Friday, December 27, 2013

2013 almost over!

Hard to believe that 2013 is almost over. The year has gone by really fast. A lot has happened...some good and some not so good. Right now I am recovering from a knee replacement. I have been pulling out yarn and patterns trying to come up with some new ideas for the shop. Of course I had big plans for projects while I am off but you know how that goes. I did make a few Christmas gifts. Have not done that in a while. I need to get back to that. It makes me feel good to give something I have made with my own hands. I am also taking time to update by blog and website as well as research how I can make the shop presence more apparent on Ravelry. I will be placing ads on there in the future that list the types of yarns and other items that we sell in the shop. We have so many beautiful yarns with gorgeous colors that it makes me dizzy sometimes when I walk in!!
I have been doing more crocheting recently. It has been a nice change of pace. Here is a scarf that I did in many different types of yarns. It was very easy to make.

 
 

 
 

Sunday, August 4, 2013

August already!

Hello Fiber Friends!

Can it be that August is here already? Where has this summer gone? It seems like only yesterday we were in Gettysburg for the 150th Anniversary re-enactment. I went with my husband and his family. We were the re-enactors. What an awesome experience. It was something to talk about for a long time. Here we are in our outfits at the 154th NY volunteer Inf. memorial
We aren't really grumpy...it was very hot!!!
So what else have I been up to? Well I have been knitting a lot. I got hooked on Noro yarn and have quite a bit of it in the shop! Here is a project I just finished using Taiyo.

I also started Nuno Felting. I really love it. Of course I love anything related to fiber :-) I did a class at the shop and it was a good time. The ladies all made their own scarves. They did an awesome job. I plan on making more smaller art pieces for an upcoming show. Here is a scarf I really love:
School is just around the corner. I don't know yet what this year will bring. I need to have a knee replacement so will have to fit that in somewhere. Life sure does take some unusual turns. But for now I will just keep on making ART and enjoying the process!


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Pink Hand spun Hat


Finally I am posting the picture of the hat I made with the art batt I showed you several weeks ago. I spun the yarn in a fairly constant chunky. They used a P crochet hook to make this cute little hat. I love crocheting with the chunky yarn. It goes very fast! Fun, Fun, Fun! Now I need to card up another really crazy batt to make another hat and maybe a scarf with it.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Fishy...Fishy...fishy....

I have been playing around with needlefelting again. In this picture I used a piece of my hand-made felt that I dyed. I needlefelted some yarn onto it. I also bonded some angelina fibers together with the iron and then needlefelted them on to my underwater scene. For fun I like to use metalic threads and the fancy stitches on my sewing machine. The result is a  new piece of art! Some days it is fun just to play and say..."What if?...

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Doggie Bootie

I have digressed from my usual projects. Our dog Teddy has a sore on his front paw. It is on the pad...kinda like a brush burn. The vet said there is no infection but he is walking on it like we would in our bare feet. So I needed to get him a doggie bootie. My husband asked "Can't you make one?" Well...I said...probably. So off to the internet I went in search of a pattern. Well....there are lots of patterns, as one would expect from the internet. The first one was sewn and make out of felt. It was fair but having a hard time staying on. It didn't help that our other dog, Ebby, a black lab, kept untying it and trying to pull it off. It was drying on the register one day and she took it and chewed it up. so I made another one...it was too long and I had to modify it. IT works fair.  I decided to crochet him one. It is OK....I need to modify it somewhat. Here are some pictures of him in his COOL boot.....However, he does not think it is cool!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Crazy week


The weather this week has been a bear and driving a real challenge. I started out to Erie on Tuesday but did not make it. I could not see anything so turned around and went home. The next days were awful for driving and that stresses me out a lot! So not much has happened in my goal of finishing projects as I wasexhausted when I got home. I put my feet up in front of the fireplace and "thawed out" for the evening!
 I did get all of the fiber spun that I showed you last time. I am eager to start the hat but have been working on knitting a hat from one of the crazy batts. I am using double pointed needles and 4 of them. I am used to using three but having to work around 4 has been a bit different. I am at the point of shaping the crown so hope to get it done soon! It's taking me a bit longer because as I go, if yarn is too thick, I draft it out if I can. I am able to do that because I have lightly spun the original strand and not plyed it with anything else. This batt had more "crazy" stuff in it....I really love it.

Well off to create!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Weekend scarf done!

Here it is! I think it can be done in a week end but it did take me longer. It went really fast with the larger size needles. It did not come out to 88" long. I thought maybe I spun it too thick but then decided to weigh it. My one pound batt turned out to be just under 130z. However, it is so bulky that I don't think it really needs to be much longer. It has some flexibility and can stretch out a little to make it more narrow. Overall I am please with it and it was a great way to use up a lot of fiber at one time!

NEW PROJECT !!!
Now I am onto another project. I was at home and didn't feel like going over to the studio to get some fiber. I was in the mood to spin some more. So I looked around my sewing room. Surely I must have some fiber somewhere in here that I can use! Well, of course I found some batts I had ordered from a gal in Oregon. She makes art batts and calls herself Hanks in the Hood....she lives near Mt. Hood.Check out her etsy store http://www.etsy.com/shop/hanksinthehood . I had 4-3oz batts just waiting to be spun up. I am spinning another single bulky as I want to make another hat. This time with a brim.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Week-end project...I think!

I have my yarn all spun for my one pound scarf. It is a relatively loosely spun single that I carried along a strand of gold glitter. Some parts got really too thick but I am going to go with it anyway. I feel that the scarf will not be as long as pattern indicates but that is OK. I am not using the right size needles either! I will be using size 17 needle. The pattern also said to cast on 10 stitches but that looks to be too narrow with the size 17 needles. So I am going to start over and cast on 12. Then you K1, P1, K1 across every row until the end. So will start that tonight and work on it while watching TV with my hubby. I am sure this is a weekend project.

For those wondering....I have not abandoned my vest. I am still searching for the right pattern. I had one picked out but on second thought I really did not like it. So will keep searching!

Happy Creating,
Anita

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Machine needlefelting


To make needlefelting easier for large pieces I use my embellisher form Babylock. I have one with 12 needles. I can adjust how many needles I want to use at a time. To do the large pieces that I a working on for my vests I use all 12 needles. It is so fast! I am amazed at how quickly I can lay down fiber on a piece of stabilizer. The stabilizer I am using is Vileen. It is washable in either cold or warm water depending on what you are using the fabric for. In the case of my vest pieces I rinsed them with a little bit of dawn dish soap and warm water. The stabilizer came right out and it does not leave a sticky residue. The pieces I did last weekend are now ready for construction.

I had to break my second rule and purchase some outside materials. In all of my stash I did not have any lining fabric for the vest. I could have used some silk, but also I did not have a color I could make work. So I did purchase some lining and fusible interfacing. I will have enough now to complete another garment.

Next step, cut out the pieces and see how it all sews together!

Happy Creating!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Chunky Hat


It took a bit of doing but I finally managed to make my 58yds stretch to complete this hat. It did not take long to make. I used a size N crochet hook. I am finding out though, that I need to make my thick parts of the yarn a little thinner. It would be a little easier to crochet for this type of project and also easier on my hands. I really had to work in some places. But it was lots of fun and I have completed my first blog project!

Next up is a vest out of some fiber I felted. It was already dyed when I bought the batt so I used my needlefelting machine to felt onto Vilene. It is a washable stabilizer. All the pieces are ready to go now to finish the design.

Also I am spinning another thick and thin yarn for a scarf. More on that later.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

First project of the new year...Crazy Batts!

It took some time, with all the choices I had at my fingertips, but I finally decided on my first project. I had carded some "crazy batts" earlier in the week. These are batts that are like making Dad's stew! This was a time when we were kids that Dad would take all the left overs from the fridge and  make a soup. If you really thought about it, it should be disgusting but somehow Dad put his magic on it and we loved it! Well for the Crazy batts I start out with some base material. In this case I had a Finn batt leftover from wet felting. I make a fiber sandwich by putting a layer of the wool down first. Then I added the fixings which were other colors of wool, angelina fibers, bits of sari silk threads. Then I put another layer of the wool on top. I ran this through my carder. I let it go through without disturbing my bits too much. Then I spun a thick and thin single letting the bits and chunks come out as they want. What fun!

So I what to do? It had to be something small as I only had 58yds of yarn. A cap or beanie type hat would work up nicely. I am going to crochet it. I like to crochet with this bulky yarn better then knitting it.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well the new year is here. Where did the time go! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. I know I did. I have even had time to work in my studio. I carded some crazy batts and spun them up. It was such fun to just go crazy. I am going to make a hat out of it. Will post a picture when I get it done.

I have decided that I have WAY too much stuff! Does that sound familar? So I am going on a journey this year and will be sharing it with you. I am going to spend the year finishing things. This can be in the form of projects that I have started and want to finish or it can be projects I start out of yarn, fiber, fabric, etc that I already have. I can not take new product from the shop unless it is for a sample for the shop. Everything I need to finish the item must come from the studio :-) I will be writing about my adventures in my studio as I go along. I am really excited about this. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time.

So off I go to the studio to pick out my first project. More tomorrow on it. Happy Creating!