another year done and dusted!

I hope you all got through christmas and the change to a new year in one piece? we had our usual quiet christmas (once all the mail is on its way, I don't have much to worry about anymore) - and the same for the new year celebrations. tomorrow is the big day, where I can finally pack away all decorations - though I already saw on pinterest and FB that people apparently think about easter deco:) I quite enjoy the time between - still not much to do in the garden, which means I can potter about with my crafts!

 

of course I haven't stopped over christmas - which is the perfect time for me to relax from all the handmade gifts I needed made before! as planned I rewarded myself with spinning the peduncle silk. what a joy - it runs into the wheel by itself, only very few tiny specks I had to pick out, and the yarn turned out lovely:

the colour is pretty good in this photo, but the silk is more lustrous, not as woolly as it looks like here! 

this one shows the lustre better - but the silk isn't as grey - a mix of both really:) I have about 450 m, and the plan is to knit a cowl "intermezzo" from it. I just ordered several packs of beads for it, because despite my big stash of beads - I lack the colour and size for this yarn:( pity that the silk is quite expensive - I wouldn't mind spinning enough for a nice silk sweater! it wouldn't be as slippery and easier to wear than mulberry silk I think - but I'll have to wait for a lottery win to be able to afford enough:(

it was difficult enough to finish the plying though! I bought my lendrum wheel 2nd hand, but in very good condition. when I was halfway through the plying - the drive belt snapped! superglue didn't work - so I tried to find the replacement belt that hung off the wheel's back for many years, before I took it off.

checking out the uk supplier I was suprised to find out that apparently there are two drive bands, one for the standard spinning head, one for the much bigger plying head! I think the previous owner didn't know that, because she told me that she left the replacement on the wheel, just in case:) ok, I did wonder at first why the plying head is so close to the wheel when mounted .... but it worked, so I didn't worry about it! I just had to order two bands now - because after just hanging about without being used the plying band is just as brittle as the broken one:( good thing that I still have the louet to spin! but I do want the lendrum back at work again, because I'd like to spin all the merino colours for one of the foley shawls on this one! I did start with the sari silk on the louet though, because the yarn will be different anyway, whereas the merino should be pretty similar for all colours...

of course I also knitted a little bit during the holidays. only a few rows on my "favourite scarf", just the rest of the umbrellas... I left out the black for handles and top, I'll just add them on later because I couldn't be bothered to use more than 2 colours... somehow "the air is out" of this one just now; I can't decide for the next peerie or pattern - but I have a feeling that it won't be finished for this winter anyway....  

and I had to finish the first birthday gift of 2019! this snakes and ladders gameboard has been in the making for a veeeery long time! in fact I had started the first quarter in 2001 - as a game for my son! who is nearly 21 now and not remotely interested in games like this:) luckily we have a few "newer" kids in the family, so I finally finished it! I think it's perfect for a 5 year old, not too difficult, fun and portable ....

rolled up it can be taken on holidays or to the beach - no electrics, no batteries needed, and dice or buttons can be replaced easily if they do get lost... if I ever did one again I'd change over to larger aida though - it's 18 count I think, embroidered with a single thread - and not very good to see because of the dark colour...

 

 

I also started a very mindless cowl in Lang Greta yarn, which I bought a few weeks back as a test. It's merino, but I wouldn't like to wear it myself, too warm I think! the colours are nice though and the pattern very simple to work. it'll be the second gift of the year so:) and after that I should really dig out the "owl feathers" again, to frog and rework the yoke, which is too big. I decided to keep this pattern anyway, even though DS decided that he doesn't like it. if he really doesn't want to wear it after it's finished - it also fits my husband! very practical that they both wear a similar size now:) it's a pain when sorting the washing though - it all looks the same and I really have to work with peeled eyes to make sure that the stuff doesn't end on the wrong shelves...