A lovely bunch…

I initially came up with these little flowers to use up scrap yarn and thread and since then, I’ve quite literally been hooked! They’re very quick and easy to make and are incredibly versatile. You can use whatever yarn you have to hand plus the flowers have many uses – as brooches, affixing to hairbands and hairslides, sticking on greetings cards or sewing on clothes. Different size yarns and hooks will give surprisingly different effects. I like to use embroidery thread with a 1.75mm hook as it gives pretty, delicate results and, as the thread comes in relatively small amounts, it means I can play around with colours.

Anyhow, enough waffle – here’s the pattern

U.K Pattern (U.S Pattern below)

Flower

Make a loop. 12 dc into loop. Slip stitch into first dc. If you want a different colour for the petals, fasten off and join in new yarn. In first dc (1 htr, 2 tr, 1 htr). Slip stitch into next dc. *In next dc (1 htr, 2 tr, 1htr). Slip stitch into next stitch. Repeat from * until end. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Leaf

Chain 11. Dc in 2nd chain from hook. Dc in next chain, 5 tr, 1 htr, dc to end. When you reach last chain, turn the leaf 90 degrees and dc into end chain, then turn by another 90 degrees and dc into back of same chain. Work into back of chains down the other side of the leaf as follows: dc in next chain, 1 htr, 5 tr, dc to end. Fasten off.

U.S Pattern

Flower

Make a loop. 12 sc into loop. Slip stitch into first sc If you want a different colour for the petals, fasten off and join in new yarn. In first sc (1 hdc, 2 dc, 1 hdc). Slip stitch into next sc. *In next sc (1 hdc, 2 dc, 1hdc). Slip stitch into next stitch. Repeat from * until end. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Leaf

Chain 11. Sc in 2nd chain from hook. Sc in next chain, 5 dc, 1 hdc, sc to end. When you reach last chain, turn the leaf 90 degrees and sc into end chain, then turn by another 90 degrees and sc into back of same chain. Work into back of chains down the other side of the leaf as follows: sc in next chain, 1 hdc, 5 dc, sc to end. Fasten off.

mellow yellow

I’ve finally managed to make something with some of my handspun – yay! Remember my onion dyed wool? Well it’s been transformed into this:

For the main panel of the headscarf, I used the stitch pattern from Amy O’Neill Houck’s Alpine Frost Scarf (ravelry link) which was published in the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Crochet. I worked up the panel until it was the right length to go from ear to ear on my then blocked it to open open the stitch pattern. After that, I rejoined the yarn and worked a row of double crochet followed by 8 rows of double crochet (US sc) reducing by 2 stitches per row (one at either end). I then switched to treble crochet for the narrow part of the scarf (purely because I find double crochet mind-numbingly slow) and continued until the scarf was almost long enough to go around my head. I then switched back to double crochet and started increasing by 2 stitches per row until the scarf matched the width of the panel again. I then joined the two ends with a row of double crochet.

I really like the stitch I used. It’s beautiful and simple and I’ll definitely be making the scarf at some point – perhaps as a christmas present for someone… I’ve learnt that it’s never too early to start making christmas presents!

Wonderful Wonderwool

What a fantastic time we had yesterday! A friend and I spent the entire day immersed in woolly goodness at the rather wonderful Wonderwool Wales, a festival of welsh wool and natural fibres where we made some fluffy new friends….

and admired some woolly beauties…

We oohed and aahed over the creations of talented designers as they strutted their stuff on the ‘sheepwalk’….

and oohed and aahed some more at all the yummy yarns on offer.

Oh, and naturally I came back with a whole heap of goodies…beautiful hand-dyed tops by Spindlefrog and Artist’s Palette Yarns…

…rather a lot of raw alpaca fibre in gorgeous natural shades…

…a new lightweight hand-turned spindle plus handcarders…

…a little light reading…..

…and some natural dyes from Pure Tinctoria.

I think this little lot should keep me busy for a little while! I also got to take a closer look at some wheels and think that I might have finally reached a decision and, if everything goes to plan, I will be the proud owner of my very own spinning wheel very soon!

Oh how I wish every weekend was a wonderwool weekend!

xxx

Onion Skin Alchemy

A little while ago I set about transforming wool to gold with the help of these….

I’m not talking real gold here of course (now that would be nice), but the colour gold.

I’d been wanting to try dyeing for a while as it fits in with my plans to become self-sufficient in yarn – as much as I love natural colours, I think I’d need a splash of something brighter from time to time. So, with self-sufficiency in mind, I decided that natural dyeing was the way to go…

I plumped for onion skins as they’re readily available (my greengrocers kindly saved me a big bag of them) plus I’d seen the lovely results that peahen had achieved and felt inspired to give it a try. In case anyone fancies having a go at onion skin dyeing, I recorded each of the steps – not quite a tutorial but hopefully helpful all the same….

First off I weighed the wool. This is important as you need to know the weight in order to calculate how much mordant and assistant you need and also how much dyestuff. I then scoured the wool by soaking it in warm soapy water. I didn’t have any proper wool detergent so used organic baby shampoo instead which seemed to work ok!

Next, I mordanted the wool with alum and used cream of tartar as an assistant. A mordant is something that helps ‘fix’ the dye to the wool making it more light and colour fast. In case you were wondering, the word mordant comes from the latin mordere meaning “to bite”. The ratios I used were 8% of alum and 7% cream of tartar so, as my wool weighed 107g, I needed 8.6g alum and 7.5g cream of tartar. To mordant the wool, I dissolved the alum and cream of tartar in some hot water which I then added to a pan of cold water. I immersed the still wet wool then brought the whole lot very slowly to a gentle simmer and simmered for three-quarters of an hour. I then turned off the gas and allowed the wool to cool in the pan. When it was cool, I rinsed it well.

As well as the mordant, the percentage of the dyestuff also needs to be calculated. For onion skins, most books recommended 30% so I needed 39.5g. To extract the dye, I put the onion skins in a large pot with just enough water to cover them, brought them to the boil, then simmered for about three quarters of an hour. I then left them to cool, before straining.

Once the dye was cool, I popped in the wool (still wet) and brought the dyebath to boiling point then simmered for 45 minutes. Now, all the books say to bring the dyepot up to heat very gradually but unfortunately my hob is pretty fierce even on it’s lowest setting. Due to this (and the fact that I couldn’t resist prodding it once of twice!) I managed to felt the wool in a couple of places. Luckily, it wasn’t too bad and there wasn’t much that some vigorous pre-drafting couldn’t sort out. If you’re keen to give natural dyeing a go, learn from my mistake - increase the temperature very gradually and no prodding! 

I let the wool cool in the dye as I’d read that this produces a deeper colour. When cool, I rinsed it off and hung it out to dry – my beanpoles came in handy!

Before I had tried natural dyeing, I was wondering if it would be worth it – after all, natural dyeing appears to be a lot slower and more fiddly than using acid dyes. Even when I’d got my finished wool, I was still a little undecided – sure, I’d got a nice colour but I’d lost some wool due to felting plus it had taken me most of the day…….

…but then I started to spin the wool and my doubts vanished. I fell in love. The colour is beautiful – so vibrant and rich – it’s almost alive. I guess that’s the beauty of natural dyeing!

Further evidence of my addiction…

This has been quite a while in the making as I was trying to spin fairly fine. It hasn’t turned out as fine as I originally planned but I’m happy with it all the same. It’s a merino/silk blend and has a lovely subtle sheen to it.

Here’s the stats….

• Name: Pastures Green
• Fibre: Merino and Silk
• Weight: a smidgin over 80g
• Length: 385 yards/352 metres
• WPI: 26
• Ply: 2
• Colourway: Green (the bottom 2 pics are the best representations of colour)
• Spun on: Top Whorl Drop Spindle

As you can see, it meets with Baby Small’s approval. She proclaimed it ‘saaaf’ (meaning ‘soft’ for those of you unfamiliar with her particular brand of toddler-talk) then proceeded to cuddle and stoke the yarn. I wonder where she gets that from…..

Spring Greens Part 2: A giveaway!

Edit: The giveaway is now closed. Thank you for all your entries. The winner will be announced soon…

To celebrate both the arrival of Spring and reaching something of a milestone with my blog hits, I wanted to have a little giveaway – something to say thank you to all you lovely people who stop by from time to time and say hello! So, I’ve been busy crocheting, stamping and creating and, in keeping with my green theme, the items that are up for grabs are all, well, green! 

Let’s take a closer look! First off we have a filigree lace bookmark crocheted in a lovely vibrant green….

next there is a pair of handmade earrings, nothing fancy but they do look pretty……

then there is a card which I made by carving a piece of rubber with the daffodil design and stamping onto some handmade paper…..

and finally there is a little lacy coaster which is ‘green’ on two levels, having been crocheted from some organic and naturally dyed cotton….

So, for a chance to win this little bundle of greenness, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what you love most about Spring. The giveaway is open until Wednesday morning (8th April) after which I’ll draw a name from the hat and try to get the parcel sent off to the winner before everything closes for Easter! Everyone is welcome to enter – it doesn’t matter if you haven’t commented before – and, if you’re a blogger, feel free to spread the word!

Good luck! 

xxx

P.S – If you haven’t already done so, please check out the post below and let me know what green means to you!

More Handspun

Well, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. Why? Because I’ve made this:

It’s my second lot of handspun, spun from some lovely soft Shetland wool. It was spun and plied on my trusty drop spindle. The wool had been hand-painted prior to spinning and I love the variation in the colours. There’s not a huge amount of yarn – 31g measuring just over 68 meters – so I’m not sure what I’m going to make with it yet. It has a WPI of 17 which puts it around 4ply/fingering weight I think – perfect for socks but I don’t think there’s anywhere near enough yarn – perhaps baby socks would be a better idea! Still, it seems a bit too pretty to be hidden under shoes…… Sure I’ll think of something!

I really enjoyed spinning the Shetland – it was interesting to note how it felt different to the Corriedale. I did struggle to get it all on the spindle when I was plying though – it was getting very full and heavy towards the end and the plied stuff that had been wrapped around the shaft kept slipping which was rather frustrating. Part of the problem, I think, is that my drop spindle is quite a heavy one. I’ve seen pictures of spindles made from a piece of dowel and a cd so I think I might make one of these specifically for plying as it should be nice and light. I know the best way to make things easier for myself would be to get a wheel though and I’m really hoping we can afford one this summer. I must try to be patient though – if anything I need to try out a few different sorts of wheel to see which suits me best. I loved the wheel I used on the course but it was a top of the range one. My husband often tells me I have expensive tastes…..

Well, I’ll leave you with yet another gratuitous picture of some handspun eye-candy. Thank you for indulging me and my new obsession!

xxx

The hands remember…..

Apologies for the lack of posting – baby small has been poorly and in need of lots of cuddles and attention. She’s on the mend now though and getting back to her usual busy self which has given me a bit of time to make this….

It’s my first plied handspun and I’m ridiculously proud of it. It was all spun and plied on my drop spindle. I spun two singles – one of rather lovely hand dyed corriedale wool and one of less lovely commercially dyed merino – then wound them into balls on my nostepinne. I placed the balls in bowls in an attempt to stop them for rolling around too much – a rather vain attempt as it turned out (will try upside down flower pots next time) – then plied them using the drop spindle again. 

The yarn isn’t perfect – its a bit ‘thick and thin’ in places – but if I wanted perfectly uniform yarn I guess I could just go and buy some mill spun stuff! In my opinion, part of the beauty of handspun is its more rustic quality and the fact that whatever you make with it will be truly unique.

Someone more eloquent than myself has described learning to spin as less like learning something new, more like remembering something old. This really struck a chord with me as when I started spinning it just seemed so right. My hands wanted to be doing it and now, if I go for too long without spinning, they start to twitch impatiently. It’s as if they’re telling me “this is what we were made to do”. Perhaps is stems from some strange, deep-rooted, mystical, past-lives type memory thing (!) or perhaps its just that I’ve found something I truly love to do. Who knows! 

It’s very different from my love of crochet. The pleasure I get from crochet is more to do with the finished object or the ability to experiment and design, but with spinning, it’s the process I love. I love watching the twist run up the drafted fibres in a smooth fluid motion that seems almost magical to me. I love how the fibres slip easily and gratifyingly against each other as I draft. I love how the spindle just keeps going round and round and round long after you’d think it would have run out of spin. It all seems so simple but oh so clever.  I apologise for all this gushing – I guess I’m pretty besotted! I know its early days yet but I’m starting to feel I’ve finally found my vocation and that’s rather a nice way to feel.

Back to practicalities. I’m not quite sure what I plan to do with the handspun. Part of me thinks it would be nice to save up all my early handspun for a big project and make something truly fabulous but then there’s the other part of me that appreciates instant gratification. When I get chance, I plan on crocheting up some swatches in various stitches using the handspun to see how it looks. I guess I’ll just see what ideas the swatches inspire….

In a Spin!

It’s been a lovely day – I’ve spent most of it making this:

Yes, I know it doesn’t look like much but I’m very proud of it as it’s my very first (very small) skein of wheel-spun yarn and I’m hoping many more will follow! The reason I’ve been able to indulge in a whole day of fibre-related activity is thanks to a spinning course at the Court Cupboard Craft Gallery in Monmouthshire – oh, and my lovely husband who kindly took the day off work to look after baby small.

I’d not done much spinning beforehand – I’d been very enthusiastic when I first got my drop spindle, but had quickly become frustrated when it didn’t ‘click’ straightaway and instead spent my crafting time on things I could do more easily (namely crochet). I wasn’t ready to give up though and decided that the best way to get to grips with spinning was to do a course. I’m really glad I did – not only has it helped with the spinning but it was lovely to spend time with interesting people who are living the sort of lifestyle I aspire to. I’d never thought I could get so much pleasure from discussing sheep breeds! But, I digress…

The course was very informal which was really helpful as it allowed plenty of opportunities for questions – and I had quite a few of those! We spent the morning drop spindling and carding then in the afternoon I got my first taste of using a wheel. I can’t say I took to it straight away – after having so much control over the spindle, I found the speed of the wheel a bit dizzying. It felt as if the wheel was constantly snatching the fibre out of hands to begin with but, after playing with the tension a bit, I found a speed I was comfortable with and towards the end of the day I actually started to get the hang of it. My yarn was not exactly pretty – it had way too much spin in places and not enough in others but with more practice I’m certain this would improve.

I now feel much more comfortable with my drop spindle and think that in time I could come to feel similarly at home with a wheel. In fact, I’m weighing up whether or not to invest in one – they cost a lot (the lovely one I used today costs £480 new) so I need to be sure that it would get plenty of use. The inclination is certainly there but would I have the time? It already takes me quite a long time to complete projects due to only having the odd snatched half hour here and there to work on them. How much longer would they spend languishing in my yarn bag if I also had to spin the wool for them?! That said, I’ve always believed that if you want to do something enough, you make time for it. 

I guess the really big incentive for me is being able to be involved with every of a project – being able to take raw fleece and transform it into something wonderful. It sits nicely with my ideas about sustainability and self-sufficiency and also greatly appeals to the control-freak designer in me who has very precise ideas about the yarn I want for a project but normally ends up settling for something that’s not quite what I dreamt of. Well, if I could make it myself – that would no longer be a problem! Hmmmm, I might have just talked myself into it! Next step, convince my husband! 

WIPs: Crochet Ripple Blanket and Granny Square Cushion

As I haven’t posted about crochet for a little while, I thought I’d share some works in progress with you. First off, I’m working on a small ripple stitch blanket. I started this as I need something to wrap baby small in when she’s in her pushchair and it’s cold. When she’s wearing trousers with tights underneath, it’s not too bad – but if she’s in a dress with tights, I thought she could do with something extra to keep her snug….

The other project I have on the go is a granny square cushion cover. Our sofas are a bit old and tatty now but, as I can’t afford new ones, I thought I’d try to spruce them up a bit by making some new cushion covers and possibly a throw. 

The front is just a simple granny square, made to the size of the cushion. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to do the back yet – I could just do another granny square and join with double crochet but I want the cushion cover to be removable (baby small currently has a fascination with felt tip pens so I think its important the cover can be washed!). I’ll probably do a striped piece for the back with an opening half way up. Once I’ve figured out what I’m doing, I’ll try to write up a pattern and post it here.