Paint Box

Last weekend I did a little strategic stash augmenting. First, I ordered a rainbow braid of Shetland wool from The Caledonian Wool Co. The shop is owned by Jam, an awesome person I met last year at Shetland Wool Week. Her shop opened just weeks later in Fort Williams. Funnily… we visited Fort Williams, but while she was still at Wool Week. Anyway, it seems like a really practical way to get a little bit of a bunch of colors for my wool needle felt pictures. I’m still waiting for it to arrive.

My other purchase was a Mill Membership and a bit of top from John Arbon Textiles. I discovered this family run mill while at Wonderwool Wales in April 2019. I love their fiber and the colors, so the Mill Membership seems a reasonable investment. The other thing I purchased from them was shadecards. I’ve been having a terrible time deciding which top I want to purchase from them (EVERYTHING! is not a valid answer). Investing a little bit in shade cards from the fiber blends I’m most interested in seemed like it could save me money later by not buying tops that don’t spin up as I’d expect.

This arrived this morning (their website says things are slow due to Covid, but I really can’t complain about the speed).

It must have smelled good, because BOTH cats appeared within moments of me beginning to open the box. Or they felt I would need a lot of help unpacking this one.

The “Sandbar” is one I purchased to use in backgrounds of my needlefelt. In particular, I have one needle felt planned (as soon as I feel I’ve improved my skills a bit more) which will need a lot of this sort of mix of colors. The white also seemed a practical color (or lack thereof) to have on hand. The Pollen Gold is to spin up and use with the Ocean Rain I spun last fall. The blue/green Ocean Rain has been hanging next to bright yellow linen on my wall and I adore the color combination. So… I’ve bought yellow fiber of the same mix to spin up. The dark brown is the wool which came with my membership, and should be quite practical.

Shadecards? Totally worth it. They’re confirming some of the colors I’ve been thinking of getting, and helping me eliminate others. Also, there was a mini skein (tucked behind the brown wool) of “Harmonium” and it’s absolutely stunning. Completely confirming that’s a colorway on my list.

Last thing I bought? I went out today and purchased some boxes for organizing my stuff.

Bags aren’t great for sharp pointy things, and the cardboard boxes I’d been using were attracting way too much kitty attention. I wanted an easy way to store and use my needle felt tools without it being a whole process to get them out and put them away. The little drawers are to have a “paint box” with bits of the different colors of wool I have. This way I can pull together palettes without having to pull out all the larger quantities, and again, it’s quick to get out and put away without attracting as much kitty attention. It’s also shown me that I don’t have a lot of purple.

Pippin, it is becoming clear, is an absolute fiber fiend. It started with stealing any hanks of yarn left out. Then he dug into project bags and stole a yarn cake (found it hidden away under the laundry rack with laundry). Now he’s moved onto running off with entire knit and crocheted shawls. First it was just the unblocked shawl I had sitting around. I assumed the yarn ends attracted him. Then today I came home to find he’d gotten up on the dresser and pulled down the shawl I’d taken out to wear earlier today. I found it in his “den” so there is no doubt regarding the culprit.

Thus far, no real damage has been done, but I’m going to be even more careful about keeping projects properly put away for his safety and my peace of mind.

Are you a crocheter who likes repairing things?

Jeanne, a blog reader, reached out because she is looking for help repairing her mother’s crocheted table cloth. A number of the scallops on the edges are fraying. She’s located in the US. If this is your cup of tea, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with her. Photos are provided below to give an idea of the extent of repairs and work needed so you can estimate a quote of costs.