Ebony

Ebony

 Hand spun singles and roving.

 I've been busy spinning wool. This batch is from Ebony, a 2 year old Romney sheep. I love the rich dark brown colour. I'm spinning singles at the moment. The next step is to ply the yarn to make a 2ply. This was a 5.62 lb of fleece commercially washed and made into roving for me. I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance of a small processing mill.

The girls.

Hand Dyed vest

Hand Dyed Vest

Some of the dyed wool yarn from the last post. 

I've completed the back, left side, and I'm now knitting the right side.

 Using up hand dyed yarns.

   2ply wool from my Romney sheep.

Spinning and dyeing

 Hand dyeing using acid dyes.

This method of dyeing is done in a large pot where the wet wool is placed in the pot and the dye is sprinkled on top.  The yarn is a 2ply worsted weight, from my flock of sheep.

 Bishop's Dog Hair.

Dog hair and Merino Roving.

Bishop was the beloved dog of my daughter Kim. He passed away a couple of years ago from a brain tumor. He was an Australian Shepherd. 

While organizing my wool and craft room I came across some of his fur and have decided to spin it up and knit a keepsake for my daughter.

I'm not sure what to knit yet, I'll have to spin it all up to see how much yarn I get.

We miss you Bishop.

Spring Quilt Making

 First we start with a bag of scraps. This bag is one of many stashed away in my fibre nest.

Quilt # 1

 Then we proceed to my work station. I'm able to sew and use the iron to press after the addition of each fibre strip.

The stripped squares, after sewing and cutting. The squares are 8 x 8 inches across.

Quilt # 2

 This is going to be a four patch quilt, surrounded with cream boarders.

Quilt # 3

 And now to really drive myself crazy I'm making a quilt with one inch squares.

One inch squares.

Strips of fabric.

Strips on the ironing board waiting to be added to the various quilts. 

I never do one thing at a time, I always have several things on the go.  I figure my time is too precious to waste so I cram as much as I can into everyday.

Happy Quilting to all.

 

SPRING CLEANING

Cleared off all the shelves. Vacuumed,washed and reorganized everything. So much more to do.

Really I need another room.  NO - I need a studio.  I've made the mistake of buying a house with no studio space. As a result, I'm having to use one of the bedrooms as a sewing and storage room.

Do you think I have enough knitting needles????? 

 I must stop buying them and stay out of the thrift stores.

 I have two weaving looms set up in the living room. This is where I'm weaving and spinning for now.

The new shelving , storage units I purchased to try and organize myself.  Still have tons of wool to sort through, but it's a start, and the space is starting to come together.

 I have a habit of putting everything in a bag when I'm working on a knitting project. As a result, I'm having to go through every bag and sort out yarn and knitting needles. This has been so time consuming.

Not to mention how tired I am.

Spring is on it's way, I saw 12 robins the other day, and this makes my heart sing.

Happy Spring to everyone  :)

 

Hand Spun, Hand Woven Hearts

 Using up hand spun yarn is something I always do with great care. I treasure every bit of my hand spun yarn and always try to find ways to carefully put it to good use. This is the result of left over bits of yardage from a clothing garment I made and just couldn't waste.

IS IT SPRING YET ?

 Bear Angel

Well almost. Bear Angel is anxious for spring to arrive and so am I. We still have snow on the ground here in Ontario but I'm on the look out for robins as Zoe and I walk around the neighbourhood.