tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66986972386926017382024-03-12T17:58:49.142-07:00Woolly Bits - Everything TextileWoolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.comBlogger364125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-61122493717502186502019-03-28T07:06:00.001-07:002019-03-28T07:09:14.637-07:00Finally!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yes, spring has finally arrived
here! it's still not exactly warm, and it looks like the temperature is going
down again for the weekend, but even a day or two of milder and even sunny
(today) weather is better than what we had before! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">My camellia has been flowering
for the last two weeks and I love the perfect flowers, even though they don't
last very long. my smaller, red flowering variety is always much later! I see
buds, but they'll need at least another week or two to open... the downside of
those pretty blossoms - they have no scent whatsoever. it's like with some
beautiful roses - the more special the flowers the less interesting the scent
is - at least quite often... but there are very few insects about anyway - I
only saw one bumblebee so far and no bees whatsoever, even though they are
usually keen on the muscari flowers I have planted into pots and buckets in
front of the house. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">of course it hasn't only been
gardening and flowers - I've been busy with textile stuff as well. an old
project first - I thought I had forgotten to take pix, but I found one after all - in a
folder that I was moving. this is special, not because of the
pattern, but because DS borrowed this hat - and lost it on the first outing:( <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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endless colour changes and just as many ends to darn in - and he just looses it after a single day of being worn:( that's not all - he also lost the handspun/handknit hat with reflective yarn in it!:( that finally pushed me over the edge - from now on it's only cheap bought hats for him, which oddly enough he never looses:( the pattern was a free one from ravelry - but I can't find the link just now. I thought about doing a replacement, but couldn't be bothered to do it all again anyway. given the fact that I am not a hat wearer.... and it's not exactly a very feminine pattern anyway! all sock wool leftovers....</div>
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I also finished the double knit harry potter cowl I had planned - and hope that he doesn't loose this as well! it was a good bit more work than the hat and I think I'd be beyond furious... it hasn't been cold enough to wear though - double knit with enough length to wind around the neck twice = quite warm, even on the bicycle:) </div>
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the knitting was straightforward, essentially DK is just like knitting a rib with two colours, I think. the only thing I didn't like was doing the cast-on! I wanted an invisible one, but it is quite loose and twists every way, which makes closing the round quite difficult. eventually (after ripping out 640 sts several times:() I decided to knit the first row straight and only close the round after that. </div>
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the cast-on ends have to be darned in anyway, which makes closing the little hole very easy. the end with 640 sts of kitchener wasn't as bad as I thought - and I finished the other, shorter cowl at the same time. it was done with the leftover silk/wool yarn from the previous cowl, same colours, different patterns. on to the "gift" heap with it! I had less than 2 cm of black left after finishing the cowl - talking about playing yarn chicken:)</div>
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I also finished a pair of socks (for me), following a pattern of the "silk road socks" book by Hunter Hammersen - 2nd edition. the lace pattern is very simple, but quite effective. I've started another pair with it, in cotton, for the summer... </div>
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my friend has complained for a while that it's always too cold and windy, she'd like a hood, cowl etc... so I decided that I'd try to put both of them together. the yarn is a handspun merino blend. the make-up is quite simple, a large rectangle, which is put together along the cast-on edge for the hood. a ring knitted in the round for the cowl. attach hood to cowl, add drawstring - et voila, "howl" (hood and cowl:) finished... </div>
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the downside is pushing long hair inside it - but there's enough space, so it can be put up and the hood should still fit! I added the drawstring to make the face opening smaller in strong wind, and to bring the cowl part closer to the neck, if it gets very cold... </div>
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our textile group has another group project - a charity blanket for a children's hospice. we make granny triangles in bright colours to give a bit of joy - the families keep the blankets as mementos after such a difficult time. </div>
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crocheting the triangles is very simple - the only thing that takes time is darning in the ends. because the pattern is so open, the threads are visible when crocheted in, so they all have to be darned in separately. and the triangles have to be steamed, because they are shaped like a bowl after finishing them:) I finished my batch - I am looking forward to our meeting on saturday to see if we have enough for one blanket - and how much yarn is left to maybe make a second one... </div>
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this is the latest - and nearly last bit of my "favourite things" scarf. I have to finish the very last pattern, which will be the same as on the first bit, because the upper part will form the hood - and I wanted the sides to match where I put them together. still a lot to do though - I have to work the steek - and once that is done I have to knit a border... not sure if I'll line the hood to make it more wind-proof, but I do hope that I won't need the finished project during the summer:) no idea which colour to use for the edge though...</div>
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of course I need to spin as well - or I'll get very crabby after a few days without! </div>
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the plan is to work the hexa hap from Kate Davies' book about haps. I have spun enough lighter yarn to do the full hexagon, but I needed a second colour for the edge! I should have enough with the three skeins (300 g) of natural brown merino, I think. the white on the left is another skein of himalaya fibres with cashmere - and the yellow is merino....</div>
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which is in this photo as well - same yarn. these are the first three skeins of yarn for the "chestnut crescent" I want to knit for a friend. not sure if the golden yellow stays - I also spun a naturally dyed lighter yellow silk/wool blend that might be a better match.... most colours are green/blues and berries, but I'll finish all of them first before I decide which yarns I'll use. the hot pink will definitely not be a choice - it's too bright and would smother all the rest...</div>
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I've spun up 4 more colours by now plus the sari silk of the last post, which leaves another 3 or 4 100g batches to be finished....plus the knitting of course!</div>
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but I have to finish more of this as well! the deadline to spin and knit for the "rhodion" shawl by Elizabeth Freeman is end of june.... I bought 400 g of this mulberry silk, half of it is spun up now. but I think I'll need at least 300 g to knit the shawl full length - as a birthday present.... winding it into balls is endless - and also fiddly, because the silk is so slippery that the balls tend to fall apart... </div>
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I am also working on a summer dress for a child - another birthday gift that has to be ready mid-may! the fine denim yarn I tried first didn't look so nice, so I changed over to a medium dark blue - with pink little rose buds at the bottom of the skirt and across the top! the knitting of the skirt is quite boring, but perfect for tv knitting. the rhodion pattern however needs more attention and has a large chart to boost, so no tv while knitting lace.... and now - off into the garden, before the sun is gone again!</div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-60783666666418817282019-02-02T10:21:00.000-08:002019-02-02T10:21:02.859-08:00winter....<div style="text-align: justify;">
apparently it's cold and white everywhere! the uk has a cold snap, there's been loads of snow, esp. in southern germany - and parts of northern USA are in deep freeze as it seems... even ireland got a bit of a dusting! as you can see in the banner, which is from 2 days ago, we had a bit of a white wonderland for the last few days. I do like winter, esp. when it's sunny and cold, but not, when we have to travel on bikes - esp. in the dark and on icy roads:( I am a chicken, scared of falling, slipping, so in this weather I tend to stay at home if I can!</div>
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on the other hand it's the perfect excuse to stay inside - and knit or spin! someone has to make hats, scarves and blankets!:) I've been working on several things at once. after christmas all I wanted was a bigger project, without much sewing or putting together, just plain knitting row after row... together with an acute case of starteritis that meant one cowl (peduncle silk and beads) that I work on at the kitchen table. one cowl for tv knitting, spinning of course, and a pair of socks, following a pattern from the book by Hunter Hammersen, silk road socks. I was quite disappointed when I found out that the first print was oop and only to be had for silly prices in 2nd hand. but a little while back the 2nd batch was published and I snatched one copy up as soon as! </div>
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ehm, I had planned to show the finished sock here... but apparently I haven't taken a pic yet. ok, will have to wait until 2nd sock is finished so - sorry about that:( </div>
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what you see here is part of the hp cowl I've started. in double knitting, to avoid endless floats... it feels nice and warm... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJuM41GYq6N6pseeDp0TZYrFe1zCSMnrH9AJEDXrb-Up_n3Wbmv9dWIMQMZLJmRQnxL-doLl_DKm9cssmINnIYgbGAvukzHQwoX519kr1uOTfcSUehSliZDZd6Vg03zaMY3_iAE7rUcc/s1600/IMG_4882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1076" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJuM41GYq6N6pseeDp0TZYrFe1zCSMnrH9AJEDXrb-Up_n3Wbmv9dWIMQMZLJmRQnxL-doLl_DKm9cssmINnIYgbGAvukzHQwoX519kr1uOTfcSUehSliZDZd6Vg03zaMY3_iAE7rUcc/s320/IMG_4882.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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but the downsize is that I have to knit endless rows - 640 sts per row, to be precise! which is ok in general, but no fun if you made a mistake and have to knit back:( which I discovered after a few rows of knitting the pattern! I spend one evening with tinking just 2 rows - and knitting one of them new again:( </div>
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and just now I discovered (only when seeing the pic!) that there is another mistake, albeit a small one... I am so not going to knit back again - this would mean half the cowl! I think a bit of swiss darning is in order - once the cowl is done! I am playing yarn chicken as it is - it'll be very close, but I ordered the yarn from germany and there won't be time to order and finish knitting in time for the birthday, if I don't have enough:( </div>
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I have a bit of a twinge in the left shoulder, so I can't knit for hours on end. but I can't sit empty-handed either, so I got myself a new toy: the zoom loom from schacht! I've been ogling that for a good while now, and when I saw a good offer (from australia of all places:) shortly before christmas, I couldn't stop myself. it arrived on the 24th of december, a perfect gift to myself:) it's simple, very portable, easy to do, and doesn't use the same movements as knitting - so it's a good way to spend my time, when I need a break!</div>
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and it's handy for using up all those small balls of handspun yarns, leftovers from bigger projects, test spins that weren't needed etc. one square is 10 x 10 cm or 4 in - and needs very little yarn. I am going to make a small mountain first, of whatever yarn I can find - and might put together a blanket later... </div>
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of course I also have other projects on the go. our textile craft group is going to make a charity blanket, lots of small granny triangles... and we're also making a nativity scene as a group project. only due for christmas of course, but I am going to make one of the three kings/wise men - so in my mind I am already planning how to make the figurine, how to decorate etc.. I am no good at needle felting, not good at sculpturing in general, so I'll have to find a way to make a doll shape first. the decorating can be as over the top as I like - kings are usually colourful with rich clothes after all:) I'll let it "stew" in my head for a while - and maybe I'll browse the net a bit to get a few ideas...</div>
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then there's the spinning and knitting project of the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chestnut-crescent" target="_blank">Chestnut Crescent</a> by Kieran Foley. I bought mainly berry and turquoise/blue/petrol colours for this - plus some sari silk fibres to add a bit of zing! couldn't resist that of course and spun it up first. it's a two ply, 100 g of it - which should be enough as an effect yarn with the merino I still have to spin. the shawl is a riot of colour and uses gradient colours in parts, so now I have to decide whether I should blend and spin my own gradients - or spin the colours separately and just knit with lots and lots of them? I have enough to do a few small test runs - but first I have to finish the last batch of natural dark brown merino - for the hexa hap I've planned, as a contrast yarn. </div>
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with all this fibrey stuff going on - maybe I should wish for more winter to come? once spring is on the way, gardening will take over - and time will be in short supply again... </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-33149987900846688702019-01-06T15:24:00.000-08:002019-01-06T15:24:53.418-08:00another year done and dusted!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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!</div>
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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:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKntt5Rikq7_ix2tjrgBQkuxVIx0ugU1Ht_PyaW-s9kzqBRJ0N9DvOa1JxZFjTXM7Ijpb2fanJ-y4vkhF3BDBfHdDDWCnC6aTnl-wUitJrW8SSU7GXgCNULuD-d3R14tOzCZcooHW0Cqc/s1600/IMG_4772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKntt5Rikq7_ix2tjrgBQkuxVIx0ugU1Ht_PyaW-s9kzqBRJ0N9DvOa1JxZFjTXM7Ijpb2fanJ-y4vkhF3BDBfHdDDWCnC6aTnl-wUitJrW8SSU7GXgCNULuD-d3R14tOzCZcooHW0Cqc/s320/IMG_4772.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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the colour is pretty good in this photo, but the silk is more lustrous, not as woolly as it looks like here! </div>
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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 "<a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/intermezzo-3" target="_blank">intermezzo</a>" 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:( </div>
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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.</div>
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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... </div>
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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.... </div>
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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 ....</div>
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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... </div>
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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... </div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-70362161824573175852018-12-16T05:30:00.001-08:002018-12-16T05:30:43.262-08:00are we there yet, are we there yet????<div style="text-align: justify;">
the last week before christmas it always feels to me like that - checking my to-do list and how many days are left is a constant now! sometimes I wish I could just book a nice swiss chalet in the snow for the 2 weeks before and leave without letting anyone know! I could bring my knitting or spinning and sit in front of an open fire, working away - or going out into the snow without worrying about how to get my shopping done or will the mail be there in time! I think christmas should be whenever I've finished all I had planned to (though that would probably mean it only comes once every 10 years or so:)</div>
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I've been working away on different things - but just now I realized that I've taken several "finished" pix with the tablet:( meaning - the pictures are still in there, not on the computer up here... well, that's technology for you! but I have a few things to show. </div>
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after our session of WWSIP in september, where I used my blending board to make that autumn medley I suddenly had the idea to make an advent calendar for a spinning friend. that night I didn't sleep well, because I constantly worked over in my mind how to go about it. and if I made a board full of fibre, wouldn't that give me more rolags in each colour? I decided to do a little calendar give-away for the group. but there are only a few spinners, most are knitters, some patchworkers... one or two don't really do anything textile... what to do for them? after getting up at 4 in the morning without any sleep I decided to do one for knitters with 24 small skeins of yarns, one for patchworkers, with 24 pieces of fabric - and one for those non-textilers - with 24 little pewter charms. I should have enough stuff in my stash - and it would mean that I'd get rid of some! </div>
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well, after a few weeks of just thinking about it I realized that most of the work is in the wrapping, not the collecting of materials! I wrapped the fabric in small paper tubes and glued them on a cardboard circle... bit of decorating, putting on the numbers, easy... for the charms I used matchboxes - the charms are small, so I only glued together twelve of the boxes, decorated them, split them in half - so the box can be used on both sides, like little drawers... now for the yarn skeins! the plan was to use toilet roll inners... but I didn't have enough collected in the short time! putting two skeins in each? no, too big. and how to close them, so that they could be opened easily? the whole thing turned into a bit of a packing nightmare - and the clock was ticking by then:) eventually I decided on putting the skeins and the rolags into paper bags. but making 24 for each of the 5 or 6 calendars would take ages... buying them? phh, they are either in huge amounts (5000 paper bags anyone?:) or quite costly. with the deadline coming steadily closer I finally realized that I could use paper sandwich bags.... of which our supermarket had exactly one pack left! for a hefty price, but so be it. together with the ones I still had in stock (I use them for wrapping seed heads in the garden, to dry and collect the seeds!) I nearly made it - only had to fold and glue four more by hand. but they were boring white, so I dug through my collection of stamps - and colouring pens... numbers on, now just the filling... you see the bags in the photo below... 6 x 24 - and the stamps took ages to dry, but it worked. two days before the due date (there's no point in sending out advent calendars too late - nobody wants to open 20 bags shortly before christmas:) I just had to do the rolags... which took me most of one day:)</div>
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sometimes sleepless nights can mean great ideas - sometimes it just means making a huge load of work for yourself:) </div>
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well, I only took pictures of the rolags - but the idea was to make two skeins/fabrics/charms/rolags for each month. and I tried to follow the year, so january = white/icy/sparkly etc.. if I had bought the materials for this, it would have been easier, but it worked out ok, I think - best of course with the rolags, because I could put together which colours I wanted. these are the 24 rolags for one calendar - you can see the tips of the other 3 sets above them.. and the decorated bags on the left..... after handing all of them out I used up the last fibres/rolags of each blend to spin up a ball of my own "seasons" - not sure what to make from that though... maybe something double knit with a single colour?</div>
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I also took part in an exchange of the OLG. send out a coaster and receive one from your exchange partner in return. I received mine from canada - but apparently my set of leaves is still somewhere in the post:( I liked the different autumn colours and used my handspun to make another set for my friend, though this picture shows them unfelted. I put the 2nd set in the machine and they all felted nicely. though the crochet pattern is more obscured, but they are denser - and of course washable now! they show how the leaves turn from green to....orange, some red - and brown and dry eventually... </div>
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we also had a secret santa in our textile group. the group decided years back that we do one gift to exchange in the group - and one to put into a collection for the museum staff, who look after us so well. which is always a bit more difficult, because there's no way to know if a male or female will receive the gift! eventually I settled on making a "spa basket"... the basket itself is made in tunisian crochet in the round, 2 colours, the brown is a linen/cotton blend, the natural one is sea island cotton, which is very soft - and stays soft after washing! I made a wash mitt and a wash cloth in waffle stitch, one of those scrubbie balls, and 10 face scrubbies (make-up removers) with a little wash bag... </div>
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after making the make-up removers I realised that they might be a good gift to make for a lot of female friends and relatives as well - so I spent a large part of the last few weeks with making small rounds in puff stitch... can do them in my sleep now, after producing about 60 or more of them... they all come with a little "basket" to store them and a lacy washbag so as not to loose them in the machine... swimming on the eco gift wave:) and making good use of cotton yarn leftovers...</div>
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I also made a double knit cowl for the exchange between our members - but the photo is still "in the tablet"... and I made another one of those in a different pattern for myself - but I still have to close the upper edge with a whole load of kitchener:) </div>
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So after I've done all the baking (still working on it) and the gift wrapping, parcel packing, putting everything together in the house - I'm finally going to be free to do what I want - in things textile I mean. a while back a friend of mine fell in love with Kieran Foley's crescent scarves... lots of colour, interesting knits - of course I was all for making one for her:) it's just finding the right yarns in the right colours... you can buy them, but either they cost a small fortune or they don't come in the colours she wanted or they aren't very soft or... there was always something. when the UK company World of Wools did a 20% off sale on merino fibres I thought I'd go for it... to have some choice I bought some of her favourite colours, berry tones and turquoise/mallard/duck egg tones... some grey to tone it down if needed, some darker purples (which I can use for myself if not needed:), a bit of sari silk with turquose to set it off and just in case a contrast is needed the golden yellow (I have enough yellows to play with the stash if I need to blend). I think the pink is a bit iffy in this set-up but I couldn't resist that hot pink:) now I'll send her samples and she can decide which colours she'd want. and which of the 7 crescent scarves she likes best... </div>
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I think I am going to spend the christmas week with spinning some of those colours - they are the best medicine against cold and grey winter days! oh yes, I forgot to mention that I bought 300 g of natural brown merino (I want to knit the hexahap in the Kate Davies hap book. have the main colour spun up, but needed a yarn for the edge!) - and a kg of natural merino, just in case I need to test a dye urgently... </div>
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Why am I not allowed to write on the side or directly below the pictures??? very weird... anyway, I also wanted to test silks they have on offer... this one is called red eri silk - a natural wild silk with the most beautiful orange-golden colour (not red at all though...) I only bought a test sample of this....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TLNFKECFLgNYuoQJCl76y1Z83agTCyQuwO3QIDe9FdNOSg-vEXUixyIBDuDFoUXZvTUfmPhmIkBIefO7AT64_k9qZVwXblmGN4vVGo6HkwBrfhAg8K54_b9wetF7LKplzETSI2bfkXI/s1600/IMG_4755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1409" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TLNFKECFLgNYuoQJCl76y1Z83agTCyQuwO3QIDe9FdNOSg-vEXUixyIBDuDFoUXZvTUfmPhmIkBIefO7AT64_k9qZVwXblmGN4vVGo6HkwBrfhAg8K54_b9wetF7LKplzETSI2bfkXI/s320/IMG_4755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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but I bought 100 g of peduncle silk! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYis1_8E1YuIV-CPqxAjPmHXjm_2THh5d6Rgf79ZbcI8hpQ2GYaEZWWjABrtCQU0phrQJPQrtmMFaTRTlkgdX3tLFsHOts3uGGrebpBsdmD3-4tMQUgXcx1bbHChw7rzNWeudoPwuTbs/s1600/pedunclesilk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYis1_8E1YuIV-CPqxAjPmHXjm_2THh5d6Rgf79ZbcI8hpQ2GYaEZWWjABrtCQU0phrQJPQrtmMFaTRTlkgdX3tLFsHOts3uGGrebpBsdmD3-4tMQUgXcx1bbHChw7rzNWeudoPwuTbs/s1600/pedunclesilk.jpg" /></a></div>
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it's not exactly cheap, in fact it costs more than mulberry silk! but it is really special - I love it! it has this natural brown colour (peat?) and is soft and silky, but not as shiny as mulberry silk. I am going to spin it into a fine 2ply for a cowl for myself. this is so lovely that it will be my christmas gift to myself:) can't wait to spin it up!</div>
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I think this will be all for now - I still have to do more baking, more wrapping and packing - and I should really do something about sunday dinner now:) have a good time before christmas!</div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-18221836475593136832018-10-20T09:20:00.001-07:002018-10-20T09:20:06.164-07:00time flies....<div style="text-align: justify;">
.... I can't believe that it'll only be another 2 months and a bit - and it'll be Christmas! maybe it's because the weather has turned mild again after a few colder days? it doesn't feel like winter - though the leaves have pretty much fallen. I love my little japanese maple above. the colour changes from green with a slightly red tinge to this fiery red within a day or two! unfortunately that colour won't last long either - another week or so and it's bare - like now. there isn't much colour on the patio left, apart from the few red leaves on the blueberries it's only a bit of green and nothing else..... I am always envious of gardens in the subtropics at this time of the year - but then I'd have to suffer their heat during summer as well, so maybe it's all for the best😏</div>
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the good thing about the change in season is that knitting weather is back! I mostly spun during the summer, knitted only small bits and pieces, mainly in cotton - but now it's time for longer evenings inside in front of the wheel or with bigger, woolly knitting projects in front of the TV. and it's high time, too - the christmas gifts won't knit themselves! </div>
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I also finished the one skein of autumn colour I started at the WWSIP last month. I grabbed everything in yellow, orange, red, some lighter green and a bit of silk - to make rolags on my blending board.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4wptC9_Z04RLx20h-Aczou7mfY5CGjVV0ajU_-bzN2ZRtjL1TsnI-J1_QHqUTO6Vmz3DwbfhVAnmIScpGEg8SScrznKlgTsPn31usyCpvMouIlLV8w1danfMgYNL6JeAWgT3gmCOvM8/s1600/IMG_4296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="721" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4wptC9_Z04RLx20h-Aczou7mfY5CGjVV0ajU_-bzN2ZRtjL1TsnI-J1_QHqUTO6Vmz3DwbfhVAnmIScpGEg8SScrznKlgTsPn31usyCpvMouIlLV8w1danfMgYNL6JeAWgT3gmCOvM8/s200/IMG_4296.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
from this mess.....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LA7cxowQNWSNMf_Bn6mpcVkE-6Oswz1dfPzYuDSrdZ-VAxVzZttpQNx6Vdv5OirGh8ZV0kMNdaD2yJYVpR5Ur1g3LVEp_Iy40CKQ-yyIwGduHHUCsSkVMbn58274YEAB-bchVTclGaY/s1600/rolags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="743" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LA7cxowQNWSNMf_Bn6mpcVkE-6Oswz1dfPzYuDSrdZ-VAxVzZttpQNx6Vdv5OirGh8ZV0kMNdaD2yJYVpR5Ur1g3LVEp_Iy40CKQ-yyIwGduHHUCsSkVMbn58274YEAB-bchVTclGaY/s200/rolags.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
...to pretty rolags only takes a little while. but what a change!<br />
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...to this skein. it looks like a lot, when you have a shoebox full of rolags, but spun up it's only one skein after all! I do like the colour though - it'll be a good choice for "autumn", when I put together some advent calendars I want to use as gifts.... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9TGvEETTFqWNHFRO0JU1AXT6rlBzY1oUWbTaeLbUZGb-SqSVdgpQV4UWxPk8qCTg2TX5zXKw9A_TbKSou1oXWVHgfO55rcR1f1FJSEc2K59BpVKroUhT3fTFq97MWg_xt7TlIMsdhjA/s1600/IMG_4384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="930" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9TGvEETTFqWNHFRO0JU1AXT6rlBzY1oUWbTaeLbUZGb-SqSVdgpQV4UWxPk8qCTg2TX5zXKw9A_TbKSou1oXWVHgfO55rcR1f1FJSEc2K59BpVKroUhT3fTFq97MWg_xt7TlIMsdhjA/s320/IMG_4384.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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to our great surprise we had our first walnuts this year! the tree is huge, but never did a thing before - maybe it's down to the for us warm and dry summer? anyway, I got all excited - not because I like walnuts (I do:), but because this was the first time I was able to use the green hulls for dyeing! of course I didn't wear gloves, when I found the nuts - so by the time I was inside again my hands had turned a lovely, deep brown already. no need to start wearing gloves for peeling and chopping, but I had brown stained hands for two weeks or so:) good thing I don't work in a kitchen or restaurant! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7AaXT92XjreZDWKEcn-TjT3ipjb4PxFQe9j3-Q3RyQfgePGqjid-nTK-CFbVSfGcOB1IYozCOoepDZksvI-mT1LdkoKS8hRUmP9rgqYjw3zsUCdgDc0A9rJlFfctY3gVRLzmIuzg0JM/s1600/IMG_4437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="949" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7AaXT92XjreZDWKEcn-TjT3ipjb4PxFQe9j3-Q3RyQfgePGqjid-nTK-CFbVSfGcOB1IYozCOoepDZksvI-mT1LdkoKS8hRUmP9rgqYjw3zsUCdgDc0A9rJlFfctY3gVRLzmIuzg0JM/s320/IMG_4437.JPG" width="312" /></a></div>
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I had mordanted about 500 g of teeswater top already, because the original plan was to pick reed flowers to dye green. but either the weather was too bad to wander down to the bog - or I was busy with other things. there's no need to pre-mordant for walnuts, but it doesn't do harm either, so after simmering the nuts I immediately dumped a small bit of fibres in that hadn't taken up any colour in a dye bath with purple fungi! look at the full dark brown of that small skein! I added a second batch into the dye bath, about 100 g this time - and it's still a lovely shade of brown - even though I am not usually a fan of beiges and brown! I did do a third batch, which ended up a teddy brown - but I haven't spun that one up yet. a lot of colour for the hulls of about 30 nuts! I do hope for more in the coming years..... one good thing coming from climate change?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-VQr4hG0QJqXaRY3_mNr5cMgl676MsfV4WUMegchw-KaXU6VYBPMLoPPX8w9QFnK4gIyHnlo2lFtVo_iZrz328hawiy1jRpZIg4ypQ_OitZdRWUVkpQMv3Z965jxcveT1XLVXEilpYI4/s1600/IMG_4435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="545" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-VQr4hG0QJqXaRY3_mNr5cMgl676MsfV4WUMegchw-KaXU6VYBPMLoPPX8w9QFnK4gIyHnlo2lFtVo_iZrz328hawiy1jRpZIg4ypQ_OitZdRWUVkpQMv3Z965jxcveT1XLVXEilpYI4/s320/IMG_4435.JPG" width="275" /></a></div>
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I am also still trying to spin up my fibre stash! this came as a huge white cloud (batt), 25 % cashmere, 75 % "himalaya fibres". it was a gift, but I assume that those fibres are very soft wool... it's nice and squishy - good for next to the skin items. I also learned to spin long draw with this fibre - works like a dream.... because it's so fluffy it's fairly thick for me - I tend to spin thread rather than yarn most of the time:) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZNvHohAznAJ7vrx2RL6pnPPYJM8PUntzUqIFqe8WPgxO8UDlxteIo_AHMgYMeJTf5xsuu4zPi1jGBzsapVl99B67j2Iup8zFeBotIaE_bCOujlv8TRntv2KlX7VXAvlzE9uIgkvJgOo/s1600/teufelszwirn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1495" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZNvHohAznAJ7vrx2RL6pnPPYJM8PUntzUqIFqe8WPgxO8UDlxteIo_AHMgYMeJTf5xsuu4zPi1jGBzsapVl99B67j2Iup8zFeBotIaE_bCOujlv8TRntv2KlX7VXAvlzE9uIgkvJgOo/s320/teufelszwirn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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some of it I turned into this cowl. the german pattern is called <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/loop-teufelszwirn" target="_blank">Teufelszwirn,</a> devil's thread, named after a plant, has nothing to do with the devil, bad vibes or anything like that! the cowl is knit in a lacy pattern, but the holes of that lace come out in unexpected places - and the cowl is worn inside out! the effect is rather 3 D - easy to knit, but I hope nice to wear for the recipient as well..... for me that cowl would only be wearable in the coldest of winter, but then my friend lives in Bavaria, where the winters are usually colder than here! (the pattern is available in english now!) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUIjDD-ixIZ19NeMXrWZeQqMQtrAdcWlge8FV8vYENfKB91EKtete1rAqbtNDf68GdX5Xir3bh6o5fNXmqdVfheYXvnzUY5mZlSPYohnGdd-PbGSt4J69ov2Y9HvDIPYDi0d5wKWzeNg/s1600/scarf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="1101" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUIjDD-ixIZ19NeMXrWZeQqMQtrAdcWlge8FV8vYENfKB91EKtete1rAqbtNDf68GdX5Xir3bh6o5fNXmqdVfheYXvnzUY5mZlSPYohnGdd-PbGSt4J69ov2Y9HvDIPYDi0d5wKWzeNg/s320/scarf1.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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for my cold winters I am still working on the second part of the scarf for my scood! on the first side there are dogs at the bottom, so this side needed some cats. I adapted a chart I found online, with a few paw prints at the bottom. I still want to knit a Harry Potter inspired cowl, but I couldn't resist adding "dolores umbridge" colours to this one:) </div>
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the next pattern after a small peerie is going to be owls - which are nearly finished by now. only in hindsight did I realize that owls would be a good HP pattern as well... not sure what I'll knit up next, maybe frogs? or spinning wheels? or some graphic pattern? to be continued.... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUQhPq1s5UAqLapIqjz9voeSf6VivLPddghb5-6aPmo6du01j9ER4RkFPXt-BzhFPtIcckbP3J-lLk7b5UPXjzJfoglk1MRbcwdLePnjW2iSU9x2Jo_LWrf-Hq6_cP1jlB99DbFyRU3Y/s1600/rotholz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="701" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUQhPq1s5UAqLapIqjz9voeSf6VivLPddghb5-6aPmo6du01j9ER4RkFPXt-BzhFPtIcckbP3J-lLk7b5UPXjzJfoglk1MRbcwdLePnjW2iSU9x2Jo_LWrf-Hq6_cP1jlB99DbFyRU3Y/s320/rotholz.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
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and to make sure that I won't run out of spinning fibres any time soon, I used up the rest of the mordanted teeswater by dyeing it brazilwood red. I like madder reds, but they don't suit me. brazilwood reds however are "blueish" reds, which I can wear much better. this batch isn't going to end up as a garment though - I am still dyeing more teeswater for my <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/persian-dreams" target="_blank">"Persian Dreams"</a> blanket! I still need blues and maybe some stronger greens, and of course enough spun yarn for the basic colour, though I am still not sure if that should be left natural white - or dyed in a darker colour? there are lovely photos on ravelry - but they make it harder to decide which colour to choose! </div>
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the brazilwood comes in powder form - which I inherited from a late dyer friend, who sent me a kg of it last year. I am going to be very mean with it, because it's next to impossible to find anymore after the ban on brazilwood, but I did need to check if it was the real thing - or a replacement, some of which only give apricot or light rose tones! </div>
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the other "problem" I have right now is that the same designer published a new pattern - at least as stunning as the persian dreams! it's called <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/indian-nights-blanket" target="_blank">Indian Nights</a> and I think it's simply spectacular! I get itchy fingers just by looking at it:) and I could even make one for our own sofa, because the dogs don't seem very interested in it anymore, after we exchanged the very old bottom cushions for new ones. it's not cheap in the original yarn, but then it's not a pattern for a quick knit that goes out of fashion any time soon.... I am extremely tempted:) </div>
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but before all that I have to make my last batch of blackberry jam - so off to do kitchen duty!<br />
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-19492018066953983592018-09-14T04:22:00.000-07:002018-09-14T04:22:27.448-07:00autumn<div style="text-align: justify;">
the weather has changed.... you can smell autumn. it's wetter, windier and the sunny spells are less frequent - or it only seems that way because we had a decent summer for once? in the header picture you can see the bog down in the valley - the pink heather is mostly gone, left are the greens and browns and you have to get very close to find small spots of colour. scabious in lavender, the darker purple devil's bit scabious with the little drumstick flowers, elderberries, blackberries, some red, most black - and some light rose blackberry flowers in between:) the colours are all muted, but I like this time of the year. not so cold that you have to wrap up, but when you walk, cycle or work you won't melt either!</div>
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this is the time for pumpkins - not my own in the garden, because for some reason they never want to grow for me. but if I can't grow them - I can always knit some!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtAM1nWNJTuO76KN9tZ3Z7XsWCf5rEFQi2EdexQCnJ74IM0huHs6xjpheraEkZNdeKO4WIfFFChuggn-HJo8U8ID3qlCFKbx9Pm_ZhaJeFwBrQzwydJu3YgGgX99PO4mdCSP6xJXc_vQ/s1600/IMG_4281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="757" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtAM1nWNJTuO76KN9tZ3Z7XsWCf5rEFQi2EdexQCnJ74IM0huHs6xjpheraEkZNdeKO4WIfFFChuggn-HJo8U8ID3qlCFKbx9Pm_ZhaJeFwBrQzwydJu3YgGgX99PO4mdCSP6xJXc_vQ/s320/IMG_4281.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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this is a free pattern on the net, but I didn't save the link. there are plenty of pumpkin patterns around though. I added the little tendril and the leave from another pattern... the orange is handspun teeswater, dyed with food dyes. the green is commercial sock wool, dyed with reed flowers. </div>
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it's going to go to a new home tomorrow though, as a little thank you. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqthX_8uhRe8vnIj2D2cr24ScfyX-kKafBSBSpqA8n4hV4aq33_jgbxYPZBqgXPswUNyzJzOPykUldZRwpoJkCrw6KlXk3DXFFkF52k-TkY7DRIW7Pc7YrP27x_a5B5L1HzMGhsNd1C2k/s1600/IMG_4282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="849" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqthX_8uhRe8vnIj2D2cr24ScfyX-kKafBSBSpqA8n4hV4aq33_jgbxYPZBqgXPswUNyzJzOPykUldZRwpoJkCrw6KlXk3DXFFkF52k-TkY7DRIW7Pc7YrP27x_a5B5L1HzMGhsNd1C2k/s320/IMG_4282.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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the socks are a bit late for the season, but I wanted them finished; they can "rest" until next summer. I like wearing cotton sneaker socks in my gardening clogs - the woolly ones are to warm for summer! why the colourway is called kiwi though - I have no idea! and I think it's the first time that I managed twin sock without trying...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XkC__hxE4pX-gmzpzhXK26Vgn6XMUw0CowyqT0QooInnpoMpdREZHogcriphqzWQ2D8Tu3kUDYMyv26RGCcDpJOxsKi5qXlzwbOvKSG5x9o1qJkED8xrXqI-VnFdAfNWER3yjKblaX4/s1600/IMG_4283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XkC__hxE4pX-gmzpzhXK26Vgn6XMUw0CowyqT0QooInnpoMpdREZHogcriphqzWQ2D8Tu3kUDYMyv26RGCcDpJOxsKi5qXlzwbOvKSG5x9o1qJkED8xrXqI-VnFdAfNWER3yjKblaX4/s1600/IMG_4283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XkC__hxE4pX-gmzpzhXK26Vgn6XMUw0CowyqT0QooInnpoMpdREZHogcriphqzWQ2D8Tu3kUDYMyv26RGCcDpJOxsKi5qXlzwbOvKSG5x9o1qJkED8xrXqI-VnFdAfNWER3yjKblaX4/s320/IMG_4283.JPG" width="218" /></a><br />
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I also (finally) finished DH's birthday present from june, ahem:) it was nearly done, but the weather turned so hot that I couldn't bring myself to knit wool tweed yarn to finish it in time. and even though the weather turned cooler in august, I lost my wool knitting mojo - it only came back at the beginning of september! </div>
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the pattern is a very simple, straight one, with a bit of "fair isle" basket weave at the bottom. the yarn on a cone (directly from kilkarra donegal yarns) is prepared for knitting machines, a fine singles, slightly oiled. this gives it a bit of an odd feel when spinning by hand, but once washed it has a very nice hand. my husband likes it warm and he loves anything woolly to wear over shirts etc. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVDIYIb76-Jt5crwnPgJe7GT-TXqhpKPbZtc6xNN369k-rIublX0OpE5N3EY0ZjPryVNqe2ZcuD7ScG9z9zAkEMcxhl7x9Af-wbEgNviJzSf_NT-dMlD8CYPEjDZ5yd9qYrEa5nRMOGU/s1600/IMG_4269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="667" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVDIYIb76-Jt5crwnPgJe7GT-TXqhpKPbZtc6xNN369k-rIublX0OpE5N3EY0ZjPryVNqe2ZcuD7ScG9z9zAkEMcxhl7x9Af-wbEgNviJzSf_NT-dMlD8CYPEjDZ5yd9qYrEa5nRMOGU/s320/IMG_4269.JPG" width="291" /></a></div>
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remember the colourful sweater my son didn't want to wear? this is the yarn after taking it all apart. it's a single, but with practically no wear it was easy to unravel. I think I will use it for a larger knit/felted bag for me, knitted in domino style, to make the short colour changes less fussy. have to do a sample first though - I always find it surprising how different the shrinkage rate during felting can be, not only with different yarns, but also with different stitch patterns and esp. between knitting and crochet! I have 750 g - should be plenty for even a larger bag.</div>
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but now I better pack up my stuff for tomorrow - because it's WWSIP - worldwide spin in public day! we have set up our first ever event at the museum, where our textile craft group meets - and I hope we'll have some visiting spinners on the day. the weather will not be great - but we can sit inside and spin away the day:) </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-83175620129865521902018-08-31T13:14:00.000-07:002018-08-31T13:14:25.036-07:00another rainy day....<div style="text-align: justify;">
this day already started grey - and didn't improve! shortly after lunch it started to drizzle, first tiny sprays, but by now it's like a white wall of mist out there... no point in doing anything outside, drizzle is just as wet as rain - it only takes slightly longer to get drenched in it:) </div>
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it does look quite autumnal though - it's still too warm for autumn, about 18 deg.C, but often windy and we had a good bit of rain last week. humid - and my potatoes won't like it. I hope they don't "catch" blight - they have a bit of catching up to do, because I was late in planting them. the blue and pink fleshed varieties stay fairly small anyway, but pea-sized spuds are not really a delight to use:) </div>
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I did persevere with my boucle practice over the last few days - and eventually managed a yarn that deserves that name! not sure what to use it for yet, but at least it looks like boucle and has a soft hand! and it's all protein fibres, so I can dye it without much ado if I want to. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VuhJqYnQLkr45a97V70hyphenhyphen_p51Al_nmWLmv63Y2KkDGz3NWAB5j-TS0Xcf0bcwQqw4J5hvO2A7ISRUVexgY2zR8SJ5qJP4fO1jwpMCoFsAmKrSeQhveIrUGGVm636Re_kJOTyyhio2-8/s1600/bouclelast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1600" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VuhJqYnQLkr45a97V70hyphenhyphen_p51Al_nmWLmv63Y2KkDGz3NWAB5j-TS0Xcf0bcwQqw4J5hvO2A7ISRUVexgY2zR8SJ5qJP4fO1jwpMCoFsAmKrSeQhveIrUGGVm636Re_kJOTyyhio2-8/s400/bouclelast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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in the middle is my first try, with linen = potscrubber. on the left the second, a bit better, but not really a boucle, it's too densely coiled. on the right finally a boucle - yay:) I think I'll have to buy new alpaca top to spin an amount that I can actually use for a project.... it's a lot of work - for quite a small amount of yardage!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXv1Ib4vwgecaqFL5wT3NfmTyHcHIPOgFfxO0YeOKnlfGCeFS5uveJEZXd4AcIvaRYVeFuOCHV1-LTygcZIoOKKMY4N1AJY56yz9DF6vS0AJzgAI-_1pV7dzkn5dE9WXDAkGsNtTn5VYc/s1600/dogwool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXv1Ib4vwgecaqFL5wT3NfmTyHcHIPOgFfxO0YeOKnlfGCeFS5uveJEZXd4AcIvaRYVeFuOCHV1-LTygcZIoOKKMY4N1AJY56yz9DF6vS0AJzgAI-_1pV7dzkn5dE9WXDAkGsNtTn5VYc/s1600/dogwool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="632" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXv1Ib4vwgecaqFL5wT3NfmTyHcHIPOgFfxO0YeOKnlfGCeFS5uveJEZXd4AcIvaRYVeFuOCHV1-LTygcZIoOKKMY4N1AJY56yz9DF6vS0AJzgAI-_1pV7dzkn5dE9WXDAkGsNtTn5VYc/s320/dogwool.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Maisie is loosing her summer coat, she's shedding like mad. I've collected a box full of her undercoat in spring, and together with my "harvest" now I spun a small skein of "chiengora". one wash and the doggy smell is gone, luckily she doesn't have a strong dog odour - yet? in my experience most younger dogs don't have that pong that older dogs can develop... so I'll make the most of it now! this is the second small skein - I think eventually I'll have enough for a hat? oddly enough Maisie is a border collie, black and white - but the yarn is dark brown. very soft though.... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYW-wjVBPPpVVlfm9kftchj4SQ_DfwxTPd1Mg-Tu_dtI4pL2r0fTYgohAinBheR0vzQVPh9fo3MLZX0RkCdsRqWAqgt3jb-G8f3L8r49A1tqh2ODU8VlZyihqAKy22MQc4i_kd69XUqso/s1600/IMG_4247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1249" data-original-width="1310" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYW-wjVBPPpVVlfm9kftchj4SQ_DfwxTPd1Mg-Tu_dtI4pL2r0fTYgohAinBheR0vzQVPh9fo3MLZX0RkCdsRqWAqgt3jb-G8f3L8r49A1tqh2ODU8VlZyihqAKy22MQc4i_kd69XUqso/s320/IMG_4247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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the last bit of spinning were two skeins of a three-ply. I spun two bobbins full of slightly rougher yarn and overplied them together. the last strand is a fine (softer) fibre from the same dyepot - I think a remnant of superwash? anyway, I put some clear, silverlined glass beads on it and plied it again. the skein on top is the leftover soft ply, chain-plied together, because I wanted approx. the same thickness as with the beaded yarn. now what to do with it? and when I chain-plied that last bit I didn't think and spun in the wrong direction! I was nearly done and surprised about the odd look of the yarn, when I realized what I had done - so I had to treadle like mad for double the amount and in the other direction to get a proper yarn:) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmxlyATuqh2lj8zsKh6FsWcrMse9jO2UgAfTwTHgnTtLEhF96C_P9w2gx1AVj7Kp7R5DKgq1AKhV52S00TOlpLu8AoREorbQymM6Tk8axT1YsS_VwdqSDQWvN8t2_Doc_7_SieA-_3aQ/s1600/dyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="1230" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmxlyATuqh2lj8zsKh6FsWcrMse9jO2UgAfTwTHgnTtLEhF96C_P9w2gx1AVj7Kp7R5DKgq1AKhV52S00TOlpLu8AoREorbQymM6Tk8axT1YsS_VwdqSDQWvN8t2_Doc_7_SieA-_3aQ/s400/dyed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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when I cycle to town, I pass a small stand of goldenrod, solidago virgaurea... usually the county council mows it around this time, so I try to pick it for dyeing. 200 g of teeswater top on the left are from that dye bath; a "cold" yellow with a slightly greenish tinge. the softer yellows on the right side are dyed with frozen dahlia flowers that I wanted to use up. I didn't have enough of my favourite red pompom dahlias, which give a lovely soft orange, so I mixed whatever I had in my bag plus a few fresh blossoms, which ended up a less strong dyebath, but still nice I think. the brown skein across is more teeswater, but from an older dyebath. as usual I have forgotten the dye plant - but I don't care:) it all goes in the bin for my "persian tile blanket".... now I just have to go down to the bog to pick a bag full of reed flowers - I do need a few nice green tones for that blanket!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQECskdTLeYvRKQxN6AS1eLw11dZyhnOYH1XQ1raIc2PbDrutfdOVn6JXg0uubQQfp-kls8aCZQVqBCn8CHe0ye5JwC5BScySzwS1xwY0CJSmlTqicuLeilZ2v_mCe02zPkCYWDKi120g/s1600/stornoway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQECskdTLeYvRKQxN6AS1eLw11dZyhnOYH1XQ1raIc2PbDrutfdOVn6JXg0uubQQfp-kls8aCZQVqBCn8CHe0ye5JwC5BScySzwS1xwY0CJSmlTqicuLeilZ2v_mCe02zPkCYWDKi120g/s320/stornoway.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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to show that I didn't slack during my blog pause - here is a photo of a blanket I knitted for my mother. it's called <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stornoway-throw" target="_blank">stornoway</a>. I used doubled up fine tweed yarn from kilkarra tweed, which fluffs up nicely after washing - perfect for a warm lap blanket! the main part was a bit boring (esp. as I worked on it during summer - not a good idea, too warm underneath:), just a knit and purl pattern, but I loved knitting the attached cable edging! I think I'll make another one for myself soon. I still have a small cone of this colour and another one of a darker petrol tone, which should go together nicely. </div>
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this is an old sweater I made for my son many years back, which I dug out of my stash! I know, it's colourful.... I wouldn't have chosen that colourway myself, but he was a small kid and wanted this one - so I spun and knitted it for him. he was quite happy with it - until he wore it to school one day. normally they wear uniforms here, but they needed to repair the heating, so the kids were told to wear something warm that they like. he came back utterly crushed:( several kids told him that he looks stupid and that they don't like that sweater. he never wore it again, which made me so angry! not because of the work I put in but because he was made so unhappy and insecure that he never wore this again - and has pretty much been wearing dark, muted colours ever since:( I think I will frog the whole thing and make something else with it - a bag maybe? knitted and felted it should be strong enough - and if someone has a problem with me using it as a bag - they can stuff it! luckily at my age I have the luxury of not giving a hoot what other people think about my taste:) </div>
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and to finish it off - here is a picture of one of two sunflowers the slugs haven't managed to finish off in the early stages! it's about 2.20 m high and has three flower buds on top - this big one and two smaller ones behind it! the downside is that I have to stake every sunflower here, because otherwise the wind will just snap them right off:( but I am hoping that the seeds will attract some finches again like last year, where we had a whole group of them partying on several big seed heads for days:) </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-11187639432977353682018-08-07T13:46:00.002-07:002018-08-07T13:46:20.586-07:00passwords?<div style="text-align: justify;">
logging into this account is like entering fort knox by now:( first it doesn't recognize my password (I had the right one, because I put them down in writing!). then, when I finally get a code to change it, I get complaints that it's not safe enough! I tried and tried - and finally, when I chose a very insulting one, it worked! apparently you have to use swearwords now to get into your account:) but don't forget to add a number or a sign - or you'll get another complaint....</div>
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ok, so here I am. change of plan - instead of more gardening I am going to stay inside - it's raining... I measured and calculated all my finished skeins of yarn instead and labelled them... well, nearly all of them. I didn't bother with two. one is a small sample from a fibre book I took part in years ago. I threw out most of them eventually (too high-risk for moths!) and kept only special ones. I think this one is very special - it's not made from wire! but it feels like it:) no idea why I kept it - maybe because it's a natural brown?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrbBwi_M0YPzI8s0bXDFruYpmwj6S1UgKJA6nbLKPgB3uz9M9h0T-67GBbT95I4F40oa_3FgjpFcDg4JyLlim1GsDwLtpU4tfPpDJK8QJTFdYZi-1-IGj_uvGxa_PybxcIUYfCVDtpj0/s1600/IMG_4114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="677" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrbBwi_M0YPzI8s0bXDFruYpmwj6S1UgKJA6nbLKPgB3uz9M9h0T-67GBbT95I4F40oa_3FgjpFcDg4JyLlim1GsDwLtpU4tfPpDJK8QJTFdYZi-1-IGj_uvGxa_PybxcIUYfCVDtpj0/s400/IMG_4114.JPG" width="330" /></a></div>
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I lost the label in the bag, so I don't know which breed it is. but it must be something double-coated! some double cuts as well, but I was able to pick those out before or during carding. some very long brown guard hair - which I tried to pull out. some wiry, dark brown "hair" and medium grey-brown main fibres. I wouldn't call it down - more like pot scrubber feeling, but I spun it anyway. and either it was poorly scoured or not at all - it was quite greasy, but didn't smell like unwashed. mystery fibres anybody? long story cut short: not something I'd buy in a hurry - I think I might give it to a friend, who can unspin it again to use as a dwarf's beard.... it's too small to be saved for rug weaving - maybe a massage glove?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZao_z3vO0Gf2T0LESStChjudFy2SPRz7xhZ8WrnkY8J-JbAT0skm2mkNmPqlsvl91y-lQdxtmepQyWyY7OtsGt-rFVpBOpwVfeXS7qLWDpX8yEu-pwIhMkU4s557y8_PHPYvhq2zPXHE/s1600/boucle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="449" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZao_z3vO0Gf2T0LESStChjudFy2SPRz7xhZ8WrnkY8J-JbAT0skm2mkNmPqlsvl91y-lQdxtmepQyWyY7OtsGt-rFVpBOpwVfeXS7qLWDpX8yEu-pwIhMkU4s557y8_PHPYvhq2zPXHE/s320/boucle1.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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the second small skein that I won't measure is - boucle! I've been spinning for so long, but I've never tried boucle before. I was re-reading part of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spinners-Book-Yarn-Designs-Techniques-ebook/dp/B008NEZROE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533673584&sr=8-1&keywords=sarah+anderson+spinning" target="_blank">Sarah Anderson's book</a> about yarn design and because I had also found and spun a sample of white mohair, I thought I'd give it a try. of course it was late and I was too lazy to dig around for a base yarn, so I chose a dove blue commercial 2ply, I think a mix of viscose or silk or something else shiny with linen? anyway, plying the first time wasn't terribly difficult - as long as the base yarn has the extra twist released regularly! I thought maybe I should put it on a spindle and let it dangle, but as I said - it was late and I kept going. </div>
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some spots are ok, nice and loopy.... </div>
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in others I didn't have enough "room" for the loops, they plied too tightly to push up properly - like here. the loops can't open if they don't have enough yarn to even form loops!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwrGOxkbpjgFm5p8b-yKvIwa2ddvPXVQa_QlfGJE8LXuB_ib_hZc0F5LhQ2VFssnuNmpb21DUPj8no_POnJCQUvNMQk8WeaoXUltVFngdcfPsPJIs6pswom_v6MmBCwXQzuOuyitRErs/s1600/IMG_4117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="1013" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwrGOxkbpjgFm5p8b-yKvIwa2ddvPXVQa_QlfGJE8LXuB_ib_hZc0F5LhQ2VFssnuNmpb21DUPj8no_POnJCQUvNMQk8WeaoXUltVFngdcfPsPJIs6pswom_v6MmBCwXQzuOuyitRErs/s400/IMG_4117.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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and of course the yarn turned out quite hard - entirely my own fault, because I used a white linen yarn (commercial) for the binder. did I mention that I found the fine (and much softer) silk a day later? well, it looks like boucle, but there is loads of room to improve! I started a fine white alpaca for the 2nd try - I put the fine silk aside already - all I need now is a reasonably soft yarn as base. because it gets more twist added during the ply I think I should be safe with a commercial wool yarn... of course Sarah Anderson is absolutely right in saying that using all wool/silk makes dyeing your boucle so much easier! maybe I shouldn't spin all my stash - we might be doing a "worldwide spin in public" event in September - I hope I have enough fibres left by then for a day of spinning:) </div>
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I couldn't leave without a picture of my favourite fuchsia right now! it didn't look like much after spending the winter in the polytunnel, but after re-potting and fertilizing it again, it has recovered splendidly! I like fuchsias in general - they have such interesting flower shapes, but this one has a very pleasing tone-in-tone colour, whereas most of my others have a strong contrast, either white-pink, white red or, very common here and even growing wild is "fuchsia" with a purplish corolla... and it has nearly round buds - most of the others are much longer and thinner. </div>
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they don't mind the rain as much as petunias, they really flower all summer long, they even form edible berries (no great taste though) and they are easy to grow from cuttings - what else could a gardener want?:) they look like little ballerinas with flowing skirts, arms outstretched!</div>
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off to do a bit more alpaca spinning - and finishing my second shopping net. I changed the design of the base - so now I am going to change the handle as well!</div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-46078186808600111982018-08-04T15:35:00.000-07:002018-08-04T15:35:31.049-07:00On time?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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I am a bit late with posting the results of my TdF sessions... but first we had a lot of rain (no good light for photos inside) and then other things had to be done and it kind of slipped my mind. but today I found all of the skeins - and the weather was at least dry! so here are my results of 2 weeks of spinning:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BhCdMrJ7729BobGEAD-r3RhHnDsx3opZ6neqgQJb99X18cgcFfIr3euX7EP0QB-vFax-w3JDBlsYGQaEBsZMupvQjjQNcFIYQmgM1pdNV62Zwzs4OlycpuyKrRb60_qwNe4reoRZyFc/s1600/IMG_3927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="484" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BhCdMrJ7729BobGEAD-r3RhHnDsx3opZ6neqgQJb99X18cgcFfIr3euX7EP0QB-vFax-w3JDBlsYGQaEBsZMupvQjjQNcFIYQmgM1pdNV62Zwzs4OlycpuyKrRb60_qwNe4reoRZyFc/s400/IMG_3927.JPG" width="280" /></a></div>
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doesn't look like all that much? actually it's only 499 g - but 2276 meters altogether! the last batch, the pinkish cotton, took a lot longer than the other fibres - it's short and I haven't spun cotton for a good while, had to get used to that again. but at least another small batch is done now; I just have to work up all those small samples and dye tests! and all of them are plied - so that makes it double the kilometers?:) I count the cotton as my challenge - though that makes it sound worse than it actually was. it's just a big jump from the smooth long-fibred silk to the much shorter cotton. </div>
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this colour combo reminds me of neapolitan ice cream:) </div>
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when I had finished the cotton, I started on another leftover, a small amount of superwash wool, dyed with coffee a small eternity ago. the colour isn't too bad, but I don't like the feel of the fibres, artifical and somehow sticky. but at least it's done now - that was the very last remnant of superwash fibres I've had in stash! </div>
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on the right side is a sample of "Gentile di Puglia", not merino soft, but with a very nice crimp and super to spin with a long draw! it's bouncy and lofty and would make a very nice sweater - if only I had more of the fibres! it's from a fibre book exchange - and I have no idea where to find more of that.... but I am sure there are similar breeds available closer to home. </div>
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I handcarded that - and right now I have light brown fibres on the wheel - no idea which breed, but fairly long, a bit rougher - and unfortunately with some 2nd cuts that I have to pick out. what a difference to the apricot silk brick:) </div>
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we had our crafter's meeting last week and I needed a small gift, so I decided to try a pattern for a "shopping bag" I found a while back. it should be washable, so I used some cotton for it. you start with a circular base and do the main part in a very open yarnover pattern. a simple and quick knit, but I found that I had to change the handle design a bit. it's obvious that the bag stretches when filled - but I don't like handles that grow longer every time I use them! so I knitted that part in garter stich as given in the pattern - but added a line of attached i-cord on each side. this makes it much more stable I hope. I started a 2nd one immediately, but changed the design of the circular bottom. I see "baggy" times coming, but they are perfect as gifts, so I'll make a few of them, but I'll change the pattern slightly each time - don't want to bore myself endlessly:) </div>
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Pringles of course had to check out what I was doing - I am not sure that he approves, but he's a bit out of sorts, because we had to go to the vet with him today (nothing major, just a small injury on the chin - probably a bite from a fight...). giving him his AB 4 days in a row is another story.... dogs are so much easier to treat, at least when they are as greedy as ours. just roll it in a bit of cheese, they'll swallow it whole! with the cat we need one person to hold him, and another to stuff the tablet in, hold his mouth shut and blow into his face until it's down... which usually gets both persons nicely scratched and a huffy cat running off under a shelf or cupboard! why don't they develop a nice, fishy tasting tablet just for cats??? </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-35026269294795527272018-07-24T13:05:00.000-07:002018-07-24T13:05:32.715-07:00time's ticking.... for the Tour de Fleece<div style="text-align: justify;">
.... only a few more days to go and I have the feeling that I didn't spin all that much! the cyclists certainly had a worse deal:) but I did finish the apricot coloured silk - and the handle is lovely. I think it would make a nice cowl or even longer shawl. it only weighs 117 g, but has a yardage of about 750 m! that's not too bad for a single skein and I am sure that I'll find a nice pattern for it - something lacy I think! I'll admit though that the pink of the rose isn't exactly a great match😉</div>
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I also dug out two smaller balls of narrow top - I think this must be soy silk, because it is just a narrow band (and doesn't smell like silk when wet)... the silk above was from a brick, much wider and I had much more to spin. both of those together are less than 50 g - and they're already spun and plied! I plied both with a light grey wool/silk blend - but it's dripping wet and not terribly attractive just now! Originally I thought I'd make two separate yarns, 2plies. but it was so little that I know I'd only end up with two balls of yarn that are never used.... as it is I now have two full bobbins of yarn - enough for a proper project.</div>
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I am not sure what I'll spin next - first I have to do a small "in between" knitting project as a small gift that's needed on saturday - so today (and tomorrow?) are going to be my rest days during the TdF - after the change of the challenge days there isn't much left of the original structure - I am just spinning away without restrictions... but I think I'll grab one of the chunky skeins of teeswater from the shed again - maybe the minty green tone? more yarns for my <span id="goog_2045276146"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Persian Tile blanket<span id="goog_2045276147"></span></a>.</div>
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but before I go (more watering to do, what else?) I should really introduce you to the "new" member of our household - very belatedly! this is Maisie - who has been living here for more than 2 years now. after Dobby died we only had Minnie left (and the cat, of course), and the house felt so empty that we decided to look for another dog. Dobby wasn't able to walk much anymore and I wanted a dog that's fit enough to go on walks with me, so I contacted the local MSPCA if I could come and look. Maisie was about 1 year old, fully grown and scared of people! well, no, not scared, more like terrified. she most likely hadn't been socialised to humans at all, left in a barn or shed to herself, the poor dog. it took me a good while to gain her trust, but eventually she realized that we don't mean her harm - and after a few weeks she was totally changed! she's still afraid of strangers, but around the house she's happy and carefree - and she loves walks, running around in the bog and playing with Minnie and the cat - happy ending?! we don't have many visitors, if we do she can hide if she wants to - other than that she fits in so well that we think we picked the perfect dog - for us at least:) </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-73575244815747888122018-07-17T07:17:00.002-07:002018-07-17T07:18:25.673-07:00Second week of Tour de Fleece<div style="text-align: justify;">
I think I might have prepared the TdF a bit better! Maybe I should have prepared small amounts of different fibres that I can finish every day - or at least every second? as it is I have been spinning several days of boring beige alpaca - then only a day each with small amounts, which was fun. now I am back again with spinning days of the same colour - not so much fun! but on the other hand, if I spun only a small amount of one fibre - I'd end up with my usual problem of not spinning the same way for both amounts. the beige alpaca proves the point: my first smaller skein from March is a good deal finer than the main batch from last week:( which means that either I have to use them for two different projects - or I'll have to fiddle about, using the finer yarn for a smaller bit of knitting, and the thicker yarn for the main part. and 250 g of it doesn't leave a lot of choice for projects, where I could use two different amounts:( the woes of hand spinning!</div>
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here are the two beige alpaca skeins - on the right. the rest are the naturally dyed fibres that I couldn't find for the last entry.I think all of them were dyed with madder, same dyebath, just different stages - and different temperatures! my favourite is the brighter red on the right - which must have been in the first dye bath, because it didn't get the higher temps of the others. madder turns brick red to brownish, when it gets too hot - and even though they all go well together, the brownish red tones don't suit me terribly well. on the other hand I barely knit woollies for myself, so no worries:) maybe I should start selling my skeins?</div>
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after I finished the alpaca I dug out this sample of camel/silk blend. I think the silk is noil, lots of tiny white slubs - that are not particularly fun to spin. the picture isn't great, but I nearly forgot to take it - and had to use flash inside - or wait until the next day with the spinning... and I did forget to take a picture of the sample of white tussah - which spun up nicely - but was too little to use for a separate project. so I plied both of them together. I had a bit more of the camel - that's the browner part in the skein. it is soft, but nubbly and bumpy at the same time. </div>
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This is my latest TdF fibre - either silk or soy silk, I don't know. I think maybe the latter, but either way it spins up into a smooth, shiny single yarn. I will ply it though, as it is it's too fine even for lace knits. I know that I dyed it myself - but I have no idea what the dye stuff was. maybe I should keep better notes??? </div>
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you can see how fine it is - even with the full amount the bobbin won't be full to capacity! the plying will take forever - I have to be careful not to start it late in the evening - or I'll end up with a late night plying session to prevent the cat "knitting" it up! he isn't interested in the wheel or the fibres lying around, but finding a small ball or the freely hanging plies is irresistible to him. the dogs don't really care, but sometimes they just have to climb to my left side - where the lazy kate stands when in use - which wouldn't be the first time with disastrous consequences....</div>
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during our hot spell (over now, back to the normal summer temps of 16 to 18 deg. C:) I dug out my embroidery stuff. after finishing an UFO I made 4 small cards to give away (yes, four, I sent one out too fast and forgot to take a picture). these two were for friends, who needed a bit of a pick-me-up...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrFZRzCj3EJV-bCD36ba5mzX2GU8QRpH58NxgEHa5ptPlMLt8p49JIn7m6NjpvT7zGYc7Hv8365FZIhLhrRIPTiud0wIDR8UjY_TG-fmOhS-qKsMxkau1T31dLWd1pzi0Urk_Q0lSRgw/s1600/IMG_3842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="506" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrFZRzCj3EJV-bCD36ba5mzX2GU8QRpH58NxgEHa5ptPlMLt8p49JIn7m6NjpvT7zGYc7Hv8365FZIhLhrRIPTiud0wIDR8UjY_TG-fmOhS-qKsMxkau1T31dLWd1pzi0Urk_Q0lSRgw/s320/IMG_3842.JPG" width="317" /></a></div>
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... and this (and the missing one) were for birthdays. the other embroidery project in the works is a game board for "snakes and ladders" - which "rested" in my stash for a long time. </div>
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I don't know why, but somehow I cannot bring myself to knit much these days. there's a sneaker sock in cotton in the works, but if I can convince myself to take it up, I loose interest after a row or two:( I also have to finish the sleeveless vest for DH - not much missing, but I avoid it like the plague just now. I don't even fancy starting a new project - there must be something wrong with me! maybe I just have to finish with the TdF to find my knitting mojo again? </div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-38493361911328593652018-07-07T15:44:00.001-07:002018-07-07T15:44:47.520-07:00Years later.....<div style="text-align: justify;">
... I had planned to write posts many times, but there was always something more urgent to do... but of course I haven't stopped crafting; I think you'd have to cut my arms off to keep me away from fibres and yarns! I did take photos most of the time, but if I listed all of them now, this entry wouldn't be finished any time soon...</div>
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so I decided I might show pix here and there from things I made during the last two or so years, but only if the projects were "special" - no point in showing you the umpteenth pair of ordinary socks etc.</div>
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for now I only changed the header - as you can see summer is in full swing here! actually, we haven't had a summer like this since I first came over! we had no rain whatsoever for practically a whole month (luckily we had a massive "downpour" - for an hour - on the 8th of june, which filled all of our tanks!) - and we had several days with well over 30 deg. C - extremely unusual for us! there is a hosepipe ban in many areas now and tourists are gobsmacked, when they come with raingear and wellies - and need shorts and sunscreen:) </div>
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I am not a fan of high temperatures - I am happy enough with 20 deg. C, or even less when I have to cycle! so I try to work outside before 10 am and after 8 pm - otherwise I might just melt:( but I have to admit that everything that I do water grows well just now. it must be a warm summer here - as I discovered this evening, a rare artemisia plant, which only ever flowers in very warm climates has set its first flower bud! I've had that plant for at least 15 years, if not more - it's never flowered before, so I am looking forward to the result:) pity that my Dictamnus died a few years back - or I might have been able to see for myself that during great heat the ess. oils of the flowering plants can ignite! </div>
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anyway, enough of the catching up - the main thing that convinced me to start blogging again was the TdF - the Tour de Fleece! I have never taken part - but I thought I might give it a try, seeing as I can't work outside during the day anyway. not that I wouldn't spin otherwise - it's far to warm to knit anything woolly - so I have been spinning practically daily - and here is proof:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnjafyMy2CpSjRNlHAk8JSx90UPvPVCeUGG6Se3gNbs0PZoFRO9u4v2B-8HtWXUa8V4A0rfsRzgVqRK-D9yl1GaxDzGK96NQRt5W2Fa1upcMwCF7k_75Ruf9BC9-pX3YJUe24A4KZgb8/s1600/yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1600" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnjafyMy2CpSjRNlHAk8JSx90UPvPVCeUGG6Se3gNbs0PZoFRO9u4v2B-8HtWXUa8V4A0rfsRzgVqRK-D9yl1GaxDzGK96NQRt5W2Fa1upcMwCF7k_75Ruf9BC9-pX3YJUe24A4KZgb8/s640/yarn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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the batch on the left is teeswater top - I had to use up this years' batch of easter egg colours and when I saw the fibres I couldn't resist spinning them up. I think eventually I'll make the "Persian Tiles" blanket with some of them - but for now they've gone from the fibre stash to the yarn stash....</div>
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the softer colours on the right are teeswater as well, but dyed with natural dyes a good while back. I have no idea, which colour goes with what plant though, but it doesn't really matter anyway. the white hank in the middle is ramie - and the beige skein on the right of it is a naturally beige alpaca I was given a few months ago. it was named top, but I am quite sure that it isn't. it's soft enough, but contains a lot of short fibres and looks more like a batt stripped lengthwise? when I started spinning it the weather was grey and cold - and after one bobbin full I couldn't face beige anymore - that's when I started with the vibrant easter egg funk:) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eC5d3qgTZxSM1Vcc8WhPeGzyR0kJUntMLhsHZruzPxUiYRUm9q8DqOSbMR1frCOivVukHtasxf-n5OS50ldUn2HFhoO7ymukA2zUXuvIoMhWIwcLuRhKFOKxAt9jtWbaqAa-PcGTh94/s1600/natgarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="1049" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eC5d3qgTZxSM1Vcc8WhPeGzyR0kJUntMLhsHZruzPxUiYRUm9q8DqOSbMR1frCOivVukHtasxf-n5OS50ldUn2HFhoO7ymukA2zUXuvIoMhWIwcLuRhKFOKxAt9jtWbaqAa-PcGTh94/s640/natgarn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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teeswater top is nice to spin - for a while. after all those hanks in the 1st picture, I needed something different though, so I started to dig around in my stash - and found a large bag full of naturally dyed tops. I had forgotten about those! we did a dyeing session in our craft group a few years back, but we had way to many fibres prepared, so we divided them between the members - and I think this lot was south american top. it's not as cottony soft as merino, has more grip - but the yarn is soft enough to be worn close to the skin. I have no idea (again, recurring theme.....) how I dyed, but looking at the picture I realize that I must have put quite a few madder dyed skeins elsewhere... and there was some yellow, too. never mind, but as you can see - I've been spinning regularly during the last few months:) </div>
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I decided not to buy anything new for the TdF - plenty of fibres in stash to use up! first of all, while I am still full of drive, I'll finish the beige alpaca. if I don't dawdle I should manage that in two or three days! I can always reward myself with something more colourful afterwards:) I'll spin more "default" yarn, 2ply, not too chunky, so that all the yarns could be used together eventually. </div>
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this was my spinning spot outside for today - it was bearable under the parasol, but I might have to move back inside again if it gets any warmer. because I spun the first skein of alpaca on the old Louet I'll keep using it, so that the yarn comes out the same (without thinking about it, I am sure I could fiddle around with the Lendrum to make it match, but I am too lazy to do that:) </div>
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and this is a close-up of the alpaca - as you can see it's quite "flat" and more batt-like than like top? of course tea and cookies are needed for fortification purposes:) </div>
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so I am going to try to post at least every few days - maybe once the fibres are finished and I start something new again. I haven't decided yet what to do on the "challenge" days - I wanted to try boucles again, but I think I don't have suitable fibres for that. maybe cotton or even hemp? not sure yet, but there's still time to dig something "challenging" up for the monday after next. I'd rather spin nettles - then cycle the mountain days the cyclists have to face:) </div>
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are you spinning the TdF as well?</div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-70131346942407008542016-03-27T14:28:00.000-07:002016-03-27T14:28:00.407-07:00Happy Easter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfyqfqt-VPMC4QMsMxZqQM5oIWcwhBhMl2y7u8N991RSjOiZXGeFpICQ3_EMqJkrGwhYjxEfQ6Zg85emIzovrvEjElTwDZmzBTk27CkHqBz83YRkxaSb73umBp1rjZ4oDilNipE3YG_8/s1600/eastereggs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfyqfqt-VPMC4QMsMxZqQM5oIWcwhBhMl2y7u8N991RSjOiZXGeFpICQ3_EMqJkrGwhYjxEfQ6Zg85emIzovrvEjElTwDZmzBTk27CkHqBz83YRkxaSb73umBp1rjZ4oDilNipE3YG_8/s320/eastereggs.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can't believe that we've already reached the end of march
- maybe that's because the weather doesn't exactly feel like spring. the
daffodils are out in force, but it's pretty nippy out there, lots of rain - the
day before yesterday we had a storm etc... we did have 10 dry
days in a row, some with lovely sunshine, but it was too short - and of course
the bad weather was back in time for easter. we have our own small tradition
here that I dye fresh easter eggs early on sunday morning - and hide them in
the garden before breakfast. and even though Stefan is 18 now - he still wanted
me to do it:) the easter bunny might not mind, but I didn't fancy going out in
one of those spring downpours, so today was the first easter without that
tradition - after 16 or 17 years! I think the disappointment wasn't too bad - he
was out late yesterday and too sleepy to care much about anything:) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sGqFZ7aFIezj1N876UER0SbQevXAwbX5GXJ3bMnUKx0rOda056mdCtLOBQ25KmpcbmdIrIfL4cfHoGLiCT_ZQGYw-4cFr8OwVJMm_hkjxaplN5rCmau9B-7WksJ0lgsqeS3SS80jHLI/s1600/ostern1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sGqFZ7aFIezj1N876UER0SbQevXAwbX5GXJ3bMnUKx0rOda056mdCtLOBQ25KmpcbmdIrIfL4cfHoGLiCT_ZQGYw-4cFr8OwVJMm_hkjxaplN5rCmau9B-7WksJ0lgsqeS3SS80jHLI/s320/ostern1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">another tradition is to grow some cress - to have a nice
"grass" background for the coloured eggs (of course, cress
does go well with hard-boiled eggs). some daffodils and the
usual flowering branches with painted eggs (blown out and decorated
many years ago!) have to be on the breakfast table, too. and the knitfelted egg
cozies that I only use once a year:) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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easter wouldn't be the same without daffodils! at this time of the year they grow everywhere here, some seem to pop up out of nowhere, no houses in sight, not even old ruins - so I think birds or ants must have spread the seeds for them to grow - as far as I know there are no wild growing "native" daffodils in our part of the world. these I picked as deco for today - but I leave most of them outside, esp. the dwarf varieties that don't suffer from wind damage so much. after the storm many of the longer stemmed ones are flattened to the ground - the one drawback with this flower, because once they're flattened they don't recover:(</div>
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those little ducklings were the result of seeing a photo on pinterest... each of them decorates a cadbury's egg - and they have moved out of here and live in Berlin now. they are open at the bottom, so they can be refilled every year with a new sweet bounty! I had to hurry up when I took the photo, because the cat seemed to be veeeery interested with those newcomers in the garden! </div>
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of course I didn't only knit little ducks - I also tried out the cotton sock
yarn I was given a little while back. it looks the same as woollen yarns, but
the yardage is slightly less and the knitting is a bit denser on 2.5 mm
needles. it feels nice and wears well, but I think one would need 2 balls for
socks larger than maybe size 43! <o:p></o:p></div>
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and I only discovered in the photo that a line runs along the sock where the
needles changed - I think that isn't so visible with woollen sock yarn, because
it is more elastic than the cotton? the colour in the upper picture is too
blue, the one on the left is a better match. I like that the leg slouches nicely - but the feet are tight enough to stay put. </div>
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but now it's time for "dinner" - a rather non-festive thing, after we ate some nice rhubarb cake and quite a few easter eggs of the chocolatey kind:) have a nice and colourful easter! </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-64975073047469851182016-02-24T05:33:00.002-08:002016-02-24T05:33:55.374-08:00Dobby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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this is Dobby - outside, in the wind, enjoying herself as usual. she was born in our porch and lived here for over 12 years, but we had to put her down on monday:( a week before she seemed to have suffered a stroke - or side effects of a tumor, we don't know for sure. the vet thought she might improve if it had been a stroke, but after a week of getting progressively worse we had no choice after all:( now there is a Dobby-sized hole in the house - we all still call her, look for her in her favourite spots and have to get used to a one-dog household again. and we're glad that Minnie and Mr Pringles have chosen us as new family - it would be even more empty without the two of them! </div>
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and of course I did collect a lot of Dobby's fluff - so there will always be a little bit of her left - apart from our memories!</div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-55683139757002529912016-02-15T06:44:00.000-08:002016-02-15T06:44:10.798-08:00how embarrassing!I was up early today - brilliant sunshine outside, even though everything was covered in hoarfrost. but after many grey days sunshine always gives me an instant boost, so I started to sort out a corner in the shed... where I discovered a large plastic box. I thought it was only a few bags of unspun fibres in there - but no, it wasn't ! out came this lot:<br />
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ehm, yes, I had totally forgotten about all those yarns! most of them handspun, some handdyed commercial sock yarns... how on earth could I forgot them?<em> </em>I think I should knit more and spin less - at least for a while! I put them out to get rid of the moth ball smell - and now I have to think hard about what to do with them. a lot of the purple ones are from a cochineal dye session some years back. the white stuff is half wool, half silk, plied with a fine commercial silk. the black on the left is pure alpaca, some naturally "honey" mohair etc.. I blame DH, because the studio isn't finished yet - and I have to spread out all my materials:) <br />
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I also found some commercial and hand dyed sock yarns in balls - and I thought I had sorted through the lot and put everything in one box. apparently not... I was desperate for some lighter green, when I did the spring wreath - found it now, just a little bit too late:( <br />
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to change the topic - Mr Pringles wasn't too sure about that odd white stuff on the grass! you could see his doubts already, when he ran across the gravel - which normally crunches and moves, but was frozen tight this morning! so he veeeery carefully checked out this odd grass, one foot at a time - and when he noticed that it's somehow still wet, but also "crunchy" he did a mad dash across the road and up the wall on the other side:) I think cats are absolutely hilarious, when they try to avoid cold or wet feet! Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-17868798951090278392016-02-14T11:45:00.000-08:002016-02-14T11:45:26.010-08:00just in time....... the weather has improved a bit, but only for a day or two! it's not only valentine's day - but my son's birthday, the 18th this time! so this time it wasn't only birthday cake and candles, but a pub/bar party beforehand - and I am quite glad that all that is over, the last few days were rather... hectic:) the cake was a bit iffy as well (that's the result of trying a new recipe without testing it before:() - but it tastes great, even if the icing was a bit rough looking. <br />
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when I haven't been trying to prepare everything, pack up presents, make cakes... I am knitting, what else:) I started to work with the purple cotton blend sock yarn - which knits up very nicely, even though I had to rip back the heel once. <br />
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it is very slightly thicker than wool yarn, but not by much. I wanted the leg to be slouchy, but I didn't decrease for the heel the first time. only when I had knitted half the foot I realized that this would be far too baggy to sit well, so I frogged and decreased by several stitches - now it fits like a glove. I like slouchy leg parts (I wear those thocks only in birkies!), but not slipping feet! the first sock is finished - the second on the needles....<br />
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I began with the soft donegal tweed vest for myself - in the hope that I can wear it before the summer. but it knits quite slowly - no surprise really because it's done with 2.5 mm needles... on the other hand - the last few years weren't so hot that a sleeveless vest couldn't have been worn on most days:) <br />
as you can see Mr Pringles is very keen to take a look at the camera - curiosity......!<br />
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I started with bead crocheting again, but I have problems with this one. the last one was done with the same beads but finer thread, which worked well. I thought I might get away with a slightly bigger thread, but the result is too loose - the yarn is visible between the beads:( I will try a finer hook first, but I think I'll have to re-string the whole lot and start again with finer thread:( couldn't be bothered to do that during the last few hectic days, so the tray is waiting for a nice, quiet day.... I had planned to work a matte black necklace with lovely gold beads - but the "cheap" beads from the show in Dublin turned out to be so uneven that they're useless for a project like this:( which proves that cheap doesn't always stay cheap:( <br />
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and I am trying out a "new" (= new to me at least) crochet pattern I found online. several years back I bought a large cotton blanket in waffle weave. I love that blanket, but I wouldn't be able to weave something like that myself. when I saw this waffle pattern in crochet, I thought I might give it a try. it's super simple (only dc/tr cr) and works up pretty quickly as well. I am going to make a few wash cloths/wash mittens first, but I think I might make a larger blanket with some of the very fine cotton threads I have been storing for several years. the only downside - the blanket will be quite heavy in pure cotton - but I don't really want to buy a blend - the idea was to use up some of my stash:) it feels very nice though, the 3D effect of the pattern seems to form pockets of air that make the fabric warm and cosy - just like my woven one!<br />
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the last picture is Mr Pringles again - the only way to catch that rascal properly is to work with the zoom - but you can see that she was just starting to run closer! I think the dangling little loop on the side of the camera is what the cat finds so fascinating - he has to come running as soon as he sees me with the camera! which makes for quite blurry photos most of the time:) maybe about 1 in 10 is useable - the rest just tends to show black and white streaks... <br />
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-60253790810153215942016-02-07T12:08:00.001-08:002016-02-07T12:08:52.360-08:00new year, more blogging?<div style="text-align: justify;">
well, I had planned to do more blogging, but that was not to be. shortly before christmas I started to write a new entry - but before I could finish and add pix - our computer was attacked by ransomware - which made me loose all pictures and files that I didn't save elsewhere - quite a lot, because I neglected moving things to other media - and got punished for this! we refused to give in and pay, which of course meant that everything that was encrypted was lost:( by now the "box" is working again, but of course all the old files remain lost. I was furious (still am, though less vocal about it:) - but decided to try and find a positive side to this: loosing all the stuff means that I don't have to sort through the whole collection to decide what to keep, what to print etc... </div>
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of course it also means that I lost the pictures of the stuff I made during the last few months, so what you see here is only the very recent stuff that was still in the camera. </div>
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Because I don't have a local yarn shop, I tend to buy my sock yarns in batches. this is the latest haul. the red and red/green/white is a special edition from<a href="http://www.wyspinners.com/4%20Ply%20-%20Christmas" target="_blank"> here</a> - I liked <a href="http://www.wyspinners.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=41&product_id=173" target="_blank">the free pattern</a> provided, so decided to order some for a sock knitting friend in germany and for myself - we can share the red! </div>
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I also bought some sock yarn with angora, two balls of sock yarn with cotton (not for socks, but for baby "dolls") and a sock yarn, where the photo on the homepage looked more purple and the name - something with grapes or wine? - sounded more purple as well:) turned out more blue than anything, but never mind, it will be used eventually... just not for myself I'd say!</div>
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the yarn with angora was used to knit bed socks as a gift - very cushy, soft and warm - though maybe less durable than normal sock yarn? </div>
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before christmas I had made a seasonal wreath as a gift - but of course the photo of that one is lost. never mind, I have to admit that I like this one for spring much better anyway:) I tried to find spring flowers, daffodils, bluebells, forget-me-nots, a fat bumble bee and of course - living in ireland - a shamrock won't go amiss. the idea is to make other flowers that can be added - or exchanged depending on the seasons (sunflowers, poppies, fuchsias etc. come to mind). the flowers are only attached with pins, easy to exchange. I have quite a lot of sock yarn in storage, in colours suitable for flowers, but I think I have to dye a nice green or two myself, because I haven't found suitable greens - I don't want to pay a fortune for indie-dyed yarns, when I only need a few meters for a leaf or two! </div>
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this project took some time to finish - a denim vest for my grandnephew. it turned out to be a bit too large, but I am quite sure he will grow into it:) the yarn is real denim yarn = will change colour during washing and wearing. the problem wasn't in the knitting - I just couldn't find a suitable zipper that opens at the bottom, in the right length and colour. eventually I admitted defeat and asked a friend in germany to get one for me... </div>
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I have made quite a few wrist warmers in similar style. for the first one I followed the pattern "<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elf-clobber" target="_blank">elf clobber</a>" , but with every pair I made I changed it slightly. the red is a simple k2/p2 rib, alpaca dyed with lac, the grey is a mix of silk and merino. this is the last in the series, and here I left out the crochet bit altogether to replace it with ruffles, simple increases of purl sts in between the k2 from the rib. the grey is finished with an attached i-cord, to keep the edge from rolling up. </div>
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may I introduce you to another adoptee in this household? before christmas, on a dreary, wet, windy and cold day DS came home late from school - carrying a little bundle in his bag, a bedraggled, wet and half-starved kitten! of course we couldn't just throw the little fellow out, so my son had to cycle back to town in the yucky weather to by cat food for kittens! that has been about 3 months ago - see the result:) after a bit of debate we named him Mr Pringles (part of it is from "the green mile" and the mouse mr jingles, the other part from my sons's favourite snack - pringles). he is quite affectionate, loves cuddles and purrs as if he had swallowed a small car:) of course he has silly ideas and is up to no good when bored - but he's so cute with it that it's hard to be annoyed at him for long! I did learn my lesson though and started to pack away beads, tools, yarn balls etc. when pausing in my work! too much temptation for a cat teenager maybe?:)</div>
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I also joined the online guild of weavers, spinners and dyers again. the land group, where we meet every second month, is alright, but doesn't give me much in the way of inspiration and certainly not much in learning new techniques. we seem to cater mostly for beginners of all kinds of crafts these days - and given that I dabble in most of them myself, I rarely find anything that interests me and provides a challenge. so I am looking forward to several of the courses online during the coming year - and hope that I'll find enough time to try my hand at some new things!</div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-60530646212128794062015-11-11T13:47:00.001-08:002015-11-11T13:47:48.471-08:00the "two entries a year" blog....<div style="text-align: justify;">
hello again! long time no see, I know... they say that the days are getting shorter and it's true! somehow there are never enough hours in a day:) by the time I've finished everything I meant to do (and often not even that!) the day is over and I haven't blogged - again. so - I'll try to be better! </div>
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anyway, of course I've finished many things during the past few months. I didn't exactly count all the socks I finished, but there must have been at least 10 or more pairs... some went out so fast that I didn't even take pictures. I did a few for myself, tried out a few new patterns and one new cast-on. </div>
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difficult to see here, but I started by doing the shells on top of the rib. it's done with a cast-on over a crochet hook, easy to do, found it somewhere on pinterest. the green sock on the left has a pattern that's called laburnum, and the "christmassy" looking sock on the right - is from the same book (Charlene Schurch), but I forgot the name:) both hand-dyed yarns; I think the green was done with food dyes, and the red with the colour crabapple plus leftovers from Gaywool Dyes. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiqfP3Pm0gF6N1JCWUSI-bWnMnLDiH2k67aeF6NGGXFKMwdMUYXMX-Uf3dBbfGwtr5jGgANKO9-7I8lnBctJVcl8qc8OGbx4b7sMBqcwt-qyMmt0HA6AnkI7nVQRudKQgvqadKYMqVCwQ/s1600/mapro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiqfP3Pm0gF6N1JCWUSI-bWnMnLDiH2k67aeF6NGGXFKMwdMUYXMX-Uf3dBbfGwtr5jGgANKO9-7I8lnBctJVcl8qc8OGbx4b7sMBqcwt-qyMmt0HA6AnkI7nVQRudKQgvqadKYMqVCwQ/s1600/mapro.JPG" /></a></div>
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I am also working on a men's cardigan, made from soft donegal (from Donegal Tweed Company in Kilkarra). the pattern is from the new book by Anna Zilboorg, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/splendid-apparel-a-handbook-of-embroidered-knits" target="_blank">splendid apparel</a>. there are lots of different patterns, all shown "naked" and also embroidered, the main feature of the book. I will finish the pattern first and see how much adornment via embroidery I'll add - it's for a man, so shouldn't be overly much decorated! I did a gauge, which I often skip, but I thought that the pattern will draw in a bit - and it does!</div>
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I also used up the yarn blend yak/silk, dyed with lac, which I originally used for knitting the Morvarch shawl. it was a bit too smooth/silky to my liking for the morvarch, but it drapes perfectly for the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snowdrop-and-rose-red-cowl" target="_blank">"rosered" cowl from "enchanted knits".</a> and it's very soft and lovely to wear. </div>
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I wasn't sure if I could finish another small cowl with the little bit of leftover - but it worked. I had about 5 m left, when I did the cast-off on this feather-and-fan cowl. oddly enough this is my favourite just now - not quite as close to the neck, good for the not yet very cold days on the bicycle:) </div>
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this is the pattern "<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olive-garden" target="_blank">olive garden</a>", free on ravelry. it drapes beautifully, esp. due to the many beads that are used in the design. I added two pattern repeats to make it a bit larger and it is nice to wear - and very nice to knit! the only drawback to the pattern is that the last row (crocheted!) takes ages - because of all the added beads. but it's worth all the work, I think! </div>
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I also started to use up some of the "tons" of leftover bits of sockwool. I quickly got hooked on the beekeeper's quilt pattern, lots of little hexagons, filled with polyfill. I didn't think of a use for them at first, but suddenly realized that they'll make nice covers for my garden chairs. they are washable, but soft and squishy, nice to sit on - and use up bits and pieces. I need about 10 m for each and it takes approx. 20 minutes to finish one hexie. bit by bit the bag filled - and after about 100+ hexies plus a bit of sewing and an attached i-cord all around....</div>
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.... the pillows were finished:) in the meantime two more bags of sockwool bits have arrived, so that I'll probably have enough to start a small cover/blanket from it. I think I'd sort the colours a bit though, less higgledypiggledy, more colour coded, maybe mostly blues? I don't have enough of purple sock yarns for a big project:) </div>
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I also finished a table mat in EPP. the recipient loves ox-eyed daisies, so I picked out different whites (some pure white, some with white-on-white prints), some yellow/orangey tones and the green/white/yellow base fabric. I didn't fussy-cut the background, but I did try to have the pattern match a little bit, to avoid odd cut-offs. after finishing the top, I made a ring out of hexies in background fabric, which followed the edge pattern. when folded over, it makes a nice edge, instead of a regular binding. another thing I found on pinterest:) there's no quilting again - I just knotted embroidery floss into the yellow middles to fuse the thermolam and the background fabric to the top. but for some reason blogger doesn't allow me to push the photo to the left, like the rest... maybe that's my punishment for not blogging for so long?:) </div>
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anyway - that's enough for now, I think. I hope to blog more regularly again now that monsoon season is upon us again! </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-46954814718862217202015-02-03T06:57:00.000-08:002015-02-03T07:02:29.544-08:00still no sign...<div style="text-align: justify;">
... of spring:( but the sun is shining, which makes winter more bearable, I guess. there wasn't much snow last night, just a sprinkle, but icy roads are never far away - which means that I am chickening out of cycling to town:) the whole week is supposed to be fairly dry, just a few snow showers here and there and sunny intervals - but the Nephin (806 m high!) is covered with a white blanket. it looks very close in clear weather, but as a matter of fact it's more than 60 km away! I've been there once, but never climbed up - but when snowfall is threatened we always look out the back to see if the Nephin is covered. if it's white - we might get some snow as well:) </div>
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and in the sunshine I could finally take a few pix that weren't too far off the real colours. </div>
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the sweet pea jacket has reached its new owner - and apparently it fits, so phew:) </div>
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the "knubbelchen" is a small knitted "doll", and because there are no parts that could be swallowed, it's perfect for the chewing stage, where anything and everything gets covered in dribble:) easily washable - like the cardie, which is spun and knitted from superwash wool. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfWvsmF_7hV7NA1QB82-dB2SfaJ6e3kGS8bdo9nPZMfI1uiwW0c0z3P0MFq7n5Dw8a29OX_K-8La8WcLrU5VR-CNL5qah2NKLg3PHEIy648Df1Y1ifgCj6T3dWnBSoctw8pkxpeinmXc/s1600/peas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfWvsmF_7hV7NA1QB82-dB2SfaJ6e3kGS8bdo9nPZMfI1uiwW0c0z3P0MFq7n5Dw8a29OX_K-8La8WcLrU5VR-CNL5qah2NKLg3PHEIy648Df1Y1ifgCj6T3dWnBSoctw8pkxpeinmXc/s1600/peas.JPG" height="217" width="320" /></a>in the details you can see the sweet pea seeds (bobbles) and a little attached tendril on top of each pod. I just couldn't resist the pattern, it's by Mary Scott Huff, one of my favourite knitting designers (famous for a lot of colourwork...). should I ever knit it again, I'd change the design though - it was difficult to find suitable ribbons and I don't really like the ones much, that I finally attached. or maybe I'll hunt for the perfect ribbon first - and paint and spin the yarn afterwards? </div>
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this is a work in progress, but I'll be finished soon. the shawl has a very interesting cable pattern in the middle and a bit of lace at the edges, but other than that the part in between is worked in stockinette = very tv suitable:) the yarn is gorgeous, soft and silky at the same time - I am looking forward to seeing the pattern blocked out! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2vOI__PWsJNifM4xtr0vUdOgNDGBfvTHvy9LemPEE0YubxcAUfuxVQLOMnxeAxiAmFK38SxaJj8rLZY-2ZfN7io47x1_X18RYky6T_nMweVyE-nr8f7-bzv5sIWMvMfhEaNHRf6P2q8/s1600/aran.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2vOI__PWsJNifM4xtr0vUdOgNDGBfvTHvy9LemPEE0YubxcAUfuxVQLOMnxeAxiAmFK38SxaJj8rLZY-2ZfN7io47x1_X18RYky6T_nMweVyE-nr8f7-bzv5sIWMvMfhEaNHRf6P2q8/s1600/aran.JPG" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
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this is one of my cones of kilkarra tweed again - without flash the colours are much more accurate! I think this will be the yarn for my next project - I am just not sure whether to knit cables or ribs or plain or.... I think a few book browsing sessions are in order:) it knits up pretty quickly and the tweed colours make knitting more interesting than with just plain yarn. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7viqQ1ox5aYe3euabLcCk-W7f1rQ522J0-TwOEtHHnAosAwjs9OYIta__rSPD40mFs-ZdtV-8ZtrlIturVVcWuinbN0h5fD4SAP-B0W5yuTf-u7S4_EWtkEMzmKv1ErHzaAa33gIu-sY/s1600/dk_jacke.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7viqQ1ox5aYe3euabLcCk-W7f1rQ522J0-TwOEtHHnAosAwjs9OYIta__rSPD40mFs-ZdtV-8ZtrlIturVVcWuinbN0h5fD4SAP-B0W5yuTf-u7S4_EWtkEMzmKv1ErHzaAa33gIu-sY/s1600/dk_jacke.JPG" height="243" width="320" /></a></div>
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those two might be around for a long time! the plan is that double knitted cardigan/jacket for myself... but I haven't decided yet about a pattern. ornamental? flowers? more browsing sessions coming up....but I already know that it will take me ages, because I usually have to interrupt stuff for myself to make gifts etc. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMdoz0RZ3uVNTAbxKH3D-nfJJyWaUlNBLJZOq4IkZJPQKA9_tn8hQHVhfsMNDlOHwwv0pV-7NWWfWwapKwmm0lRXxAeEm9zGFt25Z9n7wYo7tBtLBIkK2m5zhiko4M8l8hTDogPGLsys/s1600/birdfeeder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMdoz0RZ3uVNTAbxKH3D-nfJJyWaUlNBLJZOq4IkZJPQKA9_tn8hQHVhfsMNDlOHwwv0pV-7NWWfWwapKwmm0lRXxAeEm9zGFt25Z9n7wYo7tBtLBIkK2m5zhiko4M8l8hTDogPGLsys/s1600/birdfeeder.JPG" height="320" width="197" /></a></div>
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gardening ist still on the back burner with the snow and ice, but of course we have to feed the birds, esp. in this weather! unfortunately magpies, crows and probably also rats try to escape with the fat balls I hung up in the branches! all I found was the ripped netting... when I saw this <a href="http://guenstiggaertnern.blogspot.ie/2015/01/das-meisenknodel-mysterium.html" target="_blank">idea</a>, I thought I might make my own. no recycled wire cage in stash here, but we had enough strong wire to wind our own. I push the netting over the bottom end of the wire spiral and fix the one on top with a little plant peg. has worked fine so far, though the shop ran out of fat balls last week:( to give them a bit more than just seeds I made my own mix of fat and seeds etc... - and filled coconut shells with it. the first one went down a treat - the second one vanished over night - again (just like the fat balls)! I think it must be a rat, because I doubt that birds could snap through plastic covered wire to free the shell! to avoid any more rat parties under the trees I found a different spot - with only vertical, overhanging branches... unless rats can fly or climb up trees hanging off branches - it should be safe! I did find the emptied shell - so I can try again with another batch. luckily (in that case, though I love watching them!) we don't have any squirrels - no doubt they'd laugh at my attempts to keep the birdfeeders safe:) </div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-62156135360501852482015-01-26T16:44:00.000-08:002015-01-26T16:48:19.202-08:00I'll be back.....<div style="text-align: justify;">
...says winter!</div>
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I can't believe that january is nearly over, but on the other hand I am hoping for signs of spring now. doesn't help much though - after two or three days of milder temperatures, with rain here and there, but nothing too bad, we'll be back to winter again from wednesday onwards:( the only thing that lifts my spirits every time I go out are the first snowdrops outside! pity that they don't flower in yellow or red, they would be even more uplifting! </div>
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there are signs of spring though - the daffodils are out now, some even with visible buds! I do hope that it won't be too bad because our next spinner's meeting is supposed to be on saturday - but only if snow and/or ice on the roads won't make driving too hazardous. on the other hand we were lucky to only have about 6 cm last week - here's the proof:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GZHH1cNR1732a6TzG_3vILOLfT5DSAQHZBeW1NO3PCDV767hd3SrJ4G9sWJ8U-DgxqygroAihNGyeKPZLyKCMZXl9lFvOL5T7ilJHuq_M7UM3NygDwZd3uSMiWqKOkTdafVYK4TKsvo/s1600/midwinter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GZHH1cNR1732a6TzG_3vILOLfT5DSAQHZBeW1NO3PCDV767hd3SrJ4G9sWJ8U-DgxqygroAihNGyeKPZLyKCMZXl9lFvOL5T7ilJHuq_M7UM3NygDwZd3uSMiWqKOkTdafVYK4TKsvo/s1600/midwinter.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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looking towards the north-west - a very drab colour scheme.... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfpVTjijUxWustNNTYNVltUqAfF37JaSF7t8mcz2mRmifjaimNTrmS48it9W2FfzZWQsFupBDbkncvh0gOdfnzoPrc43-9UWj2B6-7UqKuMlt0voraG2H_xXPptwoQF3zr4dAjt8JgX0/s1600/snow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfpVTjijUxWustNNTYNVltUqAfF37JaSF7t8mcz2mRmifjaimNTrmS48it9W2FfzZWQsFupBDbkncvh0gOdfnzoPrc43-9UWj2B6-7UqKuMlt0voraG2H_xXPptwoQF3zr4dAjt8JgX0/s1600/snow.JPG" height="320" width="253" /></a></div>
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the birds went crazy last week; to the right is the place were I put the feeder and they had a "conveyer belt" going all day. they wait over the hedge to the left, then come closer into both ash trees - and only when there's a free space will they move to the feeder - and back again to their waiting perch on the left:) I had to refill the feeder during the day - I think they told every bird in the neighbourhood to come because they'll get fed here:) </div>
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and you can see on the table that we've had quite a lot of the white stuff in only a few hours! I hope it won't be that much during the next few days, because it always results in hiccups on school runs (the school bus won't go) and shopping trips.... and travelling to our meeting of course:) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisY1QniA3cY91Cebvs4_a4TVLe-K9euIQ0rhVhQmArCXHfqA3VlCoCpjmDZVvKqkYC_hd9dGubAJ3QemRprUpRYPT9jtIebVMeKjXatl1ohrUTZzBAVwqfQYYWgPCifMpGeLZiglX7k7s/s1600/tweed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisY1QniA3cY91Cebvs4_a4TVLe-K9euIQ0rhVhQmArCXHfqA3VlCoCpjmDZVvKqkYC_hd9dGubAJ3QemRprUpRYPT9jtIebVMeKjXatl1ohrUTZzBAVwqfQYYWgPCifMpGeLZiglX7k7s/s1600/tweed.JPG" height="320" width="173" /></a></div>
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this is the reason why I am really anxious to go. I put in a small order at <a href="http://donegalyarns.com/" target="_blank">kilkarra donegal tweeds</a> a little while ago. after I made a small sample with the dark red-purple soft merino I ordered last time, I decided that I'd like to go ahead with a longer cardigan/coat in double knitting. but of course I need a contrasting colour for this. hard to decide which colour to take, but in the end I decided against grey and for the light "seafoam" green/blue in the upper left corner. the two cones to the right in a light petrol (the colours are darker without flash) will become a cardigan for my father (who doesn't like chunky cardies. it'll take time, but I'd say there's enough time to knit it until next christmas:). </div>
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both pinks (one aran, one soft merino) are not for me and neither is the denim blue on the right. the dark blue on the left however will be another aran sweater. or at least half of it - the other half is already promised to another fan of blue:) </div>
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so let's hope that I can go to the meeting - to unite the cones with their new owners:) </div>
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of course I knitted some more, even though I was hampered by a finger injury (not the first time I've managed to push a wood splinter right under my fingernail:() - but the pix are still in the camera downstairs. let's just say that I finally finished a sweet pea - and some other things as well! </div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-9563733217964320612014-12-31T13:25:00.003-08:002014-12-31T13:25:56.202-08:00the last entry....<div style="text-align: justify;">
... for this year:) </div>
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just a few more hours and the old year is gone. I had planned to write sooner, but christmas got in the way, as usual. and yesterday blogger didn't like me - I couldn't open the blog, never mind put a new entry in. it still doesn't do what it is supposed to - the new header picture just doesn't want to stay in the right size. but you can see the weather we had over the weekend - mostly sunny during the day, but pretty frosty (down to minus 6 deg.C) at night. in the morning everything was covered in white and the dogs, who like to drink "dirty" water from buckets etc., got a shock - because their lovely water was replaced by discs of sheer ice:) the look on their faces - they ran from bucket to watering can (emptied out) and to the pond - nothing! what a relief to find the water dish inside full to the rim:) </div>
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nothing left of that today - most of the day we had either drizzle or rain plus a lot of wind - and the rain is going to be stronger tonight. lovely - it seems we have to light our sparklers inside the porch again, just like last year! </div>
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I did manage to finish all christmas gifts in time, but I only realized yesterday that I forgot to take some photos. never mind - I did take a few at least. I also spun bits and pieces - but again, I didn't take pix - yet! I hope the new year brings improvements to my forgetfulness - there's room for more!</div>
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anyway, here are a few of my "fiddles":</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskwbnAYFiP8g1oMrUYoh5cnoSYE5av0lmEFtVS6ybCThu0eLd-RuMBjj8kjRsCim9XhjNVipwlvOW5wTJLgRXt2QRJuFn0cQY04IKFFV22gsMGWy9xCXLvw-x1CkUOr3Ow8Qah7XWhHQ/s1600/pw_tree1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskwbnAYFiP8g1oMrUYoh5cnoSYE5av0lmEFtVS6ybCThu0eLd-RuMBjj8kjRsCim9XhjNVipwlvOW5wTJLgRXt2QRJuFn0cQY04IKFFV22gsMGWy9xCXLvw-x1CkUOr3Ow8Qah7XWhHQ/s1600/pw_tree1.JPG" height="294" width="320" /></a></div>
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I made a "christmas tree" in patchwork. I had planned to make one on a wall hanging, but I realized that there won't be enough space to hang it in the recipients' home, so I thought a 3-D pyramid to sit on the table might be easier to put up. originally I had planned to make a foot/trunk, but after I put the bottom in, I liked it better this way. putting on the beads was a real fiddle, because the inlay is so tough that my beading needle looks like a hook now:) but I managed with a thimble and patience... I have the base of a second one ready, but the plan is to put on more of the "chain garland" and less (or none?) of the single beads... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRq8folvfYO2JH7Ccnxe5FtWINsKluTfbv0FYQwqMV3tPdrnXbgOXRy8Vi5TANC87XXTLcJOCz2YzuaBWK4Z9zaE2cftf6zEbmNOV53rx1Gh6WMBM80yTZEpC30URBI2cZgIUUqepozrw/s1600/deco.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRq8folvfYO2JH7Ccnxe5FtWINsKluTfbv0FYQwqMV3tPdrnXbgOXRy8Vi5TANC87XXTLcJOCz2YzuaBWK4Z9zaE2cftf6zEbmNOV53rx1Gh6WMBM80yTZEpC30URBI2cZgIUUqepozrw/s1600/deco.JPG" height="276" width="320" /></a></div>
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seems like I am on a patchwork roll just now - I also made about a ton (ok, maybe around a dozen:) of those decos, little hexie wreaths with a christmassy charm to dangle in the middle. I made batches in red/green/gold and one in purple and neutral, all to be given as small tokens - they fit nicely into an envelope with a christmas cards.</div>
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I also made most of my cards, but nothing textile - and of course they went out before I took a picture.... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6uRQ4uI0tYvWNMfHgsbUBlf1CnSgQk0oJs2Swwrt82QAWgWdtd2ri7q5HnP08zDp5XMdrN1oS4CS3l1VTBcFBGsZ_mZUkMJfVUcKBx6X_EflwlbMI2O8pKrZi3R4-031X-OYjE7rmL8/s1600/chimneysock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6uRQ4uI0tYvWNMfHgsbUBlf1CnSgQk0oJs2Swwrt82QAWgWdtd2ri7q5HnP08zDp5XMdrN1oS4CS3l1VTBcFBGsZ_mZUkMJfVUcKBx6X_EflwlbMI2O8pKrZi3R4-031X-OYjE7rmL8/s1600/chimneysock.JPG" height="320" width="168" /></a></div>
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and I knitted my very first chimney sock! I've had a book with patterns for ages, but when I need them, I usually need them urgently - and end up making one out of felt! this one is knitted with leftovers of handspun in "rosewood" and a lacy edge from handspun silk/linen. in real life it's much bigger of course - no point in making tiny chimney socks (where would you put the goodies then?)... luckily I only need one of those, given the fact that I seem to suffer from single sock syndrome at the moment. I did finish one pair for DH - out of a "new" sock yarn, 8ply, a good bit chunkier than normal sock yarn. I think it's too thick to wear the socks in normal shoes though - but they warm birkenstock-clad feed nicely:) what I didn't like so much was the ball size - way too much for all but the biggest sock sizes, but not enough to knit a second pair. I compromised and made wrist warmers out of the leftover yarn, because I only bought one ball to try - and wouldn't have any other suitable sock yarn to use it with!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgk-zYDzFUmnKWbZCyBnLsnNLavk6BmxZEIkv_Zk82rIqKjaviexQOSWle2d1avg1VHcd0gJs_LOdZvKCzwALva2uy9nPkaci54oPA10h7ySmibqnNA_0OHj7GkdLA2-ZltaymrEDRX0/s1600/cookies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgk-zYDzFUmnKWbZCyBnLsnNLavk6BmxZEIkv_Zk82rIqKjaviexQOSWle2d1avg1VHcd0gJs_LOdZvKCzwALva2uy9nPkaci54oPA10h7ySmibqnNA_0OHj7GkdLA2-ZltaymrEDRX0/s1600/cookies.JPG" height="313" width="320" /></a></div>
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as I said I made other things, spun some yarns etc. - but this will have to do for now. I'll try to be better with picture taking - but at least I took one of my cookies! most of them rather last-minute, and I didn't do a single "cookie cutter" variety this year, but at least they taste nice, even if they don't look fancy!</div>
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time to get ready for the changeover - no new year resolutions for me - they usually only last for a few days anyway! I hope all of you have a wonderful year to come, always enough fibres to play with and enough time to try out all your ideas! </div>
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Happy New Year!</div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-60564572995964791682014-11-12T05:51:00.001-08:002014-11-12T05:51:46.942-08:00good weather...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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... not for going out, no - but for crafting away inside:) we're having the "punishment" for the lovely september weather; a lot of rain, often windy, foggy, cool - or maybe it just seems that way after the long spell of nice weather? it's normal november weather really, nothing unusual for us at this time of the year. just this morning I heard on the radio that it's only 6 weeks until christmas! maybe it's for the best that the weather isn't exactly gardening friendly, otherwise I'd be even more behind in my christmas crafting:) </div>
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I seem to have reached the age, where the eyesight changes. lately it's become a bit difficult to wear my glasses, when doing finer stuff close-up. which means that knitting in front of the tv isn't so great. either I can't see my knitting properly or I can't see the screen. that's why I've been spinning a lot - I don't need to put away the glasses to see the spinning:) but it also means that I've not been as productive with the needles as I should! it's not even project spinning, some of the tops just popped out of bags I've dug out of storage!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3c478Pb4v0ppiXa-EQkVKjD4W2hnZoH2vVuOTAv8Dn0gsrOIfizmlgf1djvAv_BMf_wa3zSFyqEgq0HpK6J2X6q2o9WaDoqtlBzURkyql6_VXDti3IFt63UrC4fGmUhfbqYiUyoJbjN8/s1600/g1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3c478Pb4v0ppiXa-EQkVKjD4W2hnZoH2vVuOTAv8Dn0gsrOIfizmlgf1djvAv_BMf_wa3zSFyqEgq0HpK6J2X6q2o9WaDoqtlBzURkyql6_VXDti3IFt63UrC4fGmUhfbqYiUyoJbjN8/s1600/g1.JPG" /></a></div>
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I found mohair top that I dyed with cochenille at least 3 years ago... it's darker in real life, but as shiny as it looks in the picture. very smooth and dense - probably good for lace knitting, though I think I wouldn't like it close to the skin...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJL4zO3FaAwNgFv4FWJiHsgVIA9O9UcAyAXD_68A-2nHWrlXGkpdNuxkw47x_ZLHm9jfRP2kW2sc460iLXMc3XN0qXTLAQF4KbGGoLI_IPoebL-Du58Y2Gxw4WGu5qlxLKQ3DttQ5djd4/s1600/g2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJL4zO3FaAwNgFv4FWJiHsgVIA9O9UcAyAXD_68A-2nHWrlXGkpdNuxkw47x_ZLHm9jfRP2kW2sc460iLXMc3XN0qXTLAQF4KbGGoLI_IPoebL-Du58Y2Gxw4WGu5qlxLKQ3DttQ5djd4/s1600/g2.JPG" /></a></div>
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this on the other hand is 75 % viscose, 25 % silk. very smooth, very shiny - and extremely heavy! probably nice to wear, though too chunky for lace and I have no idea what to use it for! I bought a kilo of this, but I only have 650 g now - no idea, where the rest of it went. but I am sure I haven't knitted it into anything, I would remember! off to the stash - for now.... </div>
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these are some of the teeswater tops I dyed here and there. I think the green on the left and the red were dyed with leftover easter egg dyes, the right one is far darker green and not so grey looking in spots - the camera is playing up again! all of them would be suitable in thickness for the "persian dreams" blanket - but I am not sure that the colours would work well together... we'll see about that. over the last few years I dyed and spun quite a lot of the teeswater top, there should be plenty more colours for this. I do have to spin a load of the main colour first though:) not sure if it's going to be natural white - or if I should dye it black? </div>
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this is the result of spinning the blending board rolags from my last post. it's much more blended than my usual batts from the drum carder - probably, because I don't like putting the fibres through the drums too often (sheer laziness:). it's easer to do on the board, though it probably takes longer to load and draw off again. </div>
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I also finally finished the baby alpaca cardigan! I don't know why I procrastinated for so long, it took ages to knit, even though the spinning went smoothly. it must have been the sleeve caps, because I had to block the parts first to calculate a proper fit... I used attached i-cord all around and put in button holes for the front. I hope it arrives safely with the recipient and soon (for some reason the mail to Berlin always takes longer than to any other german destinations:() </div>
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the pattern is called horseshoe lace, simple to knit, just 8 rows (or was it 10?) and a 10 st repeat. if you turned it over it might be called angel wings:) </div>
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those two cowls are the leftover silk threads from the first petal cowl plus some black handspun merino from my stash. for the first one below I worked the purl rows plus the k row before in colour, but there wasn't enough silk left to do that in the 2nd cowl. so I only worked the purl rows, which means that some of them look like sashiko embroidery:) but maybe the slightly more muted look makes it easier to wear, if you don't want to look too colourful?:) it's wider as well, because I realised after knitting the first one that I don't like cowls so tight-fitting!</div>
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the blocking was fun with those two - I rolled up two rubber foam fillings for neck rolls into a towel and pulled over the cowls. no pinning involved.....</div>
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and of course I had to make more rolags:) these two batches went as spinning fodder to Berlin as well - I used similar greens, but more yellows and rusty reds, so that the yarn should look more autumnal than the greens I spun up myself. it's mostly merino and south american wool, plus handdyed silk and soy silk for the glitz. </div>
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I also found some bigger sample bags in my stash. the dark brown is yak, there's guanaco, alpaca, some angora and cashmere and the shiny beige is soy silk, dyed with coffee. it still smells like coffee, after such a long time in the bag:) the rolag diameter is much smaller because the fibres were fairly short - apart from the soy silk. I hope I am going to see a photo of this when spun up - could turn out to be cafe latte?:) </div>
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when I am not spinning or knitting I am making embroidered christmas cards. just 6 weeks left - tick tock:) </div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-47324030304493025512014-10-30T17:29:00.000-07:002014-10-30T17:29:36.694-07:00if time flies....<div style="text-align: justify;">
...where does it go? there must be a huge heap of it somewhere, because I sure don't have any to spare!</div>
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anyway, before I start writing a whole entry of excuses, let's just say I've been too busy to blog:) I did however knit, spin, garden etc... and I can show you a few results:</div>
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I made a blending board out of a piece of carding cloth and the bread board my son made as a woodwork project in school (the timber would be too soft to cut something on it, but it's perfect for the new job!) - the downside of this is that making rolags like these is addictive! once I start I can't stop and I work away until the fibre bag is empty! and just now I realised that I forgot to take a pic of the spun yarn... hopefully I'll be quicker with the next entry!</div>
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I didn't only spin the green rolags, I also finished the handdyed purple superwash, which I plied with a fine blue bamboo single yarn - and some leftover fine soy silk, when I ran out of blue... I started a cowl with it, because it is very soft and feels good on the skin. </div>
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I also spun a good skein each of red and green teeswater top, which had been hanging on the rack for a long time. didn't wash it yet though, but maybe my next blog entry could show you all the finished skeins I forgot here:) </div>
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and I hope that those berries are still on the shrub, when I need some colour for my christmas wreath! </div>
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our group project for the Connacht Textile Crafters was "houses" of any kind. I don't have much space to put purely decorative things up, so I decided to make something useful instead. I made a roll out of knit/felted gotland, which I lined with fabric to hold my crochet hooks. the roll is held together by a "roof" in green. to make it a bit prettier I added sea glas for roof windows. I embroidered some vines on and windows, added knitted curtains, a little bell with loop - and a silk fuchsia for decoration. the edge of the roll forms the "door" to the fairy cottage.</div>
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there were as many different houses as there were makers, everything from felt to zentangled paper houses. they will be put on show in the Museum of Country Life in Castlebar - I think in November/December, if I am not mistaken!</div>
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close-up of the crocheted fuchsia </div>
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of course I have to cave in and buy a few cross stitch magazines "shortly" before christmas - same story every year in september! this time there was a freebie of 3 mouse cards on it, perfect for my mouse-loving friend's christmas card. I will frame them all together into one card, because I doubt that I can find a ready-made fitting card for this odd size! I was very proud of myself to finish the first christmas card in september, but since then I didn't manage a single one - so maybe I should pull my head in and do a few more instead of boasting:) </div>
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I do have a good excuse though! I found the perfect pattern for my birthday gift of 5 gorgeous naturally dyed skeins of silk yarn (find more <a href="http://www.lustauffarben.de/" target="_blank">here)</a>. the pattern is called "<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/petal-cowl" target="_blank">petal cowl</a>" by Xandy Peters. the original uses a multi-coloured yarn, but of course you can use separate yarns - you just have to darn in a few more ends:) and I have to admit that a yarn with wool content might be easier to use, because the non-elastic silk yarn was a bit tight in places and the very unusual way of increasing (12 sts into 1!) would probably look a bit tidier in stretchy wool. I find the pattern really unusual, but not terribly difficult to knit once you get the idea behind it. the next pattern in that direction will be the "Foxpaws" (on ravelry) - but I haven't chosen a yarn for that yet. oh, and I used up the short lengths of silk by making two more petal cowls. the main colour is black and the "zing" silk is only used as an accent. and the cowls are smaller, close to the neck. </div>
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and before I start with the foxpaws I am going to knit the "<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/morvarch" target="_blank">morvarch</a>" shawl by Lucy Hague - which I would probably have finished by now, if I hadn't made a mistake at the beginning of the center! I blame the magic loop method (I know that I have a shorter 3.25 mm circ, but I haven't found it - yet...), which pulls the knitting together, so that I couldn't see the mistake. you can see 3 purl stitches, where there shouldn't be any! I debated whether to rip or not - but it was bang in the middle and I know I'd just stare at it every time I look at the shawl - so I pulled it all apart again.....</div>
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another project by the CTC was our 2nd postcard exchange. last time I knitted a piece in estonian lace; this time I wanted to do something different, so I dug out a piece of marbled cotton I made in a workshop years back and added some embroidery and beads. the back of course looks like a postcard, with lines for the address etc. - just in fabric. I called the pattern streamers, looks like a bit of fireworks to me.</div>
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and this is the card I received in exchange - totally different in style, just like the houses. this won't be used - I'll keep it myself as a memento of our exchange. </div>
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so you see, I haven't been lazy all that time. the garden is taking a bit of a back seat by now, most of the leaves have fallen and when the mornings are misty and damp, you can see the other "weavers and spinners" outside at work (see header). christmas is coming closer, so out come the needles, yarns and threads:) I need more christmas cards.....</div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-82532459422064720422014-08-19T11:08:00.001-07:002014-08-19T11:08:28.602-07:00it's getting autumnal...<div style="text-align: justify;">
even though the sun is out quite a lot, there is that autumnal feeling in the air, esp. early in the morning and in the evenings. it's cool (if not downright cold at night! funny, how 8 or 9 deg. C feel mild in spring, after the cold winter, but freezing in autumn, when we're used to summer temps), often windy and I could swear that the leaves of my jap. maple are turning colour already! on the other hand knitting or spinning are so much nicer, when the fibres or yarn don't stick to sweaty fingers:)</div>
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I am not complaining, I don't mind the cooler weather, esp. not, when I have to ride the bike into town or work in the garden. the only thing I could do without is cleaning my oven in the evenings, but I am not lighting a fire yet - a month or so still to come without ash and dust everywhere:) </div>
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I wanted to test knit a beret, so I needed some yarn. why is it that there's never the right yarn in my stash for a project, even though all my boxes are overflowing?:) I remembered that I still had pre-draft in grey wool/silk and when I dug through some of the boxes, out came a ball of handdyed, handspun soy silk. a fine single yarn that I used to ply the grey with. the colour changes are very muted, barely visible in the hat.</div>
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of course none of the guys was willing to model the beret - so I had to "blow" a balloon into service:) unfortunately the very round face doesn't do the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lavender-beret---english" target="_blank">design</a> justice - and my drawing skills aren't much to write home about either. but you'll get the drift....</div>
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the hat is worked in the round, but in hindsight I'd choose a smaller needle for the crown, because the pattern is a bit loose like that. and admittedly the yarn is rather soft for this style, so the beret is quite slouchy. with my non-existent hat face I looked like a baker's boy:) </div>
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but the yarn is very nice to wear, so I used it to make a collar out of it, it's called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/over-the-moon-collar" target="_blank">over the moon collar. </a>I think I am going to make one for myself as well - but I'll add at least one pattern repeat and maybe use a slightly thicker needle than for this. in the picture on ravelry the collar is much wider and longer and I'd prefer it to not meet in the middle, but buttoned over like the turquoise one from the pattern... </div>
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this is another lonely sock that was finally partnered:) I dyed the yellow with dyer's chamomile some time back and added the purple by hanging the undyed part into a pot with acid dye. where it met the yellow it turned into a browner purple - and knitted up it looks like a shadow behind a star. the first sock (on the left) had a lovely big yellow "star" on the front leg - but unfortunately I didn't manage to get the same done for no. 2:( which has a yellow blob on the back of the leg part - not at all star-shaped:) it's a straightforward sock, but I purled all stitches that were yellow on the needle (not on the foot of course, where I only purled on top). </div>
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well, that happens, but they fit and they're hidden under jeans most of the time anyway, so I didn't change the toes of the second one.... (oddly enough the 2nd one is slightly larger than the first. I think I must have changed the needles from one sock to the next, because the number of rows is the same)</div>
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lonely sock no. 3 is in the process of getting a partner:) no more sad singles in the basket - soon!</div>
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embroidering my felted star bowl was next on the list. I put on some silver lined beads as well as 4 little silver bells - looks very wizardlike now:) the kettle for making the magic brew....</div>
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it seems I have a thing for combining purple with yellow...</div>
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and I finally started hunting for a coat pattern for myself! yesterday it was all my old "verena" and interweave knits mags, today I browsed through the heap of vogue knitting issues. believe it or not, despite all of those, I didn't find a single pattern that I really liked:( same on ravelry! either they're too bulky, have a weird shape, are too short or too long or in a pattern that would be quite complicated to adjust. in the end I started to knit a gauge square in this pattern. it's a brioche type, but not the normal one - there are simple knit rows on every 4th row. I'll try it in 4 mm and maybe also in 3.75 - thinking that with the length of a coat the knitting might distort if knitted up on bigger needles. the idea is to knit a simple straight shape in this pattern. probably with inset sleeves to make it less bulky - and to add a wide rib to the front, plus collar.... a snuggle-upper coat:) </div>
Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6698697238692601738.post-39452239467866083822014-08-04T08:57:00.001-07:002014-08-04T08:57:29.444-07:00back to normal<div style="text-align: justify;">
after all the excitement of our trip - we're back home and back to normal as well. hm, nearly back to normal... our luggage went missing on our trip out and we're still waiting for the airline to do something about it (i.e. refunding our emergency shopping...). but other than that we're in summer holiday mode = taking it easy, where we can:) the weather isn't too bad either. after a few very muggy, uncomfortable days at the end of july we're back to our more "normal" summer weather: sunshine, showers, temps less than 20 deg. C and only light winds. I've become used to that kind of summer weather and the hot and windless weather in germany made me feel slightly suffocated and breathless (and sweaty:)....</div>
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luckily our luggage was brought to us later - luckily, because the flower hexies quilt was in it! never mind my clothes, I'd have gone crazy if all my work had gone lost! irreplaceable really, because nobody would pay a decent wage for craft projects like that if they did go missing! anyway, we got it back and the recipient seemed happy enough about her gift:) I will start another one soon, but not yet - I have to finish at least a few of the projects I started, but didn't finish because of all that hexiemania! first on the list are a few single socks that need partners in life! I finished a pair of socks on the trip or rather the second one of the pair after we came home:</div>
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they're nothing special, my normal socks really. I did start with double the amount of stitches as cast-on, because I wanted a wavy edge. I worked 1 k, 1 p and 1 k row, before I cast off half the stitches, ie. I k 4 sts, cast off 4 etc. the rest was plain stockinette, apart from one 3/1 cable, just to keep awake while knitting:) barely visible in the photo. the sock yarn was dyed by me last year during the dyeing demo in our textile group. I used gooddall's food dyes, which is astonishingly stable during the wash! no change whatsoever at 40 deg. C wash with normal washing powder! </div>
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the edge is wavy enough - but I should have turned the whole thing inside out, because the edge turns down slightly.</div>
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there are several other "singles" in the stash - one of them is the purple/yellow then "starry night", the mottled green "jungle leaves", the deluge etc... if I manage to keep at it, I should have several more pairs of finished socks in the box in 2 weeks time:) </div>
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during our trip we did a workshop about wet felting <a href="http://kreaktivwerkstatt.blogspot.de/2014/07/gefilztes-von-kurs-teilnehmerinnen-filz.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I knew the theory of wet felting, have done one flat "picture" and a few small felt balls. but I hadn't done a hat or bowl before. so that is what we did during our 3 hours, first a "star" felt bowl and then a small treasure stone. obviously everything purple in the photos is mine:) the plan is to adorn the bowl with a few tiny silver bells, a bit of celtic embroidery and maybe a few silver lined glass beads... material is at the ready - I just have to start:)</div>
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of course the garden turned into even more of a jungle during our absence. luckily we had some rain here during that time - (most) men aren't really to be trusted to water flower pots very well:) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStAuH5AxQr65UO5TWvMdmh9MC2MbFw0YGx511Sy9NouBthBgD1QtHAHcc5NSd4iOqrwkLuqxWHockQv_fwLItta0YxGyAS5q_-KCeUjZ45xJYxNPqjVLidGYcsMZKcg4IRd46q4GyD9I/s1600/bishop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStAuH5AxQr65UO5TWvMdmh9MC2MbFw0YGx511Sy9NouBthBgD1QtHAHcc5NSd4iOqrwkLuqxWHockQv_fwLItta0YxGyAS5q_-KCeUjZ45xJYxNPqjVLidGYcsMZKcg4IRd46q4GyD9I/s1600/bishop.JPG" height="265" width="320" /></a></div>
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this is the dahlia "bishop of llandaff" - with lovely red flowers and very dark reddish leaves. I love the simple blooms, which stand up much better to our wind and rain than the gigantic cactus dahlias, which need staking for every single bloom:( </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3inE6-fagJHYXL3idVC_izLLNUgW9UGcOvfNP5pLtiShbzfMg69EEuGjsZ0ujD0SNFsRyk-eJX1Mux8ILqojGi359VgiWkm8r2CRMbu6_20YUEBoCPPQb6min9dVtyi8B4I6MvscvYo/s1600/fuchsia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3inE6-fagJHYXL3idVC_izLLNUgW9UGcOvfNP5pLtiShbzfMg69EEuGjsZ0ujD0SNFsRyk-eJX1Mux8ILqojGi359VgiWkm8r2CRMbu6_20YUEBoCPPQb6min9dVtyi8B4I6MvscvYo/s1600/fuchsia.JPG" height="640" width="409" /></a></div>
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the fuchsia with the very small red-pink flowers is doing very well in the container, together with lovely lobelias (I couldn't find pure blue ones, there were only mixed palets on offer:(). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8M7GdYQMkXq8K2bbwWFcmB8j4I74mI8kHxsLO3Li0MH-iZMy3wTu_D9N_y7YjrHx1QmDLCtVrdiKASkHkCILrVrEFbMVFzpeD1dA_I2Wk1Kr5ASMTskWzZM0fNkQzlMvks3SsFYP3AYw/s1600/pelargonium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8M7GdYQMkXq8K2bbwWFcmB8j4I74mI8kHxsLO3Li0MH-iZMy3wTu_D9N_y7YjrHx1QmDLCtVrdiKASkHkCILrVrEFbMVFzpeD1dA_I2Wk1Kr5ASMTskWzZM0fNkQzlMvks3SsFYP3AYw/s1600/pelargonium.JPG" height="253" width="320" /></a></div>
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I forgot the name of this pelargonium, but I like the oddly shaped single flowers - and the bright pink/rose colour that really sparkles in the sunlight:) </div>
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my alltime favourite for containers and windowboxes is this though: sanvitalia procumbens. it's sold as an annual, but they survive the winter easily, as long as they are sheltered from hard frosts! one dose of fertilizer in spring and off they go. they seem to flower for months on end, never drop spent blooms and look so sunny and friendly, that I have to smile every time I look at them! like tiny little sunflowers.... did I write that before?:) </div>
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we also put up window boxes along the wall between coal shed and studio. I planted tagetes, sanvitalia, fuchsias and put in seeds of nasturtium, all of which are growing away nicely. but I also put in some wildflower seeds here and there - and very pretty they are! I love poppies, but there are never any wild ones around in the fields here. they go so well with cornflowers and corn-cockles... </div>
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and I also have some felt flowers for inside now:) the workshop during our last CTC meeting was about making a wreath with summer felt flowers. we wound chunky yarn around a polystyrene base and added flowers, made from felt and beads. thanks to our tutor <a href="http://subadesigns.com/" target="_blank">Susan Basler</a> we were able to use some lovely leftovers of her handmade felts, which gave the flowers a much nicer look than shopbought felt could have done. I only finished half of the flowers and had to do the rest at home.... I didn't sew or glue the flowers to the base, but used pins only. which means that I can re-decorate my wreath with autumn leaves, holly and berries for christmas etc... </div>
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btw - did you notice? only a bit more than 4 months to go - and it's christmas again! hard to believe with the sunshine and exuberant flowers outside... time to get the mind geared towards gift-making:) </div>
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Woolly Bitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961632742998726155noreply@blogger.com5