To sell or not to sell

that is the question!

Katt asked me a big question the other day.

Would I consider selling my handspun yarn?

Well yes I would, but the real question is, does anyone have enough money to buy it???

Most of the tops I have been buying cost a princely amount - $12 for 50g. I've occasionally got some for less, but even then $10 is a fair hoik, considering I can buy plain undyed tops for about $3 for 50g. I could dye the tops myself, but that is another night doing that (it is very fun though :-) and I'd have to buy a few more colours that I don't have yet cos I don't think using half a bottle of food dye every time I do some dyeing is economical.

Oh, and I do work full time.

Of course I have happy little daydreams where I spend my time dyeing fleece and spinning some, selling some and making a living out of it. Unlikely, well not when we don't own our own home outright, etc. We don't even own any property.

I have happy dreams of making little kits up of handspun with some home made wooden needles and a pattern for a scarf or hat and selling them for say $25 at markets.

The Feral Knitter has been having a few thoughts along the same lines as me. She wonders why she holds back a bit and does not fling herself headlong into the fibre world. I know why I don't. $$$. Cold hard cash. Nathan earns half of what I do and my income is what we live on. His income provides a bit of play money.

So there you have it. I would love to sell stuff but how much would you be willing to pay for hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn?

Trip - it's been a while

I haven't finished putting up the pics from the trip yet. I found I missed some on Nathan's camera.

The Monaro Plains. The REALLY boring bit. Like where are the trees? These plains are naturally treeless! The soil and the rainfall are so poor and it gets so cold in winter (not by North American standards - only -10C) that trees can't flourish. The treeless parts are on basalt whilst the treed areas are on granite. I think.


Driving down Brown Mountain. The escarpment leading up onto the plains slurps up all the moisture from the east/seaboard. The lookout we stopped at is effectively in rainforest. Very very lush and green, a total contrast to the plains above.


Now we are back on track. Tathra. Almost sunny Taaa-thra - we gave up a week of 28 degree temps in Melbourne to enjoy 20 degree temps along the coast. Sigh.

Taaa-thra. No, we are past Taaa-thra but I didn't talk much about it. Forgot to take any pics as well.

Nathan had a good sleep in - dunno how he managed it considering the building site across the road was on the go by 7am with a little digger unloaded and various pneumatic tools in use. I was up and out on the beach before 7am. Plus I figured out why there was an unpleasant smell
around on our walk the night before - our cabin was about 5 metres from a sewerage pump and about 6 metres from the end of a creek/drain that was blocked off by the beach and currently not open to the sea. There were plenty of people and dogs on the beach - obviously a lot of people take the dog for a walk/run or just like getting out there before being trapped inside at work for the day. Don't blame 'em either - I'd love to be able to go for a walk in a nice place before work. Instead I walk along the Yarra from Flinders St station and admire the amazing 1970s psychedelic blobs a certain old railway bridge makes when it is reflected in the water.

Tathra is a nice little town. Most of it is up on the rocky headland, but we stayed on the beach on the north side. I had to confirm that the boat ramp on the south side of the point really has a rather narrow egress between large rocks. I was there five years ago and was amazed (scroll down a bit to the shot about half way down). Yep, it does.

The swell wasn't running high the day we were there and the way out through the rocks didn't look as scary, maybe even possibly navigable! As long as you know what you are doing.

Anyway, I had Ideas about where I wanted to go. After a stop at Kangarutha (almost native) plant nursery, we travelled back through Bega and north to Central Tilba. You've seen what I got there. Not that I wanted to go to an alpaca shop. Me? Never! Plus Central Tilba has a cheese factory that produces,oddly enough, Tilba cheese. That pleased the boy. So did hte cafe he ate at. It had a nice view out the window - rather bucolic.


The countryside north of Bega is rolling hills clad in green green grass. Apparently it can get a bit nippy in winter - frosts are very common but the days are pleasant and sunny and around 18-19 degrees. Lots of Melburnians move to the area cos they like the weather and the laid
back country style and the greenness. Pity it is in New South Wales and they are the mortal enemies of Victorians (no matter what South Australians think).

Everywhere in Australia hates all the rest of Australia. Each state considers itself the best. Queenslanders hate the "mexicans" - all the people south of the border. New South hates the banana benders, as does Victoria. After all why does Queensland get these great natural
resources and then fill itself up with idiots (as this indicates).

The South Australians hate the Victorians, but Victoria couldn't give a stuff cos it is like Australia vs New Zealand. New Zealand is like the annoying little brother of Australia - much smaller and a bit yappy. (Take a few Kiwis and Aussies overseas and see what happens though. They'll fight like cat and dog over sport and pretty much get along with everything else, including hating Fosters beer cos we are really quite similar.) Same with Victoria and SA.
Victoria can flog the croweaters in most things and the few things SA wins we Victorians see as concessions to make them feel a bit better. (That will piss off a few croweaters!)

The sandgropers in WA and the people in the Northern Territory are so far away that we tend to forget they exist. Same with poor old Tasmania. Tassie is only an hour's flight away and is a lovely place to visit. I'd go back in an instant, particularly since I have to run training tomorrow and it is not going to be a good session.

The capitals of Victoria and New South, Melbourne and Sydney respectively, vie for position as the most important city in Australia. Sydney has lots of icons of Australia and we have the Yarra, the river that flows upside down (the river that I adore) but I am a Melburnian so of course Melbourne is better.

Oh, I've forgotten the capital of Australia, Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Hmm, guess that tells you my opinion. Everyone ignores Canberra as much as possible, even the pollies who sit in parliament there.

So Central Tilba was luverly. We bought two photo prints of rocks with lichen from and I bought some bits and bobs from the house of colour which DOESN'T burn incense unlike nearly every other place like it - HALLELUJA, brother! I can BREATHE! but it was time to head back southish cos we had to start moving towards home. Nathan had to put his nose to the grindstone:


and we said farewell to Mt Dromedary:


and headed south, towards Merimbula.

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Hmm, charmed. As I sit here fixing some pics up for the blog, the cat has sat on my lap in ecstasy cos I am humming notes that drive her wild and has started washing her anus. Time for the cat to wash herself someplace else, in both senses of the phrase!

anon!