I'm going to get all metaphorical, but this month has felt a little like working a piece of stranded colour work. Everything looks nice and lovely and pretty patterned on the front, but at the back it requires good, even tension, and a lot of hidden strands.

It's been a month where I'm not entirely sure where the days have gone, there's been a couple of workshops teaching at other guilds, some dyeing for the online shop, but earlier than ever, I've made a start on the dyeing for Wonderwool Wales. I've always been an organised sort when it comes to shows, but being ill over the past 6 months has made me even more organised. I never quite know when work isn't going to be possible, so I'm trying to get ahead while I still can.

Blogging is one of the things that got neglected this month, mostly because everything has been very mundane, and just not worth sharing. Today however, I do have something to share!

Just like my metaphor, they're stranded colour work. Made from a single Bach Pack in the Shale Colourway. I made the cuffs/headband and the first colour repeat to match, but then after that just played around with colours swapping and changing them for the background, leaves, and flowers. In the end I had 26g of yarn leftover!

I've had Back Packs on my mind recently as I also came up with 3 new colourways to expand the palette a little.

Moroccan Tiles contrasts rich ultramarine blue with terracotta reds. 

Firebird features jade green and turquoise together with hot oranges. 

Wildflower is a more natural palette, heavy on the green, with floral accents.

To celebrate getting through February I thought a little contest would be just the ticket. 
I want you to share the pattern you'd love to make most out of a Bach Pack. Remember they contain 140g, and 7 shades. You don't have to find a pattern that uses all 7 colours, but if the pattern uses more than 20g of any 1 colour you need to explain how you'd swap the colours around to make it work!

The winner will be drawn at random a week today, and will get a Back Pack in the colour way of their choice, plus the Peerie Flooers Mitten and Hat Pattern.

Entries are now closed, the random number generator picked comment number 3, which was OrganisedKnots. 

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone!

One final post about the Italian Gardens above Corris. 
It's hard to describe the final set of photos. I think, scrapbooking in 3D using stone and china and found objects is the closest I can get!

This 3D version of a geological map of this part of Wales must have been a real labour of love. I remember being introduced to geological maps as a teenager working my Saturday job in our local independent book shop, they were like looking back in time. Later during my Biology degree I actually got to find out more about the periods of time when these rocks were being formed, if you get me to think very hard I can still recite the mnemonics we created to remember the names of the periods of time.

No Welsh hillside would be complete without a castle!
The whole place is a riotous play on scale, everything is shrunk down, but to varying degrees, so you can have some fun if you play around with the settings on the camera. 

I also found a brick picture I didn't show you before. So I'll leave you with that, and of course, the most wonderful Rowan Atkinson...
​