Faery Dawn beanie...

Winners are grinners....and boy o boy! I'm grinning! This beautiful hank of wool is one of Tye's, which I won in Tyes funny comment competion...ya gotta tell us, though Tye...what was Jo really looking at????? Looking at my Merry Munchkin Designs 'Faery Dawn' hank in my hands I was torn...to knit or not to knit. It was soooo beautiful just as is. Well...I gathered up all of my courage...snipped the bindings and rolled poor Faery Dawn into a ball.

I also spun off a really nice white slubby 80 gm hank...sho shoft!

I winged this beanie...it sprung forth. hehe. Tye tells me I should write things down..and I should! I really should! But there is something really nice about just going blah!! knit knit knit.....and it always seems to come together! hehe..the best part about it is that you know you have a funky one off!

Take a close look at that Faery Dawn yarn...see the gold stickie outie bits!...

All the very best for those logging in! If you want a wonderful one-off hat and if you want to have a little Sheepychic of you own just let me know. All the very best, Ruth xx.

Roger that, Houston....we have Rushworth Slubby!

First came the Rushworth...then Rushworth Snowey. Third of all was a extremely fine Rushy plied back on itself. That's gotta be it, doesn't it??? Nope. Da-da-da-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...check out Rushworth Slubby!!! A Slubby, or bulky style yarn is a proud addition to the Sheepychic and the Merry Munchkin Designs Stables. I don't think it is the thoroughbred, though...more like the High country Brumby. (Damn hard to work out and control...but once you do...it's the most amazing and beautiful horse at the track.) The colours in this hank are mesmorising me...I am staring at the screen getting all misty eyed. hehe ..It's georgeous!!(lol...well...I am kind of tired!) Anyway..thanks for logging in...Ruth xx

Rainbow 'n' Snow

Melbourne enjoyed the most amazing rainbow the other day....we actually stopped the car to look at it. It was raining heavily to the right of us and the sun was shining brightly to the left... bringing life to an enormous, perfect rainbow. You could see every single colour (the kids thought I was making up Indigo) and the colour went right down to the ground...even I was tempted to try and chase it!! hehe Speaking of chases, I'll cut to the chase about this posting...it's got some rainbowin' going on. I have been scratching my head trying to come up with some extremely cool yarn for a hat for B.R.K....something really colourful. Something really, REALLY colourful! Check this out! I've named it....Rainbow 'n' Snow. I've used 4 different varied sheepychic rovings....blues, yellows, pinks and greens (hehe I don't know where the orange and purple comes from!) spun sections of them in order and then plied them through with white merino. It's all 100 % Merino. I've also run some gold metallic thread through it as well. I've had a few other things on the boil, too. Just a peek, today...I'm on the hop!! Bye for now...and thanks for popping into Sheepychic! Ruth xx P.S. Here is some Rushworth plied back on itself and some gold thread...it is insanely fine and took an insane amount of time to spin...

Sheepychic beanie...

There's nothin' worse than a cute funkie beanie that a) falls off...b) slips down over your eyes...c) doesn't keep your ears warm...if you want it to...d) looks like your Grannie's tea cosie..e) all of the above. I know a beautiful little girl who has none of these problems (I hope!!) because she is the owner of an original Sheepychic beanie...lets take a look! I was aiming for a really snuggy, chunkie band....a roomy floppyish top and I also wanted the inside of the band to be the "right side" so the cuff can be rolled and still be...er....right. hehe. In this picture you can see a small ball of Rushworth Snowy and the Rushworth which is still on the bobbin. I knitted this beanie straight off the lazy kate....then plunged the whole hat as soon as I had finished it into cold water to set the twist. I know...I know...I break every rule in the book. That light brown yarn is a factory yarn I used as a filler...there is one rule that mustn't be broken! Thou shalt not conceal any Sheepychic handspun yarn. hehe (Amen) This is what Rushworth Snowy looks like all knitted up... A Sheepychic beanie..all complete. This pattern is a fairly yarn thirsty pattern, with the large cushie cuff, but its worth it. Out of the $25 Rushworth hank (80gms) there remains 50gms of yarn left. Do take into account the snowy band, though, and the fact that this is a kids hat! A couple of embroidered dasies from eBay (see how you can get them from the previous posting on Cloes hat) and a Sheepychic Label which I will pop in with any hank if asked and viola!! A very neat hat...for a very special God Daughter!! kisses and cuddles to you, Sweetheart. hehe...I love the way that the gold metallic thread through the Rushworth yarn picks up the light...you can even see it twinkle in this photo...awwww ...what a cutie!! Thanks for popping into Sheepychic Bloggings...feel free to contact me for details on how to get your own Sheepychic yarn! All the very best, Ruth. xx

What?!?! Snow....in Rushworth!?!?!?

Greetings All! I've been enjoying stacks of great feedback about the Rushworth Hank...it is beautiful. Strangely all the fuss got me wondering if I could tweek it a little. And tweek it I did!!! It all started here...I've run it really finely through the wheel. That's my pinkie finger, so you can see how fine the yarn is. Is it lace weight? I'm not sure but it took me ages and ages and ages to spin!! I spun some white Merino at the same weight...plied them through and da da da daaaaaaa....we have snow in Rushworth!! Wow...I love this hank. Can you imagine the coolest surfie chic style beenie in this?? Of course I just had to tinker about with my new toy...hehe Check these out! This Blue Snowy ranges right through from light, light blue, darker blues and on to purple. Oh so cute! Safe to say it works in Blue... hehe! Remember that varigated green hank a few posts ago??...Well the Sheepychic snowy trick worked well too!...da da da daaaaaaa Green snowy! (oh so showy) hehe

Here they are...all dressed up with no place to go. Hanks available for purchase. Thanks for popping in to Sheepychic bloggings....bye for now!....Ruth xx

Winter Morning.

hehe....I've said it more than once...I don't normally name hanks. I'm creative...but not THAT creative. I'm travelling along the some vein as those millionaire businessfolk who call their $6 million racehorses "Barney" or "Herman". Having said that I was having a cuddle (hehe - I do that sometimes) of my newest hank and I thought to myself...hmmm 'Winter Morning". This could mean one of two things....either my right hemisphere of my brain has managed a few more connections...or I'm missing hanging out with Tye wayyyyy toooo much! Check out brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Winter Morning. Hey, Carol....this is the rovings I put into dye when you were visiting the other day.... turned out beautifully! This black and silver metallic thread brings hanks alive....

Thanks for popping into the ol' Sheepychic....any enquiries welcome. Don't forget the knitting silly season is nearly upon us..! Ruth xxx

The "Oxley" and the "Rushworth"

Now that our older children are school aged one sad reality is that it is harder to catch up with old friends and family...especially those a couple of hours drive away. That's why the school holidays are really special...not only a break from the hurley burley of school but a chance to catch up. What a laugh we had breaking out the Red wine lounging about while the kids played...then out came the raw rovings and the crock pot! What is it about red wine and creativeness....check out what Carol and I managed to put together. oh oh..not another trophy! Carol and I aimed for a purpley colour...and I guess you could say we achieved that...and more. I totally love this hank. Carol...now you can tell how much I adore you...nobody else in the world could have marched that little piece of Sheepychic magic outa my gate and survived!! hehe. Please....keep us all posted on how your hat turns out!! xxI don't normally name hanks...but here is a couple of exceptions....this is da-da-da-daaaaaa the "Rushworth".

My sister - in - law Andrea is so encouraging...it gives me a real buzz. I happened to have a roving brewing up when she popped in during holiday time and we had a fine ol' time pulling it all out and pinning it on the line while the kids disappeared playing. This little hank is chock o' block full of different colours....but with a beautiful winter-time depth. Check it out!

In the photo the colours appear a little lighter than they really are...

wow! even looks good wet and swimming in a bucket....

I'm sure Andrea won't mind me christening this hank....da-da-da-daaaaaaaa the "Oxley".

Thanks for logging into Sheepychic Bloggings...see you all..Ruth xxx PS. Andrea...keep an eye out for the mail man....a little birdie told me something may be coming out your way! (And keep us posted, won't you!) Andrea is a keen scrapbooker...her albums are absolutely georgeous. I'm wondering if some Sheepychic yarn may be included in some scrapbooking....it will be cool to see some alternative uses for this special yarn. I've used it as giftwrapping string (just imagine!), tied in bows attached to elastic hair ties (cute and sturdy for little P)..we even decorated out Christmas tree with handspun! (Well...it saved a trip to the shops!) All the best....Ruth xxx

If the late Mr. Kerry Packer had a son called Al....

From GO to WHOA....One of the main attractions of hand spinning your own yarn is being able to control or take part in a few extra steps of the creation process...Almost from the grass roots level to completion.....take this little hat for instance....it's for a beautiful little baby girl called Cloe. These cute little guys are, of course, Alpacas...they are the previous owners of the fleece that now is the pride ond joy of my fleece stash. As you can see they still have a beetles type hair-do's and a fluffy butt....Peter and Kay aren't THAT mean....hehe. These Alpacas are from a property in the yarra valley...if anybody wants to contact the owners just ask me for their details. Isn't that rich burgandy coloured fellow devine! The grey fleece is from a Suri alpaca...it costs an arm and a leg so I mainly use it in small quantities to highlight a hank...it really is something special...(It gave the kids quite a fright, though...they honestly thought I was spinning their Grandmother's hair...ewwwwww...err...no!) This is one of my favourite yarns. I have only used the photographed fleeces and plied it with 100% Merino (white) It has not been dyed at all yet it is still bursting with gorgeous colour...all natural. It's from my Sheepychic Rustic range. To make it I have spun off a bobbin of white Merino in a real chuncky style and also a bobbin with alpaca...interchanging the colour fleeces whenever it seemed right to do so...(very scientific...hehe) The two bobbins are then plied together to form the yarn.

I grabbed these daisies from eBay and I love the little finishing touch they gave Cloe's hat. You can just type in "embroidered daisies" in the search field and you can find them there. The user i.d.is "rtinga"...aka Robyn. Robyn is really friendly and quick to send what you order. These daisies are sooo cute!...perfect for kids hats or anything else...and lets face it...don't give the huge craft franchises or department stores your money...buy from the little guys...and gals!!! If anyone wants Robyn's email address I have it here at home...just ask.

Thanks Mr. Moley for taking time off the toy shelf to model for me. Hopefully we will be able to have a photo of the real Cloe!...stay tuned! xxx Ruth

I've flipped my colour lid.....

I am the bull in the china shop....the Pugsley in Toys R Us....the Dazza at the motor show... (I think you get the drift.....I've gone mad). There is clanging and banging in our laundery late at night with steam and strange wooly smells...(and shocked gasps when I realise it is 2am....again!!) I've gone crazy cos' it's true...my little Sheepychic varigated colour trick works on any colour...all the time!! Check this out! This green hank only has a dot of yellow.... Look closely at the black and silver metallic thread I used to ply through this little blue hank...it is totally alive. When you move this wool it really looks as though electricity is running through it... The green hank is nice...plied through with the gold metallic...it's really rich. It would be beautiful to high light a little bag or for a funky outrageous cushion cover panel. But this blue hank...omg...could we have trophy hank number two.???? It is nudging the all time favourite hank list....