24 December 2008

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.

22 December 2008

Handspun Merino and Glitz


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

21 December 2008

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.

10 December 2008

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)

07 December 2008

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.

06 December 2008



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...







05 December 2008

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.

30 November 2008

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).

28 November 2008

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.

23 November 2008

15 November 2008

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.

04 November 2008



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



28 October 2008

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.

26 October 2008

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.

20 October 2008

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.

09 October 2008

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














02 October 2008

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.

27 September 2008

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.

26 September 2008

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.




18 September 2008

Merino/Soy/Bamboo


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

08 September 2008

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.

04 September 2008

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!

02 September 2008

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.

25 August 2008

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.

24 August 2008

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!

21 August 2008

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.

19 August 2008

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!

18 August 2008

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.

23 July 2008

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.

17 July 2008

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.

15 July 2008

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.

11 July 2008

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.

07 July 2008

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.

04 July 2008

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!

28 June 2008


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

22 June 2008

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.