Weavers--WOW!

 

It's FALL! And October means I'm back at Texas winter home and can touch base with my weaver friends.  They have been busy through the summer and it's always a treat to see and touch their accomplishments!  I just LOVE 'show and tell'!

 

First--'show-off' is Barbara with her interesting turned twill towels.  Aren't these colors good together?  I would never had thought about placing green with the coral, but it definitely works!

Barbara has a good eye for color combinations.

Do you like this side?

Or this side?  Barbara was trying to decide which side in order to turn the hem.

And lovely scarves!! Woven Shibori is the technique

check out her blog to see how she weaves these scarves  

Such a wild look...................

and her fringe treatment is just super great!

Tracy, recently returned from a Sweden trip with other weaver friends, had textiles to share with the group.  This piece is a table runner

So colorful!

packaging is what it's all about!

such a nice goose eye weave structure

believe it or not--this was a 'second' table runner

love the slight details

Tracy purchased some wonderful tapes

cute sheep tape

and she bought gifts!! oh, to be on her gift list!  this a cotton towel

Are you ready to weave some Swedish inspired towels for your kitchen?  Don't forget the tape for hanging--very traditional

Linda showed off her nice cottolin towels--

from this popular publication--do you have this booklet in your stash?  I wove the above pattern many moons ago for gifts.  The one I gave to my mother-in-law was used on the back of a chair!  Appalling for me--I wanted her use it in the kitchen!  She said it was just too pretty to dry dishes with.  Do you have someone in your family that doesn't 'use' your wovens but puts them away in a drawer?

Linda had taken a summer trip to Minnesota and enjoyed the sights along with the woolen fibers.  She bought this lovely skein of wool from an "Indie" dyer.

Okay, I'm inspired to weave--but, first--need to check the stash closet.....................

Beading it!!

When a new pattern appears on Ravelry with beads, I'm instantly attached!  This was a mystery--and yes, I so love mysteries!  We knew the end result would be fingerless gloves, but what would the pattern consist of? 

  

The pattern called for #6 beads, which thankful I had on hand! but, I couldn't find my beading hook (ok, it's just a very tiny crochet hook!) so what to use to put that bead on the stitch??  I tried dental floss--that was a disaster!  now, what?  I've spent so much time just looking for some way to put the bead on the stitch, I could have got in my car, driven to the knit shop and picked up another hook!  But, no!  I'm just looking for that perfect way to put that darn bead on the stitch!! 

Light bulb went off!

How about using threaded sewing needle?  that should work..............string the bead on the sewing needle, put needle through the stitch, but--you need to put the sewing needle back through the bead in order for the bead to slip onto the knitted stitch

  

and put the bead on the stitch--ah, it worked!  now knit the stitch to lock in the bead and move onto the next bead............................well, that's all and good until....................................the next stitch, you split the thread on the sewing needle--and you have double trouble! 

Okay, I give up!

I bought a small crochet hook set--which I'll keep with my knitting needles!  They will always be on hand for any beading project------we can only hope!

I can load more than one bead on the hook

and it slips through the knit stitch perfectly----without splitting the thread

Hurrah!  I can bead all day!

Benson Sculpture Gardens

It is always a treat to walk through Loveland, CO's Benson Sculpture Garden!  And this day was no exception--a bright sunny Sunday morning.  Please take a stroll with us as we enjoy the old and new of this fabulous park.........................

 

 

This is a new piece for 2014--take a look at the website for more information on all the artists and read their artists statement.

A pause as we watch the bees buzz about their work

another new addition in 2014

Several of the locations are adopted by individuals and groups in order to maintain the beauty

Amongst the bulrushes, you can hear the rustling wind and watch the cattails whip to and fro..........

An awesome walk--!! 

Here a Stitch, There a Stitch--Back to Knitting!

It has been a slow knitting time--I don't know why.  Maybe, because it has been summer.  Maybe, it was because my hands were tired and needed a rest!  Or Maybe, it's because I was down right lazy!  But, now that cooler weather is here................................no, that's not the reason--it is because Christmas is in three months!!  And I need these done, finished, completed, over with, accomplished, wrapped and ready for gift giving!!!

 

 

This neat little hat used two balls of wool--these are handspun wool bits that I found in my stash.

I'm on a mission to use only my stash--and all handspun, if possible

Here is a finished man's hat and scarf set!! Hurrah!  One set down and how many more to go???

I alternated two colors of wool here--seems to work for me! 

Okay, I have one man's scarf finished--must get to that hat soon.............................

For this scarf, it is all the same yarn--and you know, on these long scarves, it gets rather boring to knit--another reason why it takes me so long to knit!

Another gal's hat down!!  This one is silk--also, have the fingerless gloves finished too--

Still need to make the scarf--really thinking about this one long and hard--I want something exciting to knit........................................and we move on to

Scarf in a box!  Okay, this isn't handspun but it's been aged--only for a year, but it was in my stash--everything you need to make this scarf was in the box--silk yarn and silk scarf--all dyed to match

Knitting this up was --boooooring-------but look how the works with the silk scarf woven in and out of the sections

So many ways you could wear this scarf too--with or without the silk.  Okay, we are looking to get busy--real busy as we count down the days...............................................

What's on your agenda for gift giving?