Summer Shawl

This is a shawl I just completed by Ilga Leja (one of my favourite designers), called Open Waters. It's very lightweight and just perfect for summer days when a jumper is too heavy.

Handspun Merino and Glitz

Here is some handspun wool I recently completed. I spun it with some Glitz using Navajo plying.

Madder dyeing

I dyed some yarn today with Madder Root extract - I used alumn for the mordant and Madder Root for the colour. Whilst simmering, the yarn turned brown but the longer in the pan the redder it became.

Christmas Decorations

I just love Christmas and making Christmas decorations, so much so that I am going to share a few here.

Here is a new Christmas decoration I just finished making - a set of three Christmas stockings. Better IRL.

And some I made in the last year or so....

Woodland Santa with Mohair beard (mohair ends up everywhere). Santa's sack is full of soft toys

Santa, just hanging around (a door knob)

Advent Calendar

Christmas Candle (crochet)

Fishnet Stocking

I fell in love with this design when I saw it. Quick and easy, yet a little "unusual". I mounted it on crushed velvet to make it a little more "raunchy". It is now framed, ready to be put on a wall.

I wasn't going to make Christmas cards this year (and break a tradition) because it didn't really feel Christmassy to me, I just didn't have the "spirit" in me this year. However, I changed my mind at the last minute so had to do a very quick and basic design - voila....

I did participate in an overseas lace Christmas card exchange and here is my effort...

Textured Necklace

I spun some coloured merino using differing techniques including coiling, thick and thin, and other textures. Because I only spun a small amount (although coiling uses up a lot of fibre), I decided to make it into a necklace.

BFL/Angora handspun

This fibre is not from my usual colourways but I am growing to like it. The fibre was from EGMTK (one of the best fibre suppliers and from Australia as well).

Bobbin lace

I received a lovely surprise in the mail the other day from a dear and very, very talented lady Alison Dews. Alison , from the United Kingdom, is an expert bobbin lacer and she made this gorgeous red mat for me, which I will always treasure.

Bamboo fibre spun

Soul Collage cards

Two recent transpersonal Soul Collage cards I completed - Witness and Humour.....

Magic loop knitting

I am knitting socks using the magic loop technique - this involves knitting two socks on the one circular needle (albeit a larger needle in length). It is much easier than it looks and certainly avoids the "one sock" syndrome.

Today is a public holiday so I took the opportunity to dye some fleece - EL and EF.

Bamboo fibre

I just LOOOOVE getting mail. Here is yummy bamboo fibre I received today from EGMTK - can't wait to spin it and I know exactly what I'm going to ply it with.

Chrysanthemum Lace

Here is my first attempt at a Chrysanthemum lace lappet - the spider ground is riddle with mistakes but towards the end of the sample I knew what I was doing wrong. If I ever choose to make another piece of this type of lace I think I will have a better understanding next time.

Inga crochet bag

I finished this bag today - yeah. It's called Inga and it has many crochet squares from a gorgeous discontinued cotton yarn. I might even use this as my normal handbag.

Metallic ply handspun art yarn

Here is some art yarn I recently completed. Firstly I hand dyed the fleece (? merino) purple, then spun the fleece and plied it with commercial charcoal metallic yarn. I like the thin/thick texture of the yarn as well as the shiny effect.

Handspun yarns

Here is some recently completed handspun yarn. I am really enjoying the "freeness" of art yarns. -

Plain Polwarth

Polwarth, spun with sequins

Art yarn - purple texture

Isabeau Purse

This is a picture of a knitted purse I recently completed as part of a monthly bag challenge. Got to love those bag challenges.

Knitted Bangle

Here is a nice quick and easy project I completed in one night, while watching my boys MELBOURNE STORM win their way to the grand final next week.

This is basically a bangle with a knitted cover.

Castella Spinning Wheel

Here is my new pride and joy - my Castella spinning wheel. It was made by Jim de Castella from Victoria. He made around 1500 and sold some to Japan and America. His wheels are made from either pine or locally sourced blackwood and all are uprights. The flyer has three whorls on the whorl, and the ratio depends on the band. Jim recognised the need to reduce friction on a wheel and included ball bearings everywhere on the wheel, even where they can’t be seen and there is no need to oil his wheels due to this. Towards the end of his career Jim made the wheels more portable. In his heyday, Jim used to show his wheels at the Royal Melbourne show. A Japanese lady bought one (she was related to the Emperor) and word of mouth in Japan resulted in many more sales there.

Merino/Soy/Bamboo

My finished crochet scarf from handspun. It's so soft.

Handspun Merino/Soy/Bamboo

Here is some recently spun Merino/Soy/Bamboo. Whilst I didn't dye the fleece, I spun it. It is lovely and soft, with gorgeous variegated colours. I plan to make a scarf with this yarn.

Knitted Socks

I have just finished knitting my first pair of socks! Now, it did take me a long time to do this, with a couple of hiccoughs along the way however I now know why they are so addictive. It was fun knitting them, and they are just so warm!

Handspun texture

I attempted to replicate some yarn I fell in love with at a shop, but refused to pay $18 per skein to buy. To get this effect I spun fleece onto a core (cotton). I'm very pleased with the textured look.

White Flower Necklace

I just completed a gorgeous crochet "White Flower Necklace". I slightly modified the flower so it looked more "flowery". Unfortunately the necklace doesn't hang that well on the pictured bust , but the stems and leaves hang down and it looks lovely on.

Thanks to Creative Yarn for being so generous in supplying the pattern.

WICKED

A friend and I spent last night on the town. We went out to dinner and then went to see WICKED - one of the best musicals I have seen in a long time. What a spectacular musical with creative backdrops and costumes. The show certainly puts a different slant on "The Wizard of Oz" but it fits in oh so nicely..

I can't wait until they make it into a musical.

PS - They killed the wrong witch!

PPS - Witches Rule!

Bolsters

Here are matching bolsters I recently made for my bed. They look much nicer IRL, with the lace complementing the calico and fabric. The patterned fabric shown on the frill is also on each end of the bolster.

Happy Birthday

I received a gorgeous bunch of flowers from my girlfriend for my birthday on the weekend. It's the little things that count - she remembers after all these years that tulips are my favourite flower. We have been great mates for many, many years - true friends are worth hanging on to!

Handspun Mohair

Here are two handspun balls of mohair. The one on the left is plied with wool and the handspun on the right is pure mohair (ouch, very itchy!)

The handspun was completed as part of a spinning SAL - now to find a project to use the handspun.

Gift

Today I received a gorgeous magnet of a "Lace Building" from a lovely friend of mine, Lyn. Lyn recently got back from an overseas trip which included Belgium.

Newspaper

Here is a photo I took for a "Newspaper" challenge. I tried to take a different slant on the interpretation - I certainly like the "textured" look.

Polly's scarf

Here is a scarf I crocheted in one day. At afternoon tea on Sunday, Polly kindly gave me the pattern, thus I have named the scarf in her honour.

It's really a gorgeous scarf, hangs and curls lovely.

Hot

I was experimenting with light exposures and here is my favourite photo from this.

Pithy Hat

I’ve succumbed to winter and knitted a hat. I always swore I would never wear a hat; having curly hair, wearing anything on my head flattens my hair and makes the curls look even messier than they are already. Anyhow I have decided I’d rather be warm than have nice hair.

Knitting Needle Knitting Bag

Here is a knitting bag I recently completed. What really appealled to me is the stitching and also the bamboo knitting needles at the top closure.

Boats

• Went to Williamstown today - such a glorious day. We went to Sciencework then for a drive along the waterside. We then found a park, overlooking the Bay - what more can you ask for!

A photo of some rocks/pebbles I took recently for a photography challenge. I just love thexture of the rocks.

Art Canvas

Two art canvas' which I painted with many, many backgrounds (aka Paulette Insall's wonderful techniques) and added a couple of pics.
Whilst this is very time intensive, I thoroughly enjoyed making the canvases and I just love the "circles" added to the background, what a wonderful idea to brighten up a background.