I finished a pair of socks this week -  The stitch pattern is from the Syncopations Socks, a free pattern from Mary Henninger on Ravelry. I also used the Gusset Heel Basic Socks by Wendy Johnson for the heel. The yarn is some handspun that I spun during Tour de Fleece this past summer. Luckily, since I ran out of colours, there were cooler temperatures this past week for the temperature blanket. Photos from Around - Miss Maggie tolerates GingerSnap a bit more - he just wants to be near her. I had help harvesting in the garden (next year we might need a fence around the garden ..read more

Not much time for crafting this week. I did finish spinning a skein of sock yarn - a merino/nylon blend that I started during Tour de Fleece in the summer. Finished up a few more colours of wool for the temperature blanket - I think the hot temperatures are almost over anyways, and I am glad that there won't be leftover wool. Photos from Around -  High winds today, so another dead tree down. Molly is always helpful though. Dot earning her keep - 6 of the chickens seem to be laying now (2 of the breeds). They are all super friendly, and follow us everywhere. They even knock at ..read more

This week was all about mini quilts.  I finished two. The clamshell one was cut using a GO! die. 'Present me' was so thankful that 'past me' had written a tutorial on how to sew the clamshells! It is about 10"x16". Ginger Snap needed a little placemat, To match Miss Maggie's (the original one from the tutorial). The next one was made using some leftover 3" blocks and scraps.  It is about 11"x13". I made it for a little cabinet. Works in Progress - Cooler temperatures the past two days. Weaving with new colours this week. Photos from Around -  The big news is that ..read more

I finished the set of three towels (two with plain cotton and one with bouclé) - I am so pleased with how they turned out. The pattern (Heavy Meta towels by Plain Weave) is so lovely. There have been many firsts for me with weaving these towels. Another one was cutting off some finished towels before I finished weaving the whole warp. I tightly wove a few inches, added a lease stick and wove a bit more, then cut off the towels. I tied the warp back on, ready for weaving. I think I have enough for two more towels. My plans are to experiment, then tie on a new warp so I don't have to thread ..read more

I am still really enjoying weaving on the Meta towels- Finished the second towel, and started the third one in cotton bouclé. Hopefully there are no temperature blanket police checking. Photos from Around -  Sunrise over the pond. Morning walk. Going to be windy. Blackbirds on the other pond. Now mainly the beloved pets! Best friends Checking each other out. I can't imagine what they are thinking about Molly. The chickens are so curious. 18 weeks now. A good resting spot (his leg is still recovering). Plenty of rest - tongue out and all. I don't know what is happening with ..read more

This week I finished the first of the towels on the loom.  My speed has improved - now about an hour to weave 4"! It is really an amazing pattern - I don't fully understand the ins and outs, but it is a joy to weave. There are three different weave patterns going on at the same time. The bold graphic "woven" pattern in the pale green, a more subtle diamond pattern throughout the whole cloth, even in the grey sections (also woven with the green thread), and a background of plain weave underlying everything (shown here in the hems at the end of one towel and the start of the next - the ..read more

It is that time of the year where everyday involves some kind of canning/freezing/drying/preserving of the bounty from the garden - One thing this week was plum sauce (like apple sauce) - it is the first year that we have had enough plums to make anything with. Works in Progress -  Handspun socks - the stitch pattern has started to show. Ran out of the first colour (the hottest temperature) for the temperature blanket. Slowly but surely the woven tea towels are growing. Photos from Around -  The chickens are now able to roam free - Molly and the cats seem fine with them. 16 ..read more

Lots of works in progress this week -  I finally started weaving on this new batch of tea towels. It is a pattern from Etsy I have been wanting to try, but it took me three attempts to get the warp on the loom (I kept making threading repeat errors! Over 600 threads!!). It is my first time weaving towels with 16/2 cotton. The weaving is going well, and much more fun now that I have it figured out. I started a new pair of socks with some handspun from TdF last month. They are my regular toe-up socks, but with the stitch pattern from Syncopation Socks by Mary Henninger (a free patte ..read more

This week I finished a pair of socks that had been on the needles for a couple months-  My fourth pair of handspun socks so far this year. This one from a BFL/Nylon blend I dyed and spun four years ago. Cooler temperatures this week, but because I am running out of some of the colours I have had to shift the colours/temperatures sequence. Photos from Around -  Ginger cat's cone is off - his leg and other parts have healed well. This is the closest Maggie will get to him, and only because that is where her food is (she still manages to complain lots while eating). Molly love ..read more

This week I finished the pair of socks I started on our road trip- I knit socks toe-up, two-at-a-time, on one long circular needle, from both ends of the ball of yarn to be able to us up of the yarn, and the small bundle is all I had left - about 1m (1yd). I knit a regular 64 stitch sock (with a gusset and eye-of-partridge heel flap), but added a simple cross over stitch pattern (4 stitch repeat, over 2 rows), just to make the knitting more interesting. The socks are from a BFL/Nylon fibre that I dyed. I tried something 'new to me' - small dots of colour with areas left undyed. When I s ..read more