29 August 2014

Scarves-a-rama

Happy Fibre Arts Friday! This week I finally finished off two woven scarves, one had been on my loom since April and another one I had done weaving a few weeks ago but it was not finished until yesterday. I realised that I am not very good at finishing projects although I like starting them, which explains why I have so many UFOs. The lure of a new project is greater than completing one, perhaps I should only be allowed to start a new project in exchange for a finished one, I will need a stern enforcer.

This scarf was started back in April, with my hand-dyed warp and weft. For some reason the tension was all over the place and I was so disheartened with it that I didn't touch it for months, then one day I forced myself to forge ahead and finished it - because I wanted the loom for another project. I was very pleased to find that once washed and dried, all the imperfections with the tension was gone and the scarf looks rather nice ...
 

The second scarf was started at the beginning of this month, so it's not quite a marathon project as the first one. It only took 3 days to weave but again it took me weeks to finish it off. I'm calling this Blood Orange Tweedy Scarf :)
Now my loom is empty and I need another project!

Thanks for dropping by, please hop over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder for more fibre fun.


22 August 2014

Learning Navajo spinning

Happy Fibre Arts Friday!
It was my birthday last week and I got this gorgeous Navajo spindle from hubby, well, he didn't know that's what he was getting me but we were both happy with the arrangement :P
The whorl of the spindle is made of reclaimed ancient 45000 years old Kauri wood and the shaft is Tasmanian oak, the slab bowl is made from Western Australian Mulga. All these are hand turned by Lair of the Bearded Dragon, the other half of Charly - the wonderful owner of IxChel Yarn & Fibres.

I was a little apprehensive of this huge spindle, but after watching this video clip a few times I found it was actually not hard to do. You lean the shaft against the side of your thigh and roll with your fingers, I'm only doing park and draft at the moment, in time I'm hoping to become more proficient. The motion is surprisingly soothing and it just feels like the most natural thing to do, there is something really earthy about it. 

That's all from me. Thanks for dropping by, please hop over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder for more fibre fun.



15 August 2014

Entrachat Citrus - almost finished

Happy Fibre Arts Friday! 

Sorry I have been slack in my posts, don't you hate it when the day job gets in the way of your fibre time? But then one could argue that if one is better organised one could... oh well, evidently this "one" is not that organised!

I have finally booked my flights to China in September, it's my mum's 70th birthday so I can't miss it. Unfortunately the first born has to do his work experience (the only window of opportunity left for him to do this - he's not that orgnaised either, guess who he takes after!) so he has to stay behind, and so hubby has to stay behind. At least I still have Elliot for company.

As such I am now in gift hunting-gathering mode, and I've been making some gifts too. Although it has been generally agreed that many Chinese people don't appreciate handmade stuff, my family is somewhat different in that respect... my uncle is an artist so he appreciate all arts and crafts, my aunts have requested my handknits in the past so they obvious appreciate the efforts, and so I've been busy making things...

This is a cute little bolero/cardi for my niece, the yarn I chose is much thicker than the pattern calls for so I followed instructions for size 2/3 to get a size 5/6. I think it worked :)
The pattern is Entrachat on Ravelry. My project page is here.  I still need to sew the button on and do the edges around the sleeves, but other than that it's done. This is a cute little pattern, it didn't take too long to knit, for me it took about a week of bedtime knitting. I've got another one on the go for my other niece, this time in pink.

I also wove a scarf from one of my early handspuns, it's a little shorter than planned but still a good length, so I am happy.
Oh, you might have gathered from my previous posts that I am a Game of Thrones fan, so is my business partner Sparrow. In keeping with our obsession of GoT we are hosting a Night's Watch SKAL (spin-knit-along), using the Night's Watch shawlette pattern by the talented Lara Smoot. The sign up for the SKAL is open, the kickoff date is 10th September and runs until 30th November. If you don't spin there is a knit only option. Details can be found on our Facebook page or in our Ravelry group, pattern code, prizes details, etc.

Night's Watch Batt:
Night's Watch Yarn:

That's all from me. Thanks for dropping by, please hop over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder for more fibre fun.