My New Scarf

This is my new scarf that I have just finished. It's soft, fine & warm, just what the weather is calling for today. It's cold & wet outside today & only 11 degrees, a far cry from the beautiful warm sunshine of yesterday.

But getting back to my scarf, it is made in a fine 2ply cashmere yarn from  Belisa Cashmere in Bundanoon. The pattern is a simple drop stitch one found at Frazzled Knits. It's the same pattern that I used to make this green one last year. It's amazing how  changing the yarn can make such a difference. This is what the pattern looks like close up.

Now to decide what next to knit? New gloves or a bag? I so want to do both!

Fun With Blackwork

I have been having fun with a black-work pattern lately. The pattern is one that I created myself using  a photo as inspiration. I was planning on using the whole photo, but only managed a small part from it. The pattern would have been too large for the purpose of what it was being designed for if I had  used the whole photo.

This piece was started to test out the pattern & see where it would take me. I wanted to know how the motifs could interact with each other. As I stitched, I saw huge possibilities with pattern placement, colour usage, stitches to leave out, stitches to add in etc. That is the case with any pattern I guess. It's been fun though, & I have another two examples of the use of this pattern that I will show you further down the track. You will all just have to come back later to see what they are.

Top Done

This is another quilt for charity, a combined effort from myself & another lady. M******* put together the appliques, & cut & assembled the patchwork corner blocks. I have stitched the appliques, pieced the squares & added the borders. The design has come from a Patchwork & Stitching Annual magazine Vol 8 No 10. It still needs to be sandwiched with batting & backing, then quilted & bound. The progress of this quilt so far can be found here & here.  It has been made only from scraps, mostly poly cottons. I prefer 100% cotton for quilts  but I guess someone will love it no matter what it is made from.

A Crochet Experiment

Last year I had a lovely day with my friend M____ in the City shopping for yarn. As we walked into one store, I spotted a lovely scarf that was just crocheted squares joined together. At first glance they were Granny Squares, but on closer  inspection they were a little different than the usual Granny Square. I could have bought the pattern, or made a sketch & figured it out myself, but I came to the conclusion that any motif would work. So home I came, & ventured through all my Mum's crochet magazines (that I now have) looking for an appropriate motif pattern. I found heaps in my search, including one triangular one which I thought could prove interesting & different. In the end it was too big, so I modified it down to what you see above.

I set about crocheting the motifs in a cheap & nasty variegated acrylic yarn, then had fun trying to join them all together. I still have yarn left but feel that the scarf is long enough, especially as I feel it needs a "finish" on the ends. What the finish will be I have no idea, as I feel a fringe is not quite right. Any one got any suggestions?

I wouldn't mind making another one, but next time in something finer & much better quality.

More Dorset Buttons

I have been playing with more Dorset Buttons. There were four rings in the packet so now I have finished all four. They will all get some felt & a brooch clip applied to the back & be sold on our sales table later in the year. With these two I have combined wrapping with needleweaving & In one some surface stitching.

I still have another packet of rings, that's another four buttons. Come back to see what I do with those.

My New Scarf

Finally finished! This is a scarf that I started at the end of winter last year. The yarn was fine, very cheap & very old, so consequently caused me many problems.

I chose a pattern off the Net, then proceeded to use only part of the pattern. It was very simple, involving only a few stitches and eight rows in the repeat. After a few rows, I found I was making mistakes, & proceeded to try to unpick it stitch by stitch. Because the yarn was so fine, it was difficult doing this, so I decided to rip out the needles & start again. Trying to unravel the work already done, the yarn gripped to itself, & would not unravel. I tried to gently coax it with a tug, but only succeeded in breaking the yarn. Mmmm............... old yarn............is it worth the hassle?

Well, it kept my fingers busy so I kept on with it, mistakes and all. There are plenty of mistakes, & I will be the first to point them out. They remain in the scarf purely because of the age & gripping factor of the yarn. I knew if I tried to unpick them I would end up with problems again, so I made a choice to leave the mistakes in. I figured that once scrunched & rolled around my neck, the mistakes would not be seen.

The fringe at the end is crocheted. I wanted something different to the normal fringe, so crocheted some rings & chains & attached them to the ends.

OK, so it may not get an A+ on any marking scale, but it is warm & will be great on those cold winter mornings that will be sure to come in a few months time.

Dorset Buttons

 

Last Monday I had the pleasure to be a part of a Dorset Button workshop with Judith Langdon. What a pleasurable day, & what a pleasure it was to be in Judith's class. I have wanted to make these little gems for some time. I could have figured them out for myself but by being in the class there were other hidden gems to nut out, which may not have happened if I had been on my own. I can be "that student" when I am in a class, asking all the hard & tricky questions, but this didn't phase Judith at all. We spent some memorable time together nutting out how to produce a high top version.

The top pic is my first ever Dorset button, while the one below is my second one. There will be more to come, including some experiments with making a high top version.

 

Working for Charity Pt 2

This is how the little appliquéd squares look when combined with some plain squares to make them go further. When complete, this will surely  brighten a  child's life.

Working For Charity

Well, it's been a while. What can I say? Yes, I have been creating, I create in some way every day. I have to have my textile  fix in some form at least once a day or go crazy. The fix can take on many forms, magazine browsing, chatting with textile friends, fabric/thread/yarn touching, pattern browsing or making, helping others with sewing dilemmas, visiting some textile exhibition, designing in some form for a new project,or simply playing with with needle fabric & thread. On any given day you will find me involved in at least one of these activities & quite often more than one.

So what have I been doing? Well, there is the knitting, the bobbin lace, the pulled work, the appliqué, the counted thread bookmarks,  the reticella play, not to mention helping my newest prodigy (hello Miss C)  with her sewing adventures. So you can see I have been creating, & you will see it all in good time. My Mother always used to say that all good things come to those who wait.

Today I will show you the appliqués I have done for another quilt for charity. They are all out of scraps, stitched onto a poly/cotton background. Poly/cotton can be such a pain to sew on, it always seems to pucker no matter how much stabiliser I use. The puckers will all blend in when the whole quilt is pieced, sandwiched, quilted & bound. Come back in a few days to see the quilt pieced together.

Merry Christmas

Snowflake mania hit my fingers at the beginning of December and by now they would have arrived at their destinations, decorating a tree of one of my family or friends. They are crocheted, with no pattern, only an illustration to look at. I am happy with how they turned out, and the variety is endless, looking so pretty hanging all together. Note to self...... must make more.

 May the joy of Christmas be in the hearts of everyone today, along with love & understanding. No matter where you are this Christmas Day, snuggling by the fire, watching the snowflakes fall, tucking into roast turkey, or braving the heat, paddling the feet in water, & munching on prawns, may your day be a special one to share with family & friends.

Merry Christmas

One & All

Christmas Is Coming

Every year try to make a new decoration for my Christmas tree. This year I have a fixation for crocheted snowflakes, & I have found so many different ones that it is hard to choose. I am not sure why the snowflakes as it is usually quite hot here in Australia over Christmas. Maybe I think they will cool it down.

This is the first crocheted one I have done, hung in a cheap metal bracelet from a $2 store. I was lucky that this one fitted in the ring, the other one I have done is too big, so I will have to find some other way to hang it.

At this point I would like to wish my regular readers a Very Merry Christmas & a creative 2012. I have put this out early as I know things around here will be pretty busy for the next few weeks. So until I return in January,

Christmas Wishes to All

Mediterranean Lace - Experiments

This morning in my in-box I had a comment on my Knotted Lace post from way back in 2007. Mmm... suspicious, that's why I have comment moderation on so I can check out who is leaving comments before I publish or reject them. This morning I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out Couch Crochet Crumbs. It is a blog full of Turkish Oya & the writer of this blog can actually make those gorgeous edgings. I am soooooooooooo jealous! I have admired this kind of work for many years & so want to lean how to do it.

I have two books on Knotted Lace by Elena Dickson, one of which I have had for many years, & would you believe I have never used them. Opened & looked, yes, but never used. So this morning I have pulled them out, opened, read, & played with needle & thread. Above are my efforts. OK, I could do better, but this is my first go at this kind of lace so please be patient with me. My pyramid is a little warped & my flower is a little lopsided. I just have to watch my spacing, but I am sure that will come with practice.

The EG here in Sydney is offering a one day course in Armenian Needlelace in January so I have enrolled already. Armenian, Turkish, Mediteranean, they are all from around the same area so I am sure the differences will be slight. The course is for a small doily, but I really want to make the flowers & learn how to attach them.

Watch this space!

Pulled Thread Exprimenting

I have been experimenting with some pulled thread stitching lately, wanting to find out what stitches produce what textures. It is amazing how thread choice, plus the number of threads stitched over, will change the whole look of a stitch. This is only a sample, stitched down the side of a major piece I am working on. No tidbits of the major piece though I am sorry, I am hoping to have that finished for exhibition in August next year. So if you can all be patient, I'll show it  to you all sometime after then.

The Effects Of Colour

Isn't it amazing how colour can change the feel of a finished piece? The above two little tissue pack covers are both made from the same hand dyed fabric and both have the same stitching pattern as decoration. The only thing that is different is the colour.

With the top one I started with a commercially dyed variegated thread in a harmonious colour scheme, then picked out some of the colours to use in plain dyed stranded thread. I think the end result is very pretty.
The bottom one is more of a triadic colour scheme, using the blue of the fabric with red & yellow stitching. A much more dramatic effect than the top one.

Out of the two, the top one is my favourite. I have always loved cool colours in a harmonious colour scheme. I am still not sure of the triadic colour scheme though, but many of the people from my stitching group loved it. All a matter of taste no doubt.