Shop Update!

There are NEW ITEMS in the ETSY SHOP today!

Including THESE!

1. Gandalf The Gray Scarf




Aww yeah. Hand-woven on my little rigid heddle loom with 80% acrylic/20% wool blend yarn and a vein of silvery thread. It's based off of the scarf Gandalf wears in the Hobbit movies.



2. Fancy Sheep One Inch Buttons


Buttons! Fancy Sheep is classing up the joint. They're only $1.00 and there's a bunch of them, so check them out!

Shop Update Tomorrow!

Hey all!

I mentioned this past week that I was aiming for a shop update? It's going to be TOMORROW. Everything new should be up by 7 pm EST. The shop will be restocked with all the stitch markers and embroidered moleskines that have been sold out and the new Star Trek TOS stitch markers will be up for the first time!

There will also be some brand new items up in the shop, including the following:

1. 21 ft. Doctor Who Scarf




2. Mahna-Mahna Handspun






3. Sir Didymus Handspun







And I ended up with some extra from the Sir Didymus handspun, so I Navajo plied it for myself. It really fluffed up when I washed it. This one's not for sale, but I thought I'd show it off with its sibling.




So, yes. There will be new things up in the shop and that's exciting. I think I'm going to try to keep updating the shop at the end of each month, so stay tuned for that. And remember to check the shop for what will be up there tomorrow at 7 pm EST!

"Empty the Refrigerator" Scarf and Spinners

1. Backlog

Guys.

I've been trying to get my photos together for blogs posts and I have a lot of stuff made and in progress to show you. Too many things. It's a little ridiculous.



2. "Empty the Refrigerator" Scarf

So my family has these things called "Empty the Refrigerator" recipes. They're not written down, but they tend to be things like soups and stir-fry things that use up all of the leftovers in the fridge so that we can start the week fresh.

And that's the approach I took with this scarf. I had a bunch of tiny balls of sock yarn leftovers and a bunch of mini-skeins from Gnome Acres and this is sort of based off of a scarf I saw at Stitches, though I couldn't tell you which booth it was in. I just used up as much of the small 20 yd or less sock yarn skeins and balls.

Needle: US 3 - 3.25 mm
Yarn: Lots





Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli & Richard Tchen

I really enjoyed this book. It's a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin with character background and development for both the girl who must spin straw into gold and Rumpelstiltskin himself. It's fantastic. Also, there's a lot of spinning nerdery in this book, so if you are a spinner or have interest in spinning, this is a great story to read if inaccurate description drives you bonkers. I'll admit that I'm a pretty novice spinner, but I was thrilled that all the spinning (and there is a LOT of spinning in this book) seemed pretty accurate to me. But the rest of the story is really good, too. Lots of character growth for both of the main characters and really interesting twisty story about family and obligation.

Some Finished Stuff Rushed in Before the Christmas Knitting

1. A Bigger Twist

Pattern : A Bigger Twist by Michelle Krause

Needles: US 8 - 5.0 mm

Yarn: Some beautiful grey wool from the Palmer Family Farm in Tolland, CT that I picked up at the Coventry Farmers Market





2. Yarn Dreads Commission

My brother's friend K has dreads and was impressed with the yarn falls she saw at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. She asked me about making some yarn dreads for her and these are the finished dreads as modeled by my fantastic Jack Sparrow wig on a foam head.

Messenger Bag and WIPs

1. Wool Messenger Bag

























Pattern: "DJ Bag" by Stephanie Gourley in Son of Stitch 'n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Needles: US 11 - 8.0 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool Nature's Brown


2. Current WIPs

Etsy Shop Update!

Etsy shop update! These new items and the classic red lace Amy Pond scarf are up for sale!

http://freakishlemon.etsy.com!

10" Rigid Heddle Loom Projects

You know how I got that 10" rigid heddle loom for Christmas?

Built it.

Warped it.

I am now on Project #3.

Here's a look at the first two:





Clearly, that first scarf is my first attempt at weaving at this loom. There's some pretty glaring errors and the weave is all uneven. It's awful. I knew it would be; that's why I used a couple bland-ish, but very contrasting, yarns. There's some pretty bad errors in there that this picture isn't showing.

The second scarf is one I'm much more pleased with. Did that one in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Harmony, which is a variegated/self-striping yarn, which looks fantastic woven. I've worn this one around.

I'm liking this weaving thing. These projects have been really quick compared to my normal craft projects. It's nice.

And now, of course, I'm working on Project #3 now that I've finished a scarf I've been slaving through for the Etsy shop. I'm working on these pile loop wash clothes that the Yarn Harlot featured on her blog a while back.

Here's the first one in the line of four:


Blurry Instagram photo time. I'm trying to post photos of my works in progress more often, but I end up very focused on trying to finish the project. I figure I might be able to let my brain take short breaks for not-great iPod photos.

This wash cloth doesn't look all that great right now, but I figure some of that will even out in a wash and the rest can be chalked up to learning a new skill.


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Playing Catch Up

Black Alpaca Cable Scarf

US 5
black Hampden Hills Alpaca
Braided Cable Scarf (Ravelry)






Commissioned Cosplay Scarf

US 5
Bernat Satin in Fern and Maiti






Granny Square Plastic Grocery Bag






Blue/Green/White Handspun Sample