Just a Little Bit of Crafting

There hasn't been much crafting going on - a few little bits that I can't share just yet, after Christmas I can.
But I was feeling the urge to sew. The sewing I had got around to doing lately was hemming pants - urgh!!

I decided I needed a new little black bag for going out. And what better way to start than shopping the stash :) So I found the perfect fabric and then a pattern - the Pleated Wristlet from Michellepatterns. After printing my pattern, I set to cutting the pieces. Except that I couldn't get the pieces to be the correct shape! The fabric I had chosen was too slippery and kept moving :( I hauled out the heavy duty interfacing I was planning to use and cut my pieces from that and ironed them onto the fabric before cutting them out - much better! I was a little skeptical about the fabric, as it was a drapey dress fabric, but it turned out beautifully.

I added a little pocket on the inside of the bag and didn't add the wadding or quilt the lining.

I used a heavy-ish cotton with a light interfacing for the lining. Then I just had to find a zip from the bag of reclaimed ones I have kicking around.... The pattern called for an O-ring, though I only had a D-ring, so that is what I used.

Such a great pattern and I love the end result.


I also managed to finish a spinning project that I started way back in May!

I took some Rambo in 2 colourways from Corgi Hill Farm and blended it with Tussah Silk, also from CHF, to make these gorgeous batts.

It spun up into ~9wpi and ~785m of soft, squishy yarn :)

Cheers!

Oh Dear!

Oh Dear! indeed. This is what DD has been saying quite a lot lately. If she forgets something it is "Oh dear!" If she just feels like saying something at the tea table, it is "Oh dear!"

Just like I have realised that I haven't blogged in months - oh dear! I have still been crafty, life has still been ticking along, though it seems to have sped up lately, what with it now already being half way through September!!

Oh the crafty front - I happened to have had a birthday in the middle there, when I wasn't blogging - it brought some wonderful gifts :)

My DH made me a cedar lined box/chest to store my knitted lovelies in - and it smells so heavenly every time I open it up.

I also got a set of Valkyrie Extra Fine Wool Combs - they look nasty, but are so much fun! Hand combed top it just a joy to spin - much like handspun is to knit with really :)

Some knitting fell off the needles over the last few months (though there is probably more projects still on the needles than ones that have managed to be finished!) There is also a few spinning projects unblogged for now - maybe I will round them up at some point and share....

Some fingerless mitts for me - they are slightly too wide so I may attempt to full them a little bit to shrink them.

A beanie for DH - which is said to be very warm!

A cowl for me, which I was quite surprised with - I had never quite understood the joy of them, until I made this one. It is great for work as it keeps my neck warm, but there are no stray ends to get dragged through paint or glue.

A pair of mittens for DS, out of boring commercial yarn as he wasn't happy with any of the handspun on offer.

And in between all of that we had a lovely family holiday down in Margaret River (in the middle of winter - plenty of time to wear the lovely handknits) and it was cold and wet and we had a ball! Stayed in a lovely little cottage with a wood fire. We visited all the major caves and went to the lighthouse. Never in my life have I climbed so many steps as in those few days!

Cheers!

Playing Catchup

I can finally say that my study is finished :) I am just waiting on one final mark for my last assignment and that is the end of it! So these are a few of the things I have done in between all study.

A play with my drum carder

All merino fleece from shearing at Dad & Mum's farm in October last year. It is all very soft, but I learnt that I need to wash it more before trying to card, as it is still a bit sticky with lanolin.

This is a merino x south suffolk (by the feel of it) from the one and only chocolate sheep on the farm. It is an interesting fleece - soft-ish but with a crisp springy-ness to it. It would be really nice as an outer jacket/jumper. Only problem is, is that there is sooooo much VM in it, that it takes a fair bit of prep before I can even wash it (though really, not anymore than the merino, so maybe I can stop procrastinating and just do it all??)

Some Organic Polwarth/Silk from CHF. Spun into a nice soft worsted weight yarn. I have knitted a pair of mittens for DD and plan to do a simple matching beanie.

That is where I will leave it for now - I have more spinning, but will share it another day :)

Cheers!

What a Beauty!

I bought a Matchless! After reading and reading everything I could about these wheels, I decided that it was exactly what I wanted - my dream wheel. It made its way across the ocean from Copper Moose in Vermont and arrived safely a few days before the school holidays finished lol I had a day or two playing with it before I was back at work and the kids were at school. It is a fantastic partner for the Traveller.

I haven't had much time to spin since she arrived, but I did put this on the wheel straight away and spun it as a 3ply.

It is ~8-9wpi and 187m. There is 19m of leftover chain ply at the same wpi. Fiber is BFL/Silk (75/25) from Corgi Hill Farm.

Cheers!

Crikey!

I have just realised that I haven't even blogged once this year, and we are already close to the middle of March!

Excuse = lots of family/work/study time. I have been spinning though, so I shall go and dig up some photos to share to give you something pretty to look at.

A sample of 15 micron merino from Corgi Hill Farm - so pretty and soft.

And I just remembered I had something wonderful to share - so I will have to come back and post at a later date :)

Cheers!