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So you have had a look at our new spring collection on-line and you will be receiving your new catalogue through the post any day now and at the same time I’m at howies HQ designing next spring and summer womens range.

So is there anything that isn’t in the range for spring which you would absolutely love us to make?

What would you be buying now if we had it and what are you buying from other people this season because they have something we don’t? It can be a bit of kit  for your sport, or something you would wear everyday or maybe something we used to make but don’t anymore.

Send me your top 3 ideas for spring summer to mel@howies.co.uk or comment on this blog.

Thanks for your time and think of warm weather and sunshine.

After Tim’s blog about Michael Pawlin at the Do lectures, I realised I knew quite a bit about Biomimicry and thought it is a fascinating way of looking at design and function but I hadn’t actually read the whole book. I’ve read about half of it years ago so  anyway I thought I would try and get another copy.

I looked to see if the howies library had it but it was out on loan and so I looked on the web and found its quite rare now and its selling for as much as £50. They also had second hand ones, the cheapest was £9.99 but had brown edges around the pages and scribbles, well so long as it had the words it didn’t matter really so I ordered it.

It arrived and it was in good condition and on closer inspection the scribbles inside were actually a note from the author Janine Benyus.

I couldn’t believe it.

I am now reading it again, its so inspiring.

Following Ades blog I went for a run, well it was my first for a long time and I don’t have natural ability in my legs like Ade, so it was a run walk type thing with my dog.

I will get into it but it usually takes a few weeks.

I had a few issues with the ishuffle thingy too, but I found the off button pretty sharpish.

I started at my local beach and ran around the cliff, down onto the beach, but where I could usually cross the stream across the stones I coudn’t because of all the flood water, I love that when the  conditions cause humans to do differnet actions than they planned, makes you feel so small and insignificant. So anyway I went back along the road to the woolen mill. I run by the old mill quite a lot, its called Melin Tregwynt and its famous for its weaving.  http://www.melintregwynt.co.uk

It used to be powered by water and you can see  where the water was channeled into the mill, George found a channel and thought the white frothy stuff was snow, so he went for a bit of a swim when he stepped on it. I took him home and gave him a nice warm shower and now he’s all fluffy and recovered.

I’m off for another run tonight around the cliffs thanks to Ade for inspiring me to get back into it, I always see beautiful scenery and have an adventure because of the weather and the conditions whether it be rain wind or sun its always different.

Some people don’t like the snow because its cold and makes life difficult.

Some people love the snow, like me because when you wake up in the morning and snow has been predicted you feel like you did when you were  a kid, excited!

I live quite a few miles from howies in Cardigan which is good and bad, today it is good because I can’t drive or walk to work but I can work from home.

This was the veiw this morning from my garden when I went out to get logs for the fire.

So today I won’t be going sledging or making snowmen like I used to when I was a kid but I will be making sure the fire is going, taking George for a walk in the snow and drinking lots of tea.

I will also be thinking about and designing next summers range, erm dresses and tops and shorts, not sure I’m inspired, I have more ideas for warm cosy jumpers coats and merino at this moment. If you guys have any ideas of what you would like to see this summer let me know.

I had to stop on the way to work today to take some photos, the Preselis had mist rolling over them like shimmery candy floss.

This quite often happens as you drive along the coast road, the mist gathers in the valley of the Preselis and goes all the way along to the river Teifi in Cardigan and out to sea. As you drop down into Cardigan the temperature drops several degrees and you are surrounded by mist.

The last few mornings have been beautiful here  crisp skies with snow filled blobs of cloud, I’m hoping to go and get some better pics tommorow, fingers crossed.

We came back from Hong Kong yesterday, we landed at 4.30 am, Simon got a cab home and was back before dawn and Kim drove us ladies back to Wales.

Even london looked like the country side on the way back compared to the dazzling heights and lights of Hong Kong. However I didn’t  notice much of the journey as I think I feel asleep as my head hit the car seat and before  I knew it we were home to sunny skies and  frosty fields.

Lisa and I came in bright and breezy this morning with lots of lists of things to do emails to answer and specs to fill in, we’ve made a dent and Louise is helping me with the specs tommorow, hurray.

Kim went home ill, we hope it’s just jet lag and not the flu.

Lis went home early feeling shattered, I am the last one standing, sleep is the key but I am fading fast now.

Thanks to Kim for driving us home.

Thanks to Linda and Derek for looking after George my doggy.

Thanks to all our suppliers and their hard work it was so exciting to see such complete and well made protos.

Please can we buy lots of this range this time as its all so good, hope there’s money in the pot and you guys are spoilt for choice next winter?

Thanks to Hong Kong for being a major contrast to home and making home even nicer when we come back, just in time for christmas, where did the first half of December go?

Fridays are great at howies

I get in oh a bit late, naughty 

Do some design stuff

Go to pilates with Clare at the theatre down the road

Have lunch

Do more design stuff

Chat about stuff you don’t get time to talk about monday to thursday

Tea and Friday cake

And then off home for the weekend.

Happy Friday to everyone.

So for a few seasons now the sports kit has been a bit thin from howies so for this winter we’ve added a few goodies in there.

One which I have been pasionate about having in the range are some merino leggings.

It doesn’t matter what sport you do leggings are an essential bit of kit with your merino base layer, I use them for running, cycling, rowing, and kayaking. The ones I have owned before are from a well known huge brand, they are the best I have found but they annoy me, they are made using all man made fibres, they get cold when they are wet, they smell after a few wears, they dig in on the waistband and below the knee and generally feel uncomfortable and soon as I’ve finished I take them off because they feel so uncomortable. 

This lead me to want to design some merino leggings as we all love our merino tops why can’t we have merino bottoms too? However, merino is a very soft fabric so it had to withstand a lot of bending of knees (no baggy knee syndrome allowed) and it had to put up with some abrasion and fit the body without being uncomfortable. I came up with the Taith leggings which are in our new catalogue and on the website. Taith means’journey’ or ‘tour’ in welsh, you will see a lot of these when out on your bike or running in beautiful welsh country side.

Anyway, I have been testing them for a while now from original prototype to the size set which had all the alterations on and they are brilliant, and exactly if not more than what I wanted.

The waistband doesn’t dig in, it’s high enough to keep everything warm, they are a mid length so they don’t cut under your knee, they don’t get baggy knees and they feel like you’re not wearing anything, Lisa was out running in Tenby and said “I feel like I am bottom half naked”.

Last night, after a run along the coast path I got in, made food, curled up with the dog on the sofa and completely forgot to take them off, they were so comfy, warm, dry and non smelly I forgot I was wearing kit.

It’s is a great feeling to be able to design and make something you really want and know that all those little annoyances won’t bother you anymore because you’ve solved the problem, I love them and ladies I wanted to share all this with you because I think you will all love them too, and lets face it, it’s hard trying to find good kit which feels and looks great too.

I am going to stock up and I hope you do too as I want them to be a howies product for years to come.

Here are some pictures of the detail, so you can see the inside of the fabric is merino, the outer nylon to give it strength and the flat finished waistband.

Today at lunch, I did something I’ve wanted to do for a while but hadn’t actually got around to Do, naughty I know.

Anyway, the blueberry Angoras centre is just up the road from howies in a beautiful village, in a valley a stones throw away from the sea.

I met the lady who looks after the goats, dyes their fleece, cards the fleece, spins it into yarn and who sends the yarn off to be made into blankets, cushions, socks, jumpers, hats, scarves, she also weaves some special projects herself in her studio just next to the goats shed.

She kindly let me have a go at spinning the yarn, I was not very good and made a slubby yarn, but I got the concept in the end although I didn’t really get the hang of it. She gave me a sample of yarn too so I can have a go at knitting it on my knitting machine. It was great to see an old skill still being used and I’m thinking about taking classes to learn how to spin my own yarn properly.

I saw the Angora goats too, here they are in their shed sheltering from the blazing sun. 

Sorry the pictures aren’t very good I only had my phone with me. I will be re-visiting the goats more often for some yarn so I’ll take better pictures next time.

So here in the shed at howies, we’ve just finished designing next summers range and now we’re about to start designing next winters.

While we wait for the last few samples to come in and for the buyers to do the buying I have a few days thinking time so I have been thinking about knitwear and merino and finding out all sorts of interesting stuff.

Anyway, I have a lot of ideas but I thought I’d ask you what new stuff you would like to see in our merino range? We all love our merino  and it becomes a staple in a few months time and so it’s a pretty important part of our wardrobe and we think yours too, for skiing, snowboarding biking running and just keeping warm.

So is there something you wear which you love but you think it would be even better in merino wool?

Or is there something howies make now but you’re desperate for a new colour?

Or do you want a specific fit or shape we don’t do at the moment?

If so, drop me a line with some of your thoughts to mel@howies.co.uk