Tag Archive | 12″ squares

What’s new?

Not much here, I’m afraid. Going on as usual, spending the winter catching up on book work and restocking looms. And shoveling snow, but thank goodness for Himself! He handles that part because we have lots of it!

But I have been weaving a few 4″ squares along for the Shawl in a Ball project. The bag was getting into such a mess that I decided to do a little Organizing. Yes, really! This consisted of putting together an estimate of squares rows, trying to blend the colors and bagging each row separately. It looks better now and hopefully will encourage me to start sewing up the rows again. I have started. Oh yes, I also cut out a more permanent pattern with a long sleeve. This top isn’t going to have a full long sleeve but the plan is for 3/4 if I can stretch the yarn that far. Well, likely I’m going to have to buy another skein, anyway. That will make 4. I need to make shorter tails. I have been using them in the sewing up but some are way too long.

Anyway, here’s my version of organization. It doesn’t looks like many all neatly bagged up but there are 7-9 in each bag.

Oh yes, I did make another set of the soup bowl mugs. Got this skein of Red Heart acrylic in Team Colors and it is scratchy as heck so finally gave up the scarf idea and wove a couple mug rugs using the 3 1/2″ Tumbling Block. There’s enough left to supply the whole team with them! lol

Yes, and I did indulge in a little doll clothes knitting during the 4 day power outage. It’s fair isle and I find that is not my talent. It looks okay on your far away view but you would have no trouble finding the errors if you saw it for Real. I could not keep an even tension for the life of me. So anyway, I’ll go back to weaving my dolls clothing!

January

Jan3

Looking a lot like winter here! I’m staying in and weaving. Making new “mug rugs” for my soup bowls. I really like those. I used acrylic, which don’t stain easily and and wash up quickly in the kitchen sink. Still working on the Shall in a ball blouse, too. It’s taking a lot of 4″ squares.

Andway, Hope your new year is starting off well and you are staying warm!

Another SweetHeart project!

Dec13

Kiwiquilter posted some of her mug rugs on Ravelry the other day and showed one on a saucer, waiting for the teacup and A Light Came On! I use paper napkins under my soup bowls but why not woven mats?! I had a pile of swatch squares so I stitched 4 together to try for size. Not a bad fit but not what I wanted. The 6″ square might be closer but then I saw some posts on the Facebook Pin Loom group using the Sweetheart and another Light Came On! My soup ‘mugs’ have an apple design and the heart looks a little appley… with a little help. So here’s what I can up with and I am quite pleased with it and intend to make more.

First the square one. Keep in mind that it uses misc. swatches just for size and is not a design. This size would work, I could even fold in the tips of the corners if I wanted it more sort of round.

But I like this one better. The leaves are knitted and I crocheted a little stem. I know this is a short post, but I have more SweetHearts to weave!

It was suggested that I put the worm in his mat so here’s His & Hers!

Back again

Nov15

I keep vowing to do better as a blogger and then falling behind again. It was a full canning season this fall with a huge apple crop, also pears and making relish of the green tomatoes after putting the garden to bed. Not trying to say I didn’t have time, just didn’t take time, I’m afraid. Here’s just a few of the apples canned and frozen. Not to mention eaten both raw and in a pie! And the relish which will be nice in potato and tuna salad next summer!

But I did finally get the yarn I ordered so have been weaving more squares with the Shawl In A Ball yarn. And now it’s nearing holiday season so have been making a few little things for the FireBelle’s fundraiser sale. I donated a couple of 4″ looms to be made up into a basket. But I got the tree ‘bug’ that a lot of other’s have also gotten.

And I also made up a few little needle books & some poinsettia pins and a couple tiny socks both woven and knitted. People will be looking for stocking stuffers, too.

I have a couple more ideas tho it remains to be seen if I get them done in time.

In any case, I hope you are all getting those leaves raked up before the white stuff starts falling. At least I hope it’s going to start falling, so far not even a good frost here. But lots of pretty leaves!

So… Wishing you all a great Family Thanksgiving! And for those who don’t have their family close, Blessings for you as well!

Last show trip of the year!

Oct3

Well, the show are fun and we meet a lot of nice people but I am rather glad to be home for awhile. We’re getting our first rain of the Autumn and there will soon be a frosty morning greeting us. Good time for sitting by the fire and weaving!

Here’s a few pictures from our trip.

Hitchhiker doll Merida had to pose beside a Redwood like any tourist!

And she got her portrait taken with the looms at the CWFF in Boonville. She’s wearing the dress I wove for her, my version of a Celtic design for this Scottish princess.

And naturally she would want to be included in the picture at Cape Blanko, in Oregon on our way up to OFFF in Canby. Here she is with Randy and Stella, watching the whales spouting around the point from the lighthouse.

At OFFF a weaver who was enjoying our looms brought us this bouquet of the Dalias she grew herself to honor our booth! Thank you, Sara! They lasted all the way home, brightening the camper, too!

After the shows we went a little further north to Visit Mt Rainier Nat’l Park, which we had not been to before. The first day was clear and sunny and gave us some wonderful pictures. The next day the clouds settled atop the mountain and it could not be seen. But the park was still beautiful with the fall colors seeming to stand out even more in the fog.

Then we were heading south toward home. But we still had our Tour Guides along the way! 😉

And almost home we saw our ‘local’ volcano, Mt Shasta, wearing her fuzzy winter bonnet! And the wind was blowing up the dust along the way.

So here we are, at home, enjoying the rain, trying to catch up on orders and planning our trip to Medford to stock up for winter. Randy is working in the wood shed as well as the shop and I am weaving on a couple projects in the evenings while the game is on.

Go Giants!

The Diamond Skirt project.

Aug20

Well, I am getting this thing together but I have to admit it is not turning out quite like I pictured in my mind. I pinned it on Madelyn this morning just to check what was happening as it is difficult to tell what I have when it is wadded up in my lap. Even keeping in mind that it has not been blocked I’m not sure the assembly is working smoothly. I may have to redo some of these seams. But the biggy to my mind is the total shape. I had pictured a petal skirt, like one a friend was wearing the other day. I know that on Maddy, it just hangs and does not have the kind of swirly effect it has when you are moving, but I’m not sure it is working. Also it seems to me to be either too long or not long enough. I did a composite sketch showing it shortened. With the diamonds in the same arrangement, the short skirt forms gentle pleats. I would love some feedback, especially from those of you who actually wear skirts.

Making headway!

Aug9

Just to show I am working on it! Got a lot done last evening as the Giants game went Waaaay over time. But they won!

New projects

Aug7

I have three going just now, but the lace has been put at the bottom of the list and will be there probably though September. Can’t decode on a pattern that will work for what I have in mind.

The Shawl In A Ball yarn on the 4” is still a WIP but only getting occasional attention this week.

But I have moved my planned project up to top of the list and it is getting woven a lot faster than I thought it would be. I’d like to get it done before OFFF if I can. And just as a little added interest, to myself if no one else, I am timing it. The Tiny diamonds are taking me 7 minutes each, the 7” take 20 minutes and I wove the 14” in 55 minutes. So I have this far: 35×7+ 4hr 9min. 10×20=3hr. 33min. Plus 1×55+55min. So I have 9 hours and 62 minutes of weaving time in this so far, if my math is correct. As this weaving is done while listening to the Giants baseball games and there is one of those most days/evenings, I might get this woven in about 7-8 more hours or 2 1/2 games.

Go Giants!

Okay, here it is for better or worse.

Jul9

Here it is in pictures.

This one on the right above requires a bit of explanation. I thought I’d try cutting first and stitching later. Bad idea Even trying to be oh so careful it ended up ruffled. I did mange to fix it but did the other side correctly and you can see the difference. Now you’ve had that lesson with no pain of your own! lol

I started Crocheting around the sleeve and after a couple inches decided that that was not good so ripped and found some bias tape which I stitched on instead to make nice neat hems.

Then I found this lace collar among my ‘stuff’. I soaked it into the left-over morning coffee. What do you think? keep or lose? By the way, the color difference is just lighting.

Sometimes it just doesn’t work.

Jul8

Got the Tumbling Block version of the Diamond top woven and assembled at last, after much ripping and re doing—don’t ask!— and find that it just doesn’t work. The shoulders are too sloped and the whole neckline is just too wide. I dug out a sewing pattern and as soon as I get over my disappointment and frustration it looks like this one is going to be a cut and sew project. I am not going to waste this good yarn. So check back now and then. Meantime, the only way I have come up with to enlarge the diamond top is by using the 3.5″ squares to make a side gusset.

Hope you are having better luck with your projects! Here is one I got from a new weaver in Idaho who was making it work! Jane’s first project!

Happy Weaving!

Hazel Rose

My Life in the Country