Wednesday, February 20, 2013

On the move again ...

Yes, sneaking away for a five day weekend to the Professional Weavers Network annual get together, this year its near Timaru in the South Island.  You'll hear about it next week.

I have been busy getting a wardrobe ready for a wee granddaughter due to arrive late April (last I heard).  It doesn't look like many garments but every stitch worked with love from GranD.  I did make the stockings on the knitting machine and other garments will knit up in no time on the machine.

My mother left a bag of bits of baby yarn so I've made up a pattern to use them in the yoke of the jackets.
The buttons for this wee cardi have been around since my daughter was a baby.  Everything gets used eventually.

The wee singlet I got for half the half price because of a few holes near the neck.  Don't you just love the little woven patch and lazy daisy I fixed it with.

Don't look too closely at this cotton blanket.  I couldn't count so the horizontal patterns don't match in all areas but I figured baby would puke and poo on them anyway.  I thought I was making receiving blankets (yes there is another one) but they're too big and the cotton isn't soft.  After I joined the strips down the centre I brought them to the boil in a soda ash and teepol solution to remove the dressing but still not soft enough.  Where do you weavers get your soft cotton?  Table cloth maybe.  I could do that some time as the pattern takes 8 shafts and I have 16 I could make a double layer table cloth with floating selvedge.  Hmm ... sometime.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Starburst snowflake scarves

Late in January I caught the sun awakening on the horizon, interesting because of the smoke haze from the fires in Australia, the other side of the Tasman Ocean.  I can't imagine the horror of being near one of those big blazes.
And now the big reveal of the snowflake twill scarves/ wraps/ table runners.
 Table runner you ask!  I called to see a weaving friend and after our show and tell she insisted on having the black and white piece as a runner for her rather large antique dresser.  Her comment was "Its the most beautiful piece of weaving I've seen".  I have to say it is very striking.
 And the green one.
 Can you tell I'm trying different ways of wearing a scarf?
Last post I showed a piece of shibori when I had just removed the resist threads and said I couldn't show you cause it was put aside for an exhibition in April.  Well a lovely Scot lass saw it and it now has a new home.  I quickly grabbed a photo before it went out the door so excuse the draping.
Note to family:  I need a laptop with a decent photoshop program on it.