Finished Cowl

I knit a cowl from some yarn that I spun this summer.

The pattern is The Shift by Andrea Mowry (a paid-for pattern on Ravelry). The pattern was really nice to knit - enough variation to keep it interesting, and an easy to remember pattern once established.

I spun the yarn from a local fleece that I cleaned, combed and dyed,

Then drum carded into batts ready for spinning.

The finished yarn.

A close up of the stitch pattern.

I knit it the cowl to go with the coat I made - all finished now that the buttons are on (I don't know when I will be able to wear it since we are supposed to stay home, but I'll be ready when things get better).

I have also been weaving mug rugs - I am participating in a free online weaving class from Warp and Weave, called Discover Colour Weave-Along. I have learned a lot, not just about colour but also weaving.

My Mom made a wall hanging called 'Friends and Neighbors', from the November/December 2020 issue Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine (we see them free online at RB Digital through our local library). She did all the work, just wanted me to do some free motion quilting in the white background.

Something else that was finished recently is a bench that my son and I made.

He designed the metal legs. Each leg is made up of two tree shapes cut with his plasma cutter, with strips of metal welded between to make them thicker, but light weight. They are powder coated a dark bronze colour (a powder coating oven is something new he recently made for his business).

For the top he chain sawed a slab of wood from a tree that he had cut down for someone - it is Russian Olive. I finished the wood using an electric hand planer and electric sander (I was lucky enough to have power tools from my Dad!). Lots of hand sanding, plus lots of coats of wax. I am so happy with how it came out. 

I had been wanting a table in the window for some plants, but it is perfect for the cat too. 

Photos from around - 

Yesterday the sun dogs were amazing,

the top one had an extra rainbow (all the photos had the orb in them).

A Great Horned Owl has been hanging around (we can get quite close, another one just flies away when we come near).

A fox,

and a coyote caught on the trial cam.

Molly loves to carry the biggest sticks (this one a small tree).

All the best!♥︎

Baby Quilt, and Some Other Things

This week I finished quilting a baby quilt that my Mom and I made.

My Mom pieced the tiny thimbles, and I sewed on the borders and machine quilted it. It is a gift for a family member.

The quilt is 33"x42". 

I free motion quilted it with regular cotton sewing thread in the top and bobbin. It has a 80/20 Cotton/Poly batting, and a flannel backing.

Other recent sewing is that I made my first coat!

It is made from a camel coloured wool that I bought as a remnant from a fundraising sale at the Costume Museum of Canada ($30 for over 3m). I am just waiting for buttons to finish it up. It looks like another 'artisanal burlap sack', but that seems to be what I sew for myself.

The pattern is from this Japanese sewing book.

 

The pattern was for a much lighter fabric, and so I had to line mine (with lots of advice from my Mom!).

All the patterns in the book are very straightforward.

Since I don't seem to blog much anymore I have had a few more finishes, this time spinning and knitting.

I finished a pair of socks, made from some handspun Merino/Nylon.

I also spun up some merino that I dyed.

To make a 3 ply, about DK weight yarn.

 

I used it, along with a strand of mohair/silk to knit a hat.

The pattern is Salut Chéri Beret (link, a free pattern).

The hat is so soft and warm. I added another section of increases to the pattern because I was like a beanie of my large head at first, and I wanted it to be a beret.

The hat is finished just in time for the snow-

Molly was amazed by the snow - I guess she doesn't remember last winter.

All the best!♥︎

More Thimbles

I finished the thimbles leader/ender project-

This was the last of the thimbles I cut years ago, and I made about 4 or 5 projects with. This one is 14"x26".

I put a couple of borders on this one for a change (all the others I just added binding).

Since I needed a new leader/ender project (and didn't want to go out and buy a new die) I cut more thimbles with different fabrics (for a change). The plan for these is to make a 'larger' (than table runner) quilt - I am sure that this will be years in the making too.

I finished spinning another skein of sock yarn.

It is knitting up lovely. I have been trying to step out of my colour comfort zone with dyeing for socks and it has been really fun to see what happens.

I am also experimenting with different dyeing techniques. I dyed up a couple more batches of sock blend fibre (some BFL/Nylon and a Merino/Nylon) - one is a rainbow gradient, one is spot dyed, and one is a four colour repeat of complimentary colours (blue and orange).

Photos from around-

Our oldest son has been working on a large project - a table for the plasma cutter.

It is a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine and involves lots of technical stuff that came from around the world (since it involves water the electronics are all housed in a plastic bin now).

Here is his first little project to try out the machine - it is from a CNC velociraptor skeleton pattern he bought online, his plan is to make a larger version with the body.

We had fog this week (very rare here) and it was rolling across the fields.

Goldfinches are back!

It is really amazing how many birds there are around, some days it is quite noisy.

All the best!♥︎

May Plans and Some Other Things

My May One Monthly Goal is to finish a couple of mini quilts.

The first is from Temecula Quilt Co on Instagram - the Stay at Home Sampler.

And this one is the end of my tub of little thimbles that have been leaders and enders for years (I have made about 4 different mini quilts so far - now I am debating about cutting more or getting a bit bigger template for a change).

Thanks Patty for hosting this challenge!

I finished a pair of socks using fibre that I dyed last month.

Finished yarn - about fingering to sport weight BFL/Nylon blend.

I used every bit of yarn, ran short for the last few stitches of the bind off, luckily since everything I dye seems to be the same colour - red - I found something to match. I knit these two at a time from both ends of one ball of yarn, because I knew I didn't have much yarn.

Yesterday I dyed up a couple more bundles of fibre to spin for more socks (look one isn't red!).

I have realized over this past winter that I need more pairs of thicker socks since I mainly wear boots when we go for walks with the dog.

I left our home for the first time in over a month on Monday and so made myself a mask. This one with fabric I had bought in Japan. The pattern is the Olson mask printed at 90%.

Here is a link to a funny video on how 'easy' it is to make face masks - worth watching!

I am still working on the linen/cotton sweater. This isn't my favourite thing to knit - the yarn is rough on my hands. The blue is a bit better since it has been washed a few times when I was dyeing it.

After stitching the Love and Hugs from Australia block last month I realized that I had some really nice tonal embroidery cotton that was calling to be used. I had a piece of leftover natural linen, and found a little sampler pattern in a Sajou book. This will probably be a cushion one day.

 Maggie had to test drive it as soon as I started organizing the project.

 Photos from around-

Swans!! 

We have seen lots this year (maybe we are just outside more).

Sometimes the flocks sparkle like a silver ribbon in the sky.

They sound very different from geese, and are easily recognizable long before seeing them.

They are Tundra Swans migrating, we have never seen any on the ground.

 Beautiful sky - one way,

 and the other.

The next photos were captured on the trail camera by the pond-

 A pair of Mallards.

 A pair of muskrats or maybe mink.

 Some kind of a shore bird - she has long yellow legs.

All the best!♥︎