Kitty in the Patch

Here is what my first quilting project is supposed to look like when I am done:



And this is what I have done so far:


You will, perhaps, notice that I put the kitty on backwards. 'Cause I am awesome that way. The lesson to learn here is, of course: Don't attempt new crafts at 5:00 am.

Trying something new

I started my very first quilting project this morning. I have wanted to try quilting for a while now, and I finally worked up the courage to start. The project is a pretty simple applique wall hanging, with four squares featuring a black cat and pumpkin design with a block border. I got all the border pieces cut out this morning and one black cat cut out and attached to the background.
Whee!

Thought I would share some more experiments in dyeing. Here's a bunch of roving that I have done up over the last few months:

I actually dyed these a few months ago, but never got around to posting them. I had scored a huge cone of this horrible mustard yellow mohair yarn from the classic elite factory store, and promptly set about overdyeing it to much less horrible colors. Well, in my opinion anyway.







I had 2 other colorways that I did from this yarn, which were mostly reds and oranges, but I managed to sell them before I took a picture. Whoops.

This one was from a different cone of natural white mohair yarn:



From that same cone, I made the following:





For the pink/red neckwarmer, I kettle dyed the yarn, and then knit it up, while for the second one, I knit it first, and then dyed it. Good times.

I am still on a sewing kick and have a bunch of stuff to share. Lately, I have been using my insomnia to my advantage. When I wake up at 4:30 and can't go back to sleep, instead of staying in bed and wishing I was sleeping....I've been dragging my butt up to the studio and getting some work done.

Here's what I have been up to:

More aprons:











Knitting needle cases:











And purses:






So that's pretty much what I have been up to lately.

In other news, I have changed studio mates. Amber left our space this month, which makes me a little sad, but I totally understand why she needed to do that. My friend Jaime is going to be moving in with me, so I am looking forward to playing around with our space. I am finally putting up curtains! (or at least, I will be as soon as I can get someone who is not afraid of heights to come over and help).

So, I thought I would post some handspun yarns today. I was just realizing that I have quite a few that I have not shared.

So, here we go:





These 3 yarns are Ghoul, Banshee, and Zombie. They started with the same blend of natural white alpaca, black alpaca, and neon green wool. Zombie is the single, Ghoul is plied with black metallic thread, and Banshee is plied with glow in the dark thread (although as it turns out, the glowing powers are not as strong as I would like - probably should have used several strands to get the effect I was looking for).

Next up we have two yarns that are eerily similar, though not intentionally.




The first is called Wavecrest, and is an alpaca/silk blend. I bought this fiber during my first trip to Rhinebeck. The second is called Cloudy Skies, and is alpaca blended with some sparkly stuff. Apparently I am very drawn to the color combination of teal and white.

New sewing

So, after months of not really making anything, I have been on a sewing kick this week.


Yes, the lining fabric is printed with panties and bras and stuff.



I have also been making a lot of aprons:

Red Cluster Bracelet

You may have noticed that my crafting tends to be somewhat cyclical. What I have been doing lately is playing with dyeing yarn and fiber. It's easy to get a bit carried away. Just to give you an idea of the craziness, in the last 2 months or so, I have dyed 54 hanks of yarn, and 2 lbs of fiber. I have found playing with color to be very satisfying.

Today, I'd like to show you some of the sock yarn I've dyed up.

Patriot (superwash merino)


America's Sweetheart (superwash merino)


Raspberry Cocoa (Superwash merino / tencel)


Cornucopia (tencel)


Autumn Field (tencel)


Clouds at Sunset (tencel)


Swell (superwash merino / tencel)


Imperial Jasper (superwash merino)


Grace (tencel)