GLORIOUS FIBREFEST

First, I have to thank all our fantastic customers who have brought in their projects and had them photographed for this blog, then apologise as due to a technical hitch and a holiday they are all still waiting to be published which will be very soon so please come back again soon to see the talent show.
Meanwhile, I have been socialising in Falkirk while Maxine has been working hard. However, despite our fatigue (Maxine's work induced, mine pleasure induced) we both dragged ourselves out of bed at a very unreasonable time for a Sunday and drove to Coldharbour Mill in Devon for Fibrefest.....................................
and it was worth it!
Once there, our heads cleared and we dived into the trade tent forgetting our caffeine cravings for the rest of the morning.
At the very first stand we met the lovely Sasha Kagan and admired her beautiful designs. We even went back later on with an 80's book we found on a charity stall....



There was no end of fantastic stalls to admire






We even met the amazing speed knitter who taught Kirsty Allsopp how to knit, you can see the beach inspired draft excluder on display. She was very friendly and we are hoping to see her again.


I know outside the mill I should be photographing the mill wheel but I couldn't resist this laden pear tree, there were 3 of them and it was all I could do not to start picking them.



We wandered round to the livestock and found some alpscas for sale. Maxine wanted to buy one but we couldn't keep it in the courtyard that floods so we took a photo instead.



Then we found the amazing ladies who made the Gingerbread house and giant Christmas tree. They are working on a Seaside project which will eventually be a walk through tunnel complete with a lighthouse and set for completion next September. I couldn't believe my eyes, already it is an amazing work of art which grows more amazing every minute you spend looking at the detail, I could have filled this blog with photos.....

Then just as I thought we would escape without a photo of the wheel we heard the echo of the saxophonist playing right next to it, bathed in the late afternoon sun.

Tempting as it was to stay, we wanted to rush home and start knitting straight away, I haven't even had time to photograph our purchases and you will have to wait as the next blog will be full of customer talent!

Most exciting of all : we are now stockists of Coldharbour Aran which can be purchased in 4 lovely shades from this Tuesday, while stocks last....

Rowan rainbow and a flood

This week the shop has been fairly quiet however, it is the week of Maxines move so she has been rushed off her feet while I have minded the shop and a selection of her things, she has already chosen colours for her dining room and made this fresh cushion which I am under pain of death not to sell. I spent one quiet morning considering hiding it and telling her I sold it for a tenner but somehow I couldn't bring myself to torture her frayed nerves any further. The beret is from RYC Classic Weekend book and if you look to the right you can see our pitiful selection of Rowan pure wool dk ....









but that was before the arrival of........................







Now, this is only 6 of the fabulous colours. We have 18 gorgeous colours in our pure wool docket and I can happily stack these colours all day. I don't know how I will cope in August when all the other new stock arrives.





Maxine has been getting ready for the arrival of lots of Aran by knitting this lovely Rowan pure wool Aran cardi. Unfortunately she wasn't wearing it this week when Annabelle, our Rowan rep arrived and to make matters worse I was wearing the Sirdar sublime cardi, woops. We continue to have our wonderful customers amazing us with their beautiful projects; this baby shawl is cream baby cashmerino with pure silk contrast stripes, it is sumptious:



Another lucky baby will be wearing this beautiful hacho cardigan and a vast array of other delightful projects which I am sure I will be featuring more of.

We had a bit of a disaster this Tuesday when we arrived to find a swimming pool in the back courtyard seeping through the back door and soaking our beloved carpet. After spending all day taking buckets of water through the shop to tip down the drain at the front a lovely man unblocked the narrow drain in the yard and we didn't have to spend all night at the shop baling out. I did however have to rescue 2 frogs from the wool !

Meanwhile, some projects of mine included this black sheep, I was happier about her 3 bags full than I was with her, the face doesn't seem right and her legs are a bit wobbly.............

I was much happier with the rowan handknit cotton pink elephant which put all other projects on hold while I crocheted her for no other reason than I couldn't resist the pattern.

What I should have been doing was finishing the boottees for my cousins baby who may well be a year old before they are done. I managed to make 2 right shoes (yes, it matters, there is a T bar and button) so as usual when I have a hiccup the whole project stalls and I also have a more tantalizing option....

My new Uk Alpaca blanket, we would love to stock this wool sometime soon, so I thought I would try it out and spent my last job's leaving present (cash for my stash) to buy enough alpaca for a double blanket.Unfortunately you can't buy time and I think I need to make about 300 of these squares but I have to say I am loving every second and don't mind if it takes me 5 years, which it probably will.This week saw the beginning of the much needed summer holidays. I have never worked through the summer so this will be a challenge for the kids and me. Maxine will also be coping with unpacking in a new house. We've survived the first couple of days now it's Saturday night and you know your getting old when you don't think pub or cinema? rather boottees or blanket??

Sweet Sorrow !

At last, our new signage arrived and we really are Marmalade Yarns now. No more confusion for the delivery men.


This month, we have a 10% off Sirdar Snuggly Yarns and have put all the lovely display items on our washing line, interspersed with 4ply fairy cakes.

One of our customers brought in this beautiful cardigan she made for her young granddaughter,

It is a Stylecraft ethical twist pattern, done in Paton's Wool Tweed.

It is gorgeous, look at the wooden elephant buttons and the wine coloured rose detailing.

We didn't know whether to be happy or sad at the end of our crochet course. We were ecstatic at their progress and declared them fully fledged as they sat round doing new projects of their own however, we were so upset at the loss of our friends that we suggested a monthly Crochet Get Together starting in September. Meanwhile we had a show and tell of the fantastic items which have been springing from the hooks......

Jar covers galore from Woman's weekly,

A beautiful bag from the 'Learn to Crochet' book,

A garden of roses,

and the magnificent shrug from 'Inside Crochet' !!!!

And last but definitely not least a wonderful, thrifty item made of lots of oddments and backed with a husbands ripped shirt. A truly lovely, credit crunch embracing cushion.

To think these fledglings had never used a crochet hook 6 weeks ago!

I keep promising to post photos of our own ongoing projects, if only our customers weren't so talented, I wouldn't have to keep filling the blog with their fabulous creations. I will endeavour to post our projects soon although I think there will be some pictures of the lovely new stock as the winter orders start to drift through the door, we can hardly wait.

Flea bites

At the weekend Maxine fulfilled a long term ambition and made it to the Giant Flea at the Bath and West where she was well and truly bitten. She took along her 8 year old daughter and they had a lovely time meeting other bloggers and buying wonderful things. She has big plans for this beautiful fabric from Sue at Vintage to Victorian.
So, while the rest of Frome watched Jensen Button, Maxine found treasure after treasure. She loves this Italian jug with the iced gems

and look at the tiny 4ply cup cake, if you can tear your eyes off the doilly.

Now, what would you think Maxine needed like a hole in the head? Another crocheted blanket and a tea cosy! But how could you resist that tea cosy? The blanket is amazing. It has been done with double stranded wool throughout which gives it a luxurious weight which is perfect for a winter blanket or picnic rug. Another project onto the wish list..........

Mad Cows and Fabulous Crochet

The shop has been fairly quiet the last couple of weeks but Maxine and I are still chasing our tails and finding our all pervasive venture time consuming and challenging, yet we are both very happy. Maxine had a day off and sat in the sun to crochet the Woman's Weekly selection which includes the beautiful tea light cover and look at the plant pot, what can I say. She shunned the housework as there is no need to clean a house you are waiting to move out of. 'What, start your own business AND move house?' I hear you cry. I think Max is working on the principle that one stress will keep her mind off the other. More news of the move as it happens....

Well, the Crochet Course is going well. One of our (vastly pregnant) Tuesday morning ladies who had never touched a crochet hook 2 weeks ago arrived with this beauty......

Isn't her baby going to be enveloped in fabulous crochet? This week everyone brought amazing granny squares. We hadn't imagined how exciting it would be to see what our proteges had been making. Here is the Thursday evening class which we do in the front of the shop as we are closed. You can see me sporting the cardigan I had been making for months. Now it is finished I feel it has elevated me to 'mad cow who works in a wool shop' status, wholly appropriate but still taking some getting used to.

From one mad cow to the best cow I have ever seen. She has prize winning udders and wonderful crumpled horns and pound coins in her hooves to make her stand, she is adorable and knitted by one of our talented customers who is waiting for her grandchild to be born who will be a proud farmer at birth. Meanwhile, we have stocked up on King Cole to make the amazing summer pattern which you can just see in the background. There is a sunflower wall hanging, complete with ladybird and a flowery cushion and the best strawberry tarts with no calories.

We have also taken delivery of Mitchell's Wool Fat soap and Woolly Wash, the soap smells like soap used to smell and is perfect for sensitive skin

and there is a wonderful ceramic dish with shaving soap and we stock the refills.
It might be midsummer's eve but we saw a rep this week to discuss our winter order! Now the best thing to come out of it was this divine Donegal Luxury Tweed tea cosy which Maxine designed from a sample our lovely rep left. If only you could feel it...............

If you have noticed the time of this posting, it is because I am waiting for my eldest son to come home from a Scout Night Hawk, I planned to sit up and knit however I have been busy sewing. My younger daughter has requested a skirt and we went to

Millie Moon and had a lovely time choosing material, we are very excited about starting it, I just hope when we finish she doesn't feel elevated to 'Mad Cow' status too.

It has been a while since the last blog and a lot has happened. I have been on holiday, I know.... poor Maxine, I am sure she will get her revenge. It was time for another Artisan Market on the hill, the last one was very busy with lots of friends passing by and we were looking forward to this one. We wanted to do a summer window, so to commemorate D-Day and because the colours look good, we chose Red White and Blue .

Complete with a knitted AND crocheted Union Jack,and this adorable summery, strawberry topped tea cosy.We started our first crochet classes on Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. Two lovely groups of ladies came along and we tackled granny squares. It was really rewarding to see them completing their first square. We hope they are looking forward to the next few weeks. One of the Tuesday morning ladies writes a beautiful blog Suzy's vintage attic .We have had a few visitors who blog including, a few weeks ago, the friendly girl from Knitcave who was telling me how she knits while walking along, I was very impressed. Then this week; Nicky, we had a chat and a chance to tell her how beautiful her dolls are and Clare. We never thought we would meet so many lovely people.More exciting news, our friend Mary, a knitting genius, is booked in to do a 'Sock Day' in October. She will show you how to cast on to and knit with 4 needles, knit a heel flap, turn a heel and graft a toe then if you still have some energy simple cabling and lace. Our website is coming along and the new improved version which will include details of our courses will appear in the next couple of weeks. My daughter has a Roman day at school tomorrow and has to take a Roman lunch. She has just requested stuffed dormouse, it's getting late but I wonder if I could knit one?