Year End Wrap Up

After a month of blogging every day I took a bit of a break from the computer. I didn't think it would last 4 months, but it did.

I have realized that cleaning and cooking have become my hobbies that I devote most of my time to these days (everything is better when it is considered a hobby).

I have finished a few different things over the past few months though.

Knitting -

A hat from a local raw fleece that I had cleaned, combed, spun, then dyed with indigo a few years ago. This is the second hat that I made with this yarn (I never wore the first one and took it apart).

This pattern is Mehendi by Svetlana Volkova.

A scarf made with some handspun, a merino/silk blend that I had dyed. 

The pattern is Easy by Martina Behm.

Christmas socks with handspun yarn (a BFL/nylon blend that I had dyed).

Weaving -

Tea Towels. Mainly woven with cottolin, but also some bouclé. This was a stash busting project to use up odds and ends. The warp is a natural cottolin. The pattern is A Baker's Dozen e-Book from Webs, one threading with lots of different weaving options to try.

A scarf with a handpainted warp - something I had never tried before. 

I used a Knit Picks lace yarn - Shimmer, an alpaca/silk blend, which dyed and wove beautifully.

More photos and details on my Ravelry page.

More tea towels in a favourite pattern (Cajun Inspired Towels from the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of Handwoven magazine). These just came off the loom and I am considering them finished for me, because my Mom said she would hem them in exchange for new towels.

Quilting -

A small (18"x24") Christmas table mat. I wanted a little pad for an end table that has a lamp and other things on it, so nothing fancy was needed. I realized that since machine free motion quilting is my favourite, that is what I did (plus a little bit of invisible machine appliqué).

I haven't been sewing much because my machine needs to go in for repairs, but with COVID some things are on hold. We did take the machine apart and tried a few things which helped, but it needs more work.

Woodcarving - 

More spoons, these from a crab apple branch that fell in the yard.

About 4" long.

A long spoon from a silver maple branch that fell too.

About 12" long.

Stained Glass - 

Since I now have a work space for stained glass again I made a piece using all kinds of odds and ends. It was lots of fun, but it has been awhile and I can see I need more practice.

Photos from Around - 

The bees did well this summer, they produced a lot of honey for us.

They are wrapped for the winter now, and we can't wait to see how they do.

A Great Horned Owl spent a lot of time around this past fall.

We harvested vegetables into October (unusual for here - we had about an extra month of growing weather this year).

Part of why cooking is my hobby, we had a great harvest with the extra month, so I did lots of canning.

Beautiful colours of Swiss Chard during the final harvest.

Molly.

Sunrise.

Molly loves to dig her ball in the snow (luckily she doesn't dig in the dirt the rest of the year).

Miss Maggie prefers the warmth of inside these days.

Molly as a new puppy two years ago,

and how much she has grown and changed in colour.

 And how the carpet has worn out, and how our home renovations are going.

The view from our window this morning - December 31st, 2021.

-31ºC with -45ºC windchill (-24ºF/-49ºF) - a good day to be inside!

I wish everyone the best for the New Year!♥︎

Day - 31 A Few Finishes!

I finished sewing a tunic from fabric that I bought at the Costume Museum of Canada fundraiser sale ($4).

The pattern is the Bessie Tunic from Style Arc. It is a really nice pattern and was relatively easy to sew (I had trouble at first with the fabric - I believe a polyester, but after I put the single hole throat plate on my sewing machine things went smoothly). The only trouble is that it doesn't fit. The shoulders are way too small - the tunic part fits fine, but after I added the sleeves (the last step) I was so dissapointed (I can't even raise my arms to fasten the button at the back of the neck, and struggled to take it off). The tunic is put away for a bit until I decide what to do with it. I love the style and will have to make another one, I just have to figure out how to modify the pattern to fit me.

I also finished carving another wooden spoon - this one a little scoop. I also tried my hand at adding some wood burning decoration - not the most successful (seems to be a theme today), but it was lots of fun. The spoon is about 6" long, out of basswood.

More importantly I finished a month long challenge to myself to blog everyday - well at least post a picture. Some days were a real challenge, but I am glad I did it. Next month will be a different challenge.

All the best!♥︎

Day 30 - Molly's Morning Walk

 

All the best!♥︎

Day 29 - Sunrise

 

All the best!♥︎

Day 28 - Double Rainbow

 

All the best!♥︎

Day 27- Weaving

 I started throwing the shuttle (I can't say weaving because apparently the whole measuring out the warp, and putting it on the loom is also weaving).

This will be on the loom for a while. It is a series of tea towels (from this pattern ebook - A Baker's Dozen) - I have enough warp for 6 towels.

All the best!♥︎

Day 26 - Morning Walk

Some photos from our morning walk.

Best friends.

All the best!♥︎

 

Day 25 - Wildflowers

A type of Aster.

Sweet yellow Clover.

All the best!♥︎

Day 24th - Molly

Big girl on our morning walk waiting for her ball to be thrown.

All the best!♥︎

Day 23 - Rain

 We have had over 3" of rain these past few day and the grass is already starting to grow.

All the best!♥︎

Day 22 - Something New

 I normally warp the loom 'front-to-back', but I am trying 'back-to-front' this time.

It is supposed to be more efficient, but I am not sure so far.

All the best!♥︎

Day 21 - More Preserving

 Canned apple pie filling is so much work, but our favourite for a quick apple crisp in the winter.

This is just the start of the apples.

All the best.♥︎

Day 20 - Preserving

Just about everyday now involves some kind of canning or freezing of the harvest from the garden. Today involved some easier ones to freeze.

Swiss-chard for winter smoothies - just washed, and vacuum sealed (there is quite a lot in each bag, when I need them I just break off pieces).

 A couple of lemon cranberry zucchini loaves (the recipe is from here).

All the best!♥︎

Day 19 - Socks

I finished another pair of handspun socks.

These are made from a BFL/Nylon blend that I dyed and spun.

Shades of green and burgundy.

I knit these two-at-a-time, toe-up and used almost all the yarn.

All the best!♥︎

Day 18 - Table Runner

I finished weaving the table runner I started a few weeks ago.

It is an 8-shaft overshot pattern from the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of Handwoven magazine (the middle section of the Royal Holiday Runner on p46).

I wove 3 repeats of the pattern.

I used Harrisville Design Shetland wool (a commercial yarn) for the warp and tabby weft, and a handspun yarn for the pattern weft.

It was lots to fun to weave - the new loom works really well. More details can be found on my Ravelry project page.

 For now it is living on our buffet.

All the best!♥︎

Day 17 - Little Loom

I sold my little loom today! 

It was a bit bittersweet letting it go, it is such a good, solid loom.

It went to the loveliest couple, and I am sure that they will love it as much as I did.

 Just some of the things I wove on it over the past 5 years.

All the best!♥︎

Day 16 - More Bees

 Thirsty girls on a hot day.

Did you know that the worker bees (the ones you see out and about doing all the work) are all females!

It doesn't seem to matter if you are a person or a bee...

When my son went to see about buying our dog, her mom was keeping all her 8 puppies in check, while her dad was playing with a log...

All the best!♥︎

Day 15 - Busy Bee

 All the best!♥︎