all over the place...

i'm trying to spread myself all over the place and do a bit of everything. i stopped at the thrift store this week looking for something specific and found two things i couldn't pass up. they both will be used almost immediately for projects planned.
click on the images for close-ups.

both are runners...crochet lace and a thick cotton embroidered white on white

more journal work with free motion embroidery on paper and scrim.

free motion embroidery on paper and then hand embroidered. insert of grandma's picture.

a test sample piece of watercolor painted paper with scrim...free motion embroidery...and hand embroidery

i got close to the end of the wool unraveling that i've been posting about and it all started tangling. i have enough to start spinning and the rest will be untangled little by little.

and finally, i'm back to my bobbin lace that's been on the pillow for over a year. it's close to being finished and will become a pouch. it's stitched onto purple velvet and will have a green lining. it's a beautiful green, linen thread. could not capture the beautiful color with the camera.

bobbin lace stitched onto purple velvet. adding some beading to the fringe.

 February went by so quickly. i'm looking forward to March. the bulbs are starting to bloom and Spring is on its way. we've had a real mild winter here in Austin. some of the plants didn't freeze back at all this year. wishing you all a good week.

spinning along...

the cowl is finished and it actually fits. i had my doubts. i really need to start making a gauge swatch before knitting...especially something that needed to fit over my head.
click on the images for a closer view.

knitted cowl with handspun yarn...color is a little more subtle in real life

i started knitting a scarf with the spun yarn that was left over and am now having to spin up some more to finish it. it will be a gift. i'm getting a bit bored with this colorway. i just purchased some cotton roving and that will be my next project. it's a bit more difficult to spin than the wool so there will be lots of experimenting and practice needed.

spinning up more yarn to finish this scarf

i did get a bit of stitching in this week. just a patch to cover up a stain on my favorite t-shirt.

two old t-shirts helping each other to stay alive

 and the most amazing thing that i discovered today...my indigo plants that never got more than 2" tall with itty-bitty leaves are actually producing seed heads. i will collect the seed if it develops and plant them just to see what happens. maybe the second go round will be better, if the seeds are viable at all.

indigo going to seed

have a great week and concentrate on what's positive out there in your world.

this week has gone by too fast...

i'm really enjoying spinning with the drop spindle. i've been experimenting plying with a commercial lace yarn and i like the way it turned out. you can see from this picture that i'm getting better with practice.

i think this thinner yarn might be good for a pair of socks

i've cleaned out the small garden bed, added some new ingredients and planted lettuce, radishes, spinach and peas. the radishes are already up in record time.

added some trellis' to allow the pea vines to climb

i found this great idea for making market bags from old t-shirts on Instructables.com. there's no sewing involved and it takes about 15 minutes. here's the link if you want to try it.

just cut off the sleeves and part of the neck and fringe and tie the bottom edge

still working on the socks...not too crazy about the afterthought heel. i didn't like doing the Kitchener stitch...kind of fussy.

working on the second sock

and there are a couple of things waiting in the wings:

this crochet pattern from Piecework magazine---just for the challenge

and this shawlette pattern from craftsy.com.

i'm hoping this yarn will be the right weight

i also have several stitching projects in the works but haven't done much stitching this week. i ran out of time. wishing you all a good weekend.

choices...

lots of choices this week on which project to pick up...
just finished a class on craftsy.com with Drucilla Pettibone and i'm getting better each day with my drop spindle. it's an excellent class if you're interested in learning how to spin your own yarn.

learning to spin

still working on my second pair of knitted socks. this time with the afterthought heel.

toe up sock

and dyeing with the purple carrots and the green tops...not much purple but the green tops gave nice markings, the copper pipe gave some green color and there are rose leaves scattered here and there. decided to embellish with some tatted bits and crochet an edge.

tatting and crochet edge

have a great weekend.

things are calming down...

Was happy to hear on the news that the east coast is now in tropical storm mode and things are calming down. Hope all of you affected are doing well. We in central Texas would give anything for some of that rain.

I'm doing better with my spinning practice but couldn't wait to try using it in knitting so I prepared a small hank, soaked it in hot water and hung it to dry. It made a larger piece than I thought it would. I like the unevenness of it so if I never get real good at spinning, that will be ok with me.
                                                                                               

                                                                                         

Karen Ruane's class, Embroider, Embellish, Create, starts tomorrow and I've been gathering all my white cloth, lace, trims, etc. I'm anxious to get started. I think she has a couple more openings if you're interested. Class registration closes sometime today.

I'm sure you've noticed that my blog format is quite different. I had no intentions of changing it but when trying to fix just one thing, I hit the wrong button and my old blog was gone. I'm not quite happy with this one yet so it will be getting some tweaking as time goes on.

Learning to Spin...

I tried on my own with books and videos but I just couldn't get it. I went to a Spin Express class at Hill Country Weavers in Austin yesterday and now I understand how it works. I just need to practice a little bit each day. You can see I actually have some spun yarn on my spindle.

a basket full of roving waiting to be spun

Karen Ruane of Contemporary Embroidery is FINALLY giving an online class called, Embroider, Embellish, Create and it is going to be fabulous. So check out her blog and consider signing up for this class. All the information is on her blog and here.

I'm sure you all know about Jude's Magic Feather Project. There has been lots of feather information flying around lately. Here is a review of a book on feathers that promises to be a good read and a link where the author talks about the book on NPR.

And Michelle of Ms. Uncertainty Principles has a great feather related post today. So check it out.

Enjoy your Sunday.