Ye Ol' Knitting Factory

     It's been a busy week of knitting ... although I did manage to slow down a bit over the weekend. There are two more items still on the needles, but not for long as they'll be done this evening. I'll need to deliver them to http://www.rocaroalpacas.ca/ and pick up more bulky wool to do a few more. The idea is to have some stock ready for their show on Feb. 12th in Wolfville. The hats are fairly basic and knit from bulky yarn. The headbands are double knits as there's a rib lining on the inside, making them very thick and warm. They're truly a luxury item. All these yarns are also available through the above link. Just contact Caroline for prices and availability. 


     The spinning was put on hold this past week, but I'm yearning to get back to it. I'm nearly done spinning the singles for a two ply sock yarn in black alpaca and sari silk bits. It has a very interesting look so far and it isn't even plied yet. The socks are going to a friend in the city who collects antiques. He's swapping me a skein winder for them. I really need to get that winder too, as any more snarls in the lace weight alpaca yarn because the back of a chair was employed, is going to drive me over the edge. My husband flatly refuses to hold the skein while I wind the balls from it. 


     I guess that's about it from Ye Ol' Knitting Factory for now. Stay tuned though ... more will follow soon. 

Flashy Felted Slippers

     This is the second pair of slippers made in the wet felted technique using a resist. I love the way the colors worked out. I made the inside with violet and mulberry, then put two light layers of yellow over top. Lots of ultraviolet Angelina and a wisp of yellow to lock it in.  A bit of embroidery, a suede sole and presto ... my new slippers. They're nice and warm too. 


     Using this technique, you can make several different styles. It's just adjusting the length between the feet. You could make boots if you wanted to, but would have to enlarge the instep so you could get your feet inside. After separating the feet, you can change the style by how you shape the opening. 

Just Playin' Around

     I've been experimenting again ... and while I'm doing that, have satisfied a need for a small case to carry my business cards. They always seem to get messed up on the corners in my wallet, due to the heavy traffic in there, I'm sure, so I needed something just for them that would keep them clean and free from rubbing against other things. 


     The experimental part was playing with the Angelina fiber. Up until now, I've just been gently "sprinkling" the fibers over the second to last layer from the top, then applying a very thin layer of fiber to lock it in. I've been finding that very time consuming as I have to pull it apart and almost let the air place it on the fiber. It always seems to take me a long time to place it. Then I have to be so careful not to cover it with too much wool or it vanishes completely. I was also finding that some of the fibers were coming loose and falling out. My solution was to bond the fiber to itself first by pressing it with the dry iron between a folded piece of paper. It will only stick to itself. This creates a flat sheet of Angelina which I can now place were I want it and cover with a very whispy layer of wool. Because it's bonded, I like the look when it sort of bubbles in spots and no fiber is lost. The extra sheen is amazing too. 

     This will probably be my last attempt to photograph this effect as it's just not working. I can't seem to capture the effect at all. This photo sort of gives you a vague idea of what I'm talking about. You can't really see the fiber, only the holographic shimmer it reflects as the light hits it. I'm truly in love with the effect and tend to use often in small projects. Now that I've discovered that bonding it works better, I'm thinking of using it in sheets with resists for slits and cut outs as well, Oooohhhh ... the possibilities! 

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

     I'm getting a bit slack with my posting here, but I have been otherwise occupied by visiting relatives. The highest ranking member of the family as well as the second heir to the throne, after myself,  were here for a couple of days so we did some catching up and ate a lot. The one from Montreal brought me the squeaky cheese curds I wanted, as well as an amazing surprise assortment of soft, ripened Quebec cheeses. Oh my heavens they're good!  I had given myself a wee break from my cholesterol medication, but due to this extravagant gift, I'm back on it again, just to be on the safe side. The grand matriarch from quaint Sherbrooke Village brought a couple of her award winning, totally to die for, rhubarb pies and some deliciously healthy bran muffins to counteract the effects of all that cheese. 

     So, while the relatives have now toddled off to the  South Shore, to spend a couple of luxurious nights at White Point Beach's Lodge, I was able to complete this bag. I had laid it out and wet it down before they arrived, meaning to find some time to work on it while they were here, but since I wasn't feeling my best, it required all my energy just to keep up with the meals. I rescued it just in time as the mess had developed and faint but offensive oder and I had to wash it out before continuing before I drove the smell into the wool, which seemed fine at this point. This bag required a lot more hand rubbing than I've been used to up until now, due to the complexity of the pattern. The diamonds are made of prefelt and each had yarn around it. In order to keep them in place I had to work this through the mesh for a long time. The results were well worth the patience it required. This is also my largest project so far. I think this will be the limit for awhile as finding space for anything bigger is going to require moving some tables together, all of which have other uses. 

     So here are three shots of the bag so far. I still need to make some simple ropes to serve as handles. I'm not sure if I'm going to add any beading to this. The more I look at it, the more I think the pattern is busy enough and beading would take away from the effort that went into putting it on. All the prefelt has Angelina fiber in it anyway, so I doubt there will be beads added. Once the ropes are on, there will be knots and tails too, so it's quite well embellished. 


     Well, it's long past lunch time and I'm starving, so see yas all next blog. 

Catching Up

     It's been quite awhile since I wrote anything in here, so today I'm going to try to catch up on some computer stuff. Last weekend I had a friend staying with me, which was an amazingly good time. We ate too much and drank too much but caught up on lots of news and gossip, and made some new plans. It was lovely weather all weekend. Another lady came to visit on Sunday and stayed for supper. She brought her boxer dog to play with Daisy, who was thrilled. She wagged her tail so hard she split the end of it open on something and my house looked like a crime scene since she kept wagging it. I'm still cleaning up little dried blood spots off the door frames. As soon as the weekend was over, the weather changed and I felt awful for about three days ... extreme fatigue and sore joints again. I'm just coming out of that now and only my lower back is bothering me. I did manage to get a small bag made. It's very small but would make a nice little girl's purse. The project was more about blending the two colors evenly, which I think I managed to do. The colors of dark blue and wine blended well and I was happy with the way that turned out. The yarn I used for decoration is a blend of acrylic, wool and mohair. I just love the way it looks and will surely be using a lot more of it in future projects. 

This little pouch looks just like an orange. The inside is red and the outside is yellow, but the blend worked out orange and the pebbled surface resembles orange peel. It's deadly cute! There is yellow Angelina fiber in it too. I have no idea what to use it for, but it's so pretty I will surely find something to put in it. My plans for today involve laying out another small bag ... until my back is feeling better I simply can't handle rolling a large project. This one will have a flap on front and rope strap so that's actually two projects in one as I do the rope separately. There will surely be some Angelina and yarn in it, but I haven't worked out the final design yet. Once it's wet down, I'll make those decisions ... something simple though. I've had some fabulous advice from Andrea Graham, who I consider to be my best resource at the moment as I'm in love with all her work, but especially her bags. I follow a lot of other felt blogs from around the world as well, so there is always some new art to admire and sources of inspiration.