A few weeks ago I noticed that my header, the photo at the top of this blog, wasn't always loading. Sometimes it was there, and sometimes it wasn't. Today I decided it was time to stop procrastinating and do something about it. At first I was planning to recreate what I had before and then I changed my mind. I scrolled through my photos and found a skein of yarn I spun a couple years ago. There it was, colorful and sparkling in the sun, a very happy looking skein of yarn. After a little sizing and doctoring, I have my new header.
In the meantime, I'm still working on my Free Falling Scarf pattern. I keep coming up with more ideas. I think when all is said and done, it will be a pattern that comes with 3 variations of a similar scarf design and 5 different motif options. Here you can see that I am playing with leaves at the moment. It will more like a pattern bundle, really. I hope that people will enjoy the flexibility of being able to mix and match with motifs and colors that inspire them. I'm excited because my favorite patterns tend to be the ones that offer versatility like this. I hope I'll have it ready in a couple more weeks. I have one more pattern I've promised to write before the holidays this year, so I need to stay focused. Not my forte!
It's August. It's hot. It's muggy. It's also the time of year when I think about what I still want to accomplish. On the top of my list is pattern writing. I have a couple pieces that I have committed to making into patterns and I am happy to have started the process.
I am well on the way to completing my Free Falling Scarf Necklace. I just finished this version in blues and greys yesterday afternoon. Before publishing, I want to make up a couple more. I want to have pictures with only five flowers rather than seven and I also want to design two more motifs to show how the scarf can be personalized to different styles and tastes.
For example, this Hyperbolic Mobius Motif will also be included on the pattern. I thought an abstract, three-dimensional shape would be fun. I haven't quite decided what the third motif will be. Perhaps something tubular, or geometric. I just want to show a few choices. I think most crocheters have favorite leaves, flowers and other basic shapes. I'm hoping they will enjoy embellishing this design.
This scarf reflects my new focus on lightweight accessories. I love the idea of wearing fiber pieces like jewelry no matter what the season!
This afternoon I found myself dressed and ready for a happy hour event with time to spare. There I was with a whole hour an nothing to do. I sat down at the computer and realized that this would be a good time to finally get back to my blog!
I've taken such a long break from blogging that I was stumped as to how to make my comeback. Four months have gone by. How could I possibly make up for four months? Then that Crowded House song popped into my head, "Four Seasons In One Day". I jumped into iPhoto and grabbed pictures from the last four months.
Here I am with four months worth of fiber arts in one day. Since my last post I have traveled to Alberobello, Italy where I found a counter balance loom on display in the Trullo Sovrano. I made scarves that I wore through the grottos of Grottaglie. In the spring, I entertained myself by making other people's patterns like the sleeveless vest in the upper left hand corner from PartPixyDesigns.
I also indulged in a few Doris Chan innovations. I wore the cute, lacy black sweater over a tank top while in Stockholm, Sweden. I savored castles and countryside in this beautiful place and also discovered some fiber folk art, but I'll save that for another post.
I've also been spinning and I have my first skeins of German Milchschafe prepared. I used the Navajo ply on these and I enjoyed refreshing my muscle memory on this technique that I have not used in some time.
There it is. My last four months, not in great detail, but it feels good to finally post something on my beloved blog. If you like details, my facebook page tends to be more up to date. Until next time... which will be less than four months...
I was about to jump on Facebook to share my latest project when I stopped myself. I really must stop neglecting my blog. I'm getting so lazy!
I now have four knitting projects in the works. I'm pushing myself to become a confident knitter. It's rather amazing to go on Ravelry and look up free knitting patterns. What a world! This my latest and I'm enjoying this pattern so much. I love the look of it and the stitches have a fun rhythm. It's called the Lava Lace Scarf by Evelyn A. Clark if you want to look it up. Mine looks a little less open as I am using a DK weight rather than a lace weight yarn.
This is the first time I've used TOSH DK by MADELINETOSH hand dyed yarns. It's 100% superwash Merino and comes in a nice 225 yard skein. This colorway is called Ophelia which I think it a pretty cool name for yarn.
The scarf itself is a short neck scarf that ties in the front. The shape is basically a trapezoid which I find to be a clever way of shaping. I also like the edging. Each row begins with a yarn over creating a pretty open loop edge. I'm sure with every comment I reveal myself to be the novice knitter than I am, but that's part of the charm of learning something new. Everything seems interesting and even the simple things delight!
Blogs are a wonderful form of procrastination. I have company coming tomorrow and I really should be tidying mi casa, but here I am blogging. ¡Lo siento casa!
Earlier today, the sun was my excuse for not doing chores. It is freakishly gorgeous here in the Phoenix valley. It's almost 80ยบ, breezy with wispy clouds dancing across the blue. How can one be expected to make a bed on a day like today? I grabbed my knitting and went out to cop a squat in the middle of my grassy backyard. My cat, who is also a sun worshiper, followed me and the two of us soaked up the sun together.
This ribbon is a painted, 3/4" nylon fiber with gold thread running through. It's so pretty out in the sun where the light sparkles off the thread illuminating the colors. The dropped stitches are forming these fabulous bubbles and I love the way the colors are moving across the piece. Sometimes it's hard to know how variegated fibers will turn out. A slightly different width and I could have a scarf where the colors are split down the middle. I like this so much more. It's like they are traveling in waves to compliment the pattern.
I should tell you what ribbon I'm using. The truth is I pulled it from my stash and I had already removed the label. I believe it is Segue Yarn in the color Peacock. I linked to the free pattern in my post entitled Knitting Waves. Okay, I guess I can't avoid my house any longer. I hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday!
I'm getting a little sleepy, but I thought I'd pop on and show you my dyed infinity scarf. I was planning to make the teal and pewter colors darker, but then as I was dyeing, I decided to go with a more muted look. I literally had all of the colors painted and in place and then I poured a couple cups of water right over them, my own version of white washing. I like that the colors look weathered as though this is an old favorite scarf rather than a newly knitted one. It seems a little summery, like something you would throw on for a walk on the beach one cool morning.
I've started working up this same pattern in a painted, wide nylon ribbon. The look is completely different, sort of whimsical and fun. I want to get a few more rows done and then I'll share. As for now, I wish you a good night!
A novice knitter, I experience waves of enthusiasm toward the craft in which I immerse myself utterly. Then, at some point, I get frustrated and go rushing back to crochet. At the moment, I'm playing in the waves again. I would love to be as comfortable knitting as I am crocheting, so to keep myself inspired, I've been on the lookout for fun little projects.
I happen to be on Facebook last night when a page I follow posted Spinning Daily's Free eBook offer. The book includes five free scarf patterns, so I thought, why not? Among the designs was a wavy scarf pattern. I've seen similar ones and have always liked the look. Plus, I have this chunky thick and thin yarn that I spun and I've been wanting a pattern that would show it off. Inspired, I grabbed my size 9 needles and set to work.
I probably shouldn't admit this, but I struggled with the yarn overs at first. Basically, I was trying to wrap the wrong needle. After scratching my noggin' for a few minutes, I realized my error. After that, it was easy to yarn over along one row and drop the stitches on the next. Actually, it was more than easy, it was fun. I have to say, this little scarf is the most fun I've had knitting so far. The pattern was easy and the resulting waves and bubbles so satisfying, that I was a happy little knitter last night. I woke up anxious to finish off my skein this morning. I had just enough yarn to make a short infinity scarf.
I spun the yarn out of a wool/silk blend. It feels so cozy, that I started to fantasized about making an entire afghan. That would be a lot of spinning! For now, I'm going to focus on giving my scarf a little color. I have it soaking at this very moment. Instead of just one color, I thought it could be fun to dye stripes that run the length of the piece. I'm thinking 3 colors with the outer stripes being wider than the center. Committing to colors is hard. Right now I have teal, chartreuse and pewter on the brain. I like the idea of a thin band of chartreuse separating the darker colors.
Can you picture it? The top half would be teal, the bottom pewter with just a thin line of chartreuse. What? How can you be silent at a time like this? Color choice is critical you know! Okay, this is me, walking away to dye my scarf... I'm going now... really I am...
For the last six weeks I've been taking care of the rather boring, business end of having a small fiber shop. I've played accountant, I've ordered supplies, I've replenished my inventory. Now, at last, I can return to the fun stuff.
I started off today by dyeing a little Firestar. I haven't done much dyeing recently and Firestar is a nylon that takes dye with ease. Basically, it was just something fun to do to get my mojo back. I'm not superstitious, but when it comes to dyeing, a working mojo is important. Otherwise you may become absent minded and neglect your wool. Even worse, you may overcompensate and agitate your wool too much. Neither of these scenarios produces a nice finished product.
*Note: Tongue in Cheek :D
After I finished painting my Firestar, which dried in about an hour on this blustery day, I was still itching to do more. I remembered the planed wood pieces I have stored in a closet. My brother is a carpenter and he offered to rescue some wood shavings for me. This was very nice of him as I am sure he generally does not sort his wood waste by type.
I've dyed with wood before, but never with large shavings like these. I decided to pack them into a jar and cover them with water. I'll wait for about a week and see how much color I've extracted. Right now I have one jar of Dark Walnut and one of Honduras Mahogany. The different types of wood looked so pretty to me, that I filled a bowl with them and set it out as a centerpiece.
I think the colors of the wood will be soft and pretty, but I felt the need to do a third jar with something more vibrant. I grabbed a bag of dried peppermint that I keep for making Tea. Then I decided to add even more green and went out to my garden. I picked a couple of lemon leaves off my lemon tree and cut a handful of parsely. Parsley, mint with a touch of lemon seemed like a nice idea. I covered my greens and mint with water and will let that steep too.
So now I wait. In the meantime I can mordant my wool and get ready. I'm contemplating an entirely cool dye method this time. I usually use heat when dyeing, so I think it will be interesting to try something new. I'll keep you posted!
Since last week, I've been busy loading up my shop with all sorts of lovely fibers. I seem to be particularly drawn to the silk blends. They are just so soft and pretty and of course silky. I love the quality silk adds to everything!
If you would like to take a look at all of the new fibers, here are their links. I'm going to link you to the 2oz sizes, but if you visit the shop, you'll find other amounts available as well. So here goes: Black Alpaca/Cultivated Silk 80/20, Fawn Alpaca/Tussah Silk 70/30, Mixed Bluefaced Leicester, Cultivated Silk, Fawn Alpaca, and Baby Camel/Tussah Silk 50/50.
Not all of these fibers are new to Wind Rose, but they are all newly replenished with plenty of gorgeous ounces waiting for good homes!
I managed to make a little progress today and as a result I have two new products to share with you. I've added Polwarth Wool Top to my inventory this year. Polwarth is a lovely breed of sheep that was developed from a stock of 75% Merino and 25% Lincoln sheep. The result is a fine, 23 micron wool with a longer staple length.
I'm also very excited to introduce Angora Rabbit Top. I love Angora. It's like spinning a cloud! It's a superfine luxury top (11-13 Micron), with a staple of about 2.5 inches. If you've never tried it, you can buy just 1oz to experience this gorgeous fiber.
