Quilt Tops, First Skein and Rabbits

I finished piecing the Four in Four quilt top,

now I have two quilt tops to quilt - I just need to get batting and backing.

I also finished spinning the first skein of yarn for the sweater. Almost 200g, over 350m, of about DK weight wool. I don't think it is quite so bright in real life.

I am working on the second skein.

After all that cold weather and wind, it was 'balmy' -5℃ today, with no wind - our oldest son was happy to be able to go for a ride.

The rabbits entertained us this evening-

It started out peaceful.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.♥

Fibre Fun

I dyed all 900g of Merino fibre for another attempt at knitting a sweater. I am really pleased how the colours came out. I have decided that I want to work with larger skeins of yarn for this attempt, so have decided to ply two different colours together to make a ~200g skein.

The next photos are the colour combinations-

I started spinning the first skein -

The fibre is 100% Merino wool from Ashford Fibre in New Zealand. I bought it from Fibre Detours (a Canadian online store).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Gradient Scarf

This was such a fun, quick knit. The pattern is Mustardseed by Boo Knits.

I have made lots of her patterns and they are just addictive a joy to knit - surprisingly easy, with enough variety to keep things interesting. Knitting with hand spun always keeps things interesting too.

I spun the yarn with this fibre (that I also dyed) - it is 70% Merino and 30% Silk, Bare Gloss Roving from Knit Picks.

The yarn came out to about a fingering weight. I used just over half of the 85g skein.

It blocked out to be about 1.5m long and .25m wide (about 10"x60") - a nice size for a little scarf. I made it smaller than the pattern by omitting one of the repeats of chart 2.

In this photo you can see that I have to work on my gradient dyeing skills - it is a bit 'stripey', but I like the red edging.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Dyeing for a Sweater

Fibre bundles steaming

I am trying my second attempt at dyeing for a sweater. I didn't have enough fibre the first time around.

Fibre drying

I am doing things differently this time. I tried a simpler, random dye this time. I dyed 6 bundles today (all about 100g each), have 3 more bundles to dye. I think I will ply some of these colours together.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Gradient Shawl

I started knitting another scarf/shawl a couple of days ago - this time with yarn that I dyed and spun. It is knitting up nicely. 

Fibre ready for steaming.

This was the first time I dyed a gradient like this.

I started with a bit of red dye and kept adding black dye.

Last summer we added another shed in the back yard, and it really changed how the snow drifts form in the yard.

There was strong winds this morning - lots of blowing snow.

Cold outside, but inside a hibiscus was blooming again.

Rabbit and small flock of partridges.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Blocks and Photos

I finished piecing the blocks for the Four in Four quilt. No matter how I place these blocks, there are always similar fabrics side by side, so it is just going to have to be fine the way it is.

These next two photos are from my iPod -

My son took this last week, on one of our rides home. Stormy weather but bright sunshine, that's a sundog over the road - it looks so desolate.

Today we went to the symphony (the music of Simon and Garfunkel, my youngest son asked to go - it was lovely). Not the best photo - this was as they were warming up and our seats were in the second balcony, but I like how the lights looked like blue flames.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Friday Night Sew-In Results

Last night was a Friday Night Sew-In, it has been a while for me so I was pleased to join in. Thanks to Wendy from Sugarcane Quilts for hosting.

I was joined by Raewyn (Love to Stitch) on her Saturday - quilting and chatting, a nice way to spend an evening!

I didn't get any sewing done, but I cut out all the fabric for a new quilt. Pressing the fat quarters took as long at the cutting! The pattern is Emma by Bella Moon, a great fat quarter pattern. I used the rest of a French General fat quarter pack (leftover from my Double Wedding Ring quilt) for this - 23 FQ's (I am making the quilt 60" x 84", 12" blocks with a 5x7 layout).

I really enjoying this kind of piecing. It is the second time I have made this pattern and it is going together well.

Today I pieced 21 blocks (I need 35 blocks).

The snow drifts in the yard are constantly changing.

The partridges and rabbit eating together.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Asymmetrical Scarf

I finished knitting the scarf. The pattern is a modified version of one of my free patterns on Ravelry - Asymmetrical Scarf. There are lots more photos and details of this project on Ravelry.

The yarn is Cosmic Blue Label Fingering Weight yarn by Tanis Fiber Arts, the colour way is Kaleidoscope (the first yarn for the 2015 Year In Colour Club from TFA). It is such a beautiful, sparkly yarn in real life, and so soft.

I had 5g left from a 115g skein after I made the little tassels - it is nice to use the whole skein of yarn.

My first version of the Asymmetrical Scarf

If you aren't a member of Ravelry (it is well worth joining, it is a fabulous resource for knitting, crotchet, spinning, weaving) here is the link to download the PDF for the Asymmetrical Scarf. It is an easy pattern to memorize, with enough variety to keep it interesting to knit.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Knitting

I have almost finished knitting the scarf (the tiles on the floor are 16").

High winds and blowing snow today (-30 windchill)

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Cabled Hat

I finished knitting this hat yesterday. The pattern is Cabled Canuck by Tanis Lavellee. A lovely, very straight forward pattern.

The cables all meet nicely at the top (my oldest son kindly modelling for me). The yarn is Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label (100% merino), in the colour way Super Tartan (this is a one of a kind - OOAK - colour way from the Boxing Day sale). I have used this yarn a few time and it is lovely - soft, great stitch definition, holds it's shape well... All of the colour ways look amazing too (Tanis Lavellee is a hand dyer from Montreal). I made a couple of hats with the Lucky Penny colour and it became one of my favourites - you can see somethings that people have made with Lucky Penny Green Label here, and I especially like this Dragon hat (with arm and leg warmers too). You might have to be a Ravelry member to see some of these links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥