| You Are a Ring Finger |
 You are romantic, expressive, and hopeful. You see the best in everything. You are very artistic, and you see the world as your canvas. You are also drawn to the written word. Inventive and unique, you are often away in your own inner world. You get along well with: The Pinky Stay away from: The Index Finger |
This week has been a fairly busy week in many aspects of my life including the fibre part. On Monday, two ladies from our spinning group travelled with me to the Ashburton Open Day. This day is especially fun as they usually have a number of interesting traders. This year was no exception!
Last year I took a "shopping list" with me and came home with nearly everything on the list. This year I went with an open mind - not really wanting to shop and definitely not needing to! I failed. What you see here is 500gm of Chilko Fibres (sorry, no website) carded sliver in the Manapouri colourway. This sliver is actually darker than the photo shows and is a mix of light, medium and dark blues and greeny-blues. Rather nice and destined to be spun up sometimeinthefuture and plied with something, which will probably be a dark blue, and knitted into a jersey for my husband. He deserves something warm and, well, pretty. In a masculine kind of way, of course!
Yesterday was our monthly spinning group meeting. To do something different, this month we invited two ladies to the group to teach us to weave a kete (kit or bag) from NZ flax. I had made one kete* a couple of years ago but, as there were no written instructions, I could not remember exactly how. I soon remembered and was surprised at just how quickly I managed to finish this one, the first taking the whole afternoon! It is only small, about 12cm x 16cm (4 1/2in x 6in) but still a little bigger than my first effort.
According to Maori custom (kete of all shapes and sizes were used for many things including food baskets) the first kete you make should be given away. I didn't want to give my first one away until I had made another so yesterday I gave my first to one of the ladies teaching us.
The other strange object in the photo is a flax flower I made at the end of the class. I'm not too fond of these flowers, at least the ones I have made, but they are quite fun and quick to make. Both the flower and the kete will dry to a golden beige colour and will shrink somewhat as flax curls as it dries.
Knitting has been progressing but not what you have seen on here previously! I started making a top-down raglan for our youngest Grandgirl from some wool I had spun up, originally for our daughter, years ago. I wasn't too thrilled with the yarn when it was done as I thought it looked a little loud and colourful and young for her. So it has sat in a bag for a number of years. Some I have already made into a child's jersey. But there was more left. Even though I checked my tension as I knitted, the jersey I started last week was looking as if it would be a little big for the youngest. Never mind, if it doesn't fit her it should fit her older sister! Only about 10 rows of the sleeve and the sleeve ribbing as well as the neckband to go and it will be finished. Who said I couldn't knit something up fast! Photos another day.
With that, I think it is time to feed the guinea pigs and start looking in the cupboards to see what I can make for tea.
* Edited to add: kete is pronounced with two syllables, both e's sounding like the e in let.
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