Bring on the Braids

Posted on March 6, 2016February 26, 2016 by Aphaia

These are a new addition to my stock, custom-blended tops; these have been produced specially for me and are produced here in the UK. Each braid is 100g, and I have small spun samples of each of the bases to view....Read More

All the Batts

Posted on March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 by Aphaia

Next up in the EYF previews are the drum-carded batts! All the colours! Compared to the natural batts I shared in the previous post, these batts are colour-focused. There are a variety of sheep breeds ranging from Merino and B.F.L. through...Read More

Naturals

Posted on February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 by Aphaia

#NaturesShades is the KAL currently being championed by BritYarn and KnitBritish, with the aim of exploring the fabulous natural shades of wool found in the UK or local to your area. I think this is a brilliant idea as it is so...Read More

Edinburgh Yarn Festival….A belated recap

Posted on June 18, 2013June 25, 2014 by Aphaia

Manic sums it up. There is something about taking a shedload of fibre enthusiasts and sticking them all in the same room that makes you hit the big red button in your head which tells you to 'Buy all the...Read More

Spinning: A Round-Up, February-May 2013

Posted on June 16, 2013June 25, 2014 by Aphaia

Since I last (ahem) blogged about my spinning, I have - unsurprisingly - spun a fair bit more. The last spinning post, detailing the first month of the handblended club from HilltopCloud, was some time ago. In the meantime, I've...Read More

Fibre: Cheviot

Posted on January 26, 2013June 24, 2014 by Aphaia

Cheviot Ewe and Lamb (From here) History The earliest reference to sheep from the Cheviot Hills dates to 1372 which refers to ‘a small, but very hard race’.[i] During later centuries it appears that both Merino and Lincoln bloodlines were...Read More

Fibre: Shetland

Posted on January 19, 2013June 24, 2014 by Aphaia

Dascha the Shetland Sheep, photograph (C) Mark Sinclair 2009. History The Shetland sheep belongs to the Northern European short-tailed family, a group which appears to have been present in the area for some considerable time. Romano-sheep breeds began to spread...Read More

Changes Afoot

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Aphaia

The eagle-eyed amongst you will probably have noticed the new button in the top menu bar. For those of you that haven't, I've added a spinning section to the site. This is very much under construction at the moment, so...Read More

Spin: HilltopCloud Shetland & Kid Mohair

Posted on January 13, 2013June 24, 2014 by Aphaia

More spinning! This time some Shetland and Mohair, from November issue of HilltopCloud's Best of British Club. An unusual but extremely lovely combination of fibres in a gorgeous colourway, the very aptly-named (for December) Sitka Spruce. Again I spun it up...Read More