SPIRIT CLOTH INSPIRED

If you haven't had a chance to enroll in any Jude Hill stitch classes,

I really recommend Patchwork Beasts.

Jude of whirled wide Spirit Cloth fame is listed to the right under Artist's I Follow.

Love all her classes,

most of which I've taken over the years,

but it's her beasts faces that are so fun to play with.

Her drawings and watercolors of their faces in her on-line class are whimsical

and offer a lot of ideas to choose from.

I believe this is my 2nd attempt.

My first one can be seen here.

Jude is a wonderful teacher and I've learned so very much from her,

and her blog still continues to inspire and delight everyday.

So thank you Jude!

In our Tues. Nite Fiber Arts class,

we did a bunch of eco-dyeing about  year and a half ago.

Above are the pieces drying out.

We experimented with lots flowers, leaves, fruits & vegies for their dye properties.

After the pieces were opened, washed and ironed it was time to learn a few embroidery stitches along with needle turn applique.

Dang, 

this close up really shows my very messy embroidery.

Whoops!

Anyways...

We only used thin white and off white perle cotton threads to embroider with

which we had placed inside our bundled fabrics so they too absorbed the dyes.

Kinds of fabrics were thrifted linens, cottons and silk.

Each of us choose something different to fill our applique opening with.

I wanted to try another beast face.

Using Jude's famous invisible tacking stitch,

the face was attached to a contrasting piece of dyed cotton. 

I like to thrift really soft, 

old white bed sheets that have been washed many times.

Makes it much more easy to slide the needle thru.

Knowing I wanted to log cabin around the beast,

 here experimenting with several pieces of dyed, torn strips.

Then more stitching to secure/quilt over top,

a few vintage buttons and a twig complete the beast.

Oh,

in one of Jude's first classes I took,

she demoed how to easily fray the edges of the fabrics for a very cool edge.

I love the texture it adds.

A super fun project.

A TEASE OF SPRING

First Freesia of the year...

and first Tulip.

FOUND

 

A lovely new site filled with stitch and fiber,

called textileartist.org from all over the whirled

(sorry,  couldn't get the link to work even after 3 tries)

Take a peek.

Bet you'll find some hand stitchers you'll recognize.

SOCK YARN OBSESSED

Going wild lately with my pension dollars on Indie dyed yarns,

and there are so many dyers out there with beautiful color ways to choose from.

Found this gorgeous skein online from Ancient Arts Yarn in Canada,

and sort of joined their color of the month club

Road Trip Across Canada

 (only buying when I can't live without each month's color way).

And this one,

January's,

above and 2 photos below represents the hills, valleys and skies across Canada.

It was love at first sight.

Here is February's color way called Sunshine Coast,

also extremely striking but I passed on this one.

Just a bit too wild and bright for my taste.

Front side of January's skein.

A lot of these dyers put their color on Fingering weight yarns

(super thin).

This one is 80 % Merino and 20% Nylon,

and is on their Passion 8 base,

a heavier Fingering Weight yarn with 8 plies.

Super soft next to the skin yet the nylon lends itself for sock making,

plus I will add a reinforcement strand at heel and toe area for more wear.

So far this yarn is going into a pair of nightie socks for my husband

who is very hard on his socks.  

Here it is caked into a ball.

Funny,

I didn't think it was as beautiful after I saw it in this format,

so we will see how it knits up.

Here is another recent purchase.

First saw it at Buku Yarns in La Verne, Ca. and really gravitated to it.

But I had just bought the other so I passed it up.

But all weekend it kept sneaking into my consciousness,

 messing with me.

You all know how that is,

right??

So back I went and bought it.

Have you ever seen blues put with the complimentary color way of green and red?

Well maybe years ago in some Xmas fabric, 

but not in a yarn.

Scrumptious!

Backside...

and caked up.

In this one the balling up really disguises all the lovely values of each color.

With this yarn I'm planning on knitting socks for myself

with a new pattern I found online which features a bit of lace around the leg.

But I promised my hubby to finish his socks first.

:)

Next while looking around online I ran across Row One Yarn Club,

oh noooooooo! 

This one is a monthly club as well,

and features 12 different Indie dyers from around the whirled.

Above and below is my first month's package.

These are color ways by an Indie dyer who calls her company Murky Depths.

I actually don't see anything murky about them,

just very sweet color mixes.

They total 100 yards,

also in a thin Fingering Weight yarn,

but not enough to make a pair of socks,

 I don't think,

so I will be searching for pattern ideas.

Or perhaps wait until more batches come in and combine them into something 

like a very soft baby blanket.

Not sure if you noticed what's in the cellophane package of hearts?

A Valentine themed stitch marker 

that I'll give tonight to knit-mate Aileen

 when she comes over for our weekly get-together.

And last but not least,

Row One also included a sticker and yummy bag of M&M's.

And this recent batch that just came in is also from Ancient Arts Yarn.

These baby skeins are referred to as Socknado Twisters,

and come in a zillion different color ways.

They are a Merino/Nylon blend for socks but on a different base that is only a 3 ply.  

Really wanting to experiment with different plies and bases to knit socks with.

Looking for something that's not terribly expensive,

yet doesn't pill up when worn or washed.

Sadly these little booties I made for my hubby a couple of years ago

didn't hold up at all,

although in this pix I had just finished making them.

They are superwash Merino/Nylon and really should have been hand washed

(even though the label says superwash).

 But my dear husband didn't realize that and threw them in the washer after his first wearing.

They came out a mess,

 pilled and partially felted up.

Of course he wanted to know what had happened to them.

It took everything in me to not scold him and make him feel bad after I had spent hours crafting them.

So I explained very nicely what happened and took them away from him immediately, 

pulled the pills off, re-wet gently in sink and blocked them dry.

They look better but they will never be the same.

Lesson learned.

HA!

Looking forward to each month being filled with wonderful surprises

from Row One.

I'll keep you posted.

VALENTINE MOON

Clouds moving in fast over our full moon here.

Forecast says rain tomorrow.

WooHoo!!!

It's been a while and we need more water 

to make it thru,

 what I hear,

 will be a very hot summer.

WHICH ONE?

#1

All my skeins have arrived and have been wound into cakes.

But is there a preference,

 I'm wondering,

 between the 3 slightly different orders?

#2

Or are none of them just right yet?

Input would be appreciated.

#3

Please leave a comment.

Thanks All!