My BIL is going to allow me to try and sell some of my purses at his antique store. Most of the purses I've made so far have been copyrighted so I'll have to give those away, here is a photo of one of my own creations. I made this using Patons Classic Wool, which felts really well and doesn't show any stitches. Granted, an antique store may not be the best place to market a handcrafted purse, but this is mainly for fun and when I get tired of making purses I'm not obligated to continue to produce them.
If you're interested in checking out my auctions they have been posted here
Here's the photo of my newest felted purse.
Here's the photo of my newest felted purse.
My poor little blog just hasn't received the attention it deserves. My life is not so filled with interesting endeavors that I don't have time to post. Rather, I just haven't had any interesting knitting projects. I have knit another purse and it is in the washer being felted at this very moment. I'm using a free pattern on the net, called Alex's felted purple trapezoid clutch. I printed the pattern but I don't have the web address, so sorry. Pictures will be posted as soon as they are available. In the meantime, I have to go list some vintage knitting patterns on ebay.
I started the other baby blanket, but I don't have much enthusiasm for the project. I think that part of the problem is that I don't think the recipient will appreciate the work that will be going into it. She's invited 98 people to the shower and is registered at 3 different stores. She once told her mother that she didn't understand why people bought gifts that weren't listed on the registry.
Mother Nature has changed her mood. The snow has finally melted, but along with heavy rains there is a lot of flooding. This is our creek overflowing it's banks.
Mother Nature has changed her mood. The snow has finally melted, but along with heavy rains there is a lot of flooding. This is our creek overflowing it's banks.
Thank heavens it's March! Spring is round the corner and Mother Nature is flirting with us right now. Work slows down abit this month and I can enjoy my life again.
I have almost finished the baby blanket. Now I have another baby shower coming up in April. I bought some yarn but I haven't decided on a pattern yet.
I have almost finished the baby blanket. Now I have another baby shower coming up in April. I bought some yarn but I haven't decided on a pattern yet.
I forgot to mention this was made with Lamb's Pride in the color raspberry, The photo color is just a little brighter than the actual color.
The pattern is from Knitter's Winter 2003. I really like the purse and might actually make one for myself, except I haven't had a purse this small in ages. I normally carry my wallet, 2 checkbooks, a bottle of aspirin, a calculator, a couple of pens, two sets of keys and who knows what else and if there's any room left I use it to carry my lunch to work.
The pattern is from Knitter's Winter 2003. I really like the purse and might actually make one for myself, except I haven't had a purse this small in ages. I normally carry my wallet, 2 checkbooks, a bottle of aspirin, a calculator, a couple of pens, two sets of keys and who knows what else and if there's any room left I use it to carry my lunch to work.
The felted purse is finished, except I haven't sewn the button on yet. I wasn't sure about using this button, for my other purse I knitted a bobble and felted it for the button.
Now I have to get back to the baby blanket, the shower is next weekend and I still want to make a hat and some booties or socks.
Now I have to get back to the baby blanket, the shower is next weekend and I still want to make a hat and some booties or socks.
My poor abandoned cabled turtleneck.
This is the second sleeve and once it is done I just have to sew all the pieces together and then knit the turtleneck. But alas, it may be a couple of weeks before I get back to it.
Now I'm abandoning my baby blanket to work on a felted purse. My son is coming home from college this weekend and I said I'd make a purse for his girlfriend. I need to get it done so he can take it back with him.
It's been awhile since I've had 3 projects going at once.
This is the second sleeve and once it is done I just have to sew all the pieces together and then knit the turtleneck. But alas, it may be a couple of weeks before I get back to it.
Now I'm abandoning my baby blanket to work on a felted purse. My son is coming home from college this weekend and I said I'd make a purse for his girlfriend. I need to get it done so he can take it back with him.
It's been awhile since I've had 3 projects going at once.
Where'd the weekend go?
I started a mindless project.
This is a baby blanket from the Knit Baby Blankets pattern book. It's simple but I think it will be cute when it's done. The pattern is all stockinette stitch, alternating colors every two row. Hopefully, I will have enough yarn leftover to make a hat and booties to go with it.
Happily, the tax season is starting to slow down to a normal pace. I read the article referenced on Nanette's blog regarding introverts. Now, I know why I'm exhausted at the end of the day--too many people wear me out!
I started a mindless project.
This is a baby blanket from the Knit Baby Blankets pattern book. It's simple but I think it will be cute when it's done. The pattern is all stockinette stitch, alternating colors every two row. Hopefully, I will have enough yarn leftover to make a hat and booties to go with it.
Happily, the tax season is starting to slow down to a normal pace. I read the article referenced on Nanette's blog regarding introverts. Now, I know why I'm exhausted at the end of the day--too many people wear me out!
I wish I had some knitting to report but I've been too busy at work. By the time I get home at night I'm too tired to work on cables. I think I need a mindless project. I did start the second sleeve on Sunday, but it doesn't look like I'll make my Valentine's Day deadline.
I spent Sunday afternoon listing a bunch of books and exercise videos on Amazon. I'll probably regret selling some of them. I've already sold two and have to take them to the post office this morning. You know a lot of people make money selling used books, not me, I buy books new and sell them when I'm done. Another reason not to own a yarn store.
Chip says don't be shy!
I spent Sunday afternoon listing a bunch of books and exercise videos on Amazon. I'll probably regret selling some of them. I've already sold two and have to take them to the post office this morning. You know a lot of people make money selling used books, not me, I buy books new and sell them when I'm done. Another reason not to own a yarn store.
Chip says don't be shy!
I finished the front of the cabled turtleneck which amazingly looks exactly like the back. Tonight, I might cast on for the second sleeve. I just might get this done on schedule.
I've been thinking about designing a vest that would incorporate the swatches of my multicolored roving yarn. Right now, I'm splitting the roving into strips and putting a little bit of a twist into it using my spinning wheel. Hopefully, that won't cause it to be skewed when knitted.
I see I have to fix my archives, that is a problem for another day.
I've been thinking about designing a vest that would incorporate the swatches of my multicolored roving yarn. Right now, I'm splitting the roving into strips and putting a little bit of a twist into it using my spinning wheel. Hopefully, that won't cause it to be skewed when knitted.
I see I have to fix my archives, that is a problem for another day.
Here's my entry for the ugliest yarn contest. This is from the multi-colored roving I dyed yesterday.
Take my word for it, it is much uglier in person.
As a single ply, the yarn was quite pretty, but plied, it looks horrid. I plied only a small portion because I didn't think I would like it.
Here I've taken the roving and split it into thin strips and knit it. I like this a lot better.
I might separate the plies and either ply it with a solid color, or ply it with the dark blue/green I dyed yesterday.
If I knit the roving into a scarf, I might use the ugly yarn for fringe, so for now I'm going to leave it as is.
Take my word for it, it is much uglier in person.
As a single ply, the yarn was quite pretty, but plied, it looks horrid. I plied only a small portion because I didn't think I would like it.
Here I've taken the roving and split it into thin strips and knit it. I like this a lot better.
I might separate the plies and either ply it with a solid color, or ply it with the dark blue/green I dyed yesterday.
If I knit the roving into a scarf, I might use the ugly yarn for fringe, so for now I'm going to leave it as is.
I've put my knitting aside so I could try handpainting. If I'm going to get more sheep, I need to spin up the roving I have stuck away in the closet. After looking at the beautiful handpainted yarns, I thought I should see what I could do with a little dye. I had some dye on hand, just enought to dye about 1 pound of wool. I used the handpaint method described on Gleason's Fine Woolies website. Truthfully, I don't follow directions very well, I tend to do things my own way. Since I didn't have a turkey baster or syringe I had to pour the dyes on the roving. When I was done with that step, I really didn't think I 'd like the final product, but I'm delighted with the way it turned out. 
The colors are a lot richer looking in person.
The next attempt didn't turn out quite as well. Yuck!
So, I decided to overdye it with navy blue. I was hoping to keep some of the yellow, but I used way too much blue. I like it anyway. I hope it dries fast so I can spin it.
The colors are a lot richer looking in person.
The next attempt didn't turn out quite as well. Yuck!
So, I decided to overdye it with navy blue. I was hoping to keep some of the yellow, but I used way too much blue. I like it anyway. I hope it dries fast so I can spin it.
See my driveway.
It doesn't look quite so daunting in the daylight, but when you have to walk 1/4 mile, through the snow drifts, in the dark, into a 15 mph bitter cold wind, (up hill both ways) it's a challenge. One of the pleasures of rural living.
My son's girlfriend from Chile sent us a bottle of wine and a desk calendar with photos of the Chilean landscape, very thoughtful.
Work is really cutting into my knitting time, I don't know how those of you who work full time, year round, finish anything. Maybe that's why so many people have numerous unfinished items; I can see how you would get bored with knitting the same thing for months. I am somewhat bored with the cabled turtleneck, but I want to wear it, so I keep knitting, even though it might be just a couple of rows each day. I think I'll be bringing some work home this weekend, but my goal is to finish the front and start the second sleeve.
It doesn't look quite so daunting in the daylight, but when you have to walk 1/4 mile, through the snow drifts, in the dark, into a 15 mph bitter cold wind, (up hill both ways) it's a challenge. One of the pleasures of rural living.
My son's girlfriend from Chile sent us a bottle of wine and a desk calendar with photos of the Chilean landscape, very thoughtful.
Work is really cutting into my knitting time, I don't know how those of you who work full time, year round, finish anything. Maybe that's why so many people have numerous unfinished items; I can see how you would get bored with knitting the same thing for months. I am somewhat bored with the cabled turtleneck, but I want to wear it, so I keep knitting, even though it might be just a couple of rows each day. I think I'll be bringing some work home this weekend, but my goal is to finish the front and start the second sleeve.
Can I complain about the weather for a moment? Maybe I just need to spend the winter in a warmer, snowless climate. Or maybe I need a job where I can work from home. It seems that ever since the tax season started I've been driving on snowy, icy roads. I'm a big wimp in that department. Today, we have freezing drizzle and will have 5-8 inches of snow before the day is over. My husband has volunteered to be my chauffeur.
One advantage of being driven to work is that I can knit. In fact, I have to knit so as not to look at the road icy roads. If all of my clients cancel their appointments today I can just sit at my desk and knit. Hey, things are looking up.
One advantage of being driven to work is that I can knit. In fact, I have to knit so as not to look at the road icy roads. If all of my clients cancel their appointments today I can just sit at my desk and knit. Hey, things are looking up.
Yay an FO!
It looks pretty boring doesn't it? Every project is a learning experience, since this was the second time I made this hat, I did a better job of grafting the garter stitch seam. I washed it and have it blocking next to the woodstove.
I received an e-mail from the shepherd and she said they expect to start lambing in a couple of weeks and will have lambs available. She might have some ewes too, but I think I would rather have lambs. Usually when a farm is selling their adult sheep, (unless they are just reducing their flock) they have had some kind of problem, poor mother, lambs singles, difficult pregnancy, age etc.
Of course starting a flock with lambs means we probably wouldn't be able to have them bred until Fall 2005. But just think of the beautiful lamb's wool I'll have.
It looks pretty boring doesn't it? Every project is a learning experience, since this was the second time I made this hat, I did a better job of grafting the garter stitch seam. I washed it and have it blocking next to the woodstove.
I received an e-mail from the shepherd and she said they expect to start lambing in a couple of weeks and will have lambs available. She might have some ewes too, but I think I would rather have lambs. Usually when a farm is selling their adult sheep, (unless they are just reducing their flock) they have had some kind of problem, poor mother, lambs singles, difficult pregnancy, age etc.
Of course starting a flock with lambs means we probably wouldn't be able to have them bred until Fall 2005. But just think of the beautiful lamb's wool I'll have.
Today I sent an e-mail to inquire about purchasing some ewes or ewe lambs from a shepherd in Mid-Michigan. I'm still waiting to hear back from her. In the meantime, I've been knitting my son's hat, which should be done tomorrow. I usually don't knit the same pattern more than once, but for him I made the exception; that's probably why it's going so fast. I started it Monday night and have been knitting a little bit every night after work.
One of the reasons I knit is because I like the challenge of trying something new. I don't like repetition in anything. My husband is famous for repeating the same story, so when he starts telling me something I've heard before, I just say, repeat and that's the signal for him to stop talking.
I've been on a spending spree. In addition to the yarn for my son's hat, I bought some 100% alpaca Peruvian Collection from elann It is so soft, I've never knit anything with alpaca before. Then I bought Nursery Rhyme Knits from overstock I still have to get my cabled turtleneck done, but it's awfully tempting to start a nursery rhyme hat.
One of the reasons I knit is because I like the challenge of trying something new. I don't like repetition in anything. My husband is famous for repeating the same story, so when he starts telling me something I've heard before, I just say, repeat and that's the signal for him to stop talking.
I've been on a spending spree. In addition to the yarn for my son's hat, I bought some 100% alpaca Peruvian Collection from elann It is so soft, I've never knit anything with alpaca before. Then I bought Nursery Rhyme Knits from overstock I still have to get my cabled turtleneck done, but it's awfully tempting to start a nursery rhyme hat.
Only a few years ago I had a beautiful flock of Romney sheep; in many respects they were like pets. Because of my work schedule I decided to sell them, and have regretted it many times over. So, my DH and I were discussing starting another flock this spring.
One of life's simplest pleasures is watching the lambs spring about the pasture.
One of life's simplest pleasures is watching the lambs spring about the pasture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)