The Yarn Tree Archives - Yarn Tails SA

Tag: The Yarn Tree

Adulting

One of the joys of having kids is that you have a constant reminder of how quickly time is passing and how old you’re getting (not fun, that part!). I still can’t believe my eldest is in matric. Admittedly, most of my high school friends already have grandchildren, so I’m a bit of a late bloomer in the having kids (and, mind you, adulting in general) department. Nonetheless, I am feeling the horror of having a child on the brink of adulthood (and a teeny tiny bit of excitement, but really, only a smidge, mind you). And, of course, she’s not looking forward to adulting. It must be genetic. After all, adulting can often be SO overrated!

A retreat – food for the soul!

Hello dear Yarn-lovers. On Monday morning I woke up feeling joyful, remembering that, at that moment just a week before, I was on the I Love Yarn Retreat. And feeling grateful in so many ways, to so many people, for that amazing weekend and experience. A feast for the soul! I was on the Knit & Breathe retreat earlier this year and absolutely loved it. It was such a fabulous weekend. So I was looking forward to this one immensely, and it exceeded all my expectations… Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2018 Brenda Olwagen

Play with dyeing yarn! And kids-holiday-classes :-)

Hello Yarn-Lovers! The October school break is nearly upon us! Yay for holidays and some “R & R”! Whether you have kids or not, it’s always good to get some inspiring ideas on new things to try on your days off, whether it’s over the weekend or on a holiday break at home. Something I know many people are keen to try is dyeing yarn. Maybe you are too? It’s also a great creative and fun activity to do with kids. Something that I’ll be doing with my girls during the October break. Having tried it before, I do recommend adding it to your list of yarn-related things to try out and play with. Even if only just once.

Trying your hand at dyeing…

Long time no see!

Hellooooo dear yarn lovers. Long time no see! It has been a few too many weeks since I last chatted with you. Almost feels like I’ve lost my blog-voice and need to find it again.

It sure has been an eventful (ie: challenging) few weeks with a sick new kitten that infected one of our older cats, our dog-let (actually a biggish border collie) needing surgery, sick kids and other health issues, broken gate, hacked e-mail, dad unexpectedly at the emergency room and… The list of drama actually goes on. Some of it has been the usual daily mishaps and goings-on, but there have been an unusual number of humdinger disasters in-between. Which made me wonder – how has this past month been for you? Whether or not it’s been a tough one for you too, here’s a virtual hug for you 🤗. Everyone can do with a hug, even when you’re feeling on top of the world!

Clearly this is not Wonder Woman’s blog. Nope, I don’t get everything magically done (I wish!) in between whatever chaos may be happening around me. Come to think of it, I’m not sure even Wonder Woman actually has time for her own blog. It’s at times like these that I envy people with gazillions of Pounds, Euros, Dollars or even Rands who can pay multitudes of other people to deal with it when the paw-paw flies non-stop at the fan. But I’ll spare you the rest of the drama details, because in between all of that was a lot of good stuff, too…Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2018 Brenda Olwagen

The gift of an Indie-dyer…

Hallo yarn-lover!

I hope you’ve had a great week so far. Just 2 more week-days / work-days to go.

My girls and I just can!not!wait! for this weekend and the Alliepad Alpakkas Farm Visit and Fibre Festival (details on the Events page). I’m so looking forward to a wonderful day out in the Magaliesberg, to the classes, workshops and demonstrations, and to drooling over the hand crafted alpaca-fibre goods and everything on offer from Baah Yarns & Fibre Arts, Linda’s Treehouse, Umbala Handpainted Yarns, Karoo Moon, The Yarn Tree, Craft Academy, Glynis Brooke, L.J. Craft Creations and Stitch Please.

It’ll be the first time I’ll be visiting the alpaca farm, and it’s long overdue. I met the lovely Louisa at a weaving course at the beginning of the year and have been wanting to visit her for ages. But time is a fickle beast – it passes way faster than it theoretically should and somehow there just isn’t enough of it when you need it. I first just need to get through this week with my heart still in my chest…Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2018 Brenda Olwagen

Project plans

Stash, yarn & projects I’m dying to get my hands on

Hi yarn-lovers. I thought I’d share with you a few of the plans I have for some of the yarns in my stash. I’m just dying to get started on these projects. I’m so desperate to get my hands on them that I’ve taken a break from binding off a sweater – Stella My Size. Yes, that’s all that’s left to be done – cast it off!

Instead, I’m using the excuse of telling you about my plans just so that I can touch these skeins and cakes of exquisiteness. They remind me of my reward when I’ve bound off a WIP (work in progress, in case you’re not familiar with the lingo). I’ve made a commitment to only start a new project when I finish another. And in-between I dream of what’s in my stash and of their potential to become something gorgeous… Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2018 Brenda Olwagen