I took a spinning class from JC Boggs
and we spun some real funky yarn.
I always try to use what I spin,
so I crocheted a bracelet with my yarn
using pull tabs (or pop tops) as a base.
The charm is from my knitting friend, Jen.
You won't believe the compliments I get every time I wear it.
The pattern can be found here. 

Our office is chilly in the morning,
so I finally got around to making myself a pair of fingerless mitts.


The Pattern is called Owl Study Gloves and can be found here. 

This scarf took some time to weave since I did a little finagling 
to make it more fun to weave. 

Suede yarn has always been a pain to knit with because it worms out of place.
The worming nature of the yarn worked to my advantage
and created the nice loops.

And here's how it is done...
Picking up the sparkly yarn.


Inserting bamboo skewers to create spacers. 

On the loom...


The "plain" scarf was a quick weave of the same materials and
will make a nice gift for someone.
It's the same warp and weft.

 

I took a natural dying class some time ago and have had some fun with copper dying.
If you soak copper (tubes, dish scrubbers, etc) in a solution of ammonia and water,
you get some beautiful greens depending on how long you soak the copper tubing.
The actual dying had to be done outside (for obvious reasons)
and the wool had to be rinsed well to remove the ammonia which can be damage the fiber.
I started out spinning the roving, but the wool wasn't the easiest to spin,
so I gave up and put it away until I got the idea to weave with the roving.
I had enough of the handspun yarn to warp my tapestry loom.
When I took it off the loom, I realized it wasn't large enough.
I'd always wanted to try Tunisian Crochet and I had dyed a couple of skeins 
of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool earlier also. 
This was the perfect match for my rug.



Tunisian Crochet tends to roll so I had to really soak it when I blocked it.
I later added another crochet edging (not shown) to keep it from curling.
All in all I'd way it was a good experiment and looks great in my bathroom.

I have always wanted to make dolls from vintage pillowcases,
but they are hard to find.
Luckily I found 3 at SAFF last year.
I finally got around to making the dolls and had so much fun dressing them.

The dolls themselves are made from a pillowcase we got as a wedding gift over 40 years ago.
The cotton s incredibly soft from all the wear and washing.
The skirts are made from the vintage pillow cases I found.
Instead of making the bonnets and bodices from the plain part of the pillowcases,
I decided to use some vintage dresser scarves I had bought at yard sales and flea markets.
I also added aprons.
I'm so happy to have save the incredible embroidery and crochet so painstakingly created
by someone I never knew. 
I think it is better to recycle these items into something my granddaughters will keep
rather than keep them stored away in a drawer.

My neighbor is expecting a baby boy any day now.
This is the hat I knitted for her.



The design is by Sheryl Reed and you can find her and this cute pattern at
Knit Happens!