December Designs Now Published.

I have two designs in the December issue of Making Gifts Magazine. 2010

The first is a lovely hand knitted and then hand felted bag in mohair. All the instructions on how to make your own are in the magazine.http://www.makinggiftsmagazine.com/

I have developed this design as a small project you can knit up quickly on circular needles and then felt by hand, so is ideal to make as a very special gift for someone this Christmas.




Mohair Bag

Also in the magazine are my Hand Knitted Mini Christmas Stockings!

UPDATE INFO FROM SEPTEMBER 2013-
YOU CAN NOW PURCHASE THE INSTUCTIONS TO KNIT THESE  MINI CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS
FROM MY ONLINE SHOP AT;

http://folksy.com/items/3743766-Knitting-Pattern-for-Mini-Christmas-Stocking

OR GET IN TOUCH IF YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO KNIT SOME FOR YOU IN TIME FOR THE FESTIVE SESASON.




Mini Christmas Stockings
A Special Festive Treat

These Mini Christmas Stockings are knitted in festive colours and trimmed with a fluffy white cuff. So cute for Christmas!
Quick to make and ideal to use as tree decorations, gift pouches for money and rather nice to fill with chocolate too!

This design is a great evening project to enjoy making and giving at Christmas. But don’t forget to make a few extra for yourself too!



I WILL HAVE  a few Handwoven Mini Christmas Stockings available to buy in my online shop  in the festive season

 http://www.folksy.com/items/1001801-Handwoven-Mini-Christmas-Stocking?shop=yes

These will be  a limited edition 2013, as each year I will be weaving them in a different colourway.
Enjoy!

AND if I don't get time to "blog before Christmas" I would just like to say a big Thank you to all my customers and readers of my blog for all your support. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

New Shop to Enjoy!

Just to let you know of a lovely new shop for you to enjoy!

http://www.madeonisleofwight.com/

Some of my knitting and weaving is available to buy in the shop

Sue Wright Handknits

Whether you live on the Island or just across the water. Coming here on your hols or want to buy online. It really is worth a visit!

Quarr Abbey

We have had a lovely week at Quarr Abbey where we have been holding our

" Christmas Crafts At Quarr Abbey" Event.

The gallery space was excellent. We were so pleased to have lots of visitors and made plenty of sales. Pop over to Jude's blog http://www.potsandpaint.blogspot.com/ to view some lovely photos of our Event.

Boats,Winter Lay up

It has come around far to quickly, but it is already time to get all our little boats tucked up for the winter months.

With the weather so awful; gale force winds and heavy rain, it is a relief to have them all safely stored.

We were very fortunate to have a beautiful calm, cold and sunny morning last Saturday to motor our yacht up to Newport Quay. Moored up for the night and "Lifted out" by crane on the Sunday morning. It's always unnerving to see her "flying in the air" and a huge relief when she is safely on her blocks!

Skipper is then tasked with scrubbing her down and I trip back and forth with the car emptying her of all equipment and furnishings to be stored for winter.


This weekend it is the turn of the dinghies to come home from the dinghy park.

It had rained so much that even with their covers on they were full of water! So with a break in the weather again today. Skipper made two trips; loading them on the road trailer (thankfully my son is home to help) and bought them home.

Next Saturday we attend the Annual Dinner of our sailing association (MMA) and the dinghy racing awards are presented. We will find out the final results, we know it's not us this year!

Other Craft; of the Knitting and Weaving Kind




If you are on the Island next week, do pop in and visit Quarr Abbey where a group of us have got together to present "Christmas Crafts at Quarr Abbey"

We are also featured in the Isle Of Wight County Press (Nov 12th).

My Design in a Magazine

My Hand Knitted Winter Slouch socks.

This design is now available to knit yourself !

Time to keep your toes warm!

These slouch socks are very soft,stretchy and easy to wear with a touch of luxury mohair on the cuffs.Great for just padding around in comfort.

My design and the knitting instructions are published in Making Gifts Magazine in the November issue 2010

click on the link and get clicking with your knitting needles in time for Christmas.

http://www.makinggiftsmagazine.com/

Just wanted to tell you about my next event;

Christmas Crafts at Quarr Abbey
18th- 23rd Nov open 10.30- 4.30 daily.

And please pop over to my sister's blog, where you can read all about our new range of Mugs and Warmers at Osmosis

http://www.potsandpaint.blogspot.com/

When you click on the photo (on my blog) of our lovely mug in pink, it will take you to our Osmosis shop.

End of Season, Solent Sailing

When it gets into October every day on our boats is a bonus.

It's "woolly hat" sailing at it's best!

Having a quiet Solent to yourselves, sun shimmering on the water, a gentle breeze to fill the sails and a cup of coffee in your hand, what a perfect way to spend an October afternoon!

This month we have been fortunate to have some good weather for a couple of trips out in the Solent.

A photo of our little navigation table in use as we sail along.

We keep a log of our position and check the tides. When taking a trip in the Solent we always plan to use the tides to best effect with our little yacht. Sailing back to the Medina river with the incoming tide makes for a safer and easier passage home.

A photo of Gurnard buoy -a North Cardinal just off Egypt point.

When it has been too windy or the tides have not been favourable, we have gone out to the boat anyway for a spot of fishing, reading or knitting on board and river watching...

At this time of the year the visitors pontoons are empty making the river feel bigger and the colours of Autumn shine out on a sunny day.

How quickly this sailing season seems to have gone, our yacht gets "lifted out" to overwinter ashore next month, so any winter sailing will have to be in our dinghies! brrrrrrr

Handspun and Handknitted Hat

This week has been National Wool Week here in the UK.

I decided to get knitting with my lovely skeins of Jacob wool which I prepared and spun on my wheel earlier in the year (see older postings).

Rare Breed, British wool, Locally sourced on the Island; prepared and worked in the traditional ways all by hand.

I designed a Winter Warm Hat using the two colourways of the natural fleece.

It is such a joy to produce an item from the raw fleece to a functional garment to wear, knowing and experiencing each stage of the process gives you an appreciation and pleasure that is very special.

To find out more about British wool go to;

http://www.campaignforwool.org/

Back on Course, Part Two; Cast On

With Autumn upon us, I'm now very busy with my planning and making of stock for my Christmas craft events. I have been spinning,weaving and knitting and enjoying using a different colour palette that the Autumn/Winter season brings.

I'm working with the natural tones of the hand spun yarn for my knitting and have had great fun this week weaving some pure wool rugs on my loom.

Red and green woven with grey and camel coloured yarn offers a rich textile to compliment any setting, adding warmth to a room and even a festive feel.

New Designs
Casting on a new project is always exciting, I tend to have quite a few on the go at any one time!

My spinning wheel is loaded with a bobbin of Wensleydale yarn.

My loom is working it's way through some wonderful skeins of wool sourced on my travels to Devon this summer.

My knitting needles are busy clicking away as I knit socks and hand warmers.

I also have a basket where I put in my " to be sewn up and labelled"- this task is my least favourite so I have to write a morning in my diary each week to commit time to do this.

Actually once I get stuck in it is very satisfying to complete a project and the best bit is sewing in one of my little labels, then I truly feel content and happy with a new item ready for sale.

Back on Course, Part One; Cast Off

Motoring up river

September is here and finally we have been able to enjoy some sailing.

The dinghy racing took place last Wednesday for the first time in a fortnight and although we didn't do very well! it was a great evening on the river.

Saturday weather conditions; misty/murky/ cool with a Force 4 South Easterly breeze. so we decided to potter about the River Medina on our little yacht.

So we motored up river and were able to sail down river under jib only; making 3 knots of speed easily, rising to 4 knots here and there.

Sailing under jib down river

The sun peeped out now and again, nice easy sailing with a cup of coffee and a few "ship's biscuits" to hand as we go.

View of Whippingham church

The river Medina is a lovely place to sail. As it is tidal, it is forever providing different views and moods. As you approach Cowes it becomes more of a working river with the Gas and gravel works. Then further down towards the mouth there are the Marinas and boatyards.



Gas Works.

A ship is loading

Old Saltings

Back up river where we have our swing mooring, the Medina is much more rural. At Low water the wooden ruins from the old Saltings are exposed. This is the time the wading birds flock in to feed.

Sometimes the river dances in the sun, other times it is sleepy and calm letting the fish make rings and circles in it's waters.

It can be choppy, lumpy, full and thick; making it hard going for little dinghies wanting to race.

At other times it is clear and bright; ideal for messing about in boats.

Whether the tide is on the rise or fall, the Medina offers us many, many happy hours of enjoyment.

Sunshine and Sailing?

Well there has been a lack of both sunshine and sailing for Skipper and me lately which we plan to put right from now on.


We started the month of August thoroughly enjoying the spectacle of Cowes Week, spending our time down on the seafront from the Parade to Gurnard watching the yachts enjoy the racing in the breezy conditions.
As our little yacht is not a "racer" we keep out of the Solent that week!

However it is still Dinghy racing evening every Wednesday in the River Medina, so we get our thrills and spills racing our Mirror against a competitive little group of Mirror dinghies.


Like all mirror dinghies of a certain age they all have their characters and plenty of leaks and creaks. These little old boats don't like to go out in more than a F4 or they will remind you of all their leaks and creaks in a very unnerving way!

But when there is Silverware to win, it is worth trying to get a few more points on the board and attempt the conditions.

Let's just say there has been a well earned drink or two in the pub afterwards with salty tales of bruised and broken bits on boats and crew and one particular evening some very muddy feet!!

Skipper and I are currently in 3rd position due to the fact that we missed two weeks racing while on holiday sailing the Greek Isles (well that what we say in the pub at the end of the evening, having a cider and banter with our fellow competitors!)

But the last two weeks racing has been cancelled due to awful weather conditions, so we haven't got many more races to try and make up the points.

That same weather has meant we haven't even been out on our little yacht for a while so we are hoping September will be a month of sunshine, sailing and silverware.






Photo of Skipper
sailing our Mirror Dinghy.

Natural Dyes

Recently a group of us got together for a wonderful day dyeing our handspun yarns with natural dyes. It was my first attempt at this process and I'm really pleased with the colours we achieved.

I always believe the best way to learn any craft is to have a go; be "hands on"and with the skills, experience and knowledge generously shared by the dyers in the group, I learnt so much.

I used some sample skeins of my own handspun Jacob fleece along with some grey fleece I spun earlier in the year and some Angora kid yarn.



The whole process was done outside on a charcoal and wood fire.



The natural material was various plant materials of bark, leaves eg. rosemary (which smelt wonderful while boiling!)


Mordants and assistants were used.



The colours are so lovely and as they are all natural they always sit well together - just as in nature, I can't wait to get my knitting needles clicking up a new design.

Jacob Fleece Part Four

PLY


Well it's about time I brought you up to date on my spinning work.

Previous posts (Jacob Fleece 1,2,3) showed how I prepared the fleece,carded and then spun it on my Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel.
The next stage is to Ply the yarn, so as it is suitable for use as a knitting yarn.



Using two bobbins on the "lazy kate" and turning my wheel in the opposite direction I twist the two single yarns together. Plying the yarn gives it strength and produces a lovely balanced knitting wool.



SKEIN




The yarn is then wound into a skein and is ready for finishing.
If you remember I spun the fleece "in the grease".
It is now time to wash the skeins.


It is washed by soaking in very hot water with a mild detergent (good old Fairy Original washing up liquid is ideal for this). The skeins are submerged with enough water for them to move freely, but I take care not to stir or agitate as I don't want tangled skeins or felted yarn at this point! Rinsing and repeating until the water is clear.




JACOB KNITTING YARN



Finishing the yarn softens, develops it's loft and brings out the real character of the wool.

I store my handspun yarn in skeins until I'm ready to use it, so as it keeps it's bounce. As well as it looking simply gorgeous.

My Jacob Fleece has given me 800grms of knitting yarn of which 450grms is black/browns and 350 grms of cream/white/grey yarn.

I have various projects in mind to use my lovely new stash. I will be knitting,weaving and even natural dyeing with it in the coming weeks.

Open Studio Update

We thoroughly enjoyed our Open Studio.

We were really busy with just under 600 people attending our event in Freshwater. It was great to meet with so many lovely folk.

It was a brilliant event to showcase our work as Osmosis and it was very pleasing to hear some people had come especially to buy a mug and warmer set! Needless to say my sister and I have a busy time ahead to restock.

Gaining new contacts and customers was wonderful and as usual my sister and I had a good time together and were very quickly thinking up new designs and ideas for the future.

Our Next Venue

We will be at the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival 14th 15th August 2010.

hope to see you there!

http://www.garlic-festival.co.uk/

The Isle of Wight Artists' Open Studio 2010

Our Open Studio event is happening right now. (16th-19th July 2010).

We are halfway through our four day event at Freshwater Parish Hall, where we are having an amazing busy and enjoyable time.

Please see link at the bottom of the page for more details and how to find us.
You will find us listed as Osmosis.
Textiles and Pottery designed and handmade by Osmosis

My sister and I have been working closely to design and make unique homeware gifts and accessories.




The beginnings;
Osmosis just happened, a natural process.

We started doing craft fairs together as it was more economical as well as a lot more fun to share a pitch!
Displaying our work for sale in sets or groups showed the use and beauty of the natural elements of clay and wool.
Soon we were making items for "gift sets" to include both our crafts such as the hand-thrown mugs with their little knitted warmers.

We will be adding more creations as soon as we can, so do check out our Folksy shop from time to time when you are looking for a special gift or treat, just click on the Mugs and Warmers photo. You can also link to our individual shops at Folksy on the profile page.

Buttons And Brooches Onboard

It is always good to enjoy a day on board our little yacht in the sunshine.


I'm now preparing for my summer shows here on the Island, so things are pretty busy!


I make little Knitted Brooches and Dorset Wheel buttons to sell at craft fairs, my customers buy little treats for themselves or family and friends; brooches for the keen knitters and traditionally handmade buttons always make an outfit or accessory very special.


The great thing about my craft is that it is so portable. On a lovely sunny day I can pack up my yarn and needles and literally
Cast On and Cast Off.






Sitting on my boat watching the ebb and flow of the river is soothing and relaxing. The buzzards circle skyward, the little Egrets, Curlews and other waders feed along the exposing Saltings and mudflats as the tide goes out.

Boats of all shapes and sizes pass up and down from Cowes to Newport.
Skipper sails our little dinghy back and forth on the small breeze he can always seem to find over to the SE of our mooring.

Using the colours and textures of the yarn it's great to just create!

Blue Water Sailing

Just got back from a fantastic Flotilla sailing holiday in the Med.

This is our second visit to Greece, this time sailing on a 27 ft Jaguar,sailing the whole Ionian, starting in the North at Plataria (mainland Greece) and sailing South finishing in Sivota on Lefkas (Island). Our route included Paxos, the Gulf of Amvrakia, then through Lefkas Canal to enjoy Meganisi Island sailing waters.

Photo of Emerald Bay, and yes it really is this colour!

We had a few adventures along the way and were lucky enough to sight dolphins, pelicans and a huge sting ray.

Two weeks of gloriously hot sunshine sailing, some good breezes and excellent Taverna dining. Plus a sprained ankle, cuts and bruises and lack of sleep!

But the satisfaction of completing a voyage rather than just a cruise is immense, the camaraderie that these little old Jag yachts naturally instill brings all the group together. The flotilla consists of 12 Jags and a Lead boat with a Skipper, Engineer and Hostie.

Geared for couples to sail they have basic comforts and characters of their own; our boat Kea decided to have a temperamental bow anchor, others had radio trouble, engine trouble, tangled Genoa, leaky water tanks but despite all these little moments the sailing was good, we all got to the right place at the right time to enjoy a mythos or two together and some salty tales at the end of the day.

My Award Winning Hand Weaving

I'm pleased and thrilled to share with you the exciting news, that I have won

"The Marleen Upson Memorial Cup" For Weaving 2010

presented by

The Isle of Wight Spinners, Weavers & Dyers Guild.

My cushion design is in pink and turquoise. Hand Woven in a beautiful blended colour story of 5 different yarns including mohair and wool. It is luxuriously soft and the colours add richness and warmth to any setting. It has press stud fasteners and a fold-over fringe front, thus simple in design to show the woven work to the full. It is available to buy in my Folksy shop.

I shall be weaving this design in other colourways, so do check my online shops Folksy and Zibbet.

Of course if you would like purchase an award winning hand woven piece of work, do get in touch for more details.

Sleepover and a Solent Sail

What a gloriously sunny weekend!

A perfect weekend to get out on the water.

So Friday afternoon Skipper and I rowed out to our little yacht. With victuals (including the essential bottle of wine) we made ourselves at home for a sleepover on board.

Skipper had a little sail in our dinghy while I enjoyed the river and a spot of knitting, watching him whizz around the moorings on a light southerly F2-3.

At supper time we went ashore to have a meal at the Folly Inn- Excellent food as usual.

As the sun started to set we headed back on the water and rowed up and down the river taking photos of the sunset. A beautiful evening, the river became still; turning turquoise with the sun reflecting it's warm hues and filling the sky with colour. The fish were jumping, I tried to catch this on camera but they were too quick for me.

Back aboard, finished off the red wine and tucked up for the night.

Saturday morning dawned hazy with clear skies a light breeze developing from the East. We had a bacon omelette for our breakfast washed down with fresh orange juice.

I made a flask of coffee up and a packed lunch for the day (it just makes it easier to grab food and drink when sailing). We made ready and went out with the falling tide at 08.50

Motoring pass the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes. Early morning and early season with no wind in the Solent, a calm picture, come the summer months it will be packed with all sorts of craft out here!

There wasn't enough wind to fill the sails so we left the mainsail up and the motor turning over just enough to give us steerage and drifted down with the tide heading West.

We arrived at the entrance to Newtown Creek and dropped anchor to have a leisurely lunch in the hot sunshine.

The wind arrived F2-3 a steady north easterly for the afternoon, so we had a wonderful easy sail making 3-4 knots of speed, happily tacking across the Solent with the tide taking us home.

Our little yacht is a joy to handle in these conditions and bobs along nicely, a happy boat with a happy heart.

We often tow a line for fishing while sailing and this trip we were blessed with the "first treasure from the sea "a mackerel for our supper!

We returned to our swing mooring late afternoon and made for shore. A hot bath and barbecue in the garden for supper, the mackerel was delicious so fresh.

Sunday afternoon we returned to the river this time to sail our Mirror dinghy around the buoys to practise for racing, tying up alongside our yacht for a drink/snack and sunbathe.

A lovely weekend of sunshine and sailing!

River Fest

I always enjoy a little voyage, it's great to get in a boat and sail somewhere, moor up and explore.

On Saturday we sailed our mirror dinghy up to Newport Quay to
The River Fest http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/riverfest-2010/





We followed the little Brigs up the river on a light north westerly breeze. We moored up at the pontoon, stepped ashore and had

a lovely time, pottering around, viewing the stalls and couldn't resist buying some homemade fudge!


We ate our picnic before returning on the falling tide. The wind had kindly swung round to a southerly so we were able to make easy passage down river with the wind and tide.

If you want to find out more about the Little Brig Sailing Trust

http://www.littlebrig.com/

Mirror dinghy Racing has started and I will let you know how we get on in the Season. I intent to do some helming this year, (as I usually only crew when racing) so there may well be some interesting manoeuvres around the buoys! My skipper is expecting great things, but under race conditions my nerve added to my competitive streak may well get in a tangle or two!