Funky Freebie

| ON THE BEACH |

| 5ply - sport |  4.5m - 5m | pattern | get knitting ! |

| happy creating ! |

Funky Things I'm Doing

RAS EASTER SHOW | ARTS PREVIEW 2012

On tuesday evening this week I met up with friends to go to the Sydney Royal Easter Show 'Arts Preview'. Going to this event you get to view the entries in the art and craft section of the show which has been judged by a panel of experts prior to the evening and the shows official opening. It is also an opportunity for the entrants to see their work displayed and see if they received a winning ribbon. Some of the entrants have their pieces for sale and on this night also and you have an opportunity to purchase those that are for sale. 

The show offers a lot more than just this though. It is where the country meets the city and where those that live outside the city bring their prized livestock to be paraded and judged also. It has a big carnival atmosphere with show bags and rides, and for Sydney-siders this is a big annual event on the calendar, especially for the kids! The show will be opened from 5 - 18 April.

This year the Knitters' Guild of NSW were invited to feature in the craft display 'Fabulous Fibers' along with the Hand Weavers and Spinners and the Machine Knitters' Guilds. The Inner-city Group which I belong to took up the opportunity to co-ordinate the Knitters' Guild part of the display. Our group collectively put their expertise together and got on with the job of coming up with display ideas. One of the many questions was how to decorate it and how to tie it all together rather than just having knitted items randomly placed about. An idea came forth to knit some 'bunting' which was well received and agreed upon by all. Next came the task in organising anyone who was willing to knit a few up for the cause. Everyone got right behind the project with 96 bunts later combined with 50m of cording to string it up with. All bunts strung, I thought it completed the display in a cheery and very colourful fashion.

| the following photos are from various categories that grabbed my attention at the preview |

These are just some of the delicate items from the  Knitters' Guild archives that were brought out of storage to be displayed.

Some prize winning knitters from our Inner-city group | a huge congratulations!

One of my spin friends won too | more congratulations!

Then I saw this fabulous 'Alice In Wonderland' collection. It was immaculately knitted and stuffed like no other I have ever seen before | no wonder it won 1st prize - perfection!

| I know, your wondering what I'm doing taking photos up dollies dresses - I do have a good excuse | 

This teeny doll is only about 15cm long and the knitting was out of this world, so fine and so beautiful that it must have been knitted out of toothpicks. I couldn't believe my eyes, the knitting and doll are all so small. This is why I had to look to see if she had any knickers on and to my surprise she did! With so much attention given to detail by the knitter, surely she was going to have knitted her knickers. I took the photo because no one would believe me if I tried to describe it otherwise. 


This too won 1st prize and it was probably the knickers that nailed it - no wonder!

I loved this cute dolly and felt bird display - so cute. I equally loved this fun tea cosy which placed a 2nd.

The cake decoration entries always blow me away with what they can sculpt and come up with.

I came away thinking there is so much inspiring talent out there and I'm glad there is a place that is built on tradition and honours the arts and crafts community. It's a place where people can come together and display what they have put their heart and soul into and share it with the wider community. This in turn spreads the creative word out there and shows others that the arts and crafts community is still very much alive. I had wonderful evening and I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of it.

it's a monkeys life ! | happy easter everyone !

Funky Knits

| ANNAI |

pattern - annai | yarn - annai 

I have a treat for you today, you could call it a before and after post because not only do I have this completed shawl to show you but I also have the yarn that I spun for it to follow. This just happens to be another one of those projects that was completed just before the end of 2011.

Firstly the shawl is not mine but rather a gift that I designed for my very longtime and close friend Anna, whom I'm hoping will not read this - yet! 


We used to work together many years ago which is where our friendship developed and since then we have both married | had kids | moved locations many a time | and in my case right out of the area that we grew up in. Through all this we still manage a catch up, only these days with kids in tow. Over the past year she has done me a few favours and helped me out and I wanted to make something special for her. Annai is my way of naming the shawl after her in someway as well as spinning | designing | and knitting something unique and special for her. As Anna has no clue of this here's hoping she likes it - fingers crossed !

The construction of Annai is a super easy and fast knit top-down shawl. The handspun is the real star here so I wanted to keep the design nice and simple to let the yarn shine through. Because I only had a 100g skein and 133m to work with I designed a shallow shawl to allow for a wider wingspan allowing for enough ease to wrap around the shoulders. I had in mind  to add an edging but in a contrast yarn to set off the handspun. I finally decided on a brown 2ply Cottolin from stash that picked up one of the browns in the handspun perfectly | YaY.. you got to love stash it does come in handy at times ?! 


Cottolin is a blend of 60% cotton - 40% linen which gives the border a nice crispness. The border was knitted in larger needles that would normally be recommended for this weight of yarn so it gives it a beautifully light and airy feel in comparison to the bulky handspun. The border was cast off using a Picot Point Bind Off with what seemed to be a billion stitches - it seriously took what seemed a lifetime to complete ! However, worth every delicate stitch because it really does make the all the difference in a subtle delicate way. 

SPECS  

Yarn | Annai - Klippan Cottolin
Needle | 3mm - 3.75mm - 6mm
Measurements | Wingspan - 125cm x Depth - 37cm  [ blocked ]




yarn | annai

| yarn - annai | spin - thick'n thin slubs with baby coils - 2ply | amount - 133m | weight - 100g |

Annai the shawl started out as Annai the yarn and this yarn is not one created by me but rather a purchased one. It is a lovely blend of lush 60% merino - 40% silk top and the colours are an unusual bold blend that instantly said - buy me! 

I had fun with this spin and decided to spin thick'n thin slubs so it would retain some of the beautiful colours intact and also made for a super fast spin onto the bobbin. Plying was made easy by stash diving once again where I had a lovely grey-green thin cotton to do the job. I chose this because it is in keeping with the colours in the fiber and would not be distracting to the overall look of the yarn. To ply I also went for a fun playful spin and spun some random baby coils to add texture. Because the plying yarn is so thin in comparison to the single this too adds texture by giving it a beaded effect.

Here you can see all the different elements and stages of what went into making Annai.


I'm so very pleased with this entire project, so much so that I am going to find it hard to gift it because it seems to go with a lot in my wardrobe and I've fallen in love with it | but I will - promise!


| next -> to wrap and gift Annai to Anna |

SPECS


Fiber | 60% Merino - 40% Silk Top
Colourway | Annai
Weight | 100g - 2ply - bulky
Needle | 6mm
Amount | 133m


Spun On | Majacraft Aura
Spin | Thick and thin slubs with baby coils
Plied | Fine cotton thread

| happy creating ! |

Funky Freebie

| COFFEE WITH RON |

 | ss-1 silk spiral | 3.75mm - 10mm | pattern | get knitting ! |

| get knitting ! |

Funky Things I'm Doing

| LADIES FASHION SWAP LUNCHEON |

You may have recently read how after Christmas there was a huge cleanup in progress going on around here. Included in that cleanup was my wardrobe and getting 'real' with it. Lets face it we buy - store - and hold onto stuff for various reasons.

There could be the | it is still in good knick ! - reason | I will fit back into it someday ? - reason | I looked great in this 'once' so hold onto that thought before it diminishes ! - reason | I'm over it but it's too good for the second-hand bin ?! - reason | Oh my it 'still' has the tag on it and why haven't I worn it ? guilt ! - reason | or worse, what was I thinking ??? - reason.

Yes, I have stuff stashed away, in fact about 20 years full of stuff. Clothes that meant something | or reminded me of a time - place - event | and stuff I couldn't bear to part with - until now that is ! 

What did I do to de-clutter some of this stuff you may be wondering ?

Why, I decided to hold a grand event here like no other held previously before and invited all the lovely ladies in our family to attend and named it the 'Ladies Fashion Swap Luncheon.'

For such a grand occasion I designed fancy invites which all went out via email as one does these days. Much more pronto than snail mail. All were asked to bring a plate of food each, which was all pre-planned so no doubling up would occur. All were asked to clean out and bring stuff from their wardrobes but only if they had something to bring. If they had nothing that was fine, just enjoy the girly atmosphere, try stuff on and if they liked it, it was theirs for the taking. The other minor requirement was for all men and little people to keep away so the apartment could be one giant change-room and no distractions would interrupt the girly atmosphere. 

On the morning of our fashion swap I dressed the place up like a make shift boutique by hanging clothes in an organised fashion around and underneath the stairs of our lounge room, which was made perfect for displaying. On entry to the place I organised an accessory nook which was set up complete with its own table and mirror whilst all belts | scarfs | and bags were hung off hooks surrounding that. Our dining table was given a rare dressing over in preparation for the feast that lay ahead, and lastly, funky soul music played softly in the background to set the mood. Then all that was left to do was to wait for the lovely guests to arrive by 1pm - voila perfect !

We ate - we listened to music - we laughed to no end - we talked like there was no tomorrow - we squeezed in and out of stuff - we had an absolute ball !

I can't begin to tell you how successful this was and how much fun ! Unbeknownst to all involved, they were doing me a huge favour by relinquishing me from my wardrobe woes, with almost everything going to happy new homes.

As you can see not a lot was left behind. This was such a great success that we plan to make it an annual or seasonal event. Goodness only knows I will have restocked my wardrobe by then !

But wait there's more...


If my day was not successful and eventful enough I then left the mess in the kitchen behind | jumped my car | drove to pick up our little man whom was on a play-date | and then off to meet DH who had a gig at the Panania Hotel that night. 


The band formed last year and believe it or not I had never seen them play live before. The pubs they've played in previously haven't allowed children in and we unfortunately don't have sitters on tap, so this was a real treat for the little man and I. 


Being the ever supporting wife that I am, which I will confess is mostly off knitting with friends when DH is playing. I was surprisingly surprised at how good they actually were. Might I add, I was not alone in thinking this. They were so good in fact they have been asked to come back again, which is wonderful because it's actually a paying gig. They are hardly going to knock the Rolling Stones of their stage and become mega famous, but they were great - seriously ! 


DH by the way is the guy in the back playing the guitar wearing the hat, and as usual I like to capture a self portrait of the little man and I enjoying a moment together | a fabulous day !




happy creating ! | enjoy your weekend !

Funky Freebie

| GRADIENT |

| shibui silk cloud | 5.5mm | pattern | get knitting ! |

| get knitting ! |

Funky Spins

| BEAUTY IN THE NATURAL |

So here I am with what has fast become my backlog of projects due to my lack of blogging. I ask myself, where do I begin and in what order do I start? Believe it or not I have been rather productive, surprisingly! Then I thought yarn was a good place to start, because lets face it there is nothing like a lushy skein of smooshy yarn to start things off in the right direction.

Both of the yarns that I have to show you were a bit experimental and both I find beautiful because of their simple and non fuss appearance. They are mostly made up with natural fibers and are allowed to work their magic.

| litewash |

| colourway - litewash |  spin - single | amount - 217m | weight - 96g |

I've always loved denim fabrics for their vast range of timeless colours and finishes, and linen to me is one of the most beautiful fabrics ever created for its beautiful drape and crisp feel. It's lovely in white but in its natural un-dyed state to me it's heavenly. Both these fabrics are timeless and no matter what you put with them, they just seem to work together. My love for both of these fibers is what set me off on the quest to spin this yarn. As a spinner being able to tackle combinations like this that commercially are not available is absolutely pure joy because you just know your producing something unique.

My aim with this was to spin a very natural looking fiber containing a high percentage of linen and denim. The denim was shredded thread by thread in various shades of blue. Blue hand-dyed silk was added along with various other natural fibers to add texture and a hint of bronze coloured firestar for just a little zing. Once the fibers were chosen and sorted they went through the drumcarder and a batt was created.

It is said that linen is a tricky fiber to spin and it is recommended to do a wet spin with it for smoothing and for ease whilst spinning. In the case of this yarn I did not find it difficult, maybe it was my enthusiastic eager naive head first think later approach to it all that made it easier, who knows but I often find this works for me. All I know is this was a very fun spin and I have plans to spin more only in larger quantities. I did not wet spin this because I found the silk and tencel allowed for enough ease when drafting. If you want a smoother yarn then I recommend a wet spin, but I was after texture with this yarn and therefor did not fuss but rather let the fiber dictate to me how it wanted to be spun.

I totally love how this turned out, it has a wonderful heavy-like drape and I want to knit a light and airy shawl out of it. As you can well imagine by now, it is on my 'to do' with a whole lot of other stuff.

SPECS

Batt | Linen - Ramie - Hemp - Tencel - Silk - Silk Noils - Sari Silk - Cotton Gin - Recycled Denim - Firestar

Colourway | Litewash

Amount | 217m

Weight | 96g

Carded On | Strauch Finest Doublewide

Spun On | Majacraft Aura

Spin | Single

| grey border leicester |

| colouway - natural grey | spin - single | amount - 903m | weight - 1015g |

This spin is a beautiful prize winning 32-35 micron grey Border Leicester fleece. I pretty much purchased most of this fleece, it's so lush and so beautiful!

I decided not wash this fleece before spinning it and just flicked out the tips to tease the fibers open and spun from there. The fleece was relatively clean with virtually no VM although it did have quite a bit of lanolin in it, this however made for a beautiful spin, it was like butter running through my hands. Because the locks were about 16cm long combined with a nice crimp this fleece was also perfect to spin as a single.

Border Leicester is perfect for outerwear because it is a stronger fiber than some of those silky soft fibers out in the market. Although they happen to be lovely and soft they are also not very hard wearing and tend to pill very quickly, which is disappointing especially when so much work has gone into the production of a garment. This fiber is still soft to the touch but is far more durable. When knitted up it has a lovely sticky quality to it and a soft halo effect surrounding the yarn. 


This spin was a work in progress as there was quite a bit of it and I still have some set aside for a later spin. I began the spin towards the end of 2011 and produced four large skeins, two of which have been knitted up already into a lovely vest. Photos are yet to be taken and I can say - it fits - I love it - and can't wait to show you.

Look how gloriously long those locks are, along with the beautiful crimp - ooh la la...

The fleece in the trays has been washed lock by lock and has now been set aside for another project. My approach for this spin will be different as I'm contemplating carding it and adding some hand-dyed silk to it | now there is a scrumptious though!

SPECS

Colourway | Natural Grey

Amount | 1 x 198m - 1 x 210m - 1 x 241m - 1 x 254m - total = 903m

Weight | 1015g - medium


Carding | Flicker brush
Spun On | Majacraft Aura
Spin | Single
WPI | 10-13




| happy creating |