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

Works in Progress - A warm week for the temperature blanket. This week we went on a road trip, and this was the project that I took with me. A pair of socks knit with yarn I spun during TdF. Photos from the Road Trip -  We drove to Alberta to visit family, and had such a lovely time. Passed a salt mine in Saskatchewan, it always reminds me of winter - there was lots of smoke in the air from forest fires. Stopped overnight in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and saw Mac the Moose, the worlds tallest moose (a title reclaimed from one in Norway after new antlers were added in 2019 - the o ..read more

Tour de Fleece ended today. This week I spun two skeins of yarn for socks- A Merino/nylon blend, and a BFL/nylon blend. This is all the yarn I spun during the three week spinning event. 1230m/456g of yarn in total. My goal was to spin for at least 30 minutes a day - which I did. I also finished weaving another set of towels. A pattern from Handwoven magazine Jan/Feb 2015 - "Cajun Inspired Tea Towels", in 8/2 cotton, and the textured one is woven with cotton chenille in the weft. Works in Progress -  Photos from Around - Morning walk. 11 weeks old. I am amazed how the garden ..read more

This week I finished a second skein of yarn for Tour de Fleece-  A BFL/Nylon blend for socks. Works in Progress- A warm week and some new colours for the temperature blanket. Chickens added to the cross stitch. Photos from Around-  Molly on a morning walk. Tiger Lilies at their peak. Tall Day Lilies, and some purple Poppies. 10 Week old chicks. Changing everyday. With all the heat (and pumping out the water last week) the garden is doing great, and I was able to finally get it weeded out (so many bullrushes growing in there!). All the best!♥︎   ..read more

This week I sewed a sundress- It is the same as one I made last year (a combination of two different Lutterloh patterns). This one is from a rayon fabric given to me by a friend clearing out her stash. I finished the skein of yarn I was spinning last week for Tour de Fleece. A blend for socks. Works in Progress- Temperature blanket (over half way now). I finished the little "mountain" scene along the bottom! Photos from Around- Lots of aerial spraying in the area because of all the water in the fields (this one started just after 5am spraying across the highway - amazing skill!). Moll ..read more

Tour de Fleece started yesterday (an annual spinning event that takes place at the same time as Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes). My goal is to spin at least half an hour everyday, and to spin yarn for socks (also trying to make a more consistent sock yarn). I finished a bobbin of a spin I had in progress. I also dyed up some more fibre in preparation. I also sewed a tank top using the same fabric as the cardigan I made last week. Works in Progress- Temperature blanket Cross stitch New "on the go" socks. This is a gradient handspun. Photos from Around -  The chicks h ..read more