A new sweater project and another rug

This is a sweater for my grandson, size 4, made from Plymouth Encore Colorspun and there isn't a name for the color, I just think of it as Camoflauge.  It's a blend of 75 % acrylic,25% wool and machine washable.  Matthew picked the style of sweater, he wanted a pullover, and it had to be green.

The pattern is from this book.

Here's my latest rug, finished tying the fringe this morning.  Not my colors, but  someone will like it.   Started another one tonight which is a remake.  A few years ago I made a hemmed rug with colored warp and denim/camoflauge canvas fabrics.   Well, it didn't hold up in the washer, and the hem came apart.  It seemed easier to tear it apart and redo the rug. So today was the day to get going on it.http://karensfiberarts.blogspot.com/2007/12/yooper-rug.html  is the original rug, if case you want to see it.

Some pictures of a cat

This rug was finished this morning. 

 It measures 24"wide by 22"long.

 Made from 4 t-shirts, a nice scatter rug size, or just right for in front of the door.

With no tension or selvedge problems.   It was made by laying the strips in the shed and no sewing.  Was in a hurry to get weaving, and didn't want to spend  the time sitting at the sewing machine.   Yes, that's a paw, she had to get the last word in.

Wool, wool, everywhere

 This is the raspberry fleece just back from the fiber mill, Stonehedge. It was mixed with a darker purple and some of the wool ended up a pale rose color, all blended together at the mill.   It will probably turn out a heathery color,and there is a pound and a quarter,so that should be enough to make several small projects.

This is the Cypress, and it is much darker than it looks here.  It is under a pound, probably 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound, but plenty there to keep me busy for awhile. 

This is a columbia/shetland cross white fleece from a sheep named Marshmallow, traded from a friend for some Spin-Off magazines.  The dye was Grape Juice, and you can see the reds in there.   The dye didn't exhaust so they threw some more wool in the pot, and ended up with a deeper purple with more blue in it.  It still hadn't exhausted after that, so they threw in more wool and ended up with an ice blue.    

This is actually the first one I dyed that day, it is Seabreeze and the same columbia/shetland cross fleece.   It exhausted, and I used the recommended amount 3/4 T.

 

There was some purple on the bottom of the  fleece when I dumped it out of the dye pot, residue that wouldn't come off the pan from the last time they dyed.   Don't know if you can see it, but I probably won't leave it in there to send to the fiber mill,there isn't enough of it to disperse throughout the whole thing.   Will get out the hand carders and see what it looks like.   All in all, it was a wonderful day with friends I haven't seen in awhile, knitting, spinning, lots of interesting conversations about fiber and the sharing of ideas and common interests has renewed my spirit.  Thank you Joyce and Kim, for more than you will ever know.

Getting some spinning done, anyways

Now that the cool weather is here, it is time to start working with wool again.   We had a very nice, warm summer, but fall is here, along with some sleet and lots of rain.   This is a Finn/Rambouillet cross roving that I just finished.   I plan to make these mittens from it, if the gauge works up right. http://dailyskein.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/cruiser/

This is a roving a friend and I worked on last summer, then had it sent out to Ziellingers to be carded. The colors are raspberry, orange, purple and a dark blue.   

Here it is on the bobbin,and the plan is to ply it with a denim blue, because when it's plied with the same yarn it is too busy. With the blue, the colors stand out better.  There is quite a bit of blue roving left over from the blue sweater coat that is almost finished,you can see it in the older posts.  It is too small, so for now it's  waiting in the knitting bag until I can figure out what to do about it.  

2012 Fair Entries

This one just needs tying, it got a 1st place anyway.  Has train fabric on the back

Kitchen towels in a vintage pattern.  Bought this as a kit on ebay.

Hand spun yarn, think it's Romney.  Only three entries this year, will have to get busy for the next one.

Cute or what?

 Here is Alice, our kitten.  She is about 9 months old, now and not so little anymore!

She gets along with everyone, even the queen, Muffyn...

Stamped quilt blocks projects

It has been a long time since I have done any hand embroidery, but here are two sets I bought in Branson Missouri last year when my Mom and I went there.   When we travel  I try to find a yarn or craft shop.  These two sets were in a dime store, and just had to get them.  I'll do another blog about this subject soon,and show the finished blankets.  So far the cross stitch animals embroidery is finished, just have to find the right fabric and backing and sew it.  There will be fabric strips between each block, and it will probably go to my grandson.

Back at it

 Here are two top down raglan baby sweaters I ended up making for my friend's twin grandbabies. 

They needed to be gender neutral and this is what I found, the yarn is Plymouth Encore Colorspun. 

 It's nice to be blogging again, we changed computers, and had to learn how to post pictures, etc. all over agan,as well as blogspot has made some changes.   I will be catching up gradually.   Lots to talk about with these fiber hobbies.   It was also a surprise to see that this blog has 4 followers.   Thank you so much!