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.