Inkle Woven Belt

I finished the inkle weaving project I started last March.

I ended up with about 2.5 yards of 1" wide braid. I am calling it a belt for now - maybe one day it will become something else. It was my sample project for the loom. I had put it away when renovations started last year, and it was unearthed when basement renovations started this year. Turns out it was really enjoyable to weave with the little loom.

I bought the loom from a local museum that was having a clear out.

My son made a few shuttles for it using scraps of wood from the renovations.

For the belt there was very little loom waste, but I left some unwoven so that I could twist a bit of fringe to finish it off.

I used some grey commercial sock yarn and some red handspun wool for the warp, and the weft was the grey yarn.

All the best!♥︎

Finished Gnome

This is the first time I have made such a tiny sweater!

It is for the new mystery gnome form Imagined Landscapes - Gnome Is Where You Hang Your Hat.

Another really fun mystery knit.

It is knit out of fingering weight, handspun yarn (that I dyed).

The next project is one that I did the grafting on.

My Mother knitted another mohair and silk cowl, this time for me. The yarn is from Japan, and the pattern is the Obsessio Cowl by Laura Nelkin.

My travel knitting is going well. I am using some hand dyed, handspun silk and linen, alternating with some hand dyed silk ribbon. The pattern is Twice as Nice by JumperCables.

Photos from around -

We had a snow storm the other day-

Lots of sticky snow.

Hockey sticks by the pond.

Molly is getting big.

All the best!♥︎

March Goals

Time to plan projects for this month.

For my One Monthly Goal for March I plan on weaving tea towels with this kit from Jane Stafford Textiles - it is the Country Renaissance Boucle Tea Towel Kit.

I started March 1st getting the warp ready, and have started weaving. The kit makes 9 towels.

I also plan on finishing the Mystery Gnome that I started last month,

and I want to finish this Inkle Loom band weaving project that I started last year. This was my test piece for the new loom. I want to make some braid, to make loops for the tea towels, so I need to get this finished and off the loom.

This past weekend I packed up my sewing room because basement renovations have started!

Since my sewing machine is temporarily packed away, for my WOOFA project this month I plan on getting pieces ready for the appliqué border for the Pieces of Time quilt. 

Photos from around- 

 Beautiful frost this morning

 All the best!♥︎

February Round Up

February was a good month for me to finish a few big projects.

At the beginning of the month I finished a Pineapple Quilt (only took 4 years!).

I started this handspun tunic early last year by cleaning and preparing the wool. Spun the yarn over the summer, and started knitting it at the beginning of September.

I also finished knitting a hat out of some handspun yarn that I had dyed with indigo (this one had been my take-along/car knitting project).

I was really pleased to have started and finished weaving some fabric for my Mom in the month (especially since we were away for a week). 7 yards of fabric! 

I used up five of my orphan blocks (not the orphan block quilt I want to eventually make, but nice to use up some of the blocks) to make a table mat for my cousin (we stayed with her in Quebec). I am counting this one towards my WOOFA challenge too.

I had a couple of little finishes this month too-

 a tiny needle felted mouse

and a Valentine pincushion. 

This month I completed all my monthly goals for OMG, worked on two of my WOOFA Challenge projects, and finished 7 projects - 4 counting towards OPAM.

All the best!♥︎

Woven Fabric

I finished weaving fabric for my Mom.

I ended up with over 6.5 yards of fabric, that is 18" wide. It should be plenty to make 6 chair cushions.

I didn't have too much loom waste.

Fresh off the loom it was about 7 yards and 19" wide.

This is the fabric fresh off the loom. I was so surprised how different the two sides looked when I took the fabric off the loom - the side I saw while weaving was the plainer side (it didn't seem that plain when I was weaving it). I don't really know too much about weaving, but everything else I have woven has been just about the same on both sides. This fabric definitely has a right side.

To finish the fabric I sent it through the washer and dryer (it was too big to wash by hand), followed by a steam press. The side I saw while weaving really lost the pattern after finishing.

The fabric came out really nice, the yarn 'bloomed' and became so soft. It should make nice cushions.

Edited to add - Someone asked how long it took to weave. It took me about 2 weeks total. I kept track of how much I wove in a day, and I wove about 20-30" in a day (usually a few hours here and there). Weaving is pretty fast compared to knitting or crochet.

I was away last week (in Quebec with my Mom, visiting relatives), so the fabric didn't end up taking too long to weave. The pattern was a type of twill that was really enjoyable to weave (more details here).

After being away I was pleased to have caught up on the mystery gnome today - 7 clues so far.

Another surprise after being away for a week was coming home to much less snow - amazing what a bit of warmth does. In Quebec there was so much snow. I lived in Quebec as a child and I remember how much I loved to play in the snow, as an adult I don't think I could cope!

All the best!♥︎

Some New Knitting

I started a couple of new knitting projects last week.

The first one is another mystery gnome - Gnome is Where You Hang Your Hat by Sarah Schira. We have had 3 clues so far. I am using handspun from a local raw fleece.

This one is Twice as Nice by JumperCables.

I am using some handspun linen and silk along with some silk gima (ribbon) that I dyed with the fibre.

The fabric weaving is coming along nicely.

I think I am about half way done.

All the best!♥︎

Pincushions

I belong to Kathleen Tracy's (from A Sentimental Quilter) online group called Small Quilt Talk. For Valentine's Day there was a pincushion challenge. I made a little crazy quilt heart out of some leftover French General fabric, and an old key with a heart shaped opening.

I used a piece of wire so that the pincushion could hang up - let's be honest it is more of an ornament than a practical pincushion.

It is an addition to my other pincushions I have made over the years. The oldest one is the felt one with my initials that I made in primary school in England when I was about 10. I only use a couple of them, but they make nice decorations. It seems to be popular now to have bowls of decorative, matching pincushions, maybe that is something to try next.

Photos from around -

 Today was incredibly windy.

 All the blowing snow was something to see.

 I thought the colours were so pretty.

All the best!♥︎