Christmas Eve

My Christmas Eve started by snowshoeing very early-

the sodium yard light casts a nice orange glow

bundled up warm

 We had a couple days of snow - it was really nice, not storming, just light fluffy snow.

The Partridges had to dig deep for seeds (the one on the right is barely visible).

We were clearing the pond early this morning too (a perk of living with no neighbours is being able to run the quad at 7:30 in the morning) - ready for lots of family skating time over the Christmas holidays!

I finished a few projects this past week -

Another gnome. This time a giant one (12" to the tip of his hat). I used some of my first hand spun yarn, somewhere between worsted weight and bulky - it was perfect for this.

Much bigger than the first gnomes I made

I finished spinning a couple more skeins of yarn-

The four skeins all together -

Started like this -

I also sewed another York Pinafore dress (a pattern from Helen's Closet) -

This is the third one I have made (it is so comfortable! Perfect with leggings for the winter). This time I made it in some wool fabric that I inherited about 15 years ago (about time I used it).
In the above photo I am looking down at a cat visitor..

Here is a photo of him/her outside the window. We seem to attract a black cat where ever we live. This one is very timid, and not as friendly as the one at our last house.

Wishing everyone a joyous festive season!♥︎

Frosty Days

Thanks to every one who gave me tips on the potato zapper bag. I haven't been tempted to repair the burnt one, or tried making another. The microwave just has a faint burnt smell now, luckily since the bag was all cotton it just kind of smells like burnt wood.

I made one more Gnome this week (the appropriately named pattern is Never Not Gnoming by Sarah Schira), all left over handspun yarn.

I dyed up some wool this past week. I had won the wool a couple of years ago, and since it isn't really next to skin soft I decided to dye it and spin it just for fun (usually I spin for a specific project). I experimented with different colours, and spinning my default yarn (two ply, fingering weight, short backward draw). They are all just over 50 grams each.

These are the first two skeins (the top one is fractal spun).

Now for more winter pictures (we had some really frosty days that were so beautiful)-

sunrise

walking in the trees

The flock of partridges digging holes scratching for seeds-

Here is where they either landed or took off-

sparkly snow too

This past weekend the other pond melted a bit and we discovered that there are fish in there (we didn't know since it is a man made pond) -

These ones ended up getting caught in the ice since only the top few inches of snow and ice melted in parts.

close up

They are a couple of inches long. It was quite a surprise to see.

You can see where the ice melted and the weight of the snow fell in.

All the best!♥︎

Working with Wool

I have a few wooly finishes this week!

The first one is a tunic I sewed using the fabric I wove last month (it takes me a while to get the courage to cut up hand woven fabric after all the time spent washing and combing raw fleece, spinning and dyeing yarn and then weaving - there is no going back!).

I am so pleased with how it turned out. It is warm and comfortable. It is my third hand woven  garment that I have sewn, but the first one that started as a raw fleece.

The pattern is from a Japanese sewing magazine (it is the same issue that I made the other handwoven tunic from).

You don't need to be able to read Japanese to use these magazines since all the instructions are diagrams (it is odd to read from right to left though).

The next finish is a hat from hand spun yarn. This one is super fine Merino (19 Microns) and so soft. The pattern is the Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure, it is a free pattern on Ravelry. This was my 'car knitting' project and since we live further away from the city I was amazed how much I could knit in a trip (this was knit on 2.5mm and 3mm needles - US1.5 and 2.5).

This is a cowl that I made for my youngest son. It is knit out of Pattons Classic Merino, a worsted weight yarn. The pattern is the Brioche Vine Cowl by Mercedes Tarasovich from a Craftsy class. This  is the third one I have made, they are perfect for our climate.

Since Brioche is double it makes such a warm knit fabric.

Over on Ravelry for this month there is a Indie Design Gift-A-Long happening. Last week patterns were on sale for 25% off and the knit along is until the end of December. It happens every year and is a good time to pick up patterns.

Last year the most popular pattern was the Never Not Gnoming pattern by Sarah Schira (a local to me designer from Brandon, Manitoba), so this year I had to buy it. I can see why it was so popular (and still is, along with her newer gnome pattern) - they are addictive. Quick and easy, and a great way to use bits of yarn.

Here are my first three, using handspun yarn. 

Each one is a bit different as I am not the best at keeping track of rows, and it doesn't seem to matter.

When I was photographing the gnomes a nuthatch came to get some seeds - that little bird doesn't seem at all bothered by us!

More photos from around home -

A Downy Woodpecker at the peanut feeder -

Tracks of the Grey Partridges - either taking off or landing in the fresh snow -

 Sunset at the other pond -

Trying out snowshoeing for the first time in years - 

 And this one of donuts on the pond!

My oldest son imported this little truck from Japan a couple of years ago - I can't imagine the original owner's would have ever thought their truck would end up here!

The ice is about 12" thick (they drilled a hole to test it before driving on the ice), and it has formed deep cracks that radiate from the centre of the pond.

All the best!♥︎ 

Finished Shawl

This week's quilt along blocks - 

I can see this one needs to be pressed better -

It is the Sampler 1880 Sew Along block from the Temecula Quilt Company blog, a 4" block.

This one is the Moda Blockhead 2, block #10 'Ducks and Ducklings', a 12" block.

This week I finished knitting a shawl with some of my first handspun yarn.

The pattern is Campside by Alicia Plummer, a free pattern from Pom Pom Magazine.

Not only is the yarn from 2013 when I first started spinning, but it is also one of my first hand dyed yarns. It is a soft merino alpaca blend (one ply of each). I had started a couple other projects with this yarn, but they never seemed right. I am really happy with this.

I also finished weaving this little sample project using leftover handspun from the Granny Stripe blanket. I'll probably make a pillow with it.

All the best!♥︎

Quilt Blocks, Knitting and Sewing

This past week I caught up on some quilt along blocks.

This first on is the Antebellum Album block from the Civil War Quilts Blog - a 12" block.

This one is the Moda Blockhead block #7 (I decided I didn't want to make blocks 8 and 9) - this is a 6" block.

These ones are the 1880 Sampler Sew Along blocks from the Temecula Quilt Company for the past few weeks - 4"blocks (one is a smaller version of the Moda Blockhead block).

For knitting I finished this tiny bag - the Weightless Produce Bag (a free pattern from Simply Notable).

It was designed to reduce the use of single use plastic bags. I used #10 crochet cotton and it weighs just 9 grams. It was a quick knit, and amazing how much it stretches.

I also made a couple more Blackwood Cardigans (I have made 4 so far). This is such a simple pattern, that is so well drafted. The grey one is the second one I made with a slinky rayon (the first one went to my Mother), and the cream one is made from very stretchy 100% cotton (actually from a fitted sheet, when 't-shirt sheets' were popular, but I didn't like it - I was cleaning out the linen closet and was going to get rid of it, it is perfect for a light weight cardigan).

All the best!♥︎