Italian Silk To Begin the New Year

 I did manage to get another loom dressed in time for the New Year.

This is the little Leclerc Dorothy 4 harness table loom dressed in pure Italian silk for a Pinwheel pattern. It will be a learning experience for me, for sure. I'm not really sure how to "properly" carry the yarns up the selvedge. I'm also not sure if I should have done the beginning hemstitching in black, before throwing the first few picks of the pattern in white? I kind of wish now that I had, though I'm not taking it out now.

One Neck Kink Later

 I managed to get the 6 metre, 480 thread warp onto the Woolhouse Tools Carolyn yesterday, but it was quite the undertaking and resulted in a sore neck.

Did I learn my lesson? Nope. I'm back at it again today, planning, winding, threading, sleying, beaming, and tying on another warp (if all goes well!). This time it will be a smaller project. Just a scarf for the wee little Leclerc Dorothy loom.

New Starts for the New Year

I'm attempting to get all my looms dressed in time to ring in the New Year. I have some vague recollection that a dressed loom is supposed to be symbolic of great potential for the new year -- 'er somethin'. Maybe I made that up? Anyway, sounds good to me.

First up is the Saori loom, now dressed in a multi-textural warp in natural colours. No specific end product in mind, just "yardage" to tame the overflowing stash box of natural coloured yarn bits and bobs.

Next up is the larger of my two Inkle looms. I have warped it for a white/black/grey-silver band that I'll use a portion of for my growing collection of interchangeable bands for my medical alert information tag.

Now being wound for my Woolhouse Tools Carolyn is an 8/2 cotton warp for dish towels. These will be woven in a 2x2 twill. They are another stash buster project, this time using up small amounts of various blue cottons.

If I somehow find the time between now and the New Year I'd like to also put a short warp on my wee little Windhaven Ukulele inkle loom. Maybe a tubular band of some sort? The little Dorothy could use a scarf warp too. We'll see how far I get. Not much time left in 2022!

Narrow Scarf Passes the Test

In late November I scrounged around in my stash looking for a ball of somethin-er-other to pair with a quick and easy pattern I could do while waiting in the car while my husband had cataract surgery, since I was to be his designated driver after the procedure.

This little scarf, somewhat of my own design, but inspired by the Pomegranate Shawl by Drops Design, paired with a single ball of King Cole Riot Double Knitting, fit the bill. It's simple garter stitch other than a bit of shaping done on every 6th row. My innovation was to give it an I-cord edging all around.

It's been finished for a few weeks now and has passed the test of daily use. It's warm and cozy and just the right length and width. I like the way it hugs my neck without long ends to worry about.

It's nice and warm on our chilly early morning dog walks.

 

Nano2 Arrival

My little Nano2 spinning wheel from Dreaming Robots has arrived. I backed the Kickstarter for it with no hesitation whatsoever since the inventor, Maurice Ribble, has such an excellent track record with his Kickstarter funded projects.   

I've individualized mine with a few vibrant green 3D parts printed locally by "Got Wood Customs".

Here is what it looked like before the customization:

Each tiny bobbin only holds 2 ounces, so I will continue to use my EEW6 for plying. 

My first skein is 2.65 ounces (76 grams) of Gotland wool spun to a 2ply laceweight. 

Kisses For Santa

Teddy had a bath this morning in preparation for a visit to Santa.

While he was there he made sure to give Santa a KISS. 

 

Brightening a Dark Corner

 In 2020 I wove a Saori wall hanging. I had a difficult time finding the perfect spot for it. It is lit with 50 tiny battery operated Christmas lights. If hung where it is too dark the weaving itself doesn't show, just the lights. If hung in a bright place the weaving looks great but the lights aren't show to best effect. This year I have found the perfect corner. It's away from direct light but not in total darkness either. 

The lump underneath it, covered in a plastic Christmas table cloth, is actually my Saori loom trying to hide in plain sight. Just a little closer to the camera position in the next photo is a Christmas table runner woven in 2013 that is remarkably similar to the wall hanging. 

And for those that don't visit via my Facebook page, here is our Christmas tree set up in the opposite corner near the fireplace.

Seemingly Endless Seaming

I'm now working on the "Persian Tiles" afghan again, having set it aside for all of October while I worked on the "Twists & Turns" MKAL 2022 shawl.

Although I'm not finished the afghan, significant progress has been made. Over the past week or so I've managed to get all the pieces crocheted together. I think it's looking great, if I do say so myself.

I plan to add the "Persian Tiles Extension" border around the whole thing, and it will take some time.

Unfortunately the whole border will have to be less colourful. I've run out of all of the livelier choices and will be working solely within the white through greys to black range. Hopefully it will work out okay, perhaps being a stabilizing influence for the wilder centre.

Not Nice Knot!

 Well King Cole, that knot in the skein of "Riot DK"  is not at all subtle!

I'm in the middle of knitting a long, narrow, shaped scarf of my own design. It features a long slow colour shift that should work well with the design. SO aggravating to come upon this ugly knot in the skein. 

It's annoying enough to find a knot hidden in the depths of a ball of yarn, but it adds another whole dimension of exasperation when you find it in a slow colour shift yarn and the manufacturer made NO attempt whatsoever to maintain the continuity of the colour shift.

Doggo Hood

Teddy doesn't like his "Doggo Hood", but he enthusiastically dons it since he knows it means some sort of food is on its way. 

With his very long ears that sweep through anything he bends down to eat or drink ---

-- it spares him from extra ear combing and baths.

And there is the added benefit that it makes everyone smile.

 Okay. Maybe people are laughing too, but the food still makes the humiliation worthwhile.

A Dozen or Just One?

Do a dozen hanging kitchen towels count as 12 finished projects, or just one?

I made these new ones up to replace some old very ratty and faded ones that have completely worn out. 

I love having a towel firmly attached to the handle of my oven. That way it doesn't "walk off" and it is always there when I need to quickly dry my hands.

While I Waited

With my many varied fibre arts hobbies I always have plenty of projects on the go at any one time, but many of them are too involved, not transportable, or not mindless enough for away from home busy work.

I knew yesterday that I'd have a wait of several hours, in the car, in a parking lot while my husband had cataract surgery, so I brought this crochet project along. I had started it at home just to be sure the hook size was correct and I had all necessary tools with me. 

It's the "Treasure Net Shawl" by Johanna Lindhal. Once the set up rows are complete the remainder of the body of the shawl is a simple 2 row repeat until a very pretty border is added as a grand finale. It looks quite spectacular in some long repeat variegated yarns. I'm not too sure about the colours in the one I'm working with though. It was what I could pick up quickly.  It is the Cactus Flower colourway of Hobbii's "Twister". 

It worked out well as an easy project to keep me busy during a 4 hour wait -- until I dropped my crochet hook between the seat and the console of the car. After trying to squeeze my hand down the narrow space and only succeeding in pushing the hook farther from my reach, it finally dawned on me that I might be able to reach it from the back of the car. THAT resulted in a rather embarrassing bleating of the car alarm when I opened the door. Yes, sitting there waiting for so long I had locked the doors.
 

Moving Day

Today was moving day ----

Well, it was for the Saori CH60 anyway. My tiny little weaving room has been terribly overcrowded ever since the Woolhouse Tools Carolyn and the Leclerc Dorothy moved in. Tired of barely having room to turn around, let alone actually weave, I moved the Saori to an unused corner of the living room today.

On the loom is a warp made from a "grab bag" from a former guild members estate. The guild challenged us to use these yarns to create something and to have it ready in time for the Christmas Luncheon which is only one month from now. 

These are the yarns I received. Most are handspun. I think one is a commercially spun yarn, perhaps dyed by the former guild member.

Rooting through my own stash I found little bits n bobs of yarns I can use with the ones from the grab bag. Most notably is the multicoloured handspun one. I think it will be a good colour inspiration for choosing further yarns for both warp and weft. 

In other news, I spent ALL of October working exclusively on a Mystery Knitalong that has now come to an end. Wow! Big project. LOTS of knitting! I'll tell you more about that once I have a few modelled pictures.

 

All the Pieces

 I enlisted the help of fellow spinners and weavers guild members today, and made use of the large table surface in the guild room, to get the layout of the Persian Tiles Afghan planned.

There is still a lot of work yet to be done. I've decided that I'd like to add a round of single crochet, in black, to each piece before I do any joining.

At least the layout is planned now, and everything is labeled and ready in preparation for assembly. 

46 by 7:00 AM

 The benefits of being an early riser. Almost 4 dozen Bran and Chia Muffins (recipe by Martha Rose Shulman, doubled) baked and cooling by 7 in the morning.

It Started Out Okay

This is the beginning of Octagon B7. I felt it started out okay, but instinct told me it was not going to end well so I took this "before" photo to record the octagon before it went bad. LOL

And indeed, as it was completed with the very bright "egg yolk" colour, my instinct proved correct.

The final photo actually looks a lot better than the octagon does in person. My camera was kind. In real life the truly garish "Cheezies" or "Kraft Dinner" type orange is very evident.

Let me explain why I let this happen. In the beginning, when I decided to do this afghan, I was not able to find a kit in stock with the original "Eastern Jewels" colorway. I substituted yarns I was able to purchase through Hobbii.com. Some were close, most were not. But in the end I wrote out my list of substitutions and I am committed to using them as laid out in the Eastern Jewels directions. If, when all the pieces are done, some stand out as truly hideous and out of sync with the others, I will redo them in a kinder colorway. 

 

While I Wait

 While I'm waiting for the Twists and Turns Shawl MKAL to start on October 6th I'm working on a large crochet project. 

It's the "Eastern Jewels" version of the "Persian Tiles" crochet blanket by Janie Crow.

I wasn't able to snag a kit with a colour scheme I liked so I purchased individual balls of yarn from Hobbii.com and subbed in my choices for the colours in the list. Some are close, others are nowhere near the originals.

This frightfully vibrant pink one is an example of where the colours could be better. When all pieces are finished I may sub this one out for something less eye searing.

Other combinations, like this one above, I quite like!

These octagons are quite large, almost 12 inches across, so they are each taking at least a full day of crocheting to complete, and there are also many smaller squares and triangles as well. Usually I don't have that much time to devote to hobbies, so clearly I won't be finished the entire afghan by the start of the Twists and Turns Shawl Mystery Knitalong. 

Come October 6th I'll put this afghan project aside so that I can keep up with the incoming weekly "clues" for the mystery knitalong. Not to worry though, I have almost an entire year before the afghan must be complete.

Swatching and Waiting

 Swatching in September for a Mystery Knitalong that will begin in October. All three yarns I'll be using are my own handspun. I think they play well together.

The designer, Stephen West, recommended choosing 2 yarns that have high contrast and will be used in approximately equal amounts, then a third colour that will "pop" as an accent. The pattern is "Twists and Turns: Westknits MKAL 2022".

Doily or "Medallion"?

Sometimes I enjoy crocheting, and lately I've been working on "medallions" as some like to call them now. Yes, these are doilies, like my mother and grandmother had on every flat surface of their home. I unashamedly do the same. To me a coffee table looks naked without one. 

I used #10 cotton from SouthMaid, the standard crochet thread you can buy just about anywhere, but in limited colours locally. I sent away for the "greige" colour (a beige/grey), since none was available here. I think it's a nice alternative to the white, cream, or beige my mother more commonly used.

I enjoyed making the first so I just kept right on crocheting and a few days later I had a full set of four for the top of a tall sideboard in my dining room turned office area.

The pattern is a free one I've made before. The Gift Doily.

Graduation Day!

 Teddy graduated from his basic puppy training today. 

He even got to wear a graduation cap for a few photos.

We had been warned at a previous class to have him practice wearing a hat and posing for pictures, so he had a few "training sessions" with a little party hat.

Kona saw him and seemed a little put out at the attention he was getting,

so I let her in on the action.