Weavers' Holiday!!

This is always a special time of the year--love the gatherings, swapping of handmade gifts, good food, good friends, celebrating the reason for the Season!  Recently, WOW (Way Out West) Weavers held their luncheon.  We swap gifts and the idea is to have something handmade--not necessary by you.  There are so many options for this gift giving.

I'm sorry I didn't get photos of all the gifts, but this was a nice combination--hand woven washcloth with handmade soap.  This gift was made by one of our newest weavers--Sharla!

It's a nice waffle weave--great going Sharla!

As we are waiting for our meals to arrive, we have some show and tell--first up is Tracy's samples for her color/weave workshop she is doing in Florida in January

She warped eight different looms for these samples--unbelievable!

Don't you like the color selections?

 

She also had this linen fabric that she will use for wearable

 

Barbara had more shadow weave towels to show--definitely a WOW feature!

I think I heard her say "I'm finished with shadow weave--for now!"

Absolutely Brilliant weaving!!

Linda brought this tiny bird ornament--it is one that she received 20 years ago as gift.

She received this before she was a weaver.

We think it is overshot--can't you hear the little fellow chirping "Merry Christmas"

Misplaced.............Mislaid......Missing..........Misdirected??????

I haven't been in the sewing studio for at least two weeks and today I decided it was time to forget all that other 'stuff' on my list and get to sewing again--let's see what is there to finish up? Oh, yes, it's the first of the month and Sindy of Fatcat Patterns has posted the next blocks for the monthly quilt along.  These are always fun to do and quick to complete, but today when I went to look for the background fabric--it was nowhere in sight!!

Here is what I'm using for the background on the doggies' blocks

I know I have couple of yards left and you would think if you are working on something, a smart person would put that fabric right where it can be readily found!

But, about a month ago, my sewing studio was looking like a disaster--

 

What would make it look better and easier to see?  Of course, nice neat bins!  In the time I had I straighten up these bins--doesn't it look wonderful?  All neat and organized!

Well, some of it looks pretty good--but, you can't imagine what the top of the bins looked like before I cleaned up..............and I know, I saw some of that star fabric in the stash, but where did I place it?

I have this fabric for the fishy blocks

See, it's right there in the middle of this stack!  But, where is that star fabric?? My mind is racing and I'm searching--okay, we'll need to go back through all that fabric that I had neatly sorted through--Wait,  I have another thought.................

Use this one which I found on the top of the stash stack--then maybe, shortly after I've decided to use this fabric, that star fabric will come out of hiding--?  How could I have hidden the star fabric in such a safe location??  Or did it just get up and walk out of the studio?? Oh Bother--as Winnie the Pooh would say!

For a Friend

My Colorado knitter friend, Judy, has given me more than just knitting advice and companionship but also friendship. It is always a pleasure to spend time with her when we are in our summer residence. She is 'in the know' about local knitting or quilting shops, fiber events and sewing gathering. I can always count on her to get me involved.

This past summer she asked me if I could spin her very expensive Qiveut fiber into lace weight yarn.  She bought this in Alaska during one of her many traveling adventures.  When a friend asks, I'm always willing to at least try my best.  So, I tucked this precious little bag into my baggage and brought it back with me to Texas--of course, I promptly forgot about it!

Until we unpacked--and it hit me--I need to come up with another fiber that would work with this, as Qiveut is one of the warmest fibers in the world and it is best blended with another fiber.

I went through all my stash--llama, alpaca, wool--with no luck!  None of these I had on hand would work.......

But, luckily at our guild sale, another fiber friend pointed out this lovely blended and carded fiber--looks perfect for my project.  I took it home and was quite pleased that it worked well with this..............

Carded Qiveut--!  Yes, I hit the jackpot--to the spinning wheel I went................ 

Spinning nicely!

Two bobbins later and I have finished plying................

On the skein winder it goes........

I think it turned out nicely--I liked the subtle colors throughout the yarn

But the question was--would my friend Judy like these little bundles of fiber?  Off in the mail they went and I waited..........keeping my fingers crossed that the package would arrive in good shape, hoping that Judy would at least like the fiber.  Then came the text--She said "it is beautiful! and I like it very much".  OH, sign of relief!  So glad I could do something for my friend Judy.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like..................................Cowls!

Cowls or Infinity Scarves as they are called are THE thing this winter!  Everywhere you look, cowls/infinity scarves are wrapped around necks.  So many darling patterns too--to knit, to crochet, to sew, weave--you name the technique and you have yourself a cowl.
Can we jump on the bandwagon and finish at least one cowl before the style goes out the window?

okay, I think we can!  I found this one in a specialty shop: 

What do you think about this?  Quick and easy, huh?  Using up all sorts of ribbons and novelty yarns.

 

There is such a list of cowls/infinite scarves, where to begin? 

 

This one is great fun and uses stash yarn (as far as I'm concerned)

Hexagon and there is an additional pattern for mitts

 

Beachcombers is simple, tapered ribbed cowl that narrows slightly towards the neck for a warmer, cozier fit. Another stash yarn user

 

Look for these patterns on Ravelry

 

That Nice Stitch by Stitchnerd Designs

Pip by Mona Schmidt

Cupido Cowl by Hiroko Fukatsu

 

Code: Armonika Cowl by Rutast Designs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving Day (Jour de l'Action de grâce in Canadian French) is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well--according to Wikipedia. 

 
Here is a Thanksgiving turkey for you---presented by FATCAT PATTERNS.  Head over to her website to gobble it up! 

It's That Time Again...................................

I know!  it's hard to believe that we are approaching the USA celebration of Thanksgiving! Where does the time go? And shortly after that big feast day, there is Advent Season. For the past three years, I participated in knitting an Advent scarf==24 days until Christmas, 24 patterns for a Christmas scarf.  It is always interesting to see what new pattern Eva has for us each day--learn something new and unusual along the way, too!  FREE!!

There is an page for  English and a page for  German.
There is also a Ravelry group, if you are interested--join along with us! 

And guess what??  There is another Advent knit along KAL--FREE!   This one is an Advent Calendar and you open a door each day--what fun is that!!?  I'm getting as anxious as my kids did in their younger days....................................looking at my stash yarn.


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Let's Talk Fibers!

Let's talk fibers--not grains or fibers that build bulk in your body but fibers that clothe your body!  We must begin with fibers before we can even think about anything else--this day was our spinners gathering for November.  I was happy to be back in the group after a long absence........spinning away, getting that touchy, feely satisfaction once again.  We met at Penny's studio Sky Loom Weavers and it was just a delightful day to be out in the country.  The skies were clear, temperature was on the fall side (for a change); our Texas fall foliage was in bright array!

About a walk around Penny's studio--hanging at her windows are hand woven panels--couldn't ask for a better view

She is threading her loom with wool for commissioned blanket.

And look at these fibers--a new way to present wool fibers--punis, used most often with cotton

and a wonderful basket of dyed mohair locks

And look at this assortment of handspun yarns, all from the hands of Penny for her sales.

Let's begin our show and tell portion of the gathering.............. 

First up is Rosemary, showing off her hand ginned colored cotton

some cotton bolls are still intact

Rosemary also bought this selection of wool punis at Michigan fiber event this summer

She has decided to ply these two fibers together for a future woven item

Some sparkle in the red one

Kate had taken a felting workshop recently and presented her book covers

She plans to make individual books for her grandkids--lucky kids!

Louise was showing off her fancy hand knit socks--although not handspun, they are definitely made of fiber!

She was spinning this luscious yummy wool blend--she likes it so much, she had to buy more from Penny's stash!

Lovely bobbins of singles

Penny had purchased this hemp product earlier in the summer--it certainly has an earthy smell

It will take a little more processing before it is spin able--all fibers are good--even if more processing is involved.

Fibers are OUR main stay of life!