Sunday 6 February 2011

Life is full of surprises



Early last week I had a nice surprise. I was literally going out of the front door on my way to work when I found the Postman on my doorstep bearing a large parcel. I just had time to open the mysterious cardboard box quickly before leaving. This is what I found -




A yarn swift. At the beginning of December I ordered a Sunflower Swift from Brownberry Yarns with some of my Birthday money. They are handmade from a mixture of beech, ash and sycamore with a solid brass spindle. A 'Girl In Winter' has kindly let me borrow hers in the past, and I loved it so much that I decided to buy my own. The bad news was that as they are handmade to order there is a waiting list, therefore I might not get mine until the end of February. So imagine my delight when it arrived early. It really is a beautiful object, skillfully made, built to last a lifetime, and a delight to use. I have bought a ball winder so I am all set to wind my skeins into lovely sqidgey cakes of yarn.





I have been so tired recently, a combination of my arthritis and the weather that my beading has virtually ground to a halt. This only a temporary set back and to try to jolt myself out of the malaise I took some of the beads that I bought at Bijoux Beads in Salisbury recently and made a quick bracelet for myself (it is based on one that they had on display in the shop). Now that it is done I am not sure if it really suits me. However, it has got me thinking and I have come up with some more variations on the theme, using beading stitches rather than stringing.

I have also created wire links with some heart beads and headpins which will be incorporated into a necklace. They seem very apt given the date.


On the knitting front I have been making something as a gift for a friend. All will be revealed in due course.