SNEAK PEEK ALONG WITH AN UNPLANNED HAPPY COINCIDENCE

Temperature Blanket yarns have all arrived and been caked up.  

Now to get caught up for 2 1/2 months on Temperature Blanket.

You are looking at the month of Dec. 2021 where I wanted to start this blanket.

The city temperature is based at our cabin in Crestline, Ca.,

and taken at 12 p.m. noon everyday.

This is usually the highest temp during the daytime hours there.

The first of Dec. was a bit on the warmer side (low 80's) 

seen in the light cream on very edge ,

and then dropped a bit (high 70's) to the yellow (Chickie Masla).

 By 3rd of Dec. the temps quickly dropped down into the 60's and a few 50's,

with several days in-between in the 70's.

Needless to say a fairly warm December.

The Peace Fleece Yarn has a bit of a stiff hand

 so I upped the size of the crochet hook from an "H" that was recommended to a "J".

It's helped a bit but still a little denser feeling then I was hoping for.

The yarn is supposed to soften a bit after a gentle warm bath at the end.

I was also told by yarn store owner at Buku Yarns in LaVerne, Ca.

to add lots of extra lanolin in the rinse for softness.

But I'm so enjoying the tweed -like color changes and textures in all the yarns.

Plus the size "J" hook gives it a bit of an open lacy vibe.

Working on 2 separate projects right now.

The pair of socks for Jim (just turned the heel on first one)

and this blanket where I'm averaging about 6 rows of crochet a nite.

The happy coincidence happened after the first several nights of crocheting.

After finishing up one night I left the blanket on the couch 

and the next morning realized that the colors I picked to work with 

are almost identical to the colors in the painting above the couch.

Crazy, right?

My husband and I were so surprised because it was totally unplanned.

So now we know where it will end up when finished. 

Right now it's helping to keep the chill off in the evenings while working on it.

Our pup is enjoying it too!

What a life, huh?

LOL

If you are wondering about the painting,

it is an original oil that Jim purchased before I knew him,

one of his favorite pieces in the house.

It's such a stunning piece and I so admire the artist's loose style.

I guess I'm been looking and crafting under it for a good 10 years now.

Guessing the colors have penetrated my sub-conscious.

You are seeing only 7 of the 12 colors chosen.

Looking forward to incorporating the rest when the weather calls for them.

So far a super fun and exciting project

that's totally controlled by the weather.

A LOVELY RESPONSE

Super excited that several of you responded to the Temperature Blanket project 

and to the use of Peace Fleece.

This grouping above was on the Ravelry site which is such a pleasing selection.

Sadly there is no finished blanket to go with this picture.  

Guessing it's still in production.

A quick note if any of you out there are interested in starting this blanket.

I had to go to at least 6 different yarn stores across the nation 

to find all the colors I wanted to use.

I'm guessing there are a lot of people out there doing this project

or something else with Peace Fleece. 

So many of my colors were sold out. 

I actually spent all nite rounding up my choices,

which turned out to be a fun challenge.

I looked up on the Peace Fleece site all the stores that carried their yarns.

They usually sell for $12.60 a skein,

but at one location I had to pay over $15

 for a couple of the colors that weren't found anywhere else. 

So this is the first time I'm  averaging out the cost,

cuz that's how I roll,

ha ha!

Let's say with shipping, tax and handling each skein comes out to about $16 a skein.

The original pattern calls for a full bed size bed blanket (6.5 by 7.5).

But I only wanted a lap blanket so I cut the pattern in half.

I also had to consider that some of our temps for Southern Ca. are more common,

like the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's,

so figuring I'd need 2 skeins for those

(but knowing me I probably ordered way too much)

It looked like at least 19 skeins were needed for half the size blanket. 

Of course it's all a guessing game.

So now,

with all of you,

 for the first time,

I'm figuring out how much I probably spent after spending it.

(of couse I could just look at Pay Pal but it's so much for fun doing it with you guys)

19 times $16.00 is

cough, cough,

$304 big ones.

Yuck!!!!

Oops.

Now remember I'm not a data nerd,

so I'm really hoping my calculations are correct.

This is going to be one hell of an expensive project,

but I rationalize that the money is going to a wonderful cause

(I'm already thinking about what I can make out of the left over yarn,

if indeed I ordered too much)

Tax right off??

Probably not.

Oh well,

I'll keep you posted.

A TEMPERATURE BLANKET

Recently I was turned on to a new Fiber Store in Portland Maine 

called Port Fiber.

As I was purusing their shop I ran across a yarn that I was introduced to

 maybe a good 20 years ago called Peace Fleece.

Back then it was a combination of American Wool mixed with Russian Wool.

Because I thought the idea a great one I purchased a bit of the yarn

 and made a child's sweater but didn't really like the feel of the wool.

It had a rough hand and was a bit stiff,

not a pleasure to knit with.

So,

 I never bought more.

but always loved the idea of it and wanting to support them.

After reading their current mission statement it looks like they are now combining Navajo Herders sheep (usually Churro but in this case Rambuillet) 

and Texas Mohair goats in combo with wool from Farms back East.

But after seeing these pictures of finished blankets in the Port Fiber shop

created with Peace Fleece,

 I was hooked,

and had to find out more about them.

So off went $10 for a color card

There are about 30 colors and 9 neutrals.

They are called Temperature Blankets and this originated as a 

Crochet-(or Knit)-Along 2 years ago.

You can see more of them on Ravelry if you are interested.

Each blanket represents a daily years worth of temps.,

and they advertise it as a perfect project for data nerds.

Well,

I know I'm not that,

ha ha,

 but the surprise and random outcomes of each blanket had me fascinated.

The outcome is not something I could completely control which I love.

The blanket is worked in stripes with one row of single crochet (or knit)

for each day in a color that represents that day's temperature.

They suggest breaking up the temps. into 5 or 10 degree increments.

I went for 5 so I could use a few more colors.

They recommended10 colors,

 but I only mangaed to narrow it down to 12 colors so I'm working with 5 degree ranges.

Below are my final choices.

Honestly I was tempted to go with the 10 saturated colors 

on the 2nd page of the color card,

but my husband said it looked too blah,

that I needed to add a few other colors to make the blanket pop a bit.

Did I listen to him?

Of course, 

he was probably right.

We'll see.

My degree breakdown looks like this from left to right:

1.  106-111 degrees  Wooly Bear

    2.  100-105 degrees Glasnost Gold

             3.  94-99 degrees  Mourning Dove         

4.  88-93 degrees      Palomino  

      5.  82-87 degrees      Chickie Masla

 6.  76-81 degrees Desert Tundra

           7.  70-75 degrees  Anna's Grasshopper

 8.  64-69 degrees     Baltic Blue

       9.  58-63 degrees  Kalinka Malinka

10. 52-57 degrees  Bonnie Blue

11. 46-51 degrees      Amaranth

 12. 40-45 degrees  Mesa Marble

Don't you just adore the names of the colors?

My favorite is Chickie Masla.

WOOL WITH PURPOSE

A small New England fiber company with a mission.

We work to support pastoral communities that have been historically in conflict with the US. Currently we are working with the Navajo to offer fair market prices for the Rambouillet sheep wool raised by families in the Navajo Nation. Our yarn is made of this wool blended with a domestic fine wool and mohair for strength. We love what we do, and we hope you will too.

 

FRAMED & DELIVERED

After several weeks of deliberation about whether to gift this piece to my husband

who expressed his love of it,

or to give it to my son and his wife as a very tardy wedding gift,

my son won out.

Getting it to them was another matter

and barely fit in my car,

 but only with the top down.

It is at least 4 ft by 4 1/2 feet.

So needless to say it was a long, slow and careful journey as the wind whipped it to and fro 

against my seat back as I made that long trek to his home in the valley.

But I'm so glad I gave it to them for they ohhed and ahhed over it, 

and have already decided to hang it on a prominent wall in their front room.

Plus it was a wonderful surprise for them both

and completely unexpected.

My heart is happy.

I have since finished another smaller one which I really like as well, 

and am going to show my newly formed knit group how to wet block with it.

TAH DAH....FINALLY FINISHED!

Yes, I'm still here,

just so distracted these days.

I so hope you are still with me.

I feel I may have posted this piece before,

but I just finally blocked it.

Now it's at Michaels being framed for an ungodly amount.

Next one,

yes there is another in the works,

I will frame myself and not make it so large.

 This was made with hand dyed rovings from several different sources,

plus a few of my own.

Spun and plied mostly up at the cabin over several winters,

I had intended to give to my son and his wife last year for their wedding present.

But that didn't happen  LOL,

instead they needed a new refrigerator and so much more

 that I was delighted to give them to put off finishing this.

HA!

 So the other day cleaning out my UFO's,

I ran into it and decided to finally finish it;

trying to make good on one of my New Years Resolutions.

My spinning leaves a lot to be desired,

with many different weights going on in each skein,

thus the lumpy bumpy look of the uneven edges. 

But I really did enjoy this project,

being able to bring all these fractured skeins together

in a pleasing way.

Know that I was inspired by the work of French Textile Artist Murel

of  Clothogancho fame.

Here I am under one of the most gorgeous textiles I've ever seen or touched,

a piece I bought from Muriel a few years ago.

She dyes all her own yarns,

and if you've never checked out her website I recommend a look-see.

What I noticed straight away when I compare these last two photos is that lighting really matters.

Bright lighting above in my cabin studio,

but below is the finished piece drying after I blocked it under softer bedroom light.

The piece in real life is somewhere in between the two photos.

But at least it's flat now.

My husband loves it so much that he wants it for a prominent wall in our home.

We'll see.

BLANKET UPDATE

I've only been working on this for the past couple of years,

off and on,

from hand dyed rovings I've spun into yarn when I demo for my Beginning 3-D students.

I'm using the basic Granny Stitch pattern and crocheting these squares,

then sewing them together.

My plan is to have this throw blanket done by the time my son decides to marry.

He has seen it a couple of times in progress and commented on it's colors,

so I know he likes it. 

But I'm keeping it a secret.

And I'm pretty sure he is with the woman of his dreams so it is just a matter of time now.

No pressure  LOL

And I know he won't see it here

 because neither one of my own children look at my blog unless I make them.

  hahahaha

So this past summer I've been working diligently on trying to expand it below.

I added a larger row of floral granny squares as well as a darker border

 to separate the next row I'll be putting on next. 

Above are the baby squares,

 in various shades of green,

 waiting to be put together for that next row.

I need around 146 squares and I've got about 50 more to make  :(

Such a long process,

but I'm really enjoying the outcome.

BABY STEPS

It's only taken me 2 years to get this far,

(maybe because I have 50 other projects in the works at the same time)

  LOL,

but I'm ready to give a sneak peek at one of my favorite pieces 

that I'm currently working on up at the cabin.

The hand dyed rovings that I spun these yarns from were a gift from my dear friend Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Arts. 

Every year she donates a few of her hand dyed rovings to my Beginning 3-D students for their Hand Spinning Unit.  

During the summer before school starts,

I spin up a small sample from each of the colorways so that the kids can see what choices they have.

As soon as the unit is over I begin a new fiber piece with these samples.

I usually make baby garments or pillow tops with the samples.

Well last school year I whipped up these granny squares and stitched them together.

Then over this last summer I spun up some of my hand dyed rovings to border the squares with.

And now with the leftover hand spuns,

 I'm building more squares in a slightly different pattern with a circular center.

I will sew these together for my next border.

I'm hoping that in a couple more years this might actually be a lap blanket/throw for over the couch.

What I'm secretly hoping for is that I will finish it in time for my son's wedding present.

Not that he's getting married anytime soon or has popped the question  LOL

But I know how long these things take me and I want to be prepared  :)

Did I mention that I adore his girlfriend Nicole??

It's Here!!!!

The beautiful crocheted blanket from Muriel of Clothogancho in France, and it's SPECTACULAR!!!!

Even my husband loved it, and we are so excited to display it in our home.

It has a super soft hand, it drapes wonderfully and will be very tempting to use, but way to nice to do anything but put it on display.

All the yarns were hand dyed by Muriel from natural ingredients, and her range of colors she is able to get are incredible.

Love, love, love!

Which One Do I Choose George?

I adore the work of Muriel at Clothogancho, who paints with her naturally dyed yarns.  

Recently I have been in contact with her to purchase one of these amazing works of art.  

The colorways in both are so different yet so appealing, such a tough decision.  I've been debating for over 3 months now but I've finally made a decision.  Which piece would you have picked??

Let me know, then I'll tell you which one I bought.

Just wish I could afford both.

Newest Sampler Pillow - My Work

I'm so happy with my latest pillow sampler that I finally put together this summer.  I dyed the yarn years ago in a demonstration with food colors for my Intermediate 3-D students, then taught them to knit these 9 different samples.  But I disliked the harsh colors so I just never bothered to finish up the piece.  But this summer I was determined to get pieces finished and now I really love how it looks all together.

What really pulled it all together in my opinion is the yarn I bought to crochet around the edge with the felted flowers.   It was expensive, something like $40 for one skein, but so worth it from Pagewood Farms I believe.

Shop Update - My Work

Hand Dyed, Hand Spun, Hand Knit and Crocheted Pillows in the Shop

These were the two pillow samples that I made as examples for a new assignment I taught last school year to my Intermediate 3-D students.  I also incorporated some of my hand spun yarns into the green pillow.

Learning to dye wool yarns with food colorings, making their own knitting needles, and learning how to knit and crochet, then to turn their sampler into a pillow. 

Added Some New Work to the Shop

Hand Knit Pillow Samplers

In my Intermediate 3-D class my students learn to dye their own yarn and to knit.  If you recall the last couple of years, I've had the kids knit up scarf samplers with their hand dye yarns and homemade knitting needles.

But I enjoy changing things up every couple of years to keep myself fresh, so this summer I designed a knit sampler in pillow form.  In the pattern the kids learn both knit and purl garter, seed stitch,  2 x 2 ribbing, mistaken rib, intarsia, free form log cabining, how to pick up edge stitches, how to sew pieces together and striping.  Also included in the unit is learning how to single crochet so they can put an edging stitch around their pillow.  And lastly, they must make their own pillow from various fabrics, and stuff and close a pillow,

then whip their knit sampler on top.

Phew...that's a lot of work!  Yep!!!

So let's look at a few of the finished pieces.

The one above was made by senior Ashley Chowdhury.  I love that she thought to embellish hers with buttons, really makes it extra special.

Below hers is senior Tiffany Lee.  Notice the beautiful colorways these girls have dyed. I buy the yarn from Knit Picks, it's their most inexpensive dyeing yarn.  I believe it's called Wool of the Andes.  It's a very nice quality yarn and takes the food color dye (Wilton's) we use really well. 

Senior Amy Hsu has done a stunning job with the pillow colors above, and I love the colorway that senior Sheila San Agustin used, very warm, fall colors.  The buttons are nice too. 

What's really amazing is that knitting is a very difficult global skill to learn and many of the kids really struggled at first.  But I told them not to give up, because once you learn it you have the skill for the rest of your life and it's also highly relaxing once you "get it".  Now I see these kids knitting up their own stuff in the hallways before and after school, plus I also watch as they teach their friends.  So Cool! 

My Work

Inspired by the work of Susanna Bauer I began my hunt for the perfect magnolia leaf.  I found it in the shape of a heart on my mini magnolia we planted this spring on our patio.  My craftsmanship needs work, my holes I punched are a bit shaky, but I really enjoyed working this out.  

I pressed the leaf under pressure for a couple of days then used an awl to poke my holes.  I've been saving some cotton string that I indigo dyed in our Glennis Dolce workshop last school year, found my grandmother's smallest metal crochet hook and crocheted around the leaf.  Then I looked for another string that would compliment the piece and did a bit of edging.  You are looking at the back above and the front side below. 

I also tried working on a rubber tree leaf.  I pressed it flat as well but after I hung the finished piece on our Xmas tree at school it really started to dry up and wrap.  I actually really liked the effect.

I tried one more leaf since, using another small magnolia leaf and actually cut this one into the shape of a heart, so that I had a crocheted heart ornament for each of my children this Christmas.

Thank you Susanna for your inspiration!

Susanne Bauer - Mixed Media Artist

Another new inspiration that I found thru Art Propelled is mixed media artist Susanna Bauer.  Again, her work is right up my alley.  She finds leafs, twigs and rocks and turns them into intricate works of art with her fibers and needle skills.  I recently purchased a leaf from her very much like the one above.  It also arrived from Fed Ex in a similar condition to the piece I posted yesterday after paying an enormous shipping and handling fee, for Susanna lives in Cornwall, England, and the package had to travel a long, long way.  Fed Ex, let's get it together!  

I borrowed these excerpts off Susanna's website with her permission:

"I go walking

I find a leaf, a piece of driftwood - or sometimes it finds me.

I take it home and its new life begins.  

This website is about the work that started alongside my career as a modelmaker.

I have worked for the television and film industry for over 16 years, making objects like King Arthur's chalice, cheeses for Wallace and Gromit, miniature buildings, robots and spaceships.

I have always been driven by a great love of making and working with my hands and over the years have acquired a broad knowledge of materials and techniques.

Most of my pieces are small sculptural objects often based on found natural materials. I like giving time to the inconspicuous things that surround us and often go unnoticed, paying attention to small details and the tactile quality of objects. Appropriating traditional craft techniques like weaving and crochet as a means of sculpture brings a contemplative element to the development of my work. I am interested in unusual combinations of materials, the experimentation with fragility and strength and the individual stories that evolve and shape themselves in the process of making.

I was born 1969 in Bavaria, Germany, and have lived in England since 1996 where I used to divide my time between London and Cornwall.

Since 2010 the West Penwith area of Cornwall has become my permanent home and inspiration for my work."

Susanna Bauer