Getting ready to start more projects

Pinfold challenge

Yes, another challenge. The challenge is to make something out of these collections of five inch squares. There are twenty squares in each pack. I still haven't got round to washing and ironing the fabric, but I must think of something soon.

Colour challenge jacket

The completed jacket which I promised I would show you. It is really cosy to wear, just what I need. It caused a bit of a stir when I showed it last Thursday at the NWCQ meeting. It was wonderful to see the variety of pieces made by the other members of the group.

Back of the jacket

Label from inside the jacket

I've also been making a bed for Sasha. Very simple - two metres of polyester wadding folded inside one metre of fleece. I had already made one for Ella some months ago - she really loves her bed, so I thought it a good idea to make one for Sasha too.

Sasha's new bed

Ella's bed, made back in November

The Solar Dyeing experiment, back in July

You may remember my post about trying Solar Dyeing in July. Well, I finally got around to emptying out the jars and washing out the fabric.

The same jars this morning

As you can see, rather a lot has happened to the fabrics in the intervening months. I have not opened the jars, but left them to their own devices. The results are interesting. The Dyers Chamomile, the yellow flowers in the top photo have produced the fabrics below. All yellowy greens. Really interesting colours.

Dyers Chamomile

The second jar was the Medieval Solar collection. This has given a really fascinating collection of colours - from a light yellowy brown to a beautiful reddish brown.

Medieval Solar

At present the fabrics and fibres are still wet. I'm interested to see what they look like once they are dry.

New knitting project

I have another knitting project waiting for me to finish the tension square. It is a new hat. This will match a rather nice cowl which my elder daughter made me for Christmas. This is the same yarn which she used. The cowl already keeps my ears cosy, so having a hat to keep it in position will really help on those walks out with the dogs. The pattern, "Cogges", is designed by Jeni Hewlett and can be found in The Scrumptious Collection Volume one. The pattern is now available as a leaflet since the books is now out of print.

I just have the buttons to add to my waistcoat now. I am still trying to decide whether to go with the turquoise buttons, or whether to go with navy. I could use orange, but I really don't think that would look as nice.

What a couple of weeks!

Ella with her new friend Sasha

Well, there has been quite a lot of sewing which I can't show you, as well as some knitting. The sewing cannot yet be shown since it is ready to be unveiled later this week. It is the result of the colour challenge which I organised for NWCQ. I shall post photos after Thursday.

The biggest change over the past few days is that we are now a two dog household. Can I introduce Sasha. She joined Ella in our house just a week ago and has been settling in well. She was a rescue and is around three years old. As you can see she is a similar size and weight to Ella who is a Husky-Akita cross. Sasha appears to be an Akita-Alsatian cross.

Rosamund

My waistcoat is nearing completion. I am just knitting around the border at the moment. The plastic safety pins are showing the positioning of the buttonholes which will be made in a few more rows time. With 712 stitches on my circular needles this is proving to be a bit of a marathon. The pattern asks for a long knitted strip rather than a knitted on border. However, this will work better with my remaining yarn. As you can see I have only knitted two rows of the navy and am continuing with the turquoise. I have just about enough of the navy left to do a final row and also the cast off.

I have also been involved with an exhibition. You can see photos of the stand here.

Quilting, knitting and enjoying the countryside

Completed shawl neck cabled jumper

Well, since my last post there has been a completed project - this cabled jumper. The pattern dates from 1989 and the yarn has languished in my stash for rather too long. There wasn't quite enough, hence the decision to add the brown for the shawl collar. The two yarns are the same make and vintage, luckily. The jumper is really cosy to wear too.

Taking up an abandoned project

I started this one back in 2011, so it has been hiding away in my knitting bag for far too long. I had completed the back and half of one front when I got bored with it. Now I am half way up the second front. It will be a sleeveless waistcoat. The pattern is from the Rowan Classic 4ply designs for men and women. The designs are by Martin Storey and the yarn used is no longer available - it is Rowan's Cashsoft 4ply. An unusual purchase for me since I very rarely buy the wool suggested by a knitting pattern. The colours chosen are my own and not that used in the original pattern. The design is called Rosamund.

Close up of some of the pattern

I've also been out walking too. My long suffering dog Ella by my side.She loves the walks, but hates the idea of being the subject of photographs.

Walkies

Hence the look on her furry face.

My long suffering companion

We had stopped by the river, opposite the weir shown in the photo above. It is a lovely spot with a bench. Perfect for a short stop to sit and admire the scenery.

I have no photos of the quilting as yet. Not any that I can share. The project is the result of a challenge and it needs to be completed before being shared with the NWCQ group. I wrote about it here.