First of all, please check this link to Finefettle Fibres blog - and whilst your there, have a look around her on-line shop!  Judith has started stocking my handspun yarns and supercoil necklaces, so if you can't make it this far north to see me, then please go and see Judith in Felton, Northumberland.  

The van is once more packed with woolly goodies going south!  We set off for Thirsk and the British Wool Show this weekend - click on the coloured text to go through to the website for the BWS.  
I've managed to do a bit of spinning, teaching and felting in between having a holidaying mother-in-law stay with us and doing all the touristy things!
We are back at St Abbs Friday market on the 14th & 21st July between 10am and 4pm, then a new venue on Saturday 29th July we go to Lindisfarne with St Abbs Market on tour - come along but don't get caught by the tide!
A couple of dates for August just so you can put them in your diary - 
Fridays 4th & 11th August, we are at St Abbs Friday market, Saturday and Sunday 12th & 13th August back to Lindisfarne for the pop-up market.

News after the weekend of more dates - including a special show in Edinburgh....

Meantime, a few snaps of the cats helping me out in my work.

We had a lovely time at Woolfest - thank you to the Woolclip for organising such a wonderfully inspiring event and to everyone who came to say hello.
Here are a few photos of our stand - we look forward to seeing lots of familiar faces and some new ones at the British Wool Show in Thirsk on the 8th and 9th July.  
P.S.  If you want some supercoil necklaces please get in touch using the contact form and pre-order  - I just about ran out at Woolfest and am busy spinning some more.

 A bit last minute, but the van is now completely stuffed full of woolly goodies, camping gear and tasty food - we are setting off any minute now - on the road to Woolfest Cumbria 2017.  We are bringing handspun yarns galore - and patterns too, supercoil necklaces in a wonderful array of colours, fabulous spinning and felting fibres, hand woven rugs and throws, hand knitted and crocheted scarves, wraps and hats, a thousand wooden buttons (at least!) in all manner of colours and shapes, bamboo knitting needles and blingy shiny crochet hooks!  We are on stand D87-88, so come along and say hello.

I've now sorted out my workshop list -click here to download the leaflet.  If you want to come along to try your hand at knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, felting or dyeing, just check out the leaflet and get in touch to book a place.
I've got an introductory dyeing workshop on Friday afternoon this week (28th April) and a couple of places left so if you want to have a go, please get in touch using the form here.

Whilst I'm here, below is a list of events for the next couple of months where you can find me out and about.
Friday 5th May and 19th May, 10am to 4pm, St Abbs Market in the Ebba Centre at St Abbs.  A weekly market selling locally caught fresh fish and shellfish, home made bread, cakes and pastries, local crafts and arts and a lot more!
Saturday 20th May, 10am to 4pm, the Stocksfield Gathering in Tynedale - the annual gathering of spinners, weavers and dyers in Northumberland, Cumbria and Durham.  Lovely cakes too!
Saturday 27th May, 10am to 4pm, the Highland Wool and Textile Fair at the Auction Mart in Dingwall up in the Highlands!
Fridays June 2nd and 16th, between 10am and 4pm we are once again in St Abbs for the regular Friday St Abbs Market.  There are regular fresh produce stalls, plus a variety of different art and craft stalls, so you never know what you might find!  There are cafes too and a lovely walk around St Abbs Head where the birds are all nesting on the cliffs.
On to the biggest one of the year!  Woolfest Cumbria on Friday 23rd June (10am to 6pm) and Saturday 24th June (10am to 5pm),  long days to get your woolly fixes!  Really looking forward to this craftiest and inspirational events of the year.  Truly something for everyone.
Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th July is the British Wool Show in Thirsk at the Auction Mart.  A lovely friendly show where the sun always shines and the great Yorkshire countryside is at it's best!

A little note about the Dornoch Fibre Fest on the 18th and 19th March!  There are a couple of spaces left on my spinning class, so if you fancy a go at corespinning and supercoils, please get in touch with the organisers through this link here.
Even if you are fairly new to spinning you might be surprised at how quickly you pick up new techniques - so don't not do it just because you're a newbie spinner!  

I've been beavering away at home replenishing my stocks of lovely handspun yarns, weaving rugs and throws, crocheting baskets and spinning beautiful supercoil necklaces ready for the new season of shows, exhibition and festivals.
Here's a list of event dates so far - I'll add more as and when we know where we are going to be!
Click on the coloured text for access to websites with more information.
First up is next Saturday, 4th March at the Haddington Spinners Open Day at the Poldrate Mill in Haddington between 10am and 4pm.  I'll be taking along my buttons, needles and notions and a few other bits and pieces.
Sunday 5th March sees us at the Springwood Park in Kelso for the Borders Organic Gardeners Potato Day and Green Fair.  11am to 3pm.
On Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th March we will be right up north(!) in Dornoch for the Dornoch Fibre Festival, where I'll be teaching spinning supercoils and corespun yarns in a full day workshop see weblink to book a space!  Skybluepink Designs are also having a stall at the festival, where you'll be able to see all my handspun yarns, spinning and felting fibres, buttons, hooks, needles & notions, ready made garments, accessories and homeware and whatever else I can fit into the van!
On Tuesday 21st March we are in Alnwick for the Northern Tourism Fair between 10am and 2.30pm and on Thursday 23rd March we are in Hexham for the second day organised by the Northern Tourism Fair.
On Saturday 8th April we are in Eyemouth for the St Abbs Wool Festival - it went so well in November with over 500 visitors we decided to stay in Eyemouth for our regular twice yearly wool festival.  10am to 4pm at the Eyemouth Community Centre.
The St Abbs Market starts again at Easter and I'll be there the first and third Fridays of the month - more of which later!
If you can't get to see us at any of these events, please get in touch using the contact form and we can arrange a home visit!

Yes, it's the St Abbs Wool Festival on Saturday the 5th November, but we have moved to the Eyemouth Community Centre in Eyemouth as we have more space.  For lots of information on stall holders, see the webpage by clicking here.  We also have the British Wool Marketing Board coming along to let us know what they do in Wool World, the Haddington Spinners and Weavers are also joining us with all their equipment for you to try your hand at lots of differed things, there is a fleece sale and the SWI are there to refresh us all with tea, coffee and home made cakes.  There is plenty of room to sit and knit and chatter with old friends and make some new ones too!  

Then on the 19th and 20th November we are off to the Crafters Art & Design Fair at  Springwood Park in the Border Union Show Ground at Kelso.  This is the first time we've been on display there and we are quite excited about it!  I will have for sale, my beautiful hand woven, hand knit and hand crochet hats, scarves, gloves, wraps and shawls, felted vessels, woollen bowls made from all different kinds of wool and also some beautiful hanks of hand spun yarns.  Come and say hello!

It’s been a while!  I’m out of the habit of updating my blog at the moment, so will note here my dates for the next month or so, then if I don’t get back on line for a while, no matter!

So to the diary dates for September and October so far:
It’s a big one - Yarndale on Saturday and Sunday 24th and 25th September, long days and lots of wonderful things to see.  I’m in stand 152, same place as last year!  Come and see what’s new at Skybluepink Designs.
Friday 7th October I’ll be having my usual stand at the St Abbs Market in the Ebba Centre, where you will find all manner of lovely local produce and crafts.
Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th October sees us back in K Village in Kendal for the fourth Kendal Wool Gathering.  This event keeps growing and it’s a lovely friendly atmosphere, with time to talk to all those stall holders who you can’t get to chat with at Woolfest and Yarndale - come and say hello!

Now, what I’ve been  up to recently…
Here’s a link Old Gala House Museum in Galashiels, who are hosting the St Abbs Woolscape Project in one of the galleries - there are all the favourite things we made during the workshops at the St Abbs Visitor Centre, plus some new additions - one being a very large humpback whale - you thought Harris was big, wait until you meet his mother, Helga!  
We are doing workshops at the museum to create a Woolscape for Gala, so if you want to get involved, please get in touch with the staff at the museum for more details.  It will be fun!

Steve and I  are in full swing now with preparations for the St Abbs Wool Festival  on Saturday 5th November - we are moving to a new venue - Eyemouth Community Centre  in Eyemouth, a little fishing town just down the coast from St Abbs.  We are moving as we need more space - for you as visitors, for more stallholders and demonstration and exhibition space and finally, for workshops - more news of which very soon - keep checking on the face book page for updates starting next week!  In Eyemouth, there is plenty parking, cafes and stuff for non-woolly companions to do whilst you spend time in wool world.

We aren’t out and about so much this year, as I’m spending more time at home making and doing.  I’m also doing more teaching for Guilds, groups and individuals.
If you’d like to take a workshop with me just get in touch using the contact form and I’ll send a list of what we can do!  The list, ranges from: knitting, crochet, spinning, felting, dyeing and weaving, so plenty to chose from!

This cat likes to get involved in what's going on - but she's not for sale!  Also shown above are photos of my button range - mostly wooden, polished, painted or printed, some mother of pearl and some coconut shell - all beautiful!  I will be bringing them along to all the events listed in the previous post, or if you can't wait. just get in touch using the form here and I can send them out to you.  I still have the bunnies, butterflies and elephants you can see in this post too!

A short-ish note to post some of our dates this spring and summer. 
Just click on the coloured text below to go through to websites for the events.
I'll be at St Abbs Market in the Ebba Centre tomorrow - Friday 6th May - between 10am and 4pm.  I will be there on the first Friday of the month from now until December so come along and see what's happening in lovely St Abbs.
We travel to Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday the 21st May for the Highland Wool and Textile Fair in the Auction Mart at Dingwall.  The event is open to the public from 9.30am to 4.30pm, so come along and say hello - we will be bringing absoloutely everything (!) with us, so come and have a rummage in our boxes and bags - plenty bargains to be had in the way of buttons, fibres and yarns!
Friday June 3rd we will once again be at St Abbs Market between 10am and 4pm.
We are lucky enough to be invited back to Woolfest at Cockermouth in the Lake District, so we will be there on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th June.
July sees us firstly at St Abbs on Friday the  1st; then on Saturday 10th at Greenhead on Hadrian's Wall for biennial wool gathering organised by the Wool on the Wall Group.  There is to be the farmer's market on the same day, so plenty to see and do - and eat!  At the end of July we are also at the Border Union Show at Kelso as part of the wool exhibition, on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th July.  A busy month!
August is similarly busy, with St Abbs on Friday the 5th, on Sunday 28th we will be at Floors Castle for the Massed Pipe Bands display and there is also lots of other entertainment on hand.  Bank Holiday Monday, 29th August we are at the fabulous Glendale Show in Wooler as part of the countryside display marquee.  Lots of heritage crafts and skills will be on display too.
... I think I'd better get on with a bit of work in order to get some stock made!  Hopefully we will see some familiar faces and if you do come to any of these events,  please drop by and say hello.