Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
All tagged wool
In March, I wrote about the Combo Spin I did and the project I planned to knit with the handspun yarn. Remember the four fiber braids that I started with?
Check out my newest post to see the completed project!
It’s been a while since I’ve done a ‘Let’s Weave . . .’ post where I take a look at a particular weave structure. Today’s exploration is basketweave.
Cheviot sheep are an ancient breed that originated in the cold, wet, rugged Cheviot Hills on the border between Scotland and England. They were noted as early as 1372 and likely selected for monastery flocks due to their hardiness. Initially, they were called 'Long sheep' or 'White sheep' in contrast to the Scottish Blackface. Sir John Sinclair is credited with naming these hardy sheep he chose for his estate in Caithness, North Scotland.
Today’s post is about a project I’ve had on my mind for probably five or six years. The time was right to do it finally. The vest is inspired by a design by Nancy McRay and published in Handwoven magazine's September/October 2009 issue. The original project, woven on a rigid heddle loom, created five sections on two different narrow warps joined to form the vest. I made several alterations to the original design to make it my own.
I love handspun yarn! The rhythm of spinning is relaxing while the interplay of colors and textures equally imparts joy. Like many hand spinners, the result of my passion produces an abundant and ever growing handspun stash. Although these skeins are pleasing eye candy on their own merits, my practical side prods me to find a project that befits them.
Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are in the midst of winter.
Snow is rare here, but we do get the occasional “wintery mix”. Within that mix, there can be a moment of transition when ice crystals begin to form and cling to any surfaces they contact. I think my skein of handspun captures that event quite well.
A common occurence at this time of year is for bloggers to review or highlight posts from the past 12 months. I thought I’d do my own spin (pun intended) on this practice and write about projects that I completed, but never posted.
A common occurence at this time of year is for bloggers to review or highlight posts from the past 12 months. I thought I’d do my own spin (pun intended) on this practice and write about projects that I completed, but never posted.
In the last post ‘Dyeing a Pyramid’, I shared a teaser, a photo of a skein of hand painted yarn. Now, here’s the story.
. . . a color pyramid.
You likely are familiar with a color wheel which presents the colors (hues) and their relationships in an evenly spaced circular format.
After weaving the project samples for my book, I had a bit of an 8/4 cotton warp remaining on the loom. I perused my stack of Handwoven magazines and saved project files for some inspiration and decided upon weaving a little overshot on this remnant.
What? Is that a breed of sheep? Or some newly discovered aquatic plant fiber?
Continuing with Alpaca - The Mini Series, today's topic is blending; blending two fibers, in this case Merino wool with alpaca, as well as color blending to achieve a tint (lighter) color.
In today's post, I thought I would share my process from beginning with unspun fiber through the production of a finished woven project . . . in other words, Fluff to Stuff.
Oftentimes, I find a new project is stalled by the process of color decisions. I'm sure you can relate, whether your creative medium is weaving or knitting or pottery or scrapbooking or home decorating or [insert your own]. There are so many color choices, where to start?
There's a lot of competition here at the farm for Best Spinner and Best Weaver. Despite my undaunted efforts, I don't think I'm winning.
