So..... long time, no type!

Some spinning that was sent out as a Christmas present - I loved this so much and was really happy with the yarn.
Corgi Hill Farm Merino/Bamboo/Silk in the Hummingbird colourway. It spun to about 12wpi and about 486m of 2ply.

More spinning - FatCatKnits Falkland fiber in Bucaroo. It came to about 8wpi and 169m of 2ply. It was my first time spinning more than just a sample of this type of fiber. It was enjoyable to spin and the yarn is lovely.

Some Corgi Hill Farm BFL/Silk in the Seahorse colourway. I must say that not only is this one of favourite blends (85/15), but I adore the colourway! The yarn is so pretty!!  About 10wpi and 217m of 2ply.

I then decided to weave the Bucaroo and Seahorse together - aiming for a length of fabric to make a cushion cover. I didn't have quite enough Bucaroo to get the length. But I also made a newbie weaving mistake thinking that the biggest reed was ok - it wasn't. This wasn't really made apparent until I had finished weaving though and took the cloth off the loom :( I had roughed up the falkland fiber too much and made it scratchy. Live and learn.

Before fulling.

So I fulled it in the washing machine, but went a little overboard which muddied up the Seahorse colouring - but it should be ok for next to neck wear now, once I get the ends all tidied up. One win was had though - I successfully hemstitched it :)

Over on Ravelry, I joined in a spin-along for a fractal spin. I like the results of fractals - in fact the Seahorse was spun in the same manner. I have(had) two braids of beautiful fiber from Corgi Hill Farm that I bought and then wondered what on earth I was going to do with them, as they were so bright! I knew this before I purchased, as they were described as such, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, they had been languishing a little in the stash, so I grabbed one for this challenge. I spun it fat-ish, about 10-11wpi and got 241m. It is still bright, but not as glaringly so. I am going to spin the other one to match and hopefully knit a shawl out of it - it would certainly chase away any winter blues!

 

I even squeezed a little bit of sewing in just before Christmas - I needed a new makeup bag, so I used a cute freebie pattern and up-sized it a bit and found some cute fabric in my stash! Perfect :)

Cheers!

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!