The crochet continues, we are now onto week 2, I was a bit late starting.
I am finding lots of odd balls of wool around the house now that I am looking for them.
A bit of Kogin. Because of 'habit' I always write an evaluation of each class I teach with the aim of improving it. I think I have another project here.
I have been busy lacing my current lot of portraits onto boards.
I am about to start the final lessons from Sue Stone that I started a few years ago but life got in the way.
I have to put together a display for the Embroiderers' Guild of my work and I am finding choosing what to put in it difficult. Most of the traditionally stitched pieces of work I have done I have given away as gifts over the years, although I have held onto a few, most of which need to be assembled
or are really large pieces.
What I have the most of left is the experimental pieces. Oh well, I will just have to put in what I have.
I finally worked out that if I used markers on my knitting I could keep better track of the pattern. (Boy am I slow?) So now I am on the home straight with this one. I hope I will have enough wool left over to knit a hat as well. Then I should be able to return to my winter sweater.
But, I have just bought Julie's new small patterns from her shop
Mice.
Bears
and sweaters.
My grand daughter Jasmine just loves soft toys. She has a mountain in her room of these but I know she would love some more. Luckily, (unluckily) I don't have the right wool for the mice so it will just have to be the bears.
My TAST challenge piece for this month is completed. I am only using running stitch and it's variations for this one.
I decided to use woodland and water spirits as my inspiration for this series. This one is based on Resulka the Vilia. (My Resulka isn't nearly as beautiful as the one in the video, I am trying to make her other worldly.)
And, on a more prosaic note, I'm still finishing pot holders
I have finished another small bowl lid to hold the pins and needles.
I used another Japanese fabric for the bottom of the lid.
As my husband has brought home yet another virus, this time the flu, I have put my sweater knitting aside as I am up to the counting part and my concentration isn't good. So I started another piece, this time a shawl and have finished up to the lace section, which calls for counting, so I have stopped again as I just can't count at the moment.
I knitted a trail piece of lace and I'm not sure if this is right.
After comparing the two pieces I have pulled out the lace section again. I think I will knit it on a larger sized needle so that I get more definition.
And I am working on a design for the TAST challenge. I am trying to compose a piece in running stitch and it's variations only. I have been experimenting with the Ainu Running Stitch
I have some ideas to how I will use this, hope they work.
( I have taken to wearing a mask in the house because I just can't trust my husband to be Covid safe. Living with someone who is developing dementia is not easy!)
I have had to re-make my knitting bag. The zipper broke and I thought about throwing it away and just making a new one, but that seemed a bit extreme. So I unpicked the old one. Boy, I sure made it strong but I finally got it apart.
Replacing the zipper was the easy bit.
The whole thing had to go back to the beginning. The repair took a couple of hours, so not quiet as long as making a new one, but, I have to say I found the process very satisfying and I got the lining sitting a bit better, that just slipped into position. I couldn't find a mauve zipper long enough, so, pink it is.
I am auditioning fabrics for the mug bag.
And the second sleeve is growing.
Well I have finished heaps but I have wrapped all these pieces up ready to give as presents tomorrow and I forgot to photograph them! I will just have to take photos when people open their presents. (What a bummer.)
I have finished the main part of my knitting, front and back, to the armhole and am well into the first sleeve.
And the other excitement was when an Ibis flew into the window of the study, BANG!! It was just like an explosion.
We managed to get a glazier but it will take a week before the window can be replaced and it takes up half of the wall of the study. Never a dull moment.
I'm not sure how but the knitting is growing very quickly. I sit and listen to my podcasts at night while I knit and it just grows.
I think I have solved the design problem for my little pin and needle holders.I will put up a tutorial when I get it right. In the mean time I keep embroidering the tops.
I am sewing lots of gift bags to put Xmas gifts in.
And it is time to go through all those draws again.
I have finished the place mats and will deliver them to the Meals on Wheels people today. This was all from a fabric scrap bundle I bought. I had to buy fabric for some of the binding and the wadding was from left overs.
I have also finished the neck warmer to go with my hat and mittens. These have been made from repurposed wool. Waste not want not.
And I am making my Xmas dress. This is made from a polished cotton I bought from the Fabric Store.
I got out my best scissors to cut into this fabric, Oh joy Oh bliss!! There is nothing like beautiful, sharp, well balanced dressmaking scissors.
And the fabric is beautiful to sew.
And I am stitching some Kogin pieces as gifts. (I can't show those in case the recipients put 2+2 together.)
I have finished the candle-wicking design I said I would stitch for the sale table at the guild. It is some time since I have done any of this type of work but I found that some of the tricks, like using a big frame and resting it on the edge of the table, came back to me. The thread wasn't the easiest to work with because it was old. I found it in an Op shop but I know it will wash up well and look the part. I bought half a metre of fabric from Ikea for the cushion back. This only cost $4.50 and I know that the quality will be good.
When I looked carefully at it I realised that the weave was quite open, so I took the embroidery and this piece of fabric and washed them. They have both come out of the washing machine in very good condition with the fabric only shrinking about 1%.
It is now finished and I just need to buy an insert.
I am still stitching the bindings on the place-mats, which takes as long as the quilting but they should be finished this week.
I have finished a couple of them.
And I am teaching a class this weekend so have been preparing kits. All packed and ready to go.
I am completing a piece of 'Candlewick' embroidery for the Guild. It was part of someones estate and I said I would finish it for the Xmas Sale that the guild holds. I will make this up into a cushion.
I bought an $8.00 bag of scraps from another estate sale of a member of the patchwork group I joined. I have stripped them all up and have enough to make 6 place mats. These will be for Meals on Wheels recipients here on the island. As most of these people are men I thought that these fabrics would suit them better than flowers. Most men are turned off by flower fabric.
Once again I am experimenting with straight line quilting using masking tape to mark out the measurements. I think perhaps the variations to these designs might be endless.
Not a lot of work and I am only able to do hand work again.
I finished my knitted hat I designed and knitted it in re-claimed wool.
I'm pleased with the pattern for the crown.
I am now working on a pattern for a pair of mittens to match.
I'm pleased with the results so far as I have only every designed a cowl before. I'm not thinking about garments just yet.
I took this project to the patchwork group this week and have been really struggling with it. It must be the materials I am using because I had no trouble when I made up the Kogin Coasters which is the exact same pattern.
It is good to mix up techniques a bit. They say a change is as good as a holiday.