Thursday, April 28, 2016

Some More … Mori

Here is a little Mori purse to carry little special things. It does not always need to be carried around wherever you go; sometimes it likes to just hang around the home.


Beginning with a crochet circle and then adding a different yarn to grow the circle outward these darling goat locks, which had been spun into yarn, were anxious to be included. I think this is the perfect project for them. A bit more yarn to snug these locks in & I was  finished with one side of my little Mori purse.




The other side of my purse is crochet with one yarn spun from glorious fiber nuggets; so many colors and different fibers create a one of a kind yarn. It’s like a gypsy rhapsody.




So, there’s not a front or a back to my little Mori purse, just one side and the other side.

I made a long strap by loosely braiding favorite yarns together. And then to really finish off my little Mori purse a security device was crocheted using another glorious fiber nugget yarn, this time in lace weight. 



Sassafrass buttons from the woods make a perfect stopping point for this closure. But before we go, check out the custom wood burnt design.


Saturday, April 23, 2016

Another Favorite Project - #02 Bateau-Neck Pullover

Another favorite project that I am still knitting is the Bateau Neck Pullover sweater by Patty Lyons for Vogue. To keep somewhat with the pattern yarn requirements I spun up a blend of oatmeal BlueFaced Leicester wool and silk into a light chunky weight yarn. My original plan is to dye my finished sweater but as I have carried this project along to various knitting groups I get a  response mostly of ‘no, you can’t dye this...it’s beautiful just as it is!’ And it is very pretty the way it is. I’m so thankful to have other voices point this out to me. On the inside though I’m continue to imagine this project in a rhaspberry wine with just the very edges of the arms & waist bands dipped in a pickle green. Maybe I should make 2 of these: one in natural, one in my suggested colorway.


Handspun yarn is really interesting to make a garment; there are thick & thin parts of the yarn throughout. Overall, it creates a warm rustic wearable item. Because the fibers that I chose to blend are next to the skin soft these pullovers can be worn from Autumn to Spring.

This photo shows how my WIP with the piece in front blocked and the piece behind it not blocked.
It is knitted in the oatmeal BFL wool/silk blend, chunky handspun.


 And now for a light grey version and spun slightly more chunky….


It is a big ol' bundle of yarn

Close up showing off the blend of fibers



One Of My Favorite Projects To Make - The Lionberry Scarf

The Lionberry Scarf by Narniel of Endor

This project keeps my interest due to the changes in the texture and the knitted patterns that formed as my knitting progressed. I learned several new knit designs and I especially love the sort of circles that formed in one of the patterns. 

My Lionberry scarf is made with a very special skein of yarn that my daughter obediently picked up for me while she was in London. It is a beautifully hand dyed merino /cashmere blend from Eden Cottage Yarns. Victoria has one of THE best color palettes...I chose the steel grey because it easily coordinates with the majority of my wardrobe. 

This past year I have experimented knitting with sock weight yarns. Lionberry Scarf is one of the projects; I loved making and I love wearing it. I want to make another and probably I’ll want to make another still. 

I thought about other colors that would capture the patterns in this scarf; the color choices need to be kept light, I think, in order to preserve the visual texture. On hand, I had fibers in several shades of aquas and turquoises and greens and, just a bit of sparkly stuff. These got blended together with my hackles and finally became a handspun sock weight yarn. 
Aqua Gold


While these cool shades were being spun I thought about developing a colorway for the warm side of the spectrum. Rose gold is one of this year's ‘colors’ and I am smitten by it. There’s a little sparkly bit is this color too! Rose Gold