Sunday tease

I’m currently knitting this out of 100% multiple handspun yarns. I’m loving it ❤💛💜❤ It’s a simple pattern that allows for an intuitive colour play with yarn. I’ll share more when it’s complete 😆🌹🌻🌼❤🌼

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Happy 😊 New Year

I don’t do New Year resolutions.  I do have a three goals for the whole of 2018 though…

1. Refrain from buying any 100% acrylic yarn. One exemption is if people give me their unwanted yarn.

2. I have lots of acrylic in my yarn collection and I’d like to use most of it up through this year. I need to get weaving! You haven’t seen the size of my stash , ahem, collection 🙂

3. I want to make all my gifts for next Christmas yarny items.

This is doable but I don’t want it to cause unnecessary stress or pressure.

My ultimate aim is to have yarn collection made from natural fibres. I won’t exclude man-made fibres all together because they do have their merits, e.g. nylon in a woollen yarn creates a more resilient sock.

I have been thinking this through for some time now. I have to try.

 

Sock #1

I’m really pleased with the progress on my first ever sock. Working from the top down I am now beyond the heel heading for the toes. Get me!!

Using 4 ply and 2.5mm dpn’s (double pointed needles).

 

Current projects

In the late 1990’s I went with a friend to a Spin-in in Wellington, NZ. While there someone gave a small group of us a workshop on how to turn a heel when knitting a sock. Ahem… Last night I cast on my first ever sock! I’m using Drops Fabel in the 340 colourway and this pattern…

I have this shawl on the go as well. I’m using my handspun blend of alpaca/merino/silk that I bought at StitchFest from Fleece Witch  I’m using a pattern recommended by another blogger, (I’m so sorry, I forget who), from Ravelry. The Melodia pattern can be found here.

I’ve just finished spinning the baby alpaca fleece, also from Fleece Witch. It took a long time as it spun so finely. I have 200 grams that has spun into  1339 metres of plied yarn! Wowsers! It looks like a lace weight yarn but I’ve yet to knit a sample. It is super soft, lustrous and absolutely yummy to spin. My plan is to use some of it as a weft in weaving a shawl.

On the wheel I’m now spinning a white merino/nylon mix that I got for a good price from John Arbon .

There’s other creative delights going on or waiting to be completed but they can be for another time.

Thanks for visiting  😚💛💜💚💙

A confession, a book and a doll

I have a thing about dolls. I still have many of the dolls from my sixties childhood. They are hidden away. I’ve kind of felt ashamed about my doll love affair. It’s childish. I thought people would think me childish. Yes I am childish in many ways, after all, being child-like is an autistic trait. But. The new, no, …the real me… is gradually appearing and taking over and conquering the fears of the person I thought I was.

So, I’m coming out. And, my dolls should come out of the closet too.

I need to find a glass fronted antique style cabinet to display them. This is important as our home has two fires and sooty dust is a fact of life.

A year ago, before my shoulder became fully frozen I was completing a lot of jigsaw puzzles and this was one of them…

This jigsaw helped me re-identify with my authentic doll loving self. As a child my mum encouraged me to play with my dolls. I didn’t know how. But i did love to look at them. I liked collecting them. (During my teenage years I found all my dolls under the house and in the refuse bin. They were rescued and hidden away!)

Wind forward a year later too late November 2017 when I bought this book…

And inside I found the pattern for this doll that I completed last week…

I made her with my handspun yarn and she’s stuffed with fleece, yarn ends and a bit of poly fill.

My dolls are still in the closet. It’s time to get them out.

Crochet & Knit Christmas🎄 Giving 🎁

These are the items I’ve made thus far. Apart from the beanie I haven’t used a pattern. I definitely need to up my skills a level. I kind of got stuck in an autistic rut of producing one thing after another. It’s ok though and I shouldn’t be too hard on myself.

I’ve happily been using my handspun which falls somewhere between 4 ply and double knit weight; it all depends on the fibre really. This means patterns often need tweaking.

The first picture is a few items using commercial yarn… two pairs of hand mitts and a dishcloth. I really dislike the dishcloth craft yarn with all its stringy little hangy bits. I gave up trying to crochet with it as I couldn’t see the stitches and resorted to knitting it. It’s also tough on my hands and wrists. I bought them when they were reduced in price but wish I hadn’t.

From here on all yarn is handspun. The next are a pair of leg warmers…

A beanie and matching mitts…

And several more pairs of mitts…

Hmm… I’m planning on gifting myself the leg warmers 😊

We have family visiting on Saturday. They are likely not able to visit again until well into the new year so I have plans to hang the Christmas tree and do a bit of decorating to excite the grandchildren 👷 👧

Wishing you a day of contentedness wherever you are and lots of love from me

💚💜💙💛❤💚💜💙💛❤💜💙💛💚❤💜💚💛💙❤💜💚💛💙

 

A yarny update

Hello lovely followers and visitors 👋

I continue with crafty business and today I bring you a few pictures.

Your memory is probably heaps better than mine but if you are like me then this next image is a reminder of what it looked like when I first brought this yummy fibre home from StitchFest… bottom middle left…

It’s an alpaca/merino/silk blend from Fleece Witch. It was very slightly felted in places which caused my fingers and thumbs to strain a bit; something that I try to avoid due to arthritis. It’s a beautiful yarn and I’m very pleased with it. From 100 grams I managed to spin a plied yarn of 515.80 metres with about 18 wraps per inch. I think I shall use it as a weft yarn to weave a shawl.

Currently on the wheel I am spinning baby alpaca (bottom left in photo above). It is sheer bliss to spin. I have 200 grams of it, enough I hope to knit or crochet or weave a shawl.

I’m surprised I’m still spinning so much. I’m a ‘seasonal’ artist/crafter so usually I would have moved on to something else by now. Maybe it’s because I’m also weaving, crocheting and knitting a bit which is keeping my spinning drive going.

Yesterday I knitted a couple of Bekki’s Christmas sacks from her newly released pattern book. I haven’t knitted in fair-isle or intarsia for years so I’m very pleased my brain is now able to engage with a pattern. The two patterns I’ve followed this far are well written and easy to follow.

I plan to knit more 😁 😍👌💕👏😤 Aren’t they cute?

If you are interested you can find out more at https://thedartmooryarncompany.com/?s=Pattern

I think that’s all for now.

Sending love and wishing you all a happy day/ evening/night wherever you are in the world

🌎🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇳🇿 🇦🇺 🇫🇷 🇨🇦 🇭🇺 🇪🇬 🇷🇺 🇧🇪