Fibre Ropes

Hi Everyone

I have good and bad news today ! If you visited yesterday, you will know I was working on fibre jewellery and more specifically making fibre ropes. The good news is that I've developed a great preparation process for making good quality ropes, consistent in shape and strength. The bad news is - I didn't get the three stranded pieces completed and have changed my mind again re the fastening - such is the life of a Maker ! However, I've got a plan. 

I'm going to develop a series of thinner ropes for the stranded versions and will use the versions from yesterday as a layered necklace, wearing individual necklaces in various colour combinations - together. I think the layered approach will allow for more versatility re necklaces colours and will form more of a statement piece.

My breakthrough came with the preparation of the fibre ropes. Previously, I had simply rolled the ropes into shape from layers of fine merino wool. This approach is fine but doesn't always (easily) give a uniform rope. In my new approach, I used a blending board to construct rolags and then developed the ropes in the usual way from the rolags ie using soap and hot water to wet the wool and then rolling inside a sushi mat.

                    

My photo story shows the series of steps taken to develop the ropes. I need to experiment a little more with sizes. The rolag is developed on a 12x12ins. blending board and the final rolled rope is about 24ins. long. The final length has something to do with the amount of wool on the board as well as how tightly the rolags are wound. I'd like to be more informed about these factors to design the right size roped for my stranded necklaces. Also - at this stage, I'd like to stick with the metal clasps (see yesterday's example) for closing the necklace rather than using my initial press stud option. I will report further on my experiments next week.

Thanks for calling in today. Have a great weekend.

Fibre Jewels - next phase

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm developing my Fibre Jewels Project into a new Making Workshop. I've already made a couple of pieces, a necklace and a bracelet (read back here for details on the initial project). These pieces are complete with their fastenings and beads in place.

The next fibre jewel phase will develop new colour combinations as well as multiple rope designs. I'd like to try and create a three strand necklace and bracelet version. The fibre element will be quite straightforward, it's the fastening which presents more of a design challenge.

I've seen a press stud fastening idea which I think could work well - so, this is my first solution for the multiple strand pieces. Wish me luck.

Here's a quick reminder of the first Fibre Jewels results :

                    

I'll share the results of this next phase along with the initial finished pieces tomorrow. I haven't decided on colour combinations yet. I'm going to look in my wardrobe to try and develop something which will compliment a few outfits. I think a gradient colour combination may work for me.

Thanks for calling in today.

Socks Update

Hi Everyone

Today, I'm celebrating finishing (the knit part) of my latest sock project. These socks are using the yarn from Edinburgh Yarn Festival (last month) read about it here.

The finished socks are for my lovely husband and will always remind me of Edinburgh and the great day we had (celebrating my birthday too). I've named them the Edinburgh Socks !

                       

I've yet to weave in the ends and block the socks. Hopefully, will do that later today - lots of ends to weave in !  They are lovely and soft and the yarn (Socks Yeah - CoopKnits) was a dream to knit with. I even made my way through the dreaded (to me) Kitchenor stitch closure without too much trauma ! The sock pattern is a very simple plain sock, I wanted the stripes to 'pop' and be the main feature of the design. I knitted both pairs at the same time but on seperate needles using Magic Loop. I did start knitting both socks on one needle but I find the stitch management a bit annoying. I like the idea of separating the sock construction parts and knitting each section and then moving onto the next. This approach eliminates the second sock syndrome and helps make identical socks.

So, my next sock project is already planned. I like to have a pair of sock 'on the go' at all times ! I'm going to make Om Shanti by Alice Yu. These socks are quite a short sock with a lovely texture pattern. They also have an interesting cuff - corrugated rib and a beautiful heel (more detail when an get there). These socks will be for me.

I'm going to dye some yarn for this job. I've not decided which colour I'm going for ? I will spend the day pondering that one. My favoured colour at the moment is a Moss Green/Blue blend, a light blue. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Thanks for calling in today.

Spindrift Shawl

Hi Everyone

I'm excited to share the progress of my latest knit project. I'm knitting the Spindrift Shawl by Helen Stewart and enjoying every stitch. The pattern is very easy to follow and alongside every row, Helen gives the total number of stitches for each row. I love this detail. Having a stitch count throughout is reinforcing at each stage, where I am in the pattern as well as confirming I'm actually following the pattern (something I tend to find challenging with almost all patterns).

I'm also thrilled with how the yarn is knitting up. My photo isn't giving a true colour - there's much more of a green/teal look going on.

               

This dye job was an experiment, I wanted to create something which would compliment denim as well as a range of blue/green pieces of clothing in my wardrobe. I'm using the new dye's from my visit to Wingham Wools last week (read back yesterday for more on this). I think the colours work beautifully and each row of the shawl delivers little speckles of moss green, mustard and a dark teal colour - such a joy to enjoy the yarn. It's probably the first time I've felt like this about one of my dyed yarns, although, I did create a red combination a little while back which I knitted up into the Neck Candy scarf. The red, grey, mustard combination was quite pleasing at the time.

                                

Getting back to Spindrift, I'm just through 40% of the Spindrift knit and feel as if I've just started. The shawl has a lovely deep lace border which is something I'm very much looking forward to trying.

                 

I will share my shawl when finished - I'm not entirely sure where this will be ? but I'm thinking it will be quite soon.

Thanks for calling in today.

Fibre Shopping

Hi Everyone

It's a 'back to work' day today ! I always struggle to get into my work mode following a holiday. My usual tack is to have a slow start and a VERY short list of things to do. I'm working on that approach today. So, not much going on for me.

However, on reflection, I've had a lovely Easter break - very quiet and mostly lots of sitting around making things. We've also had some good family time and one very exciting shopping trip ! 

Last Friday, I visited Wingham Wools (you can find them online here). They live in a smallish village in Yorkshire and have the most amazing selection of fibre related things. Lots and lots of different fibres as well as spinning tools, fibre dyes, books and much more. It's a great place to explore, I could hardly contain myself. The problem was - what to buy ? It was quite difficult to stop seeing things to buy, in the end, I eventually came away with a great selection of things. Under the circumstances, I thought I was very restrained.

                         

I was mesmerised by the range of merino colours. Lots of single colours in a rainbow of shades in a large shed and another shed with more merino in some lovely blended combinations - with a few bargain bags. My particular favourite colours (at the moment) are navy and mustard so I was especially pleased with 200gms of merino. I also chose a bag of mixed blended merino (another 200gms). I wanted to look for some unusual fibres when I saw the range of sample bags and eventually chose Crab Top - how how is that possible ? and Banana Fibre as well as Camel. I'm not quite sure what I will do with these fibres ? - some kind of blending ?

My final purchase was a selection of dyes. These are a lovely range of colours, mustard, navy and green in beautiful natural shades. I've used the dyes already in a little project (will share the results tomorrow).

My job today is to find projects for each of my new fibres - I'm already there with the navy and mustard merino but not sure about the other stuff. I probably need to review my whole current fibre stash and make some plans.

Thanks for calling in today.

Polymer Jewels

Hi Everyone

Just a quick post to share a few jewellery items from my 'playtime' yesterday. These simple pieces have been in the design stage for quite some time ! I'm not sure why I've taken so long to finish these items ? However, the prototypes are here and I'm wearing them all today. I need to know if there's any issues with the practical 'wearing' part of the design. I'm hoping all will be well as I've a few pieces which are similar 'in construction'. It's the only way to check out a design ie wear them !

                  

                

If each piece works well for me today, I'll add a few more colour ways and bead shapes. I'm aiming to make this range available in my shop. 

I've already got a few bracelets in a similar design which I wear almost everyday - hence my name for the Collection. I'm hopeful that these pieces will be a major part of my jewellery work for a few months. I'd like to add a few rings too. The range will also get some sterling silver wire in the final production pieces.

Thanks for calling in today.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Knitting Project

Hi Everyone

I've another knitting project in the planning stage to share today. Not that I need another knitting project at the moment ! I have a long list of project waiting for my needles. However, this one will take a while to prep. I'm hoping by the time my current list has been completed, I will be ready.

This time, I'm spinning a new wool and pairing it with some ready made stuff. The wool for spinning is my first delivery of the Time Travellers Club from Hilltop Cloud. I recently joined this monthly club to give me additional inspiration in my spinning journey.

                 

The Time Travellers Club wool is 85% Merino/15% Sari Silk and has lots of beautiful shades of green with vibrant coloured silk threads from the Sari Silk. My photo does not do justice to the colours. I'll try for a better image next time. I'm excited to see how the wool will spin up. I will be going for a light DK weight yarn spin. I'm pairing my own spin with a 75% exra fine Merino/20% Silk/5% Cashmere yarn in shade 0525 which is a carrot-like colour.

I'd like to make a cardigan with my yarn. My pattern is a Andi Satterlund pattern (free pattern on Ravelry). The pattern is a cropped cardigan with 3/4 sleeves.

                      

I think, I will use the contrast carrot shade for the bottom rib, the front bands, neckline and sleeve rib with my green coloured hand spun yarn for the main body of the cardigan. I want to reinforce the button bands with ribbon and find some pretty buttons. That's the plan.

Thanks for calling in today.

Hand Dye Experiment

Hi Everyone

I'm following up my story from yesterday re the hand dye experiment. Read back for details. 

I'm rather pleased with the results - I went for the Chartreuse Green colour and it's very pretty. I was unsure about how the grey coloured wool would take the dye but no problems there and the variegated finish is just right.

                     

I need to find my leftover Dovestone (read back to yesterday for details) and I'm read to go with the shawl.

Wish me luck.

Thanks for calling in today.

Shawl Yarn Update

Hi Everyone

Today, I have a little progress towards the new shawl (Sweet Marie Shawl) to share. Read back last week for more on this project. I've hand spun the initial natural dyed/neutral wool in blue/green/gold and have around 100m of yarn to work with. The shawl needs more, so I've got another 20m in neutral and a further 65m in mixed neutral/grey hand spun. My plan with the mixed neutral/grey is to dye it.

                        

My dilema is ....... what colour ? At the moment the colours are a little subdued for me. I don't have rules about colour but this combination seems to lack something ? I'm considering a Chartreuse green or a Tangerine orange ? for the neutral/grey yarn. 

In addition, I will still need a little more yarn to complete the shawl and have an idea to add some of a left over green yarn (Dovestone dk) from a previous project. I have some arm warmers in this yarn and am thinking the shawl will offer a good combination to wear alongside the arm warmers. Check out the arm warmer story here.

                        

Will let you know how things turn out.

Thanks for calling in today.

New Toy

Hi Everyone

I'm sharing my latest toy today - a Blending Board. 

                        

The Blending Board was created From Scratch here in our own workshop. Thank you to my lovely husband. The Blending Board was my Easter gift, I don't really do chocolate so this was a lovely alternative to a chocolate egg. 

As you can see from the photo, I've tested out the technique for producing rolags with the Board. It works beautifully and I've lots more ideas for new blended yarns.

Later today, I'm hoping to find the time to spin the rolags. I'll post my results to share.

Thanks for calling in today.

Plans for a shawl

Hi Everyone

I started sharing my acquisitions from St Abbs Yarn Festival (8/4/17) at the begining of the week and was slightly distracted by Wednesday ! However, I'm back on track today with a lovely idea for a shawl. I'd seen this shawl knitted up at Edinburgh last month and intended to acquire the yarn there. I ,somehow, didn't buy it ? The Edinburgh Yarn Festival proved to be quite a challenge re keeping a clear head. The shawl pattern is called Settler Shawl and designed by Libby Johnson. It's a paid for pattern on Ravelry.

Anyway, before heading off to St Abbs, the shawl idea was firmly on my list and the first thing I bought. I knew Lyndsey from Blue Moon would be there but I wasn't sure there would be any of the threesome yarn left ? Big smile from me when I saw the yarn.

                  

As mentioned, the yarn is from Blue Moon  details of the shop here - I love these colours and am excited to start the shawl project. I need to clear my needles of the socks I'm knitting and then I'll cast on. I think the shawl will be a great Summer thing, great to wear with denim. The shawl pattern is simple but gives a hint of being lace. I'm very wary of lace knitting, it's not usually my thing. I think it's to do with having to concentrate and keep my eye on the pattern. I tend to drift off and before a I know it, I've gone wrong !!  This time, I'm going to do it - no matter how long it takes I WILL make this shawl. I'm sure Im going to enjoy knitting the shawl. The colours of the yarn are so lovely.

As usual will keep you informed of my progress.

Thanks for calling in today. Have a lovely Easter Holiday.

Sock Talk

Hi Everyone

I've a little update on my latest sock project today. This is my second pair using Magic Loop rather than my usual double pointed needles and my first Magic Loop version of a 'cuff down' pattern. My first Magic Loop techniques was a 'toe up' version.

I'm not sure what I think about using Magic Loop ? - as with all things, there are advantages and disadvantages. I'm finding the management of the needles OK generally but I'm not very happy with the laddering effect which is caused by the Magic Loop. I'm hoping blocking will help even out the line of stretched stitches caused by using the long circular needle. There are many You Tube videos on the Magic Loop if you are keen to know more about this technique. I'm also familiar with a number of discussions re this 'laddering' effect. I need to do more research. You can just make it out in the photo - it looks a little like a crease in the centre of the sock (top sock).

                   

Lots of people use a circular needle for socks and I'm wondering if I need to go for another pattern - specifically written for Magic Loop. My usual sock pattern is the same one I've used forever ! Once I've measured the foot, I hardly need to look at the pattern. It's a plain, very simple sock which I tend to vary with the odd cable or colourwork. 

To avoid the problem of  '2nd sock syndrome' - I'm knitting two socks at once. I've had them on the same needle but not found the needle management very efficient (for me). I'm now using two needles and knitting each section of each sock, one after another and this is working out well for me. I'm almost there with the socks above, another couple of evenings and I'll be finished. This is the sock yarn I bought at Edinburgh (read back a few weeks for more on Edinburgh). I will have enough yarn to make another pair in a slightly different colour pattern. I'm not sure what I will come up with re the colour pattern ? I'll give it some thought later today. I'm also going to try and find another pattern specifically for Magic Loop knitting.

Will share my progress in a few days.

Thanks for calling in today.

Blending Experiments

Hi Everyone

I've a little news about my spinning story from yesterday - take a look yesterday for the detail. 

I've taken the dyed wool and prepared the three separate colours into something I could blend. My plan was to keep the individual colours but add some neutral fibres for the blending process.  I've tried to create a gradient blend using the neutral wool and will aim to spin from dark to light. I'm hoping the rolags I've produced will help me order the dark to light shades for the spin.

                           

So far, I've manage to spin the mustard/gold rolags and will go to the green next. I need to check I've enough yardage in the spin before I can be sure to have enough yarn for my shawl (see yesterday for details). I'm not sure exactly what my plan will be if I'm short of yarn ?  I could keep with neutral yarn or I could develop another batch of contrast colour. I can't make more of the original natural dye wool and anything I try and match will not work as a direct match. The natural dyes have a specific tone and I love the depth of the shades so my choice will be tricky ? 

I'm going to spend the day thinking about my options and hopefully complete the spin of the remaining two colours.

Thanks for calling in today.

Spinning for a Shawl

Hi Everyone

I have another acquisition to share from St Abbs Yarn Festival today (read back yesterday for more on St Abbs). This time it's some natural dyed wool.

             

I bought the wool from the Cornhill Crafts stall. This stall is run by Eve Studd,the same lady I had a great experience with re the Shibori Dye Event a few weeks ago (look back for more on this). Eve had a few large baskets of dyed wool in lots of lovely colours. It was quite a challenge to choose but in the end I went for my usual navy with a green and my favourite of the moment -a deep mustard. The colours are lovely, 

I'm finding it almost difficult to spin up because I like the material the way it is ! However, I need to 'get a grip' with myself and have decided to develop a lightweight DK using a blended spin. I'm going to blend the coloured fibres with some natural Blue Faced Leicester wool and keep the individual colour ways. So far, I've carded the wool so it's ready for blending. I'm not sure exactly how the yarn will look yet or how much of a blend I will create ? I think, I will try for a section of very light colour shade followed by deeper shades throughout each colour way. I'm happy to let the wool tell me what to do.

Having pondered for a few days, I've eventually found a shawl pattern which I think will be good for the finished yarn.

                        

This is a free pattern from Wool And The Gang. It's an easy knit on quite large needles with a crochet border. I plan to use the different colours to give a striped effect across the shawl. The shawl will have three distinct sections using navy, green and mustard. That's the plan. Things could change ? I'll keep you informed as, I go.

Thanks for calling in today.

Lazy Start

Hi Everyone

I've had a very late start to my day today ! It's, in theory, a partial holiday for me this week. The kids have a school Easter break and I usually take the same break. However, this week, I'm going 'part time' - this means I'm planning specific jobs and will have some time off too. I'm going to keep blogging but may post a little later in the day.

I've had an exciting weekend. On Saturday, I went to a yarn festival with a friend - St Abbs Yarn Festival. This is about an hours drive away so we had lots of time for chatting. I had such a lovely day which included bringing back lots of lovely yarn stuff. I thought, I would share my acquisitions over this week, as I did when I returned from the Edinburgh Yarn Festival a few weeks ago. I'm going to feature each purchase with the intended use. Hopefully this will  help me to focus on what I've bought as well as give me a project schedule for the 'making' part.

So, my first thing to share is a couple of skeins of yarn. I love this yarn. It's an amazing colour, hand dyed Natural Indigo. I am always attracted to blue but this shade of blue is especially lovely. Each skein has an individual tone and lots of depth. The yarn came from a fabulous local artist at the festival. All her stuff is amazing you can check her out here. 

                       

I'm pairing this yarn with my own spun and dyed yarn to make a poncho. The Indigo yarn is 4ply Blue Faced Leicester/Masham - British Wool. So soft and compliments my own yarn which is also Blue Faced Leiscester.I've talked about this project a few times - if you want more background on my yarn check out the details here. 

The poncho is a very simple knit - a stocking stitch (lots of it) 'scarf' with an i cord edge on the neck and bottom of the garment. The neck part is stitched on each side to form the poncho. The diagram in my photo story gives a better idea of the finished garment.

                      

My version will have several distinct colour blocks using my own hand spun/dyed yarn and the lovely Indigo yarn. I see the i cord element in the Indigo too and particularly like the way in which the colours work with denim. Can't wait to finish. However, there's a way to go, I'm probably about a third of the way through the knitting. It's just stocking stitch over and over so I need to have smallish sessions. I have a project marker going on and feel it's going well. I had decided about including the Indigo yarn early in the project so have been waiting to purchase so hopefully, I can move on quickly and make good progress this week. The week will be relaxed so I'm keeping my knitting on hand for any quiet moment. I'll keep you informed about my progress.

Thanks for calling in today.

Fibre Jewellery - update

Hi Everyone

I've a little more news re my progress with the Fibre Jewellery Project today. The basic fibre ropes which form both the necklace and the bracelet are probably my preferred design. I like the idea of using coloured and textured fibres to create the whole design, keeping the form simple. However, I've developed some beads to embellish the ropes, giving the original design more options.

I've made a simple peyote stitch collar for the bracelet, using seed beads. I quite like the look but still prefer the simple rope. I can slip the bead collar over the clasp, so I have the option of easily taking away the collar if it suits.

            

I've also added a silver chain to the necklace. The chain I've chosen is very simple and quite delicate, I tried a number of different chains and this one seems to suit. I'm going to add a clasp to the chain (although the necklace comfortably fits over my head) I like the idea of changing the focal beads I've developed and need some way of slipping the beads on and off the fibre rope without undoing the jump rings which attach the chain to the barrel ends. I feel I'd like the flexibility of changing the look by changing the bead. Here's a quick look at the beads so far :

                            

These beads have been developed from polymer clay and have a large hole to slip over the fibre rope. The plain coloured beads will get a layer of paint to highlight a surface pattern design, followed by a polish. At the moment, I'm favouring the bead on the far right, although, I think the plain beads will compliment the rope necklace best. 

Thanks for calling in today.

Have a great weekend.

Fibre Necklace News

Hi Everyone

As promised yesterday, I have a fibre necklace (almost) to share today. I used the same technique as described in yesterday's post (read back for details) but lengthened the fibre rope. This time, the rope is slightly thinner but uses similar barrel end findings. My plan is to add a chain to provide additional length.  In addition, I want to add some more decoration to the rope and have decided to create a polymer bead collar.

                           

Today, my task is to add my chain and develop the polymer bead/collar. I'm thinking about a single colour, taken from the range of fibre colours - not sure which as the moment ? I will develop some kind of surface pattern on the bead to compliment the barrel ends and the chain, aiming to bring the design together.

The necklace sits beautifully in a slight arc shape and am already planning a couple more samples in other colours. I quite like the idea of making a layered series of strands in a neutral colour and dying to give an 'ombré' effect - possibly in navy ? I'll keep thinking about this one.

Thanks for calling in today.

Fibre Bracelets

Hi Everyone

Having declared I was moving away from fibres for a few days, I'm straight back to making stuff with wool ! It's a hard habit to 'kick' ! In my defence, this Fibre Jewel Project was scheduled and has been in the Project Workbook for some time - it's a coincidence ! (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

The project is a fibre 'rope' finished with metal findings.

I've made the fibre rope using a regular wet felted technique. I layered coloured wool fibres, wet them with soapy hot water and rolled them in a sushi mat until round and firm. After rolling to the desired width, I pinned the rope in my preferred shape with blocking pins onto a sponge board to dry. 

The bracelet needed to be trimmed to size after drying and I spent some time dry felting the ends in preparation for glueing into my barrel end findings. The whole process is very quick and I do like the look of the final item.

                

My plan is to wear my bracelet today, to check how it works as a practical piece of jewellery. I do want to add some kind of beads to the bracelet and am thinking about a peyote stitch collar which picks out some of the different colours in the felted fibres. I'm hoping the collar will sit somewhere in the centre of bracelet, maybe it could move along the length ? There are lots of possibilities with this bracelet, I'll keep thinking about my options throughout the day. 

I also have another fibre rope 'under construction' , this one will be a necklace. Hopefully, I will have something to share tomorrow.

Thanks for calling in today.

Making Beads

Hi Everyone

Looking back over my blog posts of the last few months - there seems to be a huge bias towards fibre related stories. Generally, I think, this is giving an impression that's all I do ! However, much of my time is spent designing and making jewellery of some kind as well as creating and developing  projects for workshops and tutorials. So, today I thought I'd include a few images of some especially lovely bracelets which were made from a recent workshop. 

                      

                       

All these bracelets are fabulous examples from my popular Doughnut Bracelet Workshop. Each set of beads looks lovely and the colour choices are amazing. I've taught this workshop many times but I'm not sure I've seen a complete set of bracelets quite as 'polished' (no pun intended). Well done to everyone involved.

I've got another jewellery project in the design stage today. This time it's combining fibre and beads. I will share the results tomorrow, don't forget to check out the blog tomorrow.

Thanks for calling in today.

Knitting News

Hi Everyone

I've a little news update re the wrist warmer project (started last week). Friday's post detailed the 'purposeful spinning' idea which is all about spinning for a specific project and I'm reporting on the results. Read Friday's post for more on this.

Over the weekend, I knitted a few wrist warmers and learned about the techniques involved in colourwork. In addition to the actual colourwork techniques, I was also a little unsure about how my hand spun yarn would cope with colourwork. However, I'm happy to report - it coped very well !

 I have concluded, I would have achieved a more distinct contrast pattern with single block colours. One of my colour choices was a mustard/grey/blue blend. I do love the way the coloured blend works with the blue and natural colours but I think a single yellow or dark blue would have given a higher contrast in the stitch pattern. However, the general consistency of the hand spun yarn is very pleasing and the finished wrist warmer is pretty. A positive and very enjoyable knit. I really enjoyed the colourwork technique. Here is a quick look at one of the wrist warmers prior to blocking - I've simply pinned out. I will block both wrist warmers when I'm finished the pair.

                      

One issue which concerned me from the begining was how tight my knitting gauge tends to be. I was right to be concerned. My first completed wrist warmer is a whole size too small. I'm now in the process of knitting a third to give me a pair of warmers which match in size. In addition to my tight knitting tendency, I almost always have issues following patterns - I start with good intentions, then go 'off piste' and resolve any issues as I go. This time, I was determined to stick with the pattern and so it was - it's very easy but I did manage to keep with the stitch count and the colours throughout (as stated). My gauge has slackened considerably and I think, I'm there - in terms of my technique. I also can report very few occasions where my yarn got tangled - major achievevment !

The idea behind this project was twofold - I wanted practice on 'purposeful spinning' and practice re colourwork technique. I think, I can be very pleased with myself.

Thanks for calling in today.