Knitting Dragonflies

Once upon a time there was a woman, a knitter of course, that dreamed of learning to spin.  She knitting and bought spinning books and magazines and read all of the articles. OOOO, Ahhhhh…. Then she met a fellow knitter, who was spinning on a spindle. Knitted Gems , who is a great knitter who is also a knitting designer . Her blog posts and photos about her beginning spinning gave me courage to try it. So in fits and starts I started. Then I met another blogger, Spin, Knit and Life , who sells luscious batts and spun fibers at her Etsy shop . She encouraged me and give me little tips, well maybe big tips. She walked me through buying a wheel, my first, now I’m thinking about another, and through her I became interested in dyeing. The first thing I dyed (with Kool Aid) was some of the first fiber that was spun from my wheel.   Some lovely soft hand spun , that I’m now incorporating into a sweater. By now I’m seriously into the dyeing addiction. The latest I made is a s...

I have a new wheel, a Lendrum folding wheel from Paradise Fibers, I love it, of course it’s the only wheel I know or how really used so I’m biased. I started with roving to play with, then I had purchased about 12 or so oz of white merino at a fiber fair. I decided I would spin all of this and ply it. My logic was after that I would have a good idea of what I was doing. Which I think worked fairly well. Some snaggles at first. My first three skein of plied handspun. Woot…. Well I’m not sure what I had planned for this, but I just fondled them for a while, they were so soft and squishy, and made me smile. Some where along the line I decided they needed color. (I know some of these photos I have blogged before but I am so enamored by Kool Aid dyeing that they are having a encore presentation) Numerous online bloggers recommended Kool Aid for my first foray into dyeing. Even so, I was a bit uncertain as I started, after all this was my first, plyed handspun yarn. Off ...

Spring quickly turns into summer.  We have had so much rain here, I feel like I am living in a rain forest, upside to that is lush growth of the garden and flowers. The air is heavy, even at 80 you perspire, and, as my friend pointed out, everything you stick in your pockets come out damp. This spring I began with my first felted purse, I am still carrying it and love it. This quickly turned into an obsession. Fast forward to now, and I have numerous skeins of yarn, patterns and friends that I have drug along in my felt mania. I’m going to try to arrange a “felting party”, some friends, (yes all of my friends have had knitting needles thrust at them), some wine, snacks and a Saturday on the deck. Knitting and felting a purse is a great project for a beginner knitter. No matter what style of purse you prefer there is a pattern out there, or you can tweak one. Pick your color, or colors and your off. Mistakes disappear, a way too big knitted sack appears and the fun really...

I ordered a spinning wheel. It was a big decision with lots of dithering involved. This article from Abby's Yarns helped me, thanks Abby! And my spinning mentor at Spin, Knit and Life , go look at her handspun, and she quilts also, Thanks Phyllis! {She also has an Etsy shop with handspun, batts and other yummy items}.  I had the idea it had to be the "perfect wheel" for me. Then a light bulb went off, everyone that spins does not have just one spindle or (eek) wheel. So with that thought, I decided that my first wheel would be a Lendrum. I tried it out at a Fiber festival last year, and the girl (sorry I forgot your name, I was in fiber overload) was just sitting there spinning in a group, she was so chatty and nice. She was in love with her wheel and it showed. She chatted away about drive ratios, scotch tension, double drive. As a result I fell in love with it also. I tried only several spinning wheels, but the one I liked the best was a Lendrum, I wanted a doub...

Off this weekend and spring cleaning! There is nothing like cleaning out and tossing the old. Making way for the new and fresh. Both in life and in your house. I was drinking coffee with my husband this morning and I overheard a man talking to a women. He says "I was weighed down by his physiological aura ", well I'm not sure what he was talking about but I have felt like I was in a big funk for several months. Last night I had vibrant dreams, I was a person who had been hoarding in my house for years, trying to clean it out. I woke up, finally...., and decided this morning I needed to spring clean.   There is nothing like cleaning the dust and dirt from the winter out. Opening up the windows and clearing out clutter! Good smells and fresh air. I don't consider my self a especially organized person or a clean freak. However, after these dreams and my BIG funk, I have been thinking........my beloved grandmother was a hoarder. I didn't realize this until...

Thanks to Paula at The Quilter for the pattern , and to Phyllis at Spin, Knit and Life for a great link to all kinds of cool knitted slipper patterns! A Feather Adrift also has made these slippers and says she started from the toe down. Many, many thanks, I think I am going to urge my girlfriend to try and track down her long lost friend from collage. She says she moved to Guatemala . How fun it would be to help reconnect two lost friends. I decided to "mend" this slipper in a red and white yarn. It is on the bottom and I managed to get it fairly "flat" (who wants to walk on lumps). Also washed these as she was afraid to due to the unraveling. So they are ready to wear. Everyone likes warm feet, and its nice to have slippers than you can fall asleep in also. She says these fit snuggly and warm her heart. Here is a cool link for a knitted heart pattern that is woven, thanks to Noreen Crone-Findlay . Technorati Tags: A feather Adrift , knitted slippers , kn...