My dyeing mojo is back!

Mabel | Fibre, The Shop | Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Going back to some dyeing!

Before we moved to Singapore, I remember going through my shop stock and putting some aside so that I could continue the trade after Eva was born. But things got sidetracked (a lot, I’d say) when she came. Suddenly I was not just swamped with running errands and housechores but tackling a newborn and later an infant. Despite my crazy schedule and breastfeeding, I wasn’t on a quick weight loss diet at all.

So my undyed fiber and yarns sat in its box, waiting to be unpacked. Until today…

I finally got my arse moving and spent some time sorting the store stash before deciding on dyeing up about 900gms of undyed superwash merino. It was a little tough trying to get started, especially with the colour combinations and mixtures but once that was settled, I discovered that dyeing can be quite fun although time-consuming and utterly tiring. It made me feel like a little kid again, playing with all those colours and imagining things again after months of routine and schedules with a child.

As the fibers sit on the clothes dryer, water dripping from its dyed ends, I’m awfully tempted to open up my handdyed fiber and yarn store again. But that’s just the keyword “awfully tempted”. I don’t know if I’ll have the stamina to do this regularly once I start work. Hm. We’ll see how it goes.

In the meantime, I’m happy – my dyeing mojo is back!!!


Which to pick?

Mabel | Fibre, Life, Spinning | Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

3.3oz Merino/Tencel in Avalon from limegreenjelly.etsy.com 4 oz 70/30 Superwash Merino Seacell in Lovestruck from squoosh.etsy.com

These just arrived and while I’m so so so very tempted to start on the 2nd one from Squoosh, I’m wondering if I should work on the ones that have been part of my stash for a while already.

Yes, I have just finished spinning up my current WIP and will get started on plying it tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be done with it by Friday since we’re leaving for Lyon to spend Easter with Nil’s parents. When we get back, it’ll be up for sale.

Didn’t you know? I have a job and it’s running my shop. 8)


My current fibre stash…

Mabel | Fibre, Spinning | Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

…excluding a fibre club shipment that’s on the way, the practice stash (about 400 gms of mixed wools and etc), the WIP stash (another 400 odd grams) and naturally, the shop’s stock of undyed goodies…

In a nutshell, there are all sorts of wool fibres in there (Gotland, Falkland, Corriedale, Merino, etc), blends like merino/bamboo, merino/seacell, BFL/cashmere, Shetland/silk and then lovely soft stuff like alpaca. To find out more about them, click on the pictures and check out the notes!

And like Nil said, this isn’t junk…it’s money and I’m not kidding. :)

Fibre Stash - Pile I Fibre Stash - Pile II Fibre Stash - Pile III


Fiber Stash Part Deux

Mabel | Fibre, Spinning | Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Seawool from Creatively Dyed Seawool in Nectarine from JulieSpins Merino-Silk in Surprise Me from JulieSpins Seawool from Dyeing4Colour

Despite the snow, I thought it best to whip up the camera and snap some pictures anyway. The keyword, if you will ignore the mention of snow, is SOME.

Yes, my fiber stash is overflowing and right now, it’s for a good reason. But rest assured that unlike my knitting, I spin up stuff relatively quickly. :)


Fiber stash update!

Mabel | Fibre, Spinning | Monday, December 1st, 2008

Corriedale in Life Is Peachy

I thought this blog might be in need of some colour-related cheerfulness. Over the course of a few weeks, I’ve caved and purchased OR handdyed some fibers to spin up for either keeps or the shop. So my fiber stash has grown somewhat considerably, even more than the stock for the shop, dare I say. What’s worse is that I haven’t had the time to photograph them all. ARGH!

On the list of To-Take-A-Snapshot are…

  • Romney in Creme Brulee (8 oz) from ironjohn04
  • Seawool in Delight (4 oz) from Dyeing For Colour
  • Seawool in Scottish Heather (4 oz) from Dyeing For Colour
  • Seawool in SR25 (8 oz) from Creatively Dyed
  • 60/40 Merino-Bamboo in Evening Shade (4 oz) (FatCatKnits) from a trade on Rav
  • 50/50 Merino-Tencel in Green Tea (4 oz) (Pigeon Roof Studios) from a trade on Rav

Falkland in Aster from Shunklies

Of course, I shouldn’t forget the fibers that are supposed to be on their way or will be on their way over the next few months! :)

On the list of Items-To-Be-Received are…

There is a perfectly good explanation for this stash enhancement…

Unfortunately, I can’t say it. You’ll find out soon enough. 8)

Corriedale in Praline Candy


Birthday gifts – Part II

Mabel | Fibre, Life, Spinning | Saturday, October 25th, 2008

A very lovely orchid from my MIL & SIL, five ounces of superwash merino in Orchid colourway (my own handdye) and some yummy Gotland roving in Oxford colourway from Spindlefrog over on Etsy. YUMMMMM!

A birthday gift from my MIL & SILSuperwash Merino in Orchid - 5 oz Gotland in Oxford from Spindlefrog

More to come…really…just one more! ;)


Birthday gifts – Part I

Mabel | Fibre, Life, Life overseas, Spinning | Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Yup, my birthday was just a week ago and since then I’ve been waiting for a flurry of gifts to arrive. Well, I wouldn’t exactly say for sure that it is a personal gift, more like me buying up supplies in the name of a birthday gift to myself but what the heck!

It was an unexpected purchase really, but since I was branching out into items for the store, I thought why not. You may think it’s strange purchasing items that I could easily dye up for myself but don’t be surprised. Sometimes dyers themselves buy from others…especially when it comes to blends which are hard to come by in this part of the world/Europe. So for your viewing pleasure, may I present some fibrey goodness…which soon will be turned into handspun yarn for the shop.

Ebikin from Ewe Give Me The Knits Poison Arrow from Ewe Give Me The Knits Merri Merric from Ewe Give Me The Knits The Work Horse - My new baby

And oh, another gift that came by my way involves some Swiss/French keys, Vista and a very yummy function. Nil got me this simply because I was hogging his PC for far too long. The timing is right, really. With the shop and all, I am now able to update as and when I like without interfering in his online activities. And of course, I have no excuse when it comes to churning out my wedding dinner album, which is still in the works. Time to kick my own butt, really.

And oh, there is the matter of some gift baskets or such lying around…I ought to take a snapshot of that. When the next gift(s) arrives, you can bet that I’ll blog about it! 8)


For my own stash

Mabel | Fibre, Spinning | Sunday, October 19th, 2008

My own handdyes which are NOT for sale! 8)

Merino-silk in Purple Waters Merino wool in Blue Skies & Fog 3 oz/90 gms pure alpaca roving - Tawny Cyclamens Demeter II

Yes, I plan to spin these up into yarn so keep your eyes peeled out for more goodies!


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