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A Second “SWatch Cap” Hat
I’m still working on the wool fleeces. I brought 4 of them in and only one was un-usable. It just has so much chaff embedded in the fleece that I find I don’t have the patience or desire to work with this one at all. I’m trying to decide which of the other 3 fleeces I want to use to make the man’s sweater that I have in mind. I need gauge swatches for the measurements but I also need them to see how each of the yarns will perform for me. I know what I want in terms of softness, drape, body, colour and attitude. For my gauge swatch…
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Quicky Rolled Brim (somewhat slouchy) Hat
Don’t laugh, there were no other heads around and I wanted to show it to you on someone! More photos below :0 Unlike you, I am not very fond of knitting a gauge swatch so … after I spun up some of the fleece I got out yesterday … I decided that I would knit a hat to determine my gauge. I really, quite like it. Great fit and not likely to give me “flat head” and definitely very warm. The textured look from the slubs in the handspun give it a wonderful personality. The simple designs helps to showcase the “hand spun-ness” of the yarn. Order the handspun wool…
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Hello Kitty – Horray!
I don’t know about you but I am almost as opposed to finishing as I am in love with knitting. It took a lot of self-control but I managed to put a face on “Hello Kitty” today for my sweetheart Alice. This is her dream hat for this year and she really appreciates the stuff I make her. What an amazing girl she is. I used Beadwhore Knitting’s pattern and it was very helpful. I just adjusted the stitches to my gauge and cast on. I used coins to help me visualize the best placement for the face and outline stitched around them to show me where to go with my…
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Washing a Wool Fleece
Today I got out a couple of beautiful fleeces that I had stored over the garage for a few years. They came from a huge sheep ranch in Australia that specialized in raising coloured sheep especially for the hand spinning market. I was fortunate enough to visit for 2 weeks at sheering time, working in the shed and getting my pick of that year’s sheering. It was an oportunity of a lifetime and I will never forget it. Getting out the fleece today made me so happy. They are still perfect! I attribute this to the storage containers we used. They are a very strong cardboard with metal bottom and…
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Another One – the Reversible Watch Cap / Skull Cap / Beanie again
Just finished and wanted to show you another version of the watch cap pattern that I originally wrote about here (includes the free pattern). This one is knit with Austerman “Peru” Alpaca yarn (now discontinued, I’m afraid). It’s a lovely soft “sport” weight Alpaca. This shows that although a fingering or sock yarn is recommended a sport weight yarn will work just as well. I used the same needle size (2.5 mm) and the same # of stitches. This one is for Aidan. Hope you like it kiddo? Earl (DH) is jealous. He thought it was for him so I’ll get to work on another one. Since I can’t make…
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The Perfect Reversible Watch Cap The one my Guys like
My guys like a light weight but warm hat, one they can scrunch up and stick in their pocket but when they put it on it needs to keep them warm! The folded over “cuff” should not be too deep and when it’s folder over the hat sits just over the tip of the ears but when it’s pulled down against the cold it goes right over those ears completely. I might call a hat with this kind of fit a skull cap or beanie. This little watch cap fits the bill perfectly. Having knit and ripped quite a few times before I got it right I can now present…
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Loss and a Fresh start
Well, I have almost everything moved over to the new host and I love the new site… Hope you like it too 🙂 It turns out that I hit a bump in the road much bigger than an unresponsive host. I lost my precious mother on November 15 2012. She was my anchor, my entire cheerleading squad, my teacher, my mentor. She was an Artist, the person I admired above all others and she was my best friend and now she is my guardian angel. Oh how I wish I could see her one more time, touch her sweet face, somehow try to give her back a fraction of what…
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Polwarth/Silk Roving (Top) – Hand Painted WOW
Loving this wonderful top I just purchased on Etsy from threewatersfarm ! I had recently signed up for a class on Craftsy Spinning Dyed Fibers on how to spin these wonderful tops and so, of course, I had to buy some. I got these 2 amazing colourways and a bar of homemade goat milk soap. I got on the iPad and watched the class and practiced. It was my first time to try Navajo plying and I can’t believe how easy it is after I’ve been avoiding it for all these years! I only have 4 ounces of each colourway so I started with a pair of mitts. I found the…
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One Cosy Cashmere Cowl Finished
I’m making my Christmas presents and wanted to work with some cashmere so I thought this would be a nice little project that would work up fast and give the recipient some wonderful warmth and luxury this winter. It was really fast and such a treat to knit. This one’s for Bethy. I love this cowl and it was so fast and easy, a perfect “knitting as meditation” project. BLOCKING: I blocked it with wires and pins and Wow, what a difference. I really stretched it to it’s max when I blocked and probably wouldn’t have stretched it quite as wide now that I see it dry. I think I…
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Plans for a New Web Site
My sincere apologies to you if you have been trying to access the blog or web site lately without any luck. I’ve been having some major difficulties with my hosting provider Network Solutions. For months now, since I’ve been developing this site, I’ve noticed that the response from the server was often very slow. Pages on the web site were slow to load and sometimes I got an error with no page load at all. I kept working on the development, thinking that I should call the Network Solutions Customer Service and someone would work it out with me. Well, I didn’t quite get the response I expected. I called…
Simply Elegant Timeless Classics – Handspun and Handknit Luxury Heirlooms
