The theme for the Big Damn Crafters' June challenge is Inara, and I wanted to create a yarn that was luxurious and a bit mysterious, just like our favorite Companion...and I came up with this:





I think I finally figured out how to work with the bamboo fiber (my previous efforts were VERY overspun). And then I plied the bamboo single, which was mostly turquoise, with purple, green and copper accents with the turquoise metallic thread ('cause you know how I love the sparkly things).

I had an awesome vacation in England and Scotland. It was so beautiful there, that it was hard to have to come home again. Of course, one of the things that I liked best was that there were sheep and cows everywhere, and they were cute.





While I was away, my partner for the "I Love Ewe" swap on Craftster received the stuff I made, so now I get to show it off.


This is a tea wallet, made with some beautiful (and shiny) fabrics and embellished with a cute sheep button.


See? It holds tea.



Second item is a summer purse, made with green, leaf-patterned fabric on the outside and a peachy-pink fabric on the inside. There are lots of pockets, and a sheep made with dimensional fabric paint.



And last, but certainly not least, is an apron. This pattern was something my partner had specifically requested, and I thought it was cute. My first attempt went horribly, horribly wrong, and ended up in the trash. It was my first time using bias tape. What a pain! But I love the way it came out. And to keep the cute animal theme going, I added a felt alpaca or llama as an accent.


Isn't he cute? Whatever he is. This was absolutely my favorite thing that I made for this swap, and I will definitely be making more of these aprons, as once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too difficult, and the end result is totally worth it.

I bought this absolutely gorgeous 80/20 merino/angora fiber batt at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival last month, and couldn't wait to spin it up. In the batt, the primary color was teal, but as I spun it, the purples and whites became more prominent, which is always a fun part of spinning. I plied it with some metallic thread ended up with about 430 yards of yarn, which I have titled "Mermaid's Kiss"