Tag Archive | shape

Okay, here it is for better or worse.

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.

The Big pin loom

Feb9

The Mat Maker loom is the one to choose if you like working BIG. It is Loom is 14 x 21.5”. The finished rectangles can be made into bags, pillows, throws… the possibilities are us to you!

Weaving strips of leftover “fleece”.

Yarns, fabric strips woven with a cotton yarn, the “fleece”. The red, white and black are tee-shirt selvages from a factory, given to me. This one also used cotton yarn was a weft.

A rug from Pendleton Mills woolen selvages and one using the I-cord I did on the little knitting machine using some lace-weight yarn. I rather like this one.

Spring

May8

It’s the 8th of May and the roses are in full bloom. Definitely an early spring. A little cool this week and windy but still getting a lot of gardening done. My Alaskan corn is up and growing. this is going to be an interesting experiment. It is a small corn designed to grow in adverse conditions. I think the weather this year qualifies for that! But I thought that if it is successful in Alaska it ought to produce a couple ears down here. X your fingers!

Meantime,. I have not made any progress on the demo vest. I am thinking I may just give up and do the cut and sew. At least I’d have a vest I could wear. I don’t suppose everything has to be a big challenge, some thing can just be easy, huh? And I got out my bag of squares which I think are wool or silk or…? I’

ve forgotten, only that they are not likely to be machine washable. I am putting a couple things though the gentle cycle this morning and am adding one each of these blocks just to determine what will happen. If they dont’ entirely ruin, I will go from there. I am thinking another vest. This one ought to be lighter weight, tho, more fit for cool summer mornings and evenings.

Meantime back to spring… the rhubarb is also ready! I’m not a fan of strawberries with it but I made it half and half with a couple sweet apples and it is just yummy! Tamed the Rhubarb a bit and gave the apples a little jazz. We’ve made big holes in two pies so far and I have the makin’s for a 3rd! I think I’ll wait until next week with that one as sis is planning a trip down.

On a role!

Apr20

I was hunting something in Le Shed and found a box of demo shapes woven at fiber fairs and am putting them to work. Got out a sewing pattern for a vest and started putting shapes together. Not exactly free form but at least random. It will be another colorful bit of clothing. Got both fronts mostly together and will start on the back this afternoon. Goes pretty fast since the weaving has already been done, just a matter of laying it out. I think this time I’ll just crochet in whatever little missing bits I might need.

But first I have some shop work to take care of as someone is waiting for their looms. Go get out your UFO’s and start putting something together!

It’s Done!

Apr6

Almost. A few details and fulling/blocking to go. The details are, as you can see in the photos of me standing on the deck smirking in the rain, the sleeves. They were too short to please me so I added another row of blocks which, of course, makes them too long. Now I have to decide if it’s going to be fold under cuffs or cut and knit ribbing. I’m leaning toward the folded cuffs as being the easiest but the ribbed cuffs would give a nice fit at the wrist. I sewed on the wooden checked buttons but will take them off to full it, just in case. All that has to wait for the weather to clear as it will have to dry out on the deck and at the moment it is raining and snowing alternatively. But here it is in it’s raw state. also a close up for the button band. It’s seed stitch along the front and k1p1 ribbing at the back of the neck. I had to do it by halves as my circ was a bit short.

And a couple earlier views. You can see the shortish sleeves but also that this one hangs correctly. I think the yoke has a lot to do with that. It fits much better at the shoulders than my last one.

More cardigan progress

Mar29

I finished weaving the tris for the sleeve yesterday and as I had the sewing machine set up for something else, I decided to take advantage of this cool morning to put it to use again.

The woven blocks for the sweater, pin the pattern carefully over. I guess I didn’t get the photo, but next sew at the edges. Use lots of pins and give you fabric support. You want it to lay flat so it doesn’t distort. Remember this one is bias woven.

Once you have sewn all around in a contrasting color (it’s not going to show) carefully cut just outside the stitching.

Pin closely! The more the better, especially on any bias squares that have not been stay stitched. The sleeve did okay, but sewing up the sides needed lots of pins. Again, support your fabric so it does not stretch or distort. In fact, if this is your first project of this type, it may be a good idea to baste all of these seams and try the garment on, to be sure things are as they should be before committing it to the machine which is Much harder to undo.

And here it is with the sleeves in.

What’s left is the front button bands and the cuffs. However… Being the mature figger that I am, it is a little snug around the… er… hem. So I think I may have to add a bit in a A-line sort of way, to the front placket first. Have not quite thought that out yet, so still more waiting before I have a finished item. Still, making progress by leaps and bounds!

Do any of you have projects to show me? I’d love to feel I’m not all alone here!

Meantime, a little fun project!

Mar28

The windsock I made in April of 2008 has finally did what the plastic bag makers told us they would. It’s on it’s way back to it’s component parts. I tried to save it, but it was falling to bits as I worked . Then my eye fell on the basket of yarn snippets and scraps. The birds have never shown any interest is using this lovely nesting material so….

You can see that there were all sorts of bits in the basket, lace to bulky, wool, acrylic, mohair, cotton… I picked randomly and decided on the spot if it was long enough. It’s mostly pieces from about 4″ to several yards in one case. And I decided that the knots were a design element so pulled them all to the right side.

But the knot-less side looks good, too. The green is a square I wove for the one that just ‘died’. If you have a stash of fairly young bags they do make light and fluttery wind socks. Mine lasted 7 years. I have no idea how long the yarn one is going to last. They all get exposed to all sorts of weather.

And here it is out on the maple with the remaining plastic bag one. I still have a small ball of this knotted yarn so there might be more coming. After the cardigan is finished, of course!

March-ing into spring…

Mar5

Nothing to report on the sweater. I think I needed a break from brown yarn. Too much brown in the world this time of the year, anyway. Things are starting to green up and I’m sure I can see a faint bit of pink in the buds on the peach tree. The flowering quince is definitely blooming now & there are even two tiny daffodils blooming out there in the brown.

I have done some weaving but for the dolls. Little things. A KAL for Your Favorite Season. What would it be this time of year but Summer! Lexi is wearing Summer Nights and little Felicity is in the Sunshine. The skirts are the woven bits. Some Wildfoote sock yarn for Lexi’s and lace weight for Felicity’s to warp the first three layers and then woven with Lion Brand Trellis. I used the 4″ and did o1, u1 for Felicity’s skirt, which is two squares and a knitted bodice. Lexi’s short skirt is three 6″ Multi Squares and I did hers in o3, u1 which gave it a really interesting texture and showed more of the colored squares, I think. I rather like the effect and since I have a couple more balls of this stuff (I think I bought 6 in a package at the dollar store a couple years ago) I may have to come up with another project for it.

These are busy days, even if I have been ignoring brown. Randy is working long hours in the looms shop, (which means I am also) and we are trying to get the garden ready as it looks like spring is coming on early and dry here this year. We also signed up for 6 fiber fair shows this summer. The first one, a new venue for us, in Nampa, Idaho in May. then we’ll be in Hamilton, MT & Eugene, OR in June and Arcata, CA, Boonesville, CA and Canby, OR in September.

I think I am going to sell my Baby Wolf Loom and it’s accessories. If anyone is interested we can bring it along to any of the shows. I don’t want to haul it around on speculation as even tho it is a small loom, it still takes up a lot of space in the 5th wheel. If you’re interested email for details. The loom works fine, I’ve woven a few times on it but I just don’t have the time or space for it. I still prefer my little looms.

Hope you’re seeing a bright end of winter where you are.

Making a little headway…

Feb15

If I had not been doing this project publicly in front of all of you it would have been shoved in the back of the closet by this time, to languish, probably for years. I don’t know what it is, seems to have been jinxed somewhere along the way. The weaving went fine but I have un-stitched this thing more than any other project I’ve yet undertaken! And I can only blame gremlins because it’s just stupid stuff, sewn the blocks together backward, sewn the new strip in the wrong place. This last time I thought it was going to be too small so added a strip and found it was way too big instead so have taken that off now. I am going to make a button band, either woven or probably knitted so I am leaving the front alone for awhile and will go to work on the sleeves. It fits pretty well except for the front of the arm holes. I’m not sure what the problem is there, maybe it needs a dart. If it’s too wide it’s too bad. But it’s not really a big problem so I’ll just leave it for now. Here’s what I have at this stage. Stella thought she’d help a bit but I declined. She’s really good at showing her feeling are hurt but I was in no mood to be sympathetic.

I’m thinking about trying a collar. Never have but I’ll wait until the sleeves are finished. I’m getting low on yarn too, so a lot depends on that. The shape woven yoke and sleeve bits worked fine, by the way. I’m thinking about the sleeve tops themselves now…

Hazel Rose

My Life in the Country