I suspect for everyone reading it's felt like this month has been rather quiet....
But in reality it's been rather busy. I decided to get on with my dyeing for the stand at Wonderwool Wales so I knew if I was short of any particular fibre base. I also wanted to tick the job off my list. I suspect I'm not alone in finding that the political uncertainty is making me somewhat anxious, and getting the Wonderwool dyeing out of the way meant I had one less thing that I was worrying about. 

Speaking of political uncertainty, I always try to be respectful of people who have different political views than me, however I am going to come out and say this bluntly. Brexit will be a disaster for our country. It in no way allows us to "take back control" and leaving the EU will solve none of the fundamental issues with unfairness and lack of political representation in our country. On a very personal basis the British wool trade has never actually been just the British wool trade, it always relied on imports and exports, and this is no different now to how it was in medieval times.  I use suppliers that are based in Europe, and even suppliers that are based in the UK are in turn reliant on manufacturing partners that are based in Europe. At the moment I still don't know how much it will cost when I re-order certain fibres, and that makes planning for the future impossible. We are already poorer as a result of Brexit and that will only get worse if crash out with no deal. Bank of England estimates that the British economy is already 2% smaller than it would have been if voters chose to remain in the EU. That translates to a loss to the UK economy of £800 million ($1 billion) a week' (Source- CNN)
My first job was working for Britannia Building Society, the headquarters were based in my home town, and part of the first week training focused around what to do in the event of an attack by the IRA. The Good Friday agreement had been signed, but it was recent enough that the treat of a bomb was not one to be taken lightly. I am a comparatively young person but it's easy to forget that in my lifetime we have gone from the horrors of the Troubles, to  a border that I got to ride over on horse back as part of my summer holiday without any problem. Brexit means an end to that peace, and I find that thought to be completely  horrifying. 

So earlier this month I went on a protest march for the first time. I went down to London and was part of the Peoples Vote March on the 23rd. I am privileged in that I was in a position to attend, so felt that it was something I had to do. I am also lucky in that my MP (Liz Saville-Roberts) is one of the MP's who is coming out of this with her head held high.
I know some pope would like to just read about spinning and look at pictures of my chickens, but all that is only possible if I earn money by selling fibre, and despite being very capable at running my business Brexit places my entire livelihood at risk. So I'm afraid I am not in a position to be able to just keep quiet and pretend that everything will be alright, because it won't. If you choose not to buy from me due to this position, then I am sorry that you will loose the pleasure of working with my fibres, but I will be even sorrier if I don't speak out to try and stop the catastrophe that will make all of us poorer.
I know that many of you are not so blessed with your elected representative, if you've not sent them an email then please do so (form letter here asking for a people's vote on any final Brexit decision). Also, I'm going to share the link to the petition to revoke Article 50, and move on to happier topics!

We had a bit of a soggy week in March, where the rain never seemed to stop falling. Thankfully the end of the month bought some beautifully sunny weather and we've dried out nicely and the garden is now starting to show all the signs of spring. There are tulips popping up everywhere, and we took advantage of the warm weather to check the bee hives for the first time this year. 

With the Wonderwool Dyeing complete I've been able to move on to getting the online shop a bit more sorted. There is a drying shed full of hand dyed fibre that I will be photographing tomorrow. 
I've also added lots more colours of Superfine Merino & Silk (this is one of the bases that comes from Europe and I am lucky that I am in a financial position to stock up now, there is no guarantee that future deliveries will remain at this price). In particular I've added quite a few very beautiful neutrals, those of you who got the 12 Days of  Christmas parcels will recognise a few of the shades. 
And, there's  a new fibre to add to the range. I've been thinking about this addition for a while, drooling over the colour palette in my shade cards, but not sure whether to take the plunge... But I made a decision, so there are now 7 colours of 19 micron Merino which has been naturally dyed. I hope you like them as much as I do. 

I've been busy with lots of personal projects as well... there's a freshly sewn top that's waiting for a photo, more lace shawls. the start of a new lino print to celebrate the arrival of spring, and some more tapestry weaving. 
​I know there are quite a few of you that love the hand turned wooden items that appear in my Dad's shop, and be wondering why there's not much listed at the moment.... he's fine, but now the owner of a new hip, which has finally been replaced. Hopefully he's going to be back on his feet in no time, not least because sympathetic nursing is not a personality trait that comes naturally to either my Mum or I!

If you've not received your club parcel yet you may want to skip this post and come back later when your fibre has arrived. 
There are lots of new fibres in the club parcels, so It bought some video clips to give you some ideas on where to start would be helpful. 

If you want to see step by step instructions on how to attach a leader to your bobbin with a loop at the end then the blogpost is here. 

I recommend starting with the Tussah Silk. I like spinning it with a short forward draw from the end of the top, that way you get a super shiny yarn. The other way to try spinning silk is from the fold. You can use a short forward draw as before, or try doing a point of twist draw.

Viscose is shiny fibre like the silk, but much more slippery.  Try spinning the silk first! 
You can use a short forward draw to keep it smooth and sleek, or you can spin it from the fold. 

For the Baby Camel, check the staple length, that's what will catch you out after spinning 2 long staple fibres. ​You can spin it with a short forward draw, and it will also work well as a thicker yarn. Don't be afraid to use a good amount of twist with this short stapled fibre. It will also suit being spun from the fold, and this would probably be the method I'd pick to spin this fibre. ​

And here are the fibres in the parcels this month. 
Tussah Silk in the Antilles and Violet, Viscose in Fog and Shell, and Undyed Baby Camel. 
The club is full for this 3 month block, but I will be doing it again in the summer, and spare fibre from the parcels will go on sale in the shop in 1 months time. 

Tussah Silk is one of the more textured form of silk, if you're interested in knowing more about silk then I wrote a summary here a while ago. Viscose is an extruded cellulose fibre, it's also sometimes called Rayon. Celulose fibres are dissolved using chemicals, and are then extruded out in to very fine filaments that make up the fibre. This Viscose is made in China, but is purchased through a supplier who is committed ti ensuring environmental good practise. Both fibres were dyed to Okeo-Tex 100 standard in Italy.  Baby Camel comes from the undercoat of young camels, and is incredibly warm and fluffy, most of the fibre comes from the Bactrian Camel (the one with 2 humps), and is sourced from China, Tibet and Mongolia. 

The busy months keep on rolling round. It was lovely to meet so many people at Devon Guild, and even better I got to take a few days off after the workshop exploring Exeter.  I can thoroughly recommend it as a pace to spend a couple of days. The cathedral is magnificent, the museum delightful, and the Underground Passages were fascinating. 

I've been spending quite a lot of time on the computer this month doing lots of very dull behind the scenes work. The end  is in sight however, and the work now should hopefully minimise a lot of the routine tasks I'll need to do in the future. 

The Non-Wool Club is nearly full, but I can still squeeze in a few more spaces, you've got a couple more days to sign up as I shall be starting to pack up the fibre next week at which point subscriptions will close. I'm also in the middle of transitioning the existing monthly clubs to a new payment system. The Gradient Club members are in the process of swapping over, and I'll be moving on to re-organising the Time Travellers club soon.

I've also been dabbling in a new fibre craft. Tapestry weaving and woven wall hangings seem to be everywhere at the moment, and they're a great use for odds and ends of fibres. This cloud shape uses a frame loom from Weft Blown. I used lots of spare pieces from the Colours of Cambria packs, and some undyed Cambrian wool. Sometime I spun a length of 3 or 4m and used that to weave, in other places I used pieces of unspun combed top. 

I've also had a go at making a more traditional wall hanging. 

These little hangings are great fun to make, and really not that hard. I used a small frame loom I bought from Ebay for around £12. The rest of the fibre is a selection of colours from the Superfine Merino & Silk (Paradise, Thyme, Cinnamon, Fog and Cappuccino) with a piece of Silk Chiffon Ribbon (colour way Moss).
If you're on Instagram then take a look at the hashtags #wovenwallhanging and #weavingloom to get lots of inspiration. 
If you want to have a go and don't know where to start then I used YouTube to teach myself most of these techniques. This playlist is really clear, she also explains how to make a loom using a picture frame and nails if you want to go down the DIY route. This playlist is another good one to use.
If you're coming by the stand at Wonderwool I expect there might be quite a few of these on display!


If you don't want to get sucked in to the rabbit hole of yet another craft then we're having a lovely time over in the Ravelry group doing an informal lace knit along, or crochet along if you prefer. You can pick any pattern so long as it has yarn-overs, and use any yarn, does't have to handspun, or Hilltop Cloud fibre. 

We've had poultry drama over the past few days... I came home from Devon to discover that Trotty had completely gone off her legs. Still bright and bubbly and wanting to stuff herself with tasty treats, but completely unable to walk. Two weeks in the house and she gradually got better and is now back out with the main flock. Unfortunately one morning we found  the other newest chicken, Pippa, looking very unwell and she died a couple of hours later. The day before she had been running round with the flock very happily, but they're very good at disguising illness. Clarissa the duck has also been causing trouble (again), in addition to having escape skills that rival the Colditz prisoners, she tried to lay her first egg and couldn't, requiring an emergency trip to the vet and a paraffin enema. She's currently making her disgust at all things human known by absconding as soon as it gets light and spending all day as far away from the garden as possible. Sigh, that duck....

Yesterday was  St Davids Day, the patron saint of Wales, so I celebrated by going for a bit of a jolly over to the coast, and had a thoroughly Welsh lunch out. It seems insane to say that 1 month on from my last blogpost I still don't know what will be happening with Brexit, and for now all I can do is keep on running the business as normal. I plan on sending out the Time travellers Club as early as possible to avoid any hold-ups at the ports, and also to make sure you don't get charged tax twice when you receive your parcel. I am still hopeful that this whole process will be halted and that common sense will prevail.

I do love seeing what people do with my fibre, and I know from so many people how inspired they get by the work of others. Over on the Ravelry group we have a thread that is just devoted to the sharing of pictures. There's no chat in the thread, so it's the perfect place to browse if you're short on time. 
Asa  think you for sharing the photos I do a random number draw every 3 months, for gift certificates to the online shop. We've just got to the end of the time period of the current thread, so I thought I'd share a few of my favourites here.  Clicking on the images will take you through to the Ravelry project page. 

Another busy month. January is always time when I play catch up after the Christmas holidays, and the weather over the past week has been somewhat chilly... so much so that I have a rather fetching chilblain on my toes after several very cold dyeing sessions. Thick Alpaca socks and insulated snow boots clearly aren't enough for my ice block feet, so I've just ordered a pair of silk liner socks to see if that will help. 

I've also kept up my resolution to try and make time to get away from work. We went back over to the coast to finidsh a circuit of geocaches we started over the Christmas holidays. 

I've also been back over at Westhope College learning how to weave baskets using rush. I've been wanting to do this course for 18 moths, but a combination of the courses being fully booked, or not coinciding with when I was free has meant that I've been waiting for a while. It was definitely worth the wait the wait, and I've come away feeling inspired to have a go at doing a bit more.  

The tutor, Rosie Farey, makes beautiful miniatures, but in true Katie style I decided to go big! And then had a bit of an anxious moment when we couldn't get my basket off the mould...

I was teaching myself in the middle of the month, and had a great time at East Sussex Guild, who looked after me spectacularly well. Next weekend I'm down in Devon, and have got a few days off planned in Exeter after I finish teaching, so if anyone has any suggestions for things I should go and see or do please let me know! 

The next shop update is almost completely dyed, so should be live in the shop either at the end of the week, or maybe next week when I get back from Devon. I have also started dyeing for Wonderwool Wales, and plotting some new stand decorations!

Finally a note about Brexit, because I have been getting a few worried emails from European customers. It takes a lot to get me angry, but I am furious about the whole situation. I have no idea what will be happening on 29th March, and unfortunately until our politicians make some decisions I have no way to plan for what will happen. For now, all I can say is cross your fingers that those in power will stop being cowards, and stand up to say what a stupid decision it would be to leave the EU. 

I'm still making plans for the future though, because I am determined to still be here, and I will get your parcels to you somehow...  
One of the things I wanted to do by cutting back on show commitments was to explore new ideas. So I'm pleased to say that the Wool-Free club will be coming back! 
It's going to be set up to work for those of you who like to create blends, and those of you who want to try spinning fibres like cotton, ramie, linen, and bamboo by themselves. It also means that I will be able to offer more choice of non-wool fibres in the online shop.

And finally, I hope that I've always tried to make this clear, but if I haven't I am sorry, and will try harder in the future to do better. All are welcome here. Whoever you are, providing you are respectful, and kind to others, you are welcome in the comments here, on my Facebook page, my Instagram feed or in the Ravelry group or when I meet you in person. I will not tolerate racism, or discrimination of any kind, and expect those who share my space behave in the same way. 

As usual we had a houseful at Christmas, and limited space in our little cottage meant that my wheels were rather neglected. I did however convert my new sister-in-law to spinning!

My little brother got married in September, which is one of the reasons why my autumn was so hectic! 

I spent most of my holidays sewing.... I finally finished the red flannel shift dress from a pattern I drafted at at workshop at Westhope College. I have no decent photos... because it's Wales in winter. It never got light, and I lack the selfie magic!
​All through the holidays people were opening their 12 Days of Christmas parcels. It was such good fn to open a parcel every day that we're doing it all again for the Tour de France... so if you missed out on a 12 Days of Christmas parcel, maybe you can join us for this project. 

I also got out and about nearly every day during the holidays. We explored new places, and did quite a bit of geocaching.

On a dyeing front, I've been back at work for a few days now. Nearly everything that I sold out over the holiday has been restocked, and the first hand dyed fibre of 2019 is drying as I type. Look out for a shop update in the next couple of days.

The latest edition of Ply Magazine has been one of their most successful so far... it's all about socks. So the next couple of updates will have a bit of a sock focus in case you fancy trying out some of the techniques. I stock 3 different sock- specific blends. Pure Southdown for those who like the all-natural option, Superwash BFL & Ramie for those who want to machine wash and have improved resistance to felting but don't want nylon, or Superwash Cheviot, Silk & Nylon which is my personal ultimate sock yarn; machine washable, with nylon so I don't wear a hole in 2 months. Sound intriguing? You can buy copies direct from Ply (including a digital edition, or there are numerous world-wide stockists. 

Over the next couple of months I'll be visiting a couple of guilds. I'll be at East Sussex Guild on 19th January giving a talk, and will also have some fibres with me. I'll also be at Devon Guild on 9th February, talking about dyeing techniques, and will have the shop with me again. Visitors will be made very welcome so if you're in the area please come along. 

Might have mentioned that I'll be teaching at the Association of Guilds of Weaver, Spinners and Dyers Summer School next year...
Very broadly I'm going to be teaching a course based around my book. In short. we will be spending the week experimenting with hand dyed braids, and generally becoming better and more confident spinners who are in control of the yarn we make!

I've just finished a sample piece that will be part of the discussion materials for the course. I took the 2 hand dyed colourways that I created for the Tour de Fleece, and plied them with the corresponding colours of Merino & Silk that were used as the dye colours in the variegated braids. As usual, the results are fascinating, and really highlight the value of sampling. 

Thanks to a grey welsh winter day the photos aren't the best, but hopefully give you a hint of the sort of experimentation we're going to be having fun with. We won't just be piling with solid colours either, we're going to be doing all sorts of experimentation, and really starting to dig in to the "why's" of certain colour combinations. There will be elements of the Power of Colour article I wrote for Ply Magazine, and we'll be looking at how to use the skeins you spin from hand dyed article. 
You will be doing lots, and lots of spinning, and I'll be encouraging you to turn your samples in to something meaningful and useful as a souvenir of the week. 
Applications are open to anyone, you don't have to be a guild member, or even a UK resident. 

Both hand dyed colourways plied together. This one is really interesting to look at, so many different new colours created from the optical blending. 

Sometimes it's a mistake to go back to things you remember from childhood. They're often not quite as shiny, not quite as charming and all too often disappointing. 
My trip to Northumbria was none of those things however. Maybe to helps that I was there as a small child, and I'm not someone who has vivid memories of many of the places and things I did much below the age of 7. But there was something about the Northumbrian coast, I just knew that I needed to go back there. 

I don't have many things that I would try and rescue if I had to leave the house in a hurry, but this is one of them. It's painted by an old family friend who is sadly no longer with us. We have many of his watercolours hanging in the house, this probably isn't one of his better ones, but it's special to me. 

The two small figures in the left are my Mum and I. At 5 I probably didn't appreciate the gift of this painting, but at 33 I appreciate more than I can express with words. 

Bamburgh Castle wasn't looking at its most magnificent on the day we were visiting, but that didn't really seem to matter. Now when I sit on my sofa at home my painting will remind me not just of childhood kite flying, and running on a beech in a cold winter wind, it will remind me of a slower walk to a headland, of exploring a new town and the magic of a bamboo maze. 
We spent the evenings cutting and sewing fabric for a quilt. That age-old evening activity of women, the act of making. The photos I took were lovely, but the handmade things I have to remind me are so much more precious. 

So far I'm managing to stock pretty well to my resolution of rounding up all the things that have been happening in the valley over the past month. Maybe this is the secret to New Years Resolutions, don't make them at New Year. 
Of course this post is a bit later than usual, but that's because I took my holiday for the year up on the Northumbrian Coast. It was beautiful, and windy, and just what was needed. As usual I'll be working pretty much up until Christmas, and then taking some time off over Christmas New Year to spend time with family, do lots of cooking, and mess around with some non-Hilltop Cloud projects. 

As we're talking about Christmas, here are the dates by which you need to place your orders-

Wed 5th Dec; Cyprus, Malta, Asia, Far East, Eastern Europe, Caribbean, Central and South America
Sun 9th Dec; Greece, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand
Wed 12th Dec; Canada, Czech Rep, Italy, Poland, USA, Finland, Sweden
Sun 16th Dec; Rest of Europe, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, UK

Parcels will be going out as normal throughout the holiday period, on Monday and Thursday mornings, and I plan on sending both clubs out before Christmas. 

I've also made a start on dyeing the special fibre I posted about last month, and even managed to twist John's arm in to supplying me with a further 10kg.  The first batch went up in the shop with the latest update, and I will be dyeing small batches for every update until I run out of base.  This fibre is special, because every step of the way is done with such care and attention. First the flocks that supply the fibre are specially selected, the fleeces are first graded by the sorted at the south Molton Wool Marketing Board Depot. It then goes through a secondary grading process to remove a further 20% of any kemp and coarse fibres, or ones with too short a staple. It's then scoured, and finally combed by the team at John Arbon textiles, and combined with 20% Mulberry Silk. At the moment it's the most expensive base that I stock, but with good reason, you can't produce a base like this cheaply.

This is also the month we said good-bye to Otis, my trusty ex-BT van has carried me around the country to shows and workshops for the past 5 years, but he was getting older, and with my decision to do fewer shows I no longer needed such a large vehicle.  Our space at Wonderwool Wales has already been confirmed, and will be the only show in 2019 where I will be taking a full stock of fibres. Wonderwool is by far the most shopper-friendly of all the shows, with wide aisles, generous stand sizes, and a level floor. If you've never come then it's well worth the trip. 

It's getting towards the time of year when I start to notice a few orders from people with familiar surnames, but very different first names! I've been buying bits and pieces for my family members for the past few weeks, and judging by the parcels that appear and are immediately hidden away I'm not the only one in the household who's started buying presents, 
I thought I'd share a few gift ideas for spinners for you to point your loved ones towards. I've tried to pick non-fibre options to avoid the issues caused by  buying the right fibre, but in the wrong colour! There's lots of small options as well that would be ideal for gifts in your local spinning group, or as stocking stuffers. 

First up, the things in my own shop... (If you're in the UK or EU all these prices will be plus 20% VAT)
Things to care for your wheel. Your wheel is a tool, it needs maintenance just like your car. 

If your wheel is already well cared for then how about something to make you better at working with colour?

It's hard to go wring with bags... places to store things are always useful when you're a crafty person. 

Finally a wpi tool is a useful addition to anyone's spinning toolkit.

If books are your thing then there are so many that are excellent... (Note, these are all links to Amazon UK, if you're outside the UK you will probably be able to find all of them on your countries own Amazon site, and many will be available from other online book sellers)

The Spinners Book of Yarn Design If you only own one spinning book this should be it! 
The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook For the spinner who loves learning more about sheep and the quality of their wool
​Yarnitecture For the spinner who wants to get better at analysing the sort of yarn they are spinning, and be more in control of the results. 
​Spin Art For the spinner who needs to step outside their comfort zone

Non-spinning books, but interesting for anyone who has a love of textiles. 
Women's Work- The First 20,000 years.
Stitches in Time: The Story of the Clothes we Wear
The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History 

​A subscription toPly magazine would also be a lovely gift. If you're outside the US then it may be better to buy a subscription from one of their stockists.

Akerworks bobbins are such a pleasure to use, and I love that they collapse flat so I can store them easily. Note to any potential present purchasers, you need to check the wheel that your spinner uses...

Beyond Measure stock lots of beautifully useful trinkets for people who love to make things.  I love their tape measures, or their sewing needle cases. 

There are usually a few tipples consumed at Christmas, so how about some knitting stitch identification guide drinks coasters. 

If the person you're buying the present for is a spinner, the chances are they're also a knitter or crocheter. So a storage solution for their needles or projects will probably be well received. ​

Your spinner might also like abeautiful tool to use to wind their yarn in to skeins, or need a new orifice hook. 

If you're hoping for some spinning goodies to be in your pile of presents what would you like to receive? Leave a comment below, and someone else might be getting a nice surprise!