Update - Upcoming events

I'm terribly sorry that I haven't updated my blog since July, but I have some fantastic news to share with you today! I have a few events that I will be selling some of my hand made items, such as knitted accessories and hand spun yarn.

The first event is a small gathering at a fellow Capilano Textile Alumni's house to showcase a few local artists and have a meet and greet.

The second event is the Capilano University Student Sale. This event also features current and past student works for sale at the school. This event is held on Tuesday November 23, 2010.

The third event is a craft fair to raise funds for a elementary school in my town. It's on November 25, 2010. I'll have more details on this soon, and pictures.

Fiber Friday - July 23, 2010

This is just a quick post to show you the finished skeins from previous Fiber Fridays

118 yards
(the most I've spun on a drop spindle! woot!)
The fiber is from a grab bag on etsy (see previous post)

100% Merino
236 yards
(singles spun on drop spindle and then plied on wheel)
Dyed naturally with Logwood chips

Fiber Friday - July 9, 2010

Over at Ravelry the Tour de Fleece is happening. It's a spin-a-long where people spin from July 3rd to July 25th. It originated from this blog and the Tour de France. I've been following along behind the scenes and trying to spin every day. Here's my progress so far:

"Anywhere but Here"

68 yards (0.5 oz)

"On the Other Side"
56 yards (0.5oz)

(Almost done this one, should be finished by Sunday)

The fiber for all three skeins were purchased from Poppy Flower Fiber on Etsy. I posted about the purchase here. I think the above three skeins are all BFL fiber, but not positive.

I'm lucky and can spin at work when it's slow, so I know there will be more yarn to post next Fiber Friday. So, I'll see you soon :)

Slow and steady wins the race

I've been spinning on my drop spindle off and on for a few weeks. Once the singles are done, I'll ply them together on my wheel to create a stronger yarn. I've really enjoyed spinning on this handmade drop spindle, because I get a thinner and more consistent yarn that I do with my country wheel. I absolutely love lace weight yarn, and this has definitely helped me work on my drafting skills.

100% Merino
Naturally dyed with Logwood chips
(the color is slightly more purple in person)

Once I'm finished the yarn I'll be able to report back with how long the skein is and also a name. Although I already have a name in mind. :)

Happy Canada Day!

Today is the celebration of Canada becoming a country 143 years ago. So head outside and enjoy our beautiful lands and the people in it.

Dog Hair Yarn

About two weeks ago, my friend Janna from Vancouver Yarn put me in contact with a woman who had collected her dog, Raka's fur over a few years and wanted it spun into yarn. The dog was a German Shepard/Wolf cross, who unfortunately passed away not too long ago.

When we finally coordinated a time to meet up, I was give two small buckets of fur. Who would have known those small buckets would have turned into this:

2.48 lbs of dog fur

2ply Yarn (left 50/50 Dog fur/Shetland sheep, right 100% dog fur)

Knitted samples of both the 50/50 blend and 100% dog fur

The yarn that is 100% dog fur is spun on my drop spindle. Dog fur is a very short staple and is hard to spin. That's why I have also done samples with the fur blended with sheep's wool. The blend helps hold the dog fur in to a yarn. Spinning on a drop spindle is a lot more time consuming, compared to a spinning wheel, but using this method I got a more consistent yarn thickness and I could also use 100% of Raka's fur.

The patron for this yarn is still in decision mode, so I am working on another commission which uses cut off thread from sewing as the base for yarn. This will be my third time spinning thrum yarn.

Trying to fall in love with knitting...

...again.
I love yarn. I love how it looks, I love how it feels, I love to spin my own yarn. For some reason the love stops there. I know how to knit, crochet, weave and even how to do naalbinding. I love how all those things look as finished items, but for some reason I fall out of love with them so easily. I think it's because I don't get the instant gratification like I do with spinning my own yarn, well it most cases. With this love for yarn, you can imagine that my stash would not be a few skeins here and there. In fact, it's growing slightly out of control.



The bottom half of this storage unit is FULL of spinning "fluff". Everything from wool to viscose to possum. And that's not including what's in the living room. So in an attempt to de-stash a bit I have tried to fall in love with knitting again.

"February Lace Scarf"
Debbie Bliss "Pure Silk" yarn

This scarf feels absolutely wonderful so far. The robins egg blue is beautiful and I can't wait until it's finished. The pattern is a 4 row lace repeat which makes it easy to knit, as well.

I've never knitted with silk before, and wow, is it slippery. I could never imagine how people knit with silk on metal needles and not drop a stitches on every row. I find the bamboo needles definitely hold on to the yarn a little more than the metal knitting needles. Now that I have a few inches of scarf knitted up, I find the slippery factor has decreased some what so that's kind of a relief.

Fiber Friday - May 14, 2010

Wow! I can't believe it's been a week already! I'm still on the hunt for a job, but in the mean time I've been spinning lots of yarn. This week I have 3! It would have been 4, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished skein before I lent it to a friend for an art show.

"Summer Marshlands"

Romney/Mohair (from a swap on Craftster)

76 yards

(Untitled, so far)
Crossbreed sheep (I got the fleece for free at a spinning demo I participated in)
43 yards

(Untitled, still thinking of a name)
Romney (hand dyed red and a grey/blue)
68 yards

I hope you enjoy the yarns this week.

Fiber Friday!

Good Morning Bloggers! (and readers!)

I just wanted to start out this beautiful sunny day with a few skeins of yarn!
From Left to Right:
"Coco-chineal" 86 yards, merino, hand dyed with cochineal

(untitled) 32 yards, perendale, local sheep (from Ontario) and merino (?), hand dyed and commercially dyed. This was my attempt at patchwork yarn. I'm still working out the kinks, there were a lot of spots that were just one color.

(untitled) 30 yards, local sheep (from Ontario), drop spindled and then plied on my spinning wheel

I have fallen in love with drop spindling! I've been spinning on my wheel(s) for about 2 years (they are both country wheels) and I've been having a hard time achieving very thin, lace weight yarns. I did a bit of research and found a lot of people saying that it's hard to get thinner yarns on my type of wheel. I was a bit sad, but still determined and I remembered that someone from a craft swap built me a beautiful drop spindle. So, I grabbed some fleece and started spinning. I fell in love!!! I spun the above skein on the right in a day and I'm now working on some natural "black"/dark brown fleece I received from a demo I did a few summers ago at a sheep shearing event. Pictures will be posted soon.

I'm Done!!

I am officially finished my 2 year diploma for Textile Arts!!!! We have a grad show coming up and the opening is May 13th.

Here or There?

One of my favorite places in my hometown is Golden Ears Park. When ever I get stressed out, bummed out, or just want to be out in the sunshine (or in this case liquid sunshine) I drive up to the lake. One of the reasons I love this Provincial park is the fact that it is only a 20min drive from my house. You go from city to country in no time.

For my final 3D project for school I decided I would take a pair of socks that I knitted by hand and take photos of them in places that I long to be in.




I met a nice fisherman on the dock in the above photo, who had no luck. It was his first day on this lake, Mike Lake but he said he had a good time anyways.

Even though I spent the afternoon trekking around the park in the on and off rain, I really enjoyed myself and I felt less stressed out about school. I feel that the photographs really reflect my longing to be in nature, but I always feel tied to the city because of convenience.

Sheep to Shawl - 2010

This will be the second year students from Capilano University - Textile Arts program will be participating in the "Sheep to Shawl". This is a yearly event for the guilds of Greater Vancouver to compete against each one another to make the best shawl, by hand of course.

Blurb:

Cheer on local spinners and weavers as they participate in this traditional competition. Watch as they card, spin, and ply raw sheep’s wool into yarn, then weave a shawl - all in four hours! See demonstrations of sheep shearing, view wool displays, and try weaving on heritage looms or spinning on real spinning wheels. Kids can try weaving, or make sheep crafts and pictures while they watch the show.

Saturday, May 22, 2010
11:00am-4:00pm
All ages
By Donation

Entrance to exhibit gallery by admission fee.

at Surrey Museum
17710 - 56A Avenue
For information, call 604-592-6956

Jacquard Weaving

The jacquard loom was invented in the early 1800's controlled by punch cards. It was used as an example for the first computer. Today's jacquard looms are now controlled by computers. You load an image (which has been edited on photoshop) on to the jacquard software and the loom will weave that picture for you.

One of the tech's at school has a jacquard loom and we were lucky enough to weave on it this semester. I chose to do an anatomical heart. I just have some progress shots so far, but they are still really interesting.


At the top of the picture you can see the heart starting to show in the weaving. All of the threads on the left are controlled individually by the computer. (you can see the heddles, where the threads are attached to the computer, in the next picture)


In the above picture, all of the vertical metal pieces (behind the two girls) are heddles which are about 1/4" thick and are threaded with yarn one by one to control the pattern. As you press the foot peddle the computer tells the jacquard loom which ones to lift up to create the pattern. The operator, ie. the weaver, then "throws" a bobbin of yarn through the lifted yarn to weave the cloth.

(a lot to explain in such a little post, I hope it's coming across alright)

Spinning Saturday - March 13, 2010

"The Little Mermaid"
143 yards
Merino, corriedale, wool, firestar

"Sherbert"
16 yards
Wensleydale

Both these yarns were spun for a swap on Craftster, in exchange for some hand made gifts. I have not yet received them, but they are in the mail on their way here. I'm very excited.

Spinning Saturday?

I made this yarn.. (last week.. shh.. hehe) and I thought I would share it with you. (I've made 2 more but they are for a swap on Craftster, so I can't post just yet)

(no name, yet)
114yards
Llama and Bamboo blend

The llama (brown) was cleaned, carded and spun by yours truly. I must admit, I do enjoy processing fleece right from the animal as opposed to buying roving. It makes it feel MORE hand spun.. hehe

There is nothing more satisfying than...

...finishing a project you started 2 years ago.
This was originally going to be a baby blanket, but .. as you read in the first line, it's a little too late. So, it has now turned into a bath mat. I found this pattern easy to follow, but just to tedious to continue for a whole blanket, even if it was in miniature size. The bath mat is knit with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in a natural color. (hard to tell in the pictures, sorry) It measures 28" x 16.5"

Checkerboard Rug - in progress

I'm weaving a rug for a project at school. I took some in progress shots today. I'm very excited for this to be finished but it's taking forEVER! It's due Wednesday, but most likely won't be done in time. Anyways, on to the pics!
The shag will be cut down to about half it's length. Each knot, that you can see in the above photo, has 2 pieces of yarn, and is 4 wide, and 8 high. This makes for approx. 64 pieces of yarn per square. Each row has 10 (I think lol) shag squares, that's a whole lot of yarn! hehe So, needless to say, it's taking me a lot longer than I thought it would have.

I'll post pictures of the rug when it's completely finished.

New Yarn: "Cake"

So, this yarn does not have a name yet, but it is inspired by Sofia Coppolla's movie "Marie Antoinette". If you haven't seen the movie, it's wonderful. A bit of a slow start but a very fun movie. If you like the story of Marie Antoinette throw all your preconceived notions out the door, this movie is more about her life turning into the queen.

But enough about the movie, this yarn was spun from fabric that I hand dyed myself last year in my surface design class. All of the fabric was ripped into 1" strips, spun and then plied with cotton yarn. The second picture is more true to color.

*Edit: I've decided on a name for this yarn: "Cake". The name is inspired by the famous saying "Let them eat cake", also, because this yarn is made from scrap fabric, and Marie Antoinette gave her "scraps" to the people of France. More or less. The colors are also very colorful like most cakes.

Update: 50 list

I finished 2 projects last week. Or was it the week before? The days are starting to blend together now that I'm back at school. Anyways. Here's what you've been waiting for. The pictures!
First on the table is felted soap. This is only my second time trying this, and it's a lot tougher than it would seem. The felt just slides all over the place. I think they turned out alright, but I think I need more practice before I offer them as gifts or put them on my etsy shop.Second is a lovely bunch of christmas tags cut from Christmas cards I received this year. My favorite ones are the trees and snowmen. Mostly because they are sparkly!

If you haven't seen the full list of projects check it out here.

Updating the 50 list

I've thought of a few more things to add to the list:

38. bow head band
39. feather hair clip
40. thrum mittens
41. 4 bars of felted soap
42. tshirt pants

Purple Cowl

Or something like it.
The picture is not the best, I'll try and get a new one, but in the mean time, here is my first finished project for 2010!
See the full list of 50 projects here. And a link to the pattern here.

50 Projects for 2010

In the previous post I mentioned something about a goal for making 50 projects in 2010. Well I have decided that I am going to take on the challenge, and I've already finished one item! and started in on another. As I finish projects I'll be posting them here, on my blog.
Here is my list:


I've started my list, but I have left some room for school projects...
green = started
red= finished

1. Finish Purple Cowl FINISHED! 01/01/10
2. Spats
3. Knit arm warmers/fingerless gloves
4. Slouchy Hat (that fits)
5. 4/5 knit dishcloths 1 Finished 01/09/10
6. learn how to book bind
7. make paper
8. finish art journal
9. knit lace scarf
10. knit intarsia mitts
11. star book
12. 5 printed tshirts
13. knit socks
14. stacked coin quilt
15. embroidered needle book (gift)
16. knit summer cowl
17. 5 handspun skeins of yarn (over 150 yards each)
18. finish knit bath mat FINISHED 02/25/10
19. spin paper
20. make soap
21. xmas cards into xmas tags(I saw this posted by someone else on Craftster) FINISHED 01/10/10
22. clean raw fleece
23. learn how to make resin (jewelry?)
24. carve 2 stamps (for paper art)
25. 5 catnip toys
26. embroidered pillow cases
27. learn how to make bread
28. set of 6 cards
29. lightbox (for taking photographs)
30. gollar for 16th C German garb
31. low neck pinafore ?
32. pointillism embroidery
33. filing
34. shredding
35. knit simple sweater
36. circle skirt (with 2 layers, under layer longer)
37. finish blanket on loom
38. Bow head band
39. feather hair clip
40. thrum mittens
41. 4 bars of felted soap FINISHED 01/11/10
42. t-shirt pants
43. Felt mat for camping
44.


The original idea came from Craftster, this is the 3rd (?) year. Click here to check out the thread.