Crochet cowl (16/52)

I recently finished crocheting a new cowl, I don't need another one. However I'm fairly sure that you can never have too many! I made it using the wool that I spun back here.

I didn't have a pattern and with only 100g of wool I knew I needed to crochet something quite open otherwise it was not going to go very far, the plus side of that is it crochets up quite quickly.

It tones in perfectly with the colours in my garden don't you think?The bright pink leaves belong to a type of Coleus I think, but I'm unable to find a picture that quite matches it. Many years ago my Nana gave me a bouquet of flowers from her garden with a few pieces of this amazingly, almost unnaturally coloured plant in it. It's the sort of plant that obviously grows quite easily from cuttings as it took root in the vase, not one to waste such and opportunity. I popped them in the garden and they flourished! Isn't it an amazing colour? Nature is amazing!

Woolfest (12/52)

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending the Auckland Woolfest with a couple of lovely blogging friends (thanks for the ride Leonie!). The weather was particularly nasty but we landed a perfect park right out the front and of course the cold makes for perfect wool/fibre buying weather.

I set off with a buying list in my mind, and a cash budget, fibre for spinning was at the top of the list. I am happy to report that I picked up everything I was looking for as well as a few things I didn't even know I needed!

This fibre "Gone bush" from Fibre 2 Go was spun up pretty quickly, I've got a small shawl like scarf in mind for the finished yarn, which I hope will crochet up as quickly as the fibre was spun.

Woolfest was a bit like being a kid in a candy store! So much colourful squishy goodness it was hard not to give it all a hug! I'll share more of my purchases over the coming months as I spin them up! Spinning seems the perfect way to spend these cooler evenings.

While taking the yarn photos I've discovered the little mossy world that is my BBQ table. It might need a sand and a coat of oil before the Summer!

dog's bowl (10/52)

Late last year I popped into a fibre selling market with my boy, with a strict budget and knowledge of exactly what I wanted. Except that boy of mine fell in love with some super soft squishy blue merino sliver and I left without the fibre I wanted, well some of it anyway.

He picked it up and declared that he needed a hat, and I was to spin it up straight away. I did, but in the heat of Summer he quickly realised that it wasn't the most perfect weather for hat wearing. I just knitted a rectangle and at the top stitched it into four points, super easy. I added a few stitches in red on the side too, his favourite colour (it always helps to ensure it will actually be worn).

The weather here STILL isn't hat wearing weather, but last time I looked he was using it as dog storage! I'm hoping the weather cools soon, I think it's a bit wasted as a dog bowl. Don't you agree?

Spun - Things I've made (6/52)

I've been doing a lot of spinning lately. The evenings have started to cool and it's a great way to unwind and relax and clear my mind. Not to mention the bonus of having lots of beautiful hand spun wool to crochet with!

The fibre is a Silk/Merino blend, Navajo plied, soft and silky, delicious to touch. Navajo ply is one strand chain plied ending up as three strands plied together. Great if you want to keep colour blends or gradients true, but also great if you have just a small amount of fibre spun. I often ply any remainder fibre on my bobbins this way to keep my bobbins empty.

I love the colours that seem to blend in with colours in my garden at the moment. The colourway is Johnathon dyed by Fibre2go.

Have you made anything lately? I'd love to see what you've been making so leave a link in the comments if you'd like to share?

Things I made (1/52)

Late last year I challenged myself to spin some thick/chunky yarn. Each skein I've spun since I started learning to spin has become more fine and even, to the point I'm left with extremely thin yarn that I end up doubling when I crochet with it, it seems a little absurd, all those spinning hours wasted. As it turns out however it's extremely hard to return to spinning a thick yarn (I was warned of this when I first started), my fingers just didn't want to co-operate. In the end after much frustration I spun one thick and one thin and plied them together to create quite a bumpy yarn.

By chance I stumbled across a knitting pattern for a shawl that I loved, I haven't knitted in a very long time. I also only know one stitch, but luckily that is all the shawl pattern required! Unfortunately the yarn doesn't show the stripes of the pattern made by changing needle sizes and I also ran out of yarn! So it's ended up quite a bit different to the pattern and the image I had in my head. I also crocheted a small border along one side to cover up the fact I ran out of yarn half way through the last row and I had no idea how to rip back the stitches, hmm I don't think I can claim it's from any pattern really.

It is however super soft and snugly organic merino, all ready for those cooler months coming soon I hope! Anyone else melting just a wee bit? Summer is not my season.

spun

 A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of giving some preschool children a try of spinning wool. They were doing a unit on farm animals and spinning wool tied in nicely with that topic. I took in my wheel and a selection of different animal fibres for them to touch and have a try spinning with my hands guiding. I bought along some super soft Angora rabbit fibre and Alpaca and of course, some sheep wool too!

They were so excited and I enjoyed watching them feel the fibres, the Angora rabbit fibre was the biggest hit (it is SO soft!) with one little boy spending most of the day with his hand in the bag. As they did a little spinning with me, I wound the spun wool back off the bobbin so they had a little something to take home with them. That was the biggest hit, each of them proudly taking a little sample of their "work" home and showing their friends too. I was exhausted by the end of it all, how do teachers do it?

buttercups and daisies

Do you remember the wool I spun and dyed recently? The "spring green" wool has been transformed into a "Buttercups and Daisies" cushion. 

The Buttercups are crocheted with some 50/50% Silk Merino that I had in my stash, the Daisy petals are 100% silk that I spindle spun! The colours look a little washed out in the photos, the green is darker and more vibrant in real life. I used a thrifted woollen blanket in a soft green for the backing.

I'd love to crochet a big picnic in the same style, it would be like sitting on a summer lawn! I doubt I've got the patience (or the pockets) for such a project, but wouldn't it be fantastically magical? Perfect for a Winter picnic in the lounge.

spring green

I love that first burst of Spring growth, it's a colour of green that you just don't see at any other time of the year. The foliage is baby soft as it unfurls, a vibrant green, a true sign that Summer is on it's way.

A sign of longer days, of getting washing dried in mere hours (can't wait!) and cooling off at the beach.

So it's a bit of a surprise to find inspiration for dying wool amongst all that vibrant, warmth heralding green! Last week I spun some Merino and a Merino/Coopworth blend that I had been given in my "to spin" stash, I spun it thick and within a few hours it was done. I delved into my dying supplies, hoping to recreate some of the greens that are gracing my garden at the moment.

I was pleased with the results! A bit of a relief, my dying has always been a bit ht and miss, ahem.

I've got a "spring-like" project in mind to use it up. Watch this space .......

weird

I once saw a bumper sticker type thing saying "Spinning, because knitting/crochet is not weird enough". OK it just said knitting, but I feel the need to add crochet in there too, since I don't knit!

It struck a chord with me, I think lots of people view handcrafts in that same way. Why make something yourself (from scratch) when you can go to a shop and buy it cheaper? Without the effort? I remember the time some mothers at playgroup said, in a not very nice way "I can only make a mess" once they discovered I'd made an item of clothing for one of my kids. I got the feeling they didn't think it was worth the time and effort.

Why indeed? Why take the time to spin fibre and then crochet/knit it into something functional? Why knit or crochet at all? Why sew clothes for your children when you can buy them so cheaply at shops? Why not go with the instant option?

Well, for one, taking the time to do something, make something with our hands is something special. The act of taking the time to make something for someone (or just for yourself) means a lot in today's throwaway, instant world! It's not always about saving money (crafters know this for sure!) but creating something that isn't mass produced. It's about doing something our ancestors did and making sure the skills and information remain for future generations. It's about having time away from television and computer screens and holding something tactile in our hands.

Getting back to basics and taking time to relax and enjoy the process, knitting, crochet, sewing or even cooking! It's good for you and your soul and that my friends is - priceless!

(The pictures are of a cowl I made this week,  my handspun yarn 50/50% Merino and silk and a make-it-up  pattern.)

spun

On Saturday I had the good fortune of teaching some lovely blogging friends spinning! Five spinning wheels took over Cat's cozy lounge. 

There were lots of laughs and some yummy food to share. Luckily for me, one student didn't need any teaching at all and was able to help teach too! I was able to teach her how to Navajo ply, a technique that produces a three ply yarn with a single thread - a bit too much technical  information I know! I was glad she was able to go away with a new technique learned.

The highlight for me was that by the end of the session everyone had produced some yarn and had a go at plying and were able to take something finished home. The skein below belongs to Lisa of Big Little, isn't it delicious?

Thank you so much Cat for hosting us and Lisa, Laura and Leonie you were all great students and it was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with you. There is talk of a follow up afternoon, I'm looking forward to it!

experimental

 I've wanted to make some fabric yarn  (spun on a spinning wheel) for a long time, but with lots of other projects on the go I haven't really had a chance to sit down and experiment. I did get a wee chance over the weekend, nothing like a rainy Autumn weekend to be nicely tucked up inside and creating.

I started out using a very soft vintage sheet that was a bit too soft to sew with. I'm not going to sugar coat it, it wasn't as easy as I had imagined. I stopped, did some online research and tried again. Still slow going! I'm not a patient crafter, ahem and that's putting it mildly if you ask my husband. SO there were some grumbles and then I decided I'd try another day, but it's been bugging me ever since as to why I couldn't get it to work how I wanted it to.

 I've heard the weather isn't going to be so great this weekend, so I might give it another try then. I've got a new idea about how I might go about it. Are you a patient crafter?

weekending + last chance to enter giveaway

Finding the first Guavas on my little tree was the highlight of the weekend! It will take a few years till it produces enough for some Guava Jelly, but I can't wait! The last of the "wild flowers" are flowering, not many left now but just enough to have a pop of colour in the vege patch where the kids and I scattered some seeds in Spring - they survived the drought. I'm working on a special something for a special someone and  amongst all the goings and comings this weekend I managed some time to make a little something with this silk/merino that I spun, the first time trying to add beads when I piled it up! It's deliciously soft.

Last chance to enter the Penny Scallan giveaway! I'll draw it sometime tomorrow morning.

public

Just a few pics from the weekend. I was spinning in public for the first time as part of a local "arts and crafts" festival. It went well and I didn't get asked too many tricky questions! I also managed to get a couple of bobbins filled too! My neighbour bought along one of her Angora rabbits, which stole the show and was a the major draw card. We had a wheel set up for people to have a turn on and we had quite a few takers They all were really good! It was great to see all the children having a go, they seemed to be more keen than the adults. It was amazing to me just how many people had spinning wheels at home but didn't know how to use them, just goes to show that New Zealand is really the home of spinning wheels!

an introduction

A very nice thing happened to me earlier this year and it's just occurred to me that I didn't share the good news here.

I was gifted, yes gifted! this Ashford traveller spinning wheel from the lovely Jessicah of Spinning a yarn. It was a truly generous gift . I've been having lots of fun learning to spin (with mixed success!) and it's so nice to have lovely yarn to crochet with. The kids have been very interested too, I almost always have a companion when I'm spinning. It's been a nice relaxing way to spend the winter evenings. Thanks again Jess!

Things have been quiet here for some time, I've found it hard to get back into blogging. Although quiet here, I've been busy. I've got a tutorial to share next week and some more things planned too - stay tuned!

spun

Things have been quiet here on the blogging front, the above gift has everything to do with that! Hopefully I'll drag myself away from it sometime soon to tell you all about it and show you what I've been up to.