Rag Time Blues

Like many I have wanted to have a homely rag rug, maybe next to my bed, or a large one in the sitting room
To that end I have a box of fabric that I would "get-around-to-one-day"

These past holidays I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to make one. One of our members has been making them and I was going to get a lesson but she was too busy.
Trawl through online videos gave me a lot to think about, including that there were 3 types- rag rug weaving; braided rag rug; woven rag rug.

After getting various tips from 3 different videos on rag rug weaving, I gave it a go

The start was fiddly but working. Increasing was fine. Tension needs work. Effect on my arthritic  hands.... mmm. Not good. As I find out later, bed sheets are rather stiff to work with when trying to manipulate it like yarn

I decided to make the rug into a bag. Stopped increasing and kept going around. Towards the top I went through each stitch instead of between stitches. Looks neat

As my tension is dodgy I will line this, and maybe add handles to make it a project bag, or leave as is for a yarn/fleece bucket

So. What to do with the still quite large ball of fabric, and fabric strips??

I wound off 3 strands each 8 metres long. I tied the ends in an overhand knot and braided/ plaited it all.
The video showing the braid rugs showed people sewing them into a spiral using a sewing machine. Those were factory machines though and I wasn't going to try it on mine.
I used the leftover fabric strips to sew the braid sides together, using the same joining technique used for the rag rugs. Worked well









This was closer to what I wanted.While I was joining it I thought about having a mat. and decided it wasn't a good idea for me. It would be a trip hazard.
What to do? By the time I finished the section of braid the shape reminded me of the base of a Moses basket.
I wasn't going to braid, nor rug weave anymore, and crocheted the remaining blue sheet yarn around the new base.

It needed to be taller. Digging around in the afore mentioned fabric box, I found a couple of old summer dresses I wore when pregnant with John. Had to cut them, in the round, with scissors, rather than rip as dress made on the bias.

My hands welcomed the change to a softer fabric

Height of basket achieved.
Now for handles. Knit and crochet handles always stretch. Braiding would make it all too thick to sew. Inkle loom would be the thing
Colours?? Cotton?? Acrylic??

💥Brainstorm!!
💡 Light bulb moment!!
😲Eureka!!

USE FABRIC!!!


Warping up on the inkle floor loom. It can make straps about 3 metres long

Went better than I hoped. I was worried about the fabric ripping and having to try and sew ends together, Which didn't happen til the last 1/2 metre.
I used a lilac acrylic yarn for weft

2 1/2 metres of inkle strap

The last 1/2 mt I plaited. Looking at the side width I am glad I chose inkle instead of braid for a handle.

I considered hand sewing, partly as it was so hot and the aircon is upstairs and the machine is downstairs. Thinking about the damage to my fingertips I did 2 stints slowly  machine sewing the handle on

Fairly sure I could fit a baby in the basket. May have a few years before grandkids come along, so project bag in  the meantime

And what to do with the 1/2 mt of braid?
Following a style found in a few different cultures and eras, I sewed the end together, about 15 cm long to make a rectangle on the end of the "chain". I can then pin any brooch to it. Right now it is a piece I made last year after receiving a book for xmas (story for another day)

Will be just right for wearing to meetings, camp, exhibits

or anywhere :)

The Hand of Friendship

A friend was destashing before she moved to chillier climes, and giving away some beautifully prepared fleeces to our group. I picked up 1 big and 1 small bag.

This alpaca is from the small bag.

The fleece was delightful to spin, soft and silky.
As it was a fine fleece I spun it extra fine. Barely enough to fill 1/3 of a bobbin, wasn't worth trying to divide for 2 ply, so I Navajo / chain plied it.

It really was a very small amount, This was the entire amount in one itsy bitsy squishy ball

And what to make?
The yarn was so soft, so smooth, that I could wear it on my skin. However I didn't think there would be enough for the size of scarf or shawl that I like.
As I have arthritis in my fingers (and other places 😕) I have made a few fingerless mitts but none just right for our mild winters.

I did have a start of an idea from a magazine knit pattern but it just wasn't working. And then I started designing my own using a knit stitch I saw in passing. Still not working. No stitch definition.

I really liked the idea of the lace part of the sttich though, so I adapted it by taking out 3 rows and flipping a purl row to a knit row. Worked a treat!

I knit from arm up to thumb, cast off a few stitches, then knit up to knuckles. Keeping yarn attached I crocheted the seam all the way down and then crocheted dc in each stitch around the wrist. Three rows of *dc, fpdc,* to complete.

The result is an open lacy fabric that keeps my joints warm but not overheat. The wrist length will tuck into long sleeves. The knuckle length enables me to crochet or knit

Every time I'll wear them I can think of her and her love of cold ⛄

Turtle Trek

My daughter got a fabulous opportunity to go on a camp to see turtles hatching during school summer holidays
While going through patterns to find a particular design I came across a No-Sew Sea Turtle pattern by Primary Patterns ( I think on Ravelry).

I just /had/ to make one for her camp hat!

I dug around for some turtle-ish green. This is a handspun I did last year. Wool fleece was a foundling, which I had spun a bit thicker than usual, then dyed with some Landscape dye. It hadn't gone as dark as I was expecting so once clean and dry I had put it in my handspun stash

To add a bit of colour to the shell I grabbed a dark green thread to work in with the handspun

The construction was a little tricky but only as I hadn't done it before. Instructions are quite clear. Added  brooch back.

Gwen was thrilled 🐢🐢🐢

And then I made another for her LIC who was equally thrilled

I Feel Chuffed

Yesterday I was given back my entries to the Boonah and Kalbar shows

I won prizes!!!

1st and 3rd- a commercial wool, sold as a thick yarn, that I respun extra super fine. Plied it. 
Even for me it was too fine to use (it would take absolutely forever to make anything). So spun it in opposite direction and a bit tighter so I could navajo ply it. It became a 6 strand yarn and knit up beautifully as a lace weight yarn.
It is a semi circle , using a pattern called Cats Paw
(I'll do a full blog about it later, when I have a little time to find the pics)

2nd prize- my handspun merino, knitted lace triangle shawl.

I spun this yarn years ago. I have tried at least 9 different patterns with it. Not one of them worked til this one. 
A quick knit, used only half the cake. Another project with the remaining is in progress

3rd prize- 3 bags, all using same pattern, different hooks/plys. Acrylic, cotton/acrylic, cotton. 
From an online pattern

I made these last year as a part of an exhibit. There are 2 other, much larger bags that are part of the set. As it was such a big part of my life for a few months, I need to take some time to put down the part I played in our groups story. Soon.











1st and 2nd- merino, cashmere, yak, glitz. Spun fine then navajo plied.

I bought the fleece a few years ago at a spinners camp. It was a little tricky to work as I wanted a super fine yarn and it is such a slippery mix that I had to take quite some time to finish it. I have a long term plan for this yarn, and some others in the works

1st and 2nd- flax. Spun only. No need to ply

I was reminded that I had a small amount of unspun flax by a friend who had spun her flax this year, and made a linen hand towel with it for her reenactment events.
Bee in the bonnet time. Hand to give it a go. Pleased with the work. Now, what to do with it...?







And lastly, the only entry that didn't receive a prize. This is another commercial yarn in a different colourway that I respun. I spun it thin, not fine, then navajo plied it. Again, happy with the work. Now, what to with it...?

A Request

 Last term John borrowed a book from the sch library called The Bush Jumper -Jean Chapman, Ali Beck, and it's not about a kangaroo 😄
The Mum Koala had a bag full of yarn, and made a jumper. However, there wasn't enough to make the 2nd sleeve and it had to be stripy
I asked John if he liked the story. He said yes. Then "I really like the jumper too. Can you make it?"

So the search began. For a pattern, and the yarn, and the book.
I took some time going through my kids section in my bookshelves to find just the right style. I hadn't realised how many kids patterns were raglan. Finally found one with set in sleeves and round neck (top right)
The yarn I wanted had to be wool, but the colour range I needed at the local large craft store was mostly acrylic. I remembered that Bendigo Woollen Mill had a range called Candyland. I hopped on their site and they had just the colours I needed!!



                                         The yarn arrived Monday morning - 6 days ago.
                                                           Clockwise from the bottom,
                                   Sour Lemon, Blue Sherbet, Watermelon Jelly, Green Frog

Time to start. I usually do a k1 p1 cast on for a rib. I find it makes a nice elastic edge.
I also change to the larger needle on the last row of the rib before stating on stocking stitch. The hem doesn't curl or flip up nearly as much
The other changes are to make it in the round, and to add 3 cm to the sleeve and body lengths
I used 4mm and 4.5mm circular needles

First week of sch hols so Gwen, John, and I packed a picnic (and the Jumper) and walked, rode to the park.
I found a small branch near the picnic table and thought it would make a lovely centrepiece for our lunch. It wafted a gentle eucalypt smell

The day was delightful, the trees were stunning, the kids were having a ball. A lot of running, riding, playing.

I got a reasonable amount done while I relaxed, watching the kids running hither and thither 😊



And I took home the branch, to use the leaves for dyeing

Photo on the left is a bit dark. Finished the main body well after bedtime. Quick pic and do the sleeves in daylight.

I made the plain sleeve first, taking notes. Then a little bit of maths to work out whether I did 3, 4, or, 5 row stripes.
Four row works well to start with pink stripe and finish the top of the sleeve with a pink stripe, just like the book.









Finished the sleeves, all ready to sew up, and look what I found in the soft toys.... A koala crocheted by my mum! She sent it up a few months ago. The memory was waiting for the recall. And is the same type of koala as in the story

                                                       So guess what I just /had/ to do??







Yep. I had to design and make a matching jumper for the toy koala 😊













                                                                                                     
                                     "Looking Absolutley Fabulous In New Spring Colours"

John loves his new jumper and he loves that his koala has a matching one.
I asked him if he wanted a koala beanie to go with his jumper.
He said "Why? I have a grey hat"

I have really enjoyed doing this project. From start to finish it took 5 days, in between cooking, crocheting, clearing, playing, meeting, spinning etc, etc,etc. This yarn is a delight to use. The colours are cheery. The pattern is a very neat fitting style.

Also.
My Guide name is Koala 😃

Quest Complete

John is getting too big for his Lighting McQueen vest, so time to make another

I found a pattern in a Vogue Knitting magazine I found at the library. Checked with John. Style ok, and blue yarn ok.
"Do you want Pokemon patches or pockets?"
"Pockets please. It has to be 6 pockets"

Not mine to reason why....

I have a rather large amount of 50g balls of blue 8 ply wool (there /may/ have been a sale on a while back...). I have made a cardigan for myself, which I'll post about later, a beanie, a crop vest for a teen. Still heaps left!

 I did make a few changes to the pattern, starting with making it in one piece. I changed the collar a little as I don't like the square ones.

Then, partly to have more texture, partly because I didn't feel like picking up stitches, I made 2 inkle loom strips for the button band; also crocheted the armholes for the same reasons.

I had thought of making one of the inkle bands with buttonholes in it. I asked John if he wanted buttons or studs. Studs it was.

Some discussion went into where to place the pockets, then John was off to bed while I finished working n it.


All finished and waiting for John to wake to in the morning.

He was very happy to have his very own Pokemon Trainer vest.

The Pokemon fit in the pockets perfectly!

All set for a trip to the park