Woof

I wanted to learn a new skill this year. Now, I’m not entirely sure I could claim that I know how to weave so I’ll let you decide. I bought this baby from Fibrecrafts and my friend of the amazing biceps hauled it to Finland. No, it didn’t fit into my suitcase. Yes, I thanked her. No, I didn’t thank her enough. Thank you!

She’s a 15 inch Schacht Flip folding rigid heddle loom and I am in love. The first few weeks I just started at the parts from the couch. Sizing them up, getting ready for the battle. One glorious Sunday I put her together and placed her on my coffee table. A perfect match. Some petting of the ever so smooth maple wood finish ensued. It took me another week to even think about warping. It was rather straight forward, as I followed the (you guessed it) direct warping method. A few adjustments to tension and I was off. This is the second thing to come off my loom. The first was deemed a sight not suitable for children.

Facts: The warp is undyed fingering-weight Knitpicks Gloss and the weft is Noro Silk Garden Lite in colorway 37. I used 150 g of both yarns for a scarf that’s 72 inches long and 13 inches wide. The finishing is an improvised hemstitch done in both directions for symmetry.

More facts: I love it some much I never want to wear other scarves. Plus it got me more attention in Vancouver than I could have dreamt of. Thank you random bus driver on Kingsway! Oh, and “woof”? An old term for weft. I just thought it funny. :)

 

Shades of autumn

I managed to do some late autumn dyeing despite nature’s insistance that it was too cold. Frozen fingers and mushrooms will not stop me, ha. Besides, it was nice to be out in the crispy air at 7 am by myself. I can’t take credit for picking these beauties, though.

I’d picked a couple of kilograms worth of cortinariius semisanguineus on a couple of occasions and even found some cortinarius sanguineus with the help of two foxes. People like to pick mushrooms with me because there’s no fighting over the loot: I just want the poisonous ones.

Here are the results, please excuse the fleeting light. All second dyebath skeins are missing as thosed were done way after sundown. From left to right:

1. semisanguineus stems (feet) on wool, 10:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH 5
2. semisanguineus stems (feet) on silk-wool, 10:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH 5
3. semisanguineus caps on wool, 10:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH 5
4. semisanguineus caps on silk-wool, simultaneously mordanted, 10:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH 5
5. semisanguineus caps on silk-wool, premordanted, 10:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH 5
6. semisanguineus caps on silk-wool, 10:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH 9
7. sanguineus on silk-wool, 5:1 mushroom:fiber ratio, pH5

It was fun to see what difference resulted from different fibers, mordanting, mushrooms and their parts and dyebath pH. The best discovery, prompted by the amazing new mushroom dyeing book by Hjördis Lundmark and Hans Marklund, was the heightened pH in the semisanguineus dyebath. Not an expert in the chemistry but it seems that the yellow color agents don’t work in high pH baths. The result is a gorgeous cold pink with no yellow undertones.

While cooling my dyebaths I noticed one of the containers was a suprisingly good match for its new contents. My tastes in mushrooms surely have hanged over the years!

 

Coming along

They are, I promise. Aunt Stina will be ready.

 

Summer memories

1. puzzle, 2. anyone home?, 3. seaside, 4. sea, 5. blooming, 6. for sauna, 7. beach, 8. jungle, 9. fresh pickings, 10. ready to go, 11. jaws, 12. beetle and berries, 13. august sunset, 14. water swirls, 15. dog dreams, 16. heathers

 

Summer Wonderland

Long time, no post.  I can’t even pretend that I’ve been too craftasticly busy to post, nah, I’ve been slacking. However, here is something finished.

It’s a new bedspread for my goddaughter who is suddenly a big girl. The quilt measures 43 x 63 inches. I quilted it in simple straight lines a 1/4″ away from the seams using a pink cotton thread. The quilting pattern, in fact the whole quilt, was completely inspired by this charm pack quilt. The Wonderland line by MoMo included a cheater print, and I skipped all piecing work. The colorway for both front and back is Sugar. I almost like the back more than the front. The binding is a brown-on-red dot print from the same line.

The quilt was recieved with thanks, and some immediate “cover and hide” play. She recognized the birds and butterflies, irons and air moisturizers require some training still. I think it fits her bed nicely, if I say so myself.

Thanks to my photographer for the good shots, I am to blame for the bad ones!

 

Summer or not?

It has been a sunny day. As my foxy friend already pointed out, it’s way too warm to be wearing these:

But I had to show them after working on them for a long time. Who knew that Noro Kureyon sock with 72 stitches on 2.25 mm needles would take a while? That knitting heels twice takes another while? If I’d only learn to take notes of my heels…

The one knot in the yarn made me unhappy but I’ve decided not to let it bother me. The flow gets interrupted by the heel anyways. I do like almost all the shades the colorway includes. True to my ways, I’ve misplaced the wrapper so I haven’t got a clue which colorway this was.

I think it’s time to let the wool rest and work with cotton. Not of the yarny variety though. I’ve had these beauties out on my floor for a week, as I’m trying to decide on a sashing color.

Paint-by-number deers and sunshine filtered through the blinds. What could be better?

 

Delta E quilt

I saw the Morning call collection by Hoodie in December and immediately bought six different prints and matching Bella solids from Fat Quarter Shop. Color matching was done with the scientific scrutiny and involved meticulous calculations of color differences (thanks to my expert consultant!).

The basic blocks are from Amy Butler’s Pink Bliss quilt but I made more of them and improvised the layout and the vertical strips. The finished quilt measures 54 x 80 inches (137 x 203 cm). The back is a gray Egyptian cotton sheet. I quilted the thing in the ditch, randomly following the rectangles in the quilt top.

The binding is made out of the red spoon and fork print. I like the way the white and black utensils alternate. Extra points for those who spy the duck amongst all that wonky quilting!

Well needless to say that it took me a long time to finish this quilt. I started piecing it in February! During the spring I fell out of love with the fabrics, mostly due to growing annoyance at my own laziness. But have no fear, the finished quilt has found a loving home nonetheless.

 

Happy birthday!

Once upon a time, in the shadow of a tall tree, there was a colorful little barn.

Inside the barn, lived a happy mixed pack of animals.

Luckily for two-year-olds, they like to come out and play on the lawn.

Pattern:Fabric dollhouse tutorial

Fabrics: Amy Butler, Ikea (reinforcement is batting taped to thin cutting board pieces)

Reception: The barn got carried around, buttons were examined very carefully and assorted animals were tossed into the pan together with the felted food for a rather straightforward stew. A success all around!

 

Easter and other past times

I spent a nice long Easter holiday back home. Despite the ridicule of friends, I persisted with my Martha Stewart approach to easter eggs this year. Decoupage on both sides, baby!

I spent some time cleaning out my grandparents’ closets and found some treasures. Some were even mine! These are rocks from a holiday, very important to 10-year olds. The candies in the box were good, too.

And some could become mine if I were to take the plunge… Actual sewing fabric might be a stretch but I’d love to weave a scarf.

Amongst the impressive collection of bottle caps from the 80s were these. Boy was that Lemon Palma soda good on a hot summer day! But what is that baby drinking?

 

Girly things

As promised, here are some practice dresses. I recently traded some yarn for sewing magazines, more specifically Ottobre magazines which include fun patterns for kids. Having only made a few clothing items, I decided to start with some easy dresses. I made these two last weekend. First, a linen summer dress with gathered neckline and sleeves. I appliquéd a little bird on it from Tula Pink’s Full Moon Forest fabrics.

I battled with the elastics a bit but once I figured those out this was a breeze to make. The pattern is from Ottobre 2/2005. It’s a size 92cm (chest circumference 64 cm and total length 55cm) and big for that size. For summers to come, I suppose.

I wanted to make something my goddaughter could wear already now, and decided upon a corduroy vest dress from the latest Ottobre (1/2009). The size is 86cm (chest 62 cm, length 51 cm).

The second dress offered more challenge for a novice like me: buttonholes, top stitching and partial lining. It came together quite quickly though. The main fabrics for both dresses are from Hilco, the lining is Midwest Modern from Amy Butler. The buttons are from my late grandmother’s stash.

I like looking at the details the most. I think it’s safe to say these aren’t the last dresses I’ll be making.