Pies & Pukekos

I received a very big box from the USA the other day - a Strauch Petite drumcarder!!! Mike sold one of his motorbikes and bought it for me. I was so knackered the day it arrived that I undid the parcel, looked in the box, squealed and went straight back to bed lol! I had a very happy companion assisting me though:




I haven't used it yet. Just admired it and thought about what I want to card on it first. Sparky is running scared though just in case he is first through it! Here's a photo of him running scared:


I've dyed up a big vat of cheviot, merino and merino silk in a chocolate colour to use in the carder. The cheviot was grey, the merino was chestnut and the merino silk was a yucky pinky brown from a previous dyeing experiment. They've all come up ok and are currently drying on the trampoline:


they are not as red as in the photo. more a milk chocolate colour. mixed from purple and orange.

I managed to get to Woolfest last week. I didn't really feel strong enough to go but Mike said on the Friday night that we were going anyway even if I only spent 10 minutes there. He knows how gutted I was that I couldn't go last year due to migraines. He is a keeper.
So we left at 5am on Saturday morning and got there at 10am. Luke loved the scenery through the Lake district. He couldn't believe how big the hills were.
Woolfest was fabulous. Luke loved seeing the animals especially the rabbits. I felt really rough and had to sit down every 5 minutes but managed to buy 2 beautiful turquoise braids of superwash BFL from Fyberspates, some bunny fur and some commercially dyed merino.
I met some of the wonderful girls from Ravelry which really made my day.
We stayed 2 hours and then drove 5 hours home again.

here is the hard evidence that I win as the slowest knitter in the world. This bag is approx. 6 inches wide and it took me most of a day to knit the stockinette part at the top! Luckily I adore the colours so can live knitting them for ages:


Generally I have been exhausted this week and then have had a migraine the past 2 days. Its killing me being so tired as I am desperate to wash and dry my Romney fleece while the weather is so good.
My roses in the garden are looking fabulous. Luke's pumpkins, tomatoes and sunflowers are also growing well. I love summer!