment you own? Not to mention a complete re-shuffle of all the work surfaces and a big dust and mopping session of all the corners that haven't seen the light of day for many a moon.

After shoving and pushing and pulling (we women know how to shift furniture) I am happy with the result. The freezer (formerly in my workroom) is still in the hall, which made a very interesting trip to the toilet in the middle of the night. A new trolley still has to be made for the new carder but all in all I feel a sense of achievement and the room feels right and inviting.

Now to get to work!