I love African baskets. I discovered them years ago at a craft show in which I was one of the vendors. Two booths down from mine was a man from Ghana selling hand woven baskets and I went home with two or three. Since then, I see them more often. I don't know if they have become more popular or if they are just on my personal radar, but they are beautiful and perfect for us yarn lovers.
In my home I have a studio which is a pet free zone, but when I dare to venture out into the rest of the house, I have two cats with whom to contend. They would like nothing better than to find an unattended basket and it would take them seconds to shred the yarn therein. As a result, every time I need to put a project down for a few minutes, I have to find a high perch or some place that is cat safe. One day last week I was thinking how nice it would be if one of my African baskets had a lid. That way I could easily take my projects anywhere and tuck them safely inside the basket when I needed to take a break.
Last night I set to work crocheting my new basket cover. The crocheting took no time at all and then I devised a way to attach my cover. I was pretty happy when I came up with my button and elastic joins. There are six spaced evenly around the basket and it's easy to open a couple and fold back the cover to gain access inside. When the cover is on, it can be used as a mini basket to hold other items you may need at hand. The cover can also billow up to stuff the basket full if so desired.
I know I haven't given all the details, but I'm thinking of writing it up as a pattern. It would be easy to adjust for any round basket and it's a fun little project. Before I sign off for today, I just wanted to share a great online store for purchasing African baskets. Their shipping is fast and the baskets come in great condition. It's called Baskets of Africa and they have a gorgeous selection of styles available. Wouldn't a basket stuffed with yarn and topped with a crocheted cover be a great gift idea? Hmm... maybe next Christmas.
Happy Festivus! A friend just wished me that in an email. My son had to remind me it was from Seinfeld. Poor George! I hope your holiday is going better than his did that year!
This is a busy time, but somehow I have a sense of calm this year. Have I finally grown up? Have I achieved a true state of mellow? I can only hope that it's not a one time anomaly. In the midst of the usual holiday milieu, I have been working on my latest creation and I'm about one free afternoon away from having the pattern complete.
I call this scarf Talkin' Revolution as a mixed homage to the time period that inspired me and the general annular nature of this 30" circular scarf. I was really playing off those swirly 70's textile designs and the whole modular thing. I began with the outer layer using hexagons as my building block and then yoked them together with curvy lines. I went with a classic chevron for the back layer, but it has an updated feel made from this gorgeous hand painted yarn by Manos Del Uruguay. The two layers are joined with a short latch hook style fringe which also takes me back to my youth.
In this photo, the sunshine and natural rock really bring out the earth tones and you can see the pink has a touch of flamingo. This is actually a challenging piece to photograph. I'm hoping I can find a model so you can see it on a human. After all, that's who I made it for! So that's what I've been up to and I admit I'm a little nervous about this one. Just because you get an idea in your head, doesn't mean it will appeal. Sometimes I sit back and look at my designs and think how quirky they are, but they also just make me happy.
In just a couple short hours, it will be Cyber Monday! This has become my favorite day to shop, but I can't forget that I also am a shop. Please enjoy 15% off your purchase at Wind Rose Fiber Studio using coupon code CYBERFIBER3. There's no minimum purchase required and you'll also receive an email with a coupon for 10% off your next purchase. Thank you so much for shopping at Wind Rose and have the happiest of holidays!
I've been blogging for a few years now, so "Welcome" seems like an odd name for a post. It's actually the name of the video I just made for my YouTube channel. In their recent updates, they have been spiffing things up by encouraging everyone to have a greeting video on their channel, so from me to you, welcome to Wind Rose Fiber Studio!
Early this year, I had a nice reader ask me if I would be writing a pattern for my Happy Christmas Hat. (I think I shared a photograph in a post once upon a time.) I promised her I would and that I would have it done in time for the holidays.
That promise has kind of haunted me this year. It's so easy to have our days and weeks fill with commitments and distractions. Now, with November here and Christmas right around the corner, I had to make good on my promise.
The great news is that this pattern is very quick and easy. You can have whimsical hats made for the whole family in no time! The pattern includes sizing for infants to adults as well as a choice between flowers or loopy pom-poms and a scalloped or straight brim.
The yarn for this hat is easy to find at the big craft stores like Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. I enjoy making this hat in Bernat's Soft Bouclé. I love the texture and that it blurs the stitches together. You can also use Bernat's Boucle for the brim, but in this version I used Sensations Beautiful. It's so fluffy! The pattern is for sale at a special holiday price. Right now you can buy it for just 99¢ on Etsy or on Ravelry. In both places it's available for instant download. This hat is super cute on babies and kids, but it's pretty fun to see it on Grandpa too! Happy Christmas everyone!
Today I am excited to share my new crochet pattern. Here's the Layers of Lace Wrap Around Scarf! I've been working on this pattern for quite a while now, so it feels great to have it completed and available both on Etsy and on Ravelry. As a side note, isn't Instant Download great? I love designing patterns, but I enjoy buying patterns just as much. There's nothing quite like the immediate gratification of purchasing a pattern, downloading it, and never having to leave your office chair. In fact, I went on to Ravelry today to upload my latest, and couldn't help purchasing a beautiful pattern from another designer.
This pattern came to me as I was designing another scarf. I was going to bundle it with my Free Falling Scarf, but then I decided it was unique and should have it's own billing. I got so excited about this one, that I haven't finished the Free Falling pattern yet. I guess I'm designing out of order, but when inspiration calls, you must answer! I have always loved the affect of layering. The Layers of Lace scarf uses two different yarn weights to take full advantage of the colors and open stitching. The lighter, lacy purple takes on a transparent quality allowing the darker layer to show through. I was thrilled with the way these purples and plums came together, but of course there are endless color possibilities. Right now I'm working on one in earth tones with blues and greys. I'll be sure to share that one when it's complete.
We have crossed the Spinzilla finish line. My final tally for the week: 3,136 yards!
I am ready to spend a day doing something other than spinning, but I had a great week. These events are so awesome because they remind me that there is an amazing community of spinners. It's easy to lose sight of that when you are the only one in your neighborhood with a wheel.
Just to recap the last two days, on day 6 I finished up my thick & thin Boots & Jeans. Then, because I had so much fun spinning that, I spun some more thick & thin using Merino rolags and South African top as my ply. It all made for a relaxing day.
On the final day I decided I would finally spin my remaining mountain of German milk sheep wool, all 21.7 ounces of it! I spun and spun and spun, and I swear it wasn't until the end of the day that the pile finally started to look smaller. I spent the last couple hours of Spinzilla spinning like a maniac trying to get it done. In the end, I finished all but about an ounce. I had to stop and weigh my spool for my official Spinzilla count. Then I put the spool back on and spun the rest of that wool! It felt so good to finally spin what was originally 36 oz of fiber!
What a week! I feel like I learned a couple things about my spinning self. First, I am not a production spinner. I am a spin for fun kind of girl. Second, I have a love/hate relationship with competition. I love that it motivates me to do more than I would ever normally do. I hate that it makes me worry that I am not doing enough and the fear that I may let my team down. Would I do it again? Yes, I think so. It was fun to submerge into my own world for a week. It's an indulgence that I don't typically allow myself. Some women go to the spa, but as for me, I'll take a week of fiber arts!
I thought I'd change things up and post in the morning. I haven't spun an ounce yet today, but I have taken a photo. Here's the yarn that I made from yesterday's fiber pic. I wish you could photograph softness because the most awesome thing about this yarn is how it feels. It also has fabulous drape. I only have 150 yards, but I will have to figure out something fun to do with them.
Time to pillage my studio for more fiber and get spinning!
The days are starting to blur into each other as Spinzilla week heads into the weekend. I'm walking around with with multicolored fibers clinging to my clothes and that's nothing compared to the bits of wool, silk, alpaca and yak all over my favorite spinning chair. I am living and breathing spinning and starting to feel a bit crazed. I look up from my wheel and it takes my eyes a minute to focus on the external, non-whorling world.
All madness aside, I feel like I'm only just beginning to get my mojo back. What this week has taught me is that I need to spin more regularly. I spent the beginning of the week feeling very rusty. for all of my hours at the wheel, I wasn't very excited about the yarn I was producing. Today I feel my old creativity and comfort coming back and it's such a relief. I raided my studio earlier today for this yellow Merino, black alpaca, and this super soft yak/silk blend. The resulting yarn is my favorite thus far. Tomorrow, when the sun returns, I'll share a picture. As for now, it's back to the wheel!
I just stopped spinning to wrap this niddy noddy full of yarn. The spool was starting to feel heavy on the wheel, so even though there was a little room left, I decided to go ahead and call it a skein.
I went outside to take advantage of the day's fading light for a photo. I was looking around for nice place to lay my yarn and decided on this bush. This is the first time I have photographed yarn on a bush, but I think it looks rather groovy.
This is a fat singles or my version of one at least. It's probably just a little heavier than a DK, but that's about as heavy as I like to work with living in a warm climate. I have 266 yards on this niddy noddy and enough rolags left to make a comparable skein, but I think I'm going to take a break from woolen spinning.
I received this gorgeous South African Top as an early registration gift from Team Louet. I'm thinking about making a nice thick and thin, nothing too bulky. I just want to show off this superfine wool.
I'm feeling a bit sleepy, but it's early yet, so I think I'll do just a little more spinning before I call it a night.
It's 5pm on Day 1 of Spinzilla and it's been a very pleasant day. It's rather rare that I devote myself completely to spinning. I tend to divide my time among many interests which means none of them get the attention they deserve. This week however, that is not the case. This week I am a spinning monster ascending the Empire State Building one yard at a time!
That last sentence would be more powerful if I had a picture of the Empire State Building, but I am a desert dweller. This is my spinning spot, so perhaps a diving analogy would have been more appropriate.
I actually began spinning last night at 9:00 because the event began at midnight EST. I know I wasn't alone. Scattered across North America, several hundred spinners were doing the exact same thing. The thought of so many spinners, sitting down with their wheels and spindles, all at the same time, is what makes this event so much fun.
What have I spun so far? Hey, thanks for asking! I started off spinning a Bluefaced Leicester and Tussah silk blend. After spinning 4oz of lace weight, I had to take a break. Now I'm working on this fat singles from a hatbox full of rolags I carded last week. This is Merino that I also dyed last week come to think of it. I mixed a little Firestar into each rolag to give it a hint of sparkle. It was very pretty to work with out in the sun by the pool.
Now it's time to take a break and feed my family. I'll probably spin a little more tonight, but I don't want to burn out on the first day. I'll be writing updates through the week. I wonder how many yards I'll manage to spin?
I'm sitting at my desk with my shirt front covered in wool, bamboo, silk and yak. I have spent the afternoon unpacking, photographing and listing luxurious fibers into Wind Rose Fiber Studio. I'm tired, but feeling rather contented. There's nothing like replenishing the studio with a variety of gorgeous top. I think my favorite of the day is this 50/50 Merino/Yak I have pictured here. I can already see myself raiding this fiber during Spinzilla. Oh, by the way, there's just four more days to register for this monster spinning event. I'm on Team Louet if you want to hang.
I added a few other fibers today too. There's a Merino/Bamboo/Silk which I like to call Merbamsi. Let's see, there's also some Bamboo Viscose, Baby Camel, Tussah Silk and Cultivated Silk Hankies. For the most part, I've linked to the 2oz portions, but you can find other quantities available in the shop. I guess that's all for my fiber roll call. Have a great night everybody!
