More Pink!

The first quilted finished for 14 in '14.

I made this small quilt using fabric that I had gradationally dyed and snow dyed. It is about 18"x22".

This project has many sources of inspiration, from different blogs for ideas on dyeing fabric, to Craftsy classes for the pieced block (Ann Petersen's Playing with Curves, this is the Twist Tie block), and for the "Cathedral Windows" in the background quilting (Cindy Needham's Design It, Quilt It).

I dyed the fabric almost a year ago, and was just waiting for the right inspiration. It was lots of fun to make, and I am really pleased with the results. 

Because I took the Process Pledge -

The Twist Tie block was made with fabric that was gradationally dyed. It is done by dipping pieces of fabric that have been soaked in a water, salt and soda ash solution into the dye bath. The first dip makes the darkest colour. As the water solution is squeezed out, the dye bath is diluted and each successive dip gets lighter. The pieces of fabric are placed into individual baggies and left to exhaust for 24 hours. 

I appliquéd the block to the background fabric using a small zig-zag, and 100Wt thread. I quilting around the block and the pieces, but left the block puffy to contrast with the background. The batting is one layer of cotton, with half a layer of wool batting on top. All the thread for the quilting is 100Wt Invisafil.

I quilted feathers as if they were coming from the block. I only marked the stems.

Once the feathers were quilted I divided the background into five different areas using a Hera marker tied to a piece of string, to get nice curves.

I used a ruler and the Hera marker to make a half inch grid in two of the sections and added a few straight lines as a guide in the other three section.
In the past I have let the hand dyed fabric dictate the quilting design, but this time I wanted to see what it would look like if I just thought of the fabric as plain cotton.

Yes, everything I dye is shades of pink! My son is so right!

This next picture is of a snow dump that I pass every day. It is hard to tell, but we have had so much snow this year and the hill is really quite big. For those who don't know, they truck the snow from the city out to the dump (I recently saw that on Pinterest as a funny - "Meanwhile in Canada" thing!)

Those little dots are large bulldozers working.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

14 in '14

Happy New Year to everyone!

I like to set myself some kind on challenge for the year, and this year I have decided on the 14 in '14 theme.
My goal is to make 14 quilted (or maybe sewn) items, spin 14 skeins of yarn, and knit 14 items. They are going to be any shape or size to count.

Last year I learned many new things, and this year it is also my goal to improve those techniques.

I have already completed my first skein of yarn -

I will count these as one skein because they are the same colour way. 

They started out as Knit Picks, merino wool and silk, Bare Roving.

That I dyed.

It is much prettier when the process is complete.

I spun a singles yarn, that averages to about a fingering weight. This is my first real attempt at singles - after spinning I plunged the skein into really hot water to relax the twist a bit, it worked well and is easy to knit with. There is 183g (I find that Knit Picks roving is never the full 100g that it is supposed to be (it was 186g total before dyeing), but maybe my scale is off).

I am knitting an Entrelac Shawl with Tassels (a pattern from Ravelry). Entrelac (its the name for this knitting technique with the little squares) is so much fun to knit, and this pattern is very well written.

I also joined a Knit Along (KAL), this is the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL 2014 (we know it will be a shawl), the directions are based to events that happen during the show. It should be interesting, we have only had the set up so far. I am using some merino and alpaca that I dyed and spun.

This is a hat that I finished at the end of 2013 -

It is double knitting, so reversible (and extra warm, perfect for the cold weather we have been having). I designed the pattern (it's hard to see the rose and leaf).

This is how the hat started -

The pink/purple one started out as light grey that I dyed.

It is a 3 ply, worsted weight yarn.

My son pointed out to me that everything I dye is the same colour, and you can really tell in these three projects, so I decided to join a 'Fibre Club' for three months just to have some other colours to spin with.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve by eating traditional tourtière , with baked potatoes and salad

playing games,

This game is Blokus, a fun strategy game.

Sitting by the fire -

this is on the TV - some people don't have this TV channel that shows a fireplace and plays Christmas songs!
We also watched Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special (lots of Canadian traditions this evening!).

I am off to play more games - ping-pong and Rock Band. We are planning a relaxing, family Christmas.

I just wanted to show a few things that I did this week -

This is an entrelac neck warmer that I knit.

Entrelac knitting is made of little boxes. It is much easier than it looks.

I made it from this merino wool that I dyed and spun. More details on Ravelry.

I also spun my first skein of singles yarn this week.

It was made from a bunch of little bundles of different fibres that I hand carded into rolags.

This is a little wall hanging that I am machine quilting for those who think I have given up quilting (it is just really cold in my basement where my sewing room is - we have been having -30C temperatures recently). This is made with fabric I dyed last winter. I just have the background left to quilt.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Christmas!♥

A New Hat

I knitted a new hat for my husband. I noticed that the last one I had made him left marks on his head (he shaves his head, and although the hat wasn't tight, the ribbing left imprints), so I wanted a hat that was smooth on the inside. I also wanted to use some of my hand spun yarn for him. I dyed the green to match his eyes and I was surprised when it did! My dyeing is pretty haphazard.

I added this as a free pattern on Ravelry too. If you are not a member of Ravelry you can download the PDF here.

When I was writing the pattern my nephew came over and I explained to him that I had dyed the wool fibre-

Spun the yarn-

Designed a pattern-

And knit the hat-

 He looked at me, showed me his orange acrylic hat and told me that I could just buy a hat for $4!

This is wool that I dyed this week - the above photo of the dye pot is this fibre steaming.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

A Year of Small Quilts of the Month

I finished my year long project of a small art quilt a month - 

Each little quilt (6"x8") represents something that happened that month.

This is the November one -

It is a piece of my hand dyed fabric with snowflakes that are peyote stitched beads, plus a small hammered wire swirl. I made a lot of jewelry in November.

For the December one I tried a new-to-me technique from a Craftsy class (Playing with Curves with Ann Petersen). I took a couple of Craftsy classes this month, and learned some wonderful new things.

Now I have to decide what I want to make with these quilts.

I originally thought I would join them into a book,

but I also like the idea of joining them together into a wallhanging. I might just leave them as a pile on the shelf, at least for now.

I tried another new-to-me technique this week, double knitting -

You knit/purl the front and back stitches in pairs, and reverse the colours to create the two sided, reversible pattern.

The finished piece is supposed to be a head band, but when I washed it, to block it, it grew so wide! I have had this problem with Paton Classic Wool before - it tends to get short and wide, I should have known. I am going to try to felt it a bit in a regular load of laundry, maybe it will become something useable.
The pattern was lovely to knit and I am going to try it again later with some hand spun wool.
The pattern is the Duvino head band, from the Craftsy Class Adventures in Double-Knitting with Alasdair Post-Quinn. 

There was a fabulous Craftsy sale for Thanksgiving and I bought a few classes that I had been interested in for a while, just waiting for a good sale. I am trying to ration them out over the next little while. The Playing with Curves and Adventures in Double Knitting were wonderful!

I am adding this picture to show what -30C (-40C windchill) temperatures can do - a water main break, causing havoc with traffic.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Ostrich BOM

Here are my latest Ostrich block - 

four Churn Dash blocks (6" blocks).

There are a few more blocks to go (I think the BOM finishes in March), but I have decided I want to make a small 'random sampler' quilt (I am sure this style of quilt has an official name).

I used a quilt that was about the same size as the one I want to make to lay out the blocks on, to get an idea of how the blocks will go together. I am supposed to have an appliqué block, but I am waiting until the end to make one as a 'filler' block.
A few of us started making this BOM, but I think I might be the only one making it now, so thank-you Myra for still organizing this BOM!
It is fun because we are just given a block name or a shape, and we get to interpret it any way we want.

This is my latest home spun wool -

190 grams of worsted weight (about 14WPI) wool that I dyed earlier in the fall.

Here are the fibre, single ply bobbin and first skein all together. I tried Navajo (chain) plying for the first time to keep the colours clearer.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Finished Sweater

I finished knitting a sweater this week -

It is another Craftsy class - Celtic Cables with Carol Feller. I picked up so many tips about knitting cables and basic knitting, the class was wonderful (Carol's lovely Irish accent was a joy to listen to as well).

I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed in garnet heather. It is the first time I have tried this wool and it is very soft, and nice to work with (I even ordered more in Knit Picks big sale last week).

I have been spinning wool for my next knitting project - a hat for my husband.
I dyed the Polwarth wool fibre (the green is to match his eyes)-

and now it is all spun -

I am planning on doing some colour work knitting.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥