Decorating For Christmas

A few weeks ago I spotted these Christmas socks and what I think must be arm warmers? maybe leg warmers? at a costume jewellery store.



Inspiration struck and I could see two outfits there. Turns out I was able to create more than just two!

My original idea was the two elf-ballerina outfits Peanut and Pumpkin are wearing.



But I also managed to get the long stocking cap for Gourd and a narrow scarf for Hickory Dickory out of the same purchase.



Hickory Dickory isn't much into getting dressed up so he's happy with the scarf. Shannon however is in the other room, naked, sobbing that she hasn't anything suitable to wear. I guess I better find something for her and take another picture, perhaps closer to Christmas and with my better camera. These blurry photos were taken in low light with my iPhone.

Thank You AuntBear

Look at the lovely little dress Neelie received from the oh, so generous Auntbear! It is such delicate and beautiful crochet. Ultra-tiny stitches done in sewing thread I believe. It even has a lovely sewn underlay/slip to wear with it.



It's a sleeveless dress and it has turned quite cold out so Neelie is wearing it with the stockings and arm warmers I made to go with her Halloween dress.



The nice warm hat was knit by Nixipixie. 

Fuzz Hogs

I've been using idle time during long waits to work on these fuzzy little critters:



The designer calls them "Fuzzhogs". Some weaving knitters have named them "Loom Fairies". My granddaughters think they are adorable and are working on convincing me that one for each of them is not enough. I may have to make a few more.Good thing they are kind of fun to do.

Enjoying Weaving With Handspun

I'm really enjoying weaving with my own handspun, laceweight, merino/silk blend.



The fibre I spun came in a braid and was hand dyed by the seller. I love watching the colours slowly transition as I weave. I've knit with this same skein of yarn before, but I think it looks prettier woven.

Happy Halloween!

Winding a Handspun Warp

I dug through my stash and came up with two different blue colourways for my next weavings.

The first is in denim blues and grey.



The warp for that one will be my own handspun in a varied denim blue colour.



And while I was choosing the yarns for the above warp I was inspired to also pick out the yarns for the weaving that will follow it. These ones are in bright blues, teals, and some green. The colours are WAY off in the picture though. There is no purple at all in the yarn selection but I see that in the photo there are at least three that have a real purple look to them!

The End

I started at the end. Ends to be exact. I've begun the process of turning the inaugural warp into a piece of clothing. The very first step I took was to twist the fringe on what will become the bottom of the right front of a long vest.



I've got the project well on its way but I may decide to wait until I have a proper dress form to do the the fine tuning of the fitting. Without a dress form and without help that has sewing and fitting knowledge this is just way too hard. Draping is one thing, draping on your own body is an aggravating test of one's patience!.

For Dustbunnie.

I made this entire Minifee outfit (boots not included) as a special commission request.



 It seemed every step of the way it was a struggle!

 

 The biggest problem of all was a total lack of inspiration! I guess my creative muse has moved on to weaving!



 Procrastination was not exactly my friend either. I've been rather stressed this year so tasks kept being put off and put off  sometimes out of necessity, other times because I just couldn't face them.




Well it's finished now and ready to go in the mail --- all the way to Denmark.




I'm just waiting for Dustbunnie to chime in on which hat she prefers.




I like both hats, for different reasons, so I wasn't able to decide which to include.



I hope Dustbunnie's long, long wait for this has been worthwhile.



And I thank her for her extreme patience as it must have looked like it would never be done.



I must admit, I find commission work just too stressful, especially right now when there is so much other stuff going on in my life. So for that reason this will be the last commission work I do.

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But I will keep sewing, knitting, weaving and crocheting. I'll even occasionally offer things for sale, it will just be done as I feel inspired, rather than to deadlines and specifications.

4.9m Finished

The Inaugural Warp is off my new SAORI loom, all 4.9m of it. It looks better, and far more interesting, in person than it does here in these photos.



I'm not sure yet what it will become. Most likely some sort of top or vest.



I have some SAORI sewing books coming and I'll have a look at those first before committing to anything.

Textural Tapestry

I played around last night using a bit of a tapestry technique.



Although I like the effect I doubt that I'll be doing much of this style of weaving. It's way too slow and fiddly for my liking!

Brrrr!

A chilly morning spent spinning in a park. It was so cold that even dressed in multiple layers of clothing we didn't last more than a few hours.

Today's Additions

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It's starting to add up!

Gotta Have Rhythm

The rhythm of weaving is music to my soul.



It calms me.



The repetitive movements are soothing.



It becomes a form of meditation.

Finally Allowed to Play

The commission is done. Well sort of. I may make some changes yet.

I got the turkey pies baked and as a bonus I used the leftover pastry to make a strawberry/rhubarb turnover.



That left a few hours in the early afternoon to PLAY on my new SAORI loom! I had a load of fun!


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It's Here!

My Saori* loom arrived three full weeks sooner than I expected! It was delivered on Friday and though I did quickly assemble it and weave a "header" just to check all was well with the shipment, I have not allowed myself to play any further.



Dustbunnie has been patiently waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a commission to be done and I simply MUST get it done and out the door before I allow myself any further distractions!

I've been knitting as much as I could on the shrug that is part of the commissioned Minifee outfit but with Canadian Thanksgiving being tomorrow it has been a rather busy weekend. Hopefully I'll have the commission done and out the door by mid week and then I can PLAY!

*SAORI, (pronounced Sow Ree).

Grandma's Mosaic

My six year old granddaughter said the handwoven, hooded, Saori tunic I finished sewing up today reminds her of a mosaic.



I think she meant it as a compliment.



When I asked her which part was her favourite she said "All of it!" and added that she liked all of the "details".



I'm glad both granddaughters didn't run in fear or laugh themselves silly.



It may be wild and crazy, but I like it.



It's very comfortable to wear.



And for convenience sake I included pockets in the seams between the front and side panels.



And I added a hood so that I could use one of my favourite pieces of the yardage that I wove.



Now I hope I have the courage to actually wear it!