Woad Dye - Happy Blues

 I had a very small crop of home grown woad to harvest. This Summer in my garden it has been very hot and sunny so I was unsure if I would be able to get any colour from the dye pot, but as you can see in the following photos I'm absolutely thrilled as I managed to achieve such a beautiful blue dye with the first dip! My woad plants have soaked in those sun rays!
 
The process is done using the vat dyeing method.
 Pure magic -woad blue from simple green leaves.

 In this photo you can observe the wool beginning to change colour as I remove it from the dye bath.

 My Hand Spun Art Yarn looks really gorgeous, the soft twists and coils of yarn soaks up lots of colour giving me a wonderful deep shade of blue.

 I continued to dip and dye some more skeins of various hand spun wool, each skein becoming a lighter shade as the dye bath became exhausted. Four in total.

Happy Blues!

And some more happy blues:

August here on the Isle Of Wight means Cowes Week with plenty of sailing going on, lots to see and do, enjoying the beaches and Island life with our family coming over to stay. Getting out and about under all these lovely blue skies.

Now I do need to update you on my post of April this year when I told you about our dear old Mirror dinghy being in need of some serious attention and repairs. As she was unseaworthy in her present state we decided to let her go.
 Don't be sad- She was very keenly snapped up just as she was, taken to be decorated and dressed for a very important role as part of the Shanklin Float Procession full of happy smiling children. See photo below.
A glory few days looking rather splendid. 

So yes I'm a little blue and miss her (someone else will enjoy getting her back on the water ).
 We still have Peewit and of course there are always new adventures awaiting and our blue sailing holidays in Greece to look forward.

 Blue Solent.

Sailing on the Tide - Dinghies

A View of Wootton Creek at Low Tide.

With better weather finally arriving on the island, our sailing season begins.
But we are not ready!!
This winter we had to leave our two dinghies down at the river's edge on their plots in the dinghy park as our road trailer has broken, so we were not able to tow them home to overwinter in the shelter of our garden. This isn't usually a problem as we have left them down to overwinter at the river  before in case we wanted to use them.  But this winter has been particularly bad and it has taken it's toll on our poor little boats.

Peewit (left) Red 5 (right)

 They both look very sorry for themselves. Our Mirror dinghy has the added problem of it's launching trolley wheel has a puncture, along with it being full of rain water and generally soggy.

 Poor little Peewit had to be turned upside down  mid winter as her boat cover ripped in the winds. This has meant her paintwork on the hull has cracked and is flaking off, but thankfully she is sound.

 So Skipper has his work cut out to get these two back on the water.

Rigging, sails, boom, gaff and all the bits and bobs to fit out both dinghies are safely stored at home. I shall gather everything together, check the sails and sheets and make some sandwiches, add a flask of tea, a slice or two of cake and together we will spend some time down at the riverside getting our two little boats ship shape for the season.  

 When the tide floods in and the sea breeze calls, our two little dinghies will be ready to unfurl their sails and dance out on the wavelets of sparkling water...

 Crew's View As The Sails Fill 

Ripples and Reflections

 Skipper and I spent a lovely afternoon on the water.
We took our little dinghy Peewit out for a row and a spot of fishing.

High water on the river Medina. The day was hot and sunny, the river was calm with a very light breeze, a perfect way to relax and enjoy just being afloat once more.

We took the fishing rods, not a hope of catching any fish! but its always an occupation on board which instills calm reflection and becomes very absorbing. I love the way it helps me focus on my surroundings, making me look more closely at the water and sky. Watching the birds and yes even a fish jump out of the water!   

 Looking closely at the ripples and reflections on the water.Seeing the patterns that dance in the light.

 

 Back in my studio/workroom a gorgeous basket of blue clouds await spinning.
 Carded fleece naturally dyed with homegrown woad.

If you are on the Island from Tuesday 12th to Saturday 16th September, The Isle of Wight Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers is holding an Exhibition.

I will have some of my hand woven work on show as well as some of my hand knitted and hand woven items will be available to purchase.

ALL NEW!

Wow what an amazing start to our year. It really is all new. I have been very busy knitting and weaving, this time it has been with added excitement because I'm now a Granny! It has been a double thrill for us as first a granddaughter arrived in January then a grandson in February, so as you can guess I'm grinning from ear to ear.

I have been popping over to the mainland to visit.

Above photo is of a simple new born cardigan/ bolero jacket in garter stitch, hand knitted in one piece. I have used a little anchor button to fasten as a finishing touch  and soft pastel colours with a nautical hue.

No doubt Skipper will be teaching them the ropes before they can talk and walk... new crew always welcome

 

 

I have also had a lot of fun on my Saori loom, this time using it to weave two baby blankets.

I wanted to make them bright and cheerful rather than the traditional whites and creams of the knitted and crocheted type. These blankets are intended to be used for the pram, crib, cot or as a play mat, just something soft, fun and easy to wash and use and use and use.

As these are for our grandchildren I decided to make them both together on the loom using identical warp, to connect the little cousins as belonging to and being part of  one big Wright family. Then each blanket has been woven differently using the colours and patterns on the weft to make individual unique blankets to recognise each baby is totally unique and special, so as to make it personal to them.

I will be blogging about the process of this project soon, so as you can see how this was done. 

All New I have been working on plenty of new stock and as you may have noticed my online shops are closed just at the minute that is because I want to launch an all new look to each shop with my new work for sale. 

There will be hand knits, hand woven and hand spun items as well as hand spun yarn, along with Skipper's hand turned wood items. I will need to put the knitting needles down, step away from the loom and wheel for a short time  and get on the computer/ photographing and listing stock.

It is the perfect time for a new and refreshing breeze to blow through, giving me the energy to reach for new colours, new ways of  looking at what I'm doing and what I want to achieve. Planting my own garden for natural yarn dyeing, veg seeds for healthy eating. Shaking out the sails stored all winter hoping that we can get on the river in our dinghies for an Easter sail. I love this time of year