I have the BEST son-in-law AKA SonnyBoy :)

A week ago Hassan (and my daughter, Alysia) were visiting AND Hassan drew up plans for a 'studio' for me AND he built it!!! It houses ALL my stuff... ALL OF IT!! YAY!

It is FANTASTIC!! I LOVE it.....

Here is one photo.... I may put up more later....seems for the last week I've had trouble writing on my blog BECAUSE I'm too busy playing in my studio!

Thanks again!!

An American Hero

I LOVE this!!!

A Baby Blanket on Flip Loom

I've started a baby blanket on my 20" Flip Loom.

The blanket measures about 17 inches wide and about 8 feet long. I'm gonna cut it in half when done and then sew the two halves together making the blanket about 34" wide and maybe about 34"long.

I THINK I may sew some silky blanket binding on it when totally done. My kids always loved that silky edging.

So anyway, who is the baby blanket for?? No one... it's just a generic baby blanket for someone someday.

Hey... That reminds me of an old jumprope rhyme we used to say:

Fudge, fudge,
Call the judge.
Momma had a new born baby.
It isn't a boy
It isn't a girl
It's just an ordinary baby.
Wrap it up in tissue paper
Send it down the elevator,
First floor STOP.
Second floor MISS.
Third floor TURN AROUND.
Fourth floor TOUCH THE GROUND.
Fifth floor SKEDADDLE.

What the heck did all that mean??? LOL.
Just an ordinary baby??? Ummm... do tell..

Ok, here is the blanket in the works... for that 'ordinary baby'....

Finally.... a scarf woven with some of my handspun!

I bought this BEAUTIFUL hand-dyed Corriedale fiber from Caron at Freehaven Farm. I'll tell ya what...this fiber is RICH. I mean it... it is R.I.C.H. Love it, LOVE it!!

Anyway, I spun the yarn thick and thin so as to have lots of texture in my scarf.

I used my handspun as weft and Patton's Silk Bamboo for the warp.

I used my Cricket (8 dent heddle).

After weaving I gently washed the scarf in Eucalan and then put it out on the railing on my deck to dry. (I want it to dry quickly!)

PS. Do ya see my pup? She slept for about 20 minutes with her bone in her mouth. I have NEVER seen a dog sleep with her mouth half open and her bone hangin' out of it, have you?????

Yet another scarf done on Cricket Loom

The colors of this are a bit different in person... the reddish brown color is actually a light tan.

At first I HATED the way this scarf was turning out... I mean the plaid reminds me of a pant suit I had back in the early 70's. I was stylin' then ;) but I'm not so sure this plaid is stylin' now LOLLOL.

Well, as the weaving progressed I liked it more and more.... maybe my eyes were just getting used to it. BTW, hub said it looked like something his GRANDPA woulda worn. Thanks, hub.

Anyway, as time went on I thought...hmmmm...this scarf would look great with a brown turtle neck and blue jeans. Yep, it really would!! I hope the colors come through well enough that you can 'see' how that would 'work'. :)

Once again for this experiment, I've used cheap Hobby Lobby yarn.
8 dent heddle
Scarf width prior to weaving 6"
Scarf length prior to weaving 72"
This scarf from warp to finished product took less than 4 hours.

Clearance Yarn from Hobby Lobby Makes BEAUTIFUL Scarf

I bought some sale yarn at Hobby Lobby the other day and used it for both the warp and weft on my Cricket Rigid Heddle Loom. You can see the details in the photos below.

Oh, and the 'special' weave is Leno. (You can learn more about Leno in one of my previous posts.)

I haven't finished the fringe yet because I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with it.
Any suggestions??? :)

The scarf took about 3.5 hours to make from warping to cutting from loom.

Scarf made on Cricket Rigid Heddle

Here is a scarf that took about 4 hours to make from warping the loom to the hem stitch.

For this scarf I used (don't gasp LOL) some Vanna's Choice yarn from Hobby Lobby. Yes, it is 100% Acrylic.....

I love experimenting with ALL kinds of yarn!! No yarn snob here LOL.

Anyway, I used my 8 dent read. Warp: 48 ends approx. 80"long.

At either end of the scarf I have two Leno weaves.

Leno Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Ok, I don't know about you, but since I was taught using PHONICS when I was a little kid I woulda been taught to pronounce "Leno" as LEEEEE-no. (You remember, don't ya? You divide the word into syllables and if there is one vowel.....) So, anyway, I was all set to say LEEEE-no but then I thought, uh oh, what about Jay LEN-oh. Hmmmm how to pronounce...how to pronounce??? When in doubt, just go back and forth between the two - that's what I did LOL.

Anyhooo, this video will teach you how to do the LEEEE-no or the LEN-oh on your rigid heddle loom (I hope!).

Rigid Heddle Loom - Brooks Bouquet Pattern

I've created a new video showing how to do the Brooks Bouquet weaving pattern using a rigid heddle loom.

Love rigid heddle looms!!!

Today's Scarf - Cricket Rigid Heddle Loom

Today's scarf :) is being woven on my Cricket Loom. I am using the 10 dent heddle that I purchased this weekend. (The Cricket comes with an 8 dent heddle.) The scarf will be about 5 feet long and only 4 inches wide. I think it's gonna be a really pretty 'dressy' scarf. Hey, who knows.. I may just put some snazzy beads on the fringe!!

Anyhooo, I warped the loom with 100% mercerized cotton (50epi).

For the weft I'm using a really cool 100% rayon boucle yarn.


I LOVE the feel of this scarf. It is really a lot softer than it looks.
This is a GREAT, FAST way for me to use up STASH!!! Y'all oughta try it!!!

Today I wove a scarf that I LOVE!

I used my 20" Schacht Ridgid Heddle Loom for this scarf although I could have just as easily used the Schacht Cricket Loom.

For those of you who care about the gory details LOL - I used a 10 dent heddle. I warped 76 ends.

I had a bit of trouble along the way:

1. The 100% wet spun linen (warp) broke several times. Not the whole length of the warp but several plies.

2. I did something FUNKY with the sides of the weaving. It ended up looking like a design element but I have NO idea what I did wrong.

All in all, though, I LOVE how this scarf turned out.

Here are a few photos from the process (including a view of those torn warp pieces and the WEIRD selvages).

Our Meet-up (Knit, Spin, Weave Crochet!

If you're in our area.... C'mon and join us!!

Have you used this yarn?

Is it too "girlie" to make a 'man' scarf????






The color is 'wicker'. It's 86%Bamboo, 12%acrylic and 2%polyester. Funny thing is they've titled it "Bernat Bamboo Natural Blends".

This yarn is REALLY buttery soft. I've started knitting the pattern that comes on the ball band and was thinking how much dh would love its softness as a scarf, BUT........... umm...ahhhh.... i just don't know......

What do ya think? Would he look like a girlie - man in it???

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat........

Well, Christmas IS coming so I'm starting my Christmas knitting etc.

I bought this Noro yarn from a LYS. NICE stuff... softer than most Noro. It is made of 40%cotton, 30%silk, 15%wool and 15%nylon.

I'm knitting my daughter a throw (that's what they call it) in the "Simply Noro" book.

I like how it's turning out and I'm HOPING dd will like it too. I'm just a tad worried about the colors. Oh well, I'm hoping she'll like it no matter what color because she can wrap up in it and it will be kinda like mom giving her a warm hug!!

So, here's the yarn....





And here's the knittin' thus far:

Video for a Brand New Knitter

I've decided to make a few videos on how to knit for a brand new knitter in our Friday night knit group.

It may be helpful as a refresher AFTER she's had some 'real life' lessons since it is a bit hard to see what my fingers are doing.

Resizing Images for Emails and Ravelry using Windows XP

Some of my friends have been having trouble resizing their images for either emails or for Ravelry so I thought I'd try to help out with this tutorial for those using Windows XP

Double Knitting and a GREAT Movie

This past weekend my friend, Robbie, and I went to see a movie. I can't remember the last time I went to the theater and enjoyed a movie as much as I did this one AND I wasn't the only one enjoying it!! Folks in the nearly packed theater were laughing and clapping throughout the show.

The Movie: Julie and Julia

The Plot: Julia Child and Julie Powell - both of whom wrote memoirs - find their lives intertwined. Though separated by time and space, both women are at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

One line made me really laugh during the show -- not only was the line funny but I loved the delivery of it. Anyway, the line was spoken by "Julia Child". She says, "If no one's in the kitchen, who's to see?"

Yeah, you're right...the line really isn't funny unless you see/hear it in context! ;)




This weekend I also learned a new knitting technique. I'm not really a fan of SunBonnet Sue (the pattern used for learning the technique) BUT I am a fan of this double knitting!! Lots of fun and turns out a really cool double-sided design.
You can get the free pattern HERE.

Here is a video I made showing how to cast on and get started on the potholder. Some of the video may be cut off here so you may want to click HERE to see the larger version.

Dyeing, Carding, Spindling and Spinning

Here's the yarn I was working on this weekend up at the Black Mountain Fiber Swap.

It is a combination of corriedale, merino, mohair and silk waste. I purposely dyed and added the silk waste for texture and I love how it turned out. I spun the singles on my Golding Tsunami and plied it on my Ashford Traditional.




Now I have to decide what I'm going to do with it. I think I may weave it (with some other yarns that I've spun) into an interesting "art" scarf sort of like the technique used on the blanket in my previous post. (See the video.)

For the warp I may use the cone of unidentified fiber (maybe wool) that I got this weekend at the swap for $1.00. Pretty isn't it?

Doesn't THIS make you wanna play with your rigid heddle loom!!!

Sure makes me want to!!! Now I know what I can do with all the yarn I've been spinning!!!

Anyhooooo.... I saw this online and had to share!!! Enjoy! Here is a note from the weaver, "I did two 14 ft warps. Then I cut them into 6 ft sections so that I had 4 rectangles, sewed the opened woven ends shut, assembled and sewed, and then covered the machine stitches with handstitching with– you guessed it– more handspun." She also said her warp was commercial 2 ply shetland that she got from her LYS.

Shrek... a sheep on the lam for six years

A few years ago.....


A renegade New Zealand sheep that managed to evade shearers for six years has gotten a haircut!

Shrek, the 10-year-old wether, had managed to roam freely on New Zealand's South Island for more than six years before being finally rounded up. (He was living in mountain caves after escaping from his domestic flock.)

Shrek's giant fleece - possibly the largest ever - was auctioned off for children's medical charities. (Former world champion blade shearer Peter Casserly clipped 60 pounds of fine merino wool from the Shrek.)

Wow! That's a lota merino!!!