It's Subjective...it really is.

Hmm...the 50th. Sheepychic posting. Wow! 50 is a lot...isn't it? or is it?....

My children often ask very abstract questions. For example, "Mum...is 14 a lot?". My answer is always the same. (Dunno why they keep asking. hehe) "Well...it's subjective," I reply.

Kid: "But Mum, what does that mean"?

Mum: "Um..subjective means that it means different things to different people.."

Kid: (Insert a vacant stare here...)

Mum: "Let me put it this way. Would you like 14 pokes in the eye?...."

Kid: "NOOOO"

Mum: "Would you like 14 elephants in the backyard?

Kid: "No...imagine the poos, Mum!...so you're saying that 14 is a lot??"

Mum: "Maybe...but would you like 14 grains of rice for dinner?"

Kid: "That's only a tiny amount!!"

Mum: " Yeah..so 14 is subjective, isn't it....would you like 14 ricebubbles for breaky?"

Kid: "No, I don't like ricebubbles...I would like 14 weetbix".

Mum: "But that's too much!!"

Kid: "That's subjective, Mum...."

Mum retreats...you can see this was going nowhere.

So...that is my attempt at a world record for the longest, wordiest and most irrelevant introduction ever. I'm sure to do well! hehe.

Just talking tonight to Tye...and told her about my nifty handspun rope. I spun some of it at our Friday spin-in at the Point Cook homestead, and finished off at home. Can you believe it is 8 strands of hard Z twist which I controlled as it counter-twined back around each other.

I've got my eye on this for my Sheepychic bikini tops. Little D has been wearing it around his waist! I'm tellin' you...it is so strong! You could seriously tow a car with this, but it is still so soft!

I've also knitted up the sparkliest Sheepychic beanie ever! The body of this hat is made from Sheepychic "Sun Orchid" plied over with the silver fibres, and the cuff is made with some Sheepychic "Glacier-side" which is the handspun Merino, plied over with the commercial mohair/polyester yarn and also with some added sparkle. Of course, you can see the roll of silver ribbon that I've used as a little feature. Neato!!

Thats it for Sheepychic Bloggings, thanks for logging in....I'll catch up with you all reallll soon. All the very best, Ruth .xx

A fun afternoon at Broughtonlea...

This afternoon P, D and myself were treated to a great 'spin in' at the beautiful Broughtonlea assisted living nursing home. Assisted by my wonderful Sis, Sue, we set up the wheel and some yarns in the lovely Piano Lounge and as about 25 or so residents and staff looked on I spun up some really interesting yarn.

The first thing I tried was some gorgeous black alpaca rovings spun through with some autumn shaded silk fibres. The residents were delighted to feel the fleece and fibres...and I plied back with some cute Indian gold and orange metallic threads. Next demo was some hand dyed purple and pink rovings with silver fibres tossed through under some stunning Indian Silver metallic threads.

Sister Sue is Broughtonlea's much loved receptionist...I could easily see the affection of the residents and the esteem in which they held her. One resident made a comment to me: "Oh..she is full of so much love" and they all enjoyed watching her fuss about with the twins. If I was honest I would have to admit that there was as much, if not more interest in P & D playing with their crawl tunnels as there was in my spinning!

To top it all off Christine (another sis!) came to the demonstration along with my nephews and niece. It was lovely to see the children all together. They were soooo good, too. A golden moment was P&D taking pinches of my silver angelina fibres and pressing it into the residents hands. Some residents had a little less awareness than others...and to see them accept the strange little gifts from the babies was so joyful.

Toward the end of our visit I had a little poignant moment. There was an old man reclining and silently looking on from the sidelines at the twins and their games. A staff member kindly addressed him...."Its been a while since you've been with children, Doctor...." and explained to me that this gentleman had been a Doctor at the Royal Women's hospital for many years. It hit home to me that as a society we are all too quick to look beyond the elderly...to forget who they are and what they have given to the community. It is very sad when the elderly, especially those suffering from dementia, become so anonymous. What can we do? Smile and greet a Grannie anytime you can! hehe

Broughtonlea is such a nice place. The staff were so friendly and the building and facilities were stunning. Oh...and the receptionist. The receptionist is ONE IN A MILLION!! hehe! Love you, Sue. xx

All the best, and thanks for logging into Sheepychic Bloggings.

This 'n' that...and a one buck hat

I've got a little yarn junkie on my hands. My eldest daughter B has taken Sheepychic yarn to school today for show and tell.....again. The children sit in a circle and pass around some hanks one after the other. Apparently there is quite some debate in the school yarn regarding which one is nicest. Of course, anything pink rates highly...as does anything at all plied through with a few beads.

Beautiful B walked through the lounge the other day and spied a roll of extremely cute ribbon (that I found for $1 at a craft store junk bin) in among my yarn stash. She fell all over the place. It was a beanie that HAD to be.

I had some super soft 14 micron Merino which I spun with some shimmering cobalt fibres and gold metallic thread, that was left over from a beanie order.

You can see what I've done there....all white Merino for the cuff, ran them both together for a while, some cubish bits...ribbon stripes and a very ribbony top...'cos I ran outa yarn. This is why knitting free style is so nice....I love just wingin' it!! This hat is so soft it just drapes over your hand. Its texture is what is sooooo nice about this hat. And to think....it was built with left overs and $1 bargain basement ribbon. hehe.

Needless to say...B is delighted.

Some other little projects on the go....check out this. It's still a work in progress. I'm aiming for a real sloppy, hippy, somethin' kinda different style ready for St. Andrews market. I'm calling it a Kerchief Beanie until I think of somethin' better...hehe

I love this up close picture. The yarn itself steals the show a little. It looked nice as a ball, too. The yarn used in the main body is called "Water wheel" and was from the Sheepychic My town - Kyabram range. The Cuff is Rushworth Sky spun in a slubby style.

This last little picture is of a cool little Sheepychic Dreadly Beanie...you can see where long hair or dreadlocks can run out the back. It looks really good. Now I have to pounce on someone with long hair for a picture.

Anyway...thanks for logging into Sheepychic Bloggings. Any enquiries or Christmas gift yarn pack orders may be left at sheepychic@hotmail.com.

All the very best, Ruth xx

A fabulicious big ball of Sheepychic yarn...

He he...what a great big ball of yarn!! This is two bobbins of Sheepychic yarn (so it's two hanks worth) which I rainbow dyed at the rovings stage, spun through in the slubby style while tossing through some silver fibres. You could play soccer with this...its that big!

Hello all and thanks for logging into Sheepychic bloggings. Most of you guys visiting this site regularly probably also pop into Tye's blog at http://merrymunchkindesigns.blogspot.com/ so you would have already read about MMD's fabulous knitting group that meets at the Point Cook Homestead for lunch and fibre arts. It's great 'cos Tye patiently gives very cool knitting tips and how to's and the coffee...the coffee....and lunch..beeuuutteeeeeffulllll ! (and at $10...we were really spoilt!)

Our first project, if you had nothing planned, was Tye's cute Munchkin scarf. I had prepared my yarn earlier, (oh the joy of being a spinner!) grabbed my size 10's and I was off.

Here it is...all finished. I am a very loose knitter so I left out a bit in the middle...but all in all I am delighted with the result.

I banged out a sweet little beanie, too....well, I did say it was a big ball of yarn! hehe.

This yarn is so beautiful, soft and lovely to wear. I am delighted how it sparkles...and judging by this picture of li'l P I'm not the only one!

At the moment my hanks are selling for $20 each (normally $25) for the slower warmer months. Mind you...cute yarn like this is really season proof. I'm working on some new designs at the moment. Keep your eye out for Sheepychic's new handspun bikini/halter tops, sling bags and toddlers vest fronts....postings soon.

All the very best, Ruth. xx

Any enquiries, or if you wish to order some Sheepychic yarn please contact me at sheepychic@hotmail.com.

Also...if you know of any cool gift shops, yarn stores or funky wares store owners that may wish to stock a little Sheepychic leading up to winter please point them in the right direction. Thankyou so much.

One handspun hank...2 funky kids beanies

I guess in the year 2007, for your average knitter on the street (not you fibre art enthusiasts) hanks or skeins of yarn are weird. Handspun is weird. All that handmade stuff like Sheepychic and MMD yarns....weird, weird, weird.

In reality most knitters head down to Spotlight or Big W to grab some yarn...all kept in straight rows, bundled up perfectly, ...uniform balls...all identical...by the truck load...mostly from China. (Pretty inexpensive, too, yeah...?)

hehe...handspun can never take the place of commercial yarns, I guess. I mean Tye and I would get really, really tired..hehe. But seriously. It's kind of like comparing say, a reproduced poster print to a hand painted oil painting. There are benefits to being able to predict perfectly each and every time the colour, quantity and availability of yarn. However, there is something special and beautiful about snipping the bindings on a one-off hand dyed, hand spun 100% Merino hank of yarn, rolling it into a ball...and create.

Here is a beautiful hank of MMD yarn I pinched off Tye at the Craft festival. I loved it as soon as I saw it. (It's funny how that happens) It was for sale at a Craft festival bargain price of $15 (you need to contact her via her blog at http://merrymunchkindesigns.blogspot.com/ for her usual prices)

I've knitted two kids beanies...check out the two different effects achieved with the same yarn! Cool, hey! And the colour!! THE COLOUR!! I love it!!

As you can see I've added half a hank of white Sheepychic slubby yarn. The cute little beanie with the tele-tubby type thingo on the top also has a rainbow novelty yarn knitted right along side of the white. (See...there is a use for the commercial stuff! hehe) Check out the flat top beanie. I've knitted this off without a pattern...so it's a one off. It's probably a good thing! hehe. But little D looks adorable in it...believe me. I love the bibbly bobbly knit. Very unusual...but it's merely the wrong side of a stocking stitch switched so that it's the right side. Tye and I stumbled over how good this looks recently at our peaceful Thursday morning. (Twins are having a ball at occasional care) ( I cope..hehe)

So please. If you're new to handspun and you've never bought yarn that's hand made and looped beautifully in a hank consider giving it a go. You'll love it!!. You can email me at sheepychic@hotmail.com for any yarn enquiries. All the best, Ruth x