Search Results for: cutting

Hug Me Cardigan – new pattern!

My new pattern is inspired by the classic “hug me tight” shrugs I used to see some of my elderly clients knitting for their loved ones when I worked in nursing homes.

This cardigan was designed to be a simple but beautiful garment – perfect for those who are just starting out sewing with their weaving. It is also a “no cut” pattern for those who may be nervous about cutting their cloth for the first time.

I love the way my hand dyed yarn turned out – quite different to what I expected but very much in the style I love.

Woven with wool and designed to be a light fabric, it is a perfect garment for transitional weather because it’s warm without being too warm.

Check out my Etsy shop to find out more about the pattern.

Happy Weaving!

Great Expectations

by Kelly 3 Comments

I planned to weave a baby blanket. I spent weeks planning this project, first visually in my head, then on paper with measurements and particulars, then in the dyeing. I researched weave structures and matched colours, choosing the contrasting colours I thought would best show off the somewhat complex pattern. I spent a lot of time planning this blanket.

Then came the warping, the threading, the sleying, the tying on. Hours and hours of work. Finally, I got to the exciting part – the weaving! I began weaving with great anticipation, concentrating on the sequence to ensure no errors. After a few inches, I got up and stood back from the work, as I always do, to view the emerging pattern with pleasure.

And I hated it.

It’s busy, it’s thick and textured, it looks messy and the pattern is barely discernible because of all the colours. To say I was disappointed would be a grave understatement. I felt like cutting the warp off the loom and shoving it in the bin. Instead, I went to bed.

Contemplation set in. I remembered a talk I had heard some time ago by a holy priest. He talked about expectations and how we get upset when things don’t turn out “just so”. He talked about expecting ABC and getting XYZ. He illustrated how readily we lose our tempers, get offended or grow angry at the smallest things. I chuckled when I heard this part of his talk – it was so true that people are selfish and expect the very best all the time. People. Me.

You know what? I’m going to soldier on with this project that I hate. I’ve already learned a heap of new skills and tricks with warping, threading and colouring. Now I get to practice weaving a pattern I haven’t woven before and is actually the most complex one to date for me. I get to practice weaving the full width of the loom, I haven’t done that before either.

When I begin each weaving project, I pray for God’s blessing on my work. I pray also for the future recipient of the project. Prayers are never wasted, even when it seems we don’t always get what we asked for.

It may be that you ask for ABC but instead God blesses you with XYZ.

Hand woven shawl, poncho, wrap???

by Kelly 7 Comments

I had this fabric sitting around and wasn’t sure what to do with it. Yesterday, inspiration struck, I tried some pinning, then some sewing and finished up with a beautiful, warm and drapey garment that I’m quite taken with!

Here is the back view.

I said to my husband “if I was thinner I could wear it with a belt”. He said “wear the belt anyway”. Awesome husband 🙂

It’s a versatile piece – it can be a wrap, a poncho, a shawl, it’s pretty cool!

And what would a photo shoot be without Lou (aka Noodleberry).

I posted the garment on Facebook and a lot of people want details, so I will try to recall what I can!

The cloth: Woven in 2 panels 140cm x 50cm (one panel was slightly longer)

Both panels were hemstitched on the loom.

I used 4ply merino (grey) and my hand dyed handspun in the warp for the stripes.

I used a 10 dent heddle on my rigid heddle loom.

The construction: I lay one panel on top of the other. Taking the top panel, I made a full twist in it (like a mobius scarf). Woven fabric is reversible, so both sides look good, major bonus 😉

Leaving a neck hole, I pinned the panels so that they would be joined for 24cm. I tried it on numerous times, adjusting the pins to get a good fit. Then I sewed the panels together on the sewing machine, pressed the seams open, then topstitched the seams down to strengthen them.

Apart from wet finishing the fabric and cutting the fringe straight with a rotary cutter, that’s about it.

If you have more questions, ask away!

Making great compost

by Kelly Leave a Comment

This time last year I was a complete flop at making compost. We have always had plenty of material to make compost with, but for some reason it just wasn’t happening. I read about compost from a variety of sources and it seemed complicated. Then I got a Don Burke book from the library and after reading the section on compost something clicked. Since then, I’ve been making great compost and I’m happy to share what I know with you.

Here is some of my compost from the ready to use heap.

And this is what the working compost heap looks like – lets call it a work in progress!

The ready to use heap. My husband and a friend made this with star pickets, old lattice, bamboo and black plastic. It’s about 1.5 metres high and has an opening door at the front for easy access.

I find that compost performs better if it’s contained rather than just a heap, but it’s fine to start out with a heap if you need to.

This is my working pile – an old heavy duty plastic drum with holes drilled in the sides near to the bottom. I swap between the 2 heaps. So, when this blue one (my current “working” compost) is full enough I will leave it to sit and stop adding to it. By that time, the black heap will be all used up on the garden and ready to start working and being added to again.

So, here are my key elements to good compost:

* Balance ingredients. If you only put in kitchen scraps your heap won’t be happy. Lets looks at what I have in my working pile at the moment. Kitchen scraps (veg peelings, tea leaves, coffee grounds, paper towel, shredded newspaper, grass clippings, leaves in Autumn (brilliant!) straw, garden soil and any organic matter. No meat or bread scraps unless you want some visitors of the rodent variety!)

*Moisture. This is important. I’ve discovered that my compost used to be too dry/too wet – I didn’t have the balance right. It should be moist and if you get the right balance of ingredients it’s easy to control the moisture content. If it’s too wet, add a little dirt, straw or shredded newspaper. If it’s too dry, water it or add more wet ingredients (leftover tea from the pot, more veg scraps).

*Cut up ingredients. All the veg scraps or garden cuttings should be chopped up to maximise the breaking down process. I used to put in huge chunks of old vegetables or big sticks thinking they would break down – it doesn’t work. I only use the more fleshy garden cuttings, all woody cuttings go into our green council bin, which is taken away and mulched. If you have your own mulched you can do this yourself.

*Turn regularly. Also really important! I use a pitchfork and turn both composts every 2 days or so. You don’t have to do it this often but at least once a week this should be done.

What have I left out? Any questions, ask away!

Weaving on a rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 1 Comment

I know a lot of you are fascinated by the idea of weaving but are unsure about the whole thing and whether you could actually do it yourself. So, I thought I’d share some of my latest project (my second) with you to help de-mistify the process.

First you set up the warp. This involves clamping the loom and the warping peg to a table, tying the ends onto the warp beam, and then around the warping peg.

This is what the warp looks like when it’s all set up. I have used 2 colours for this project, but you can use one colour or many, it’s versatile!

In my mind, the warping is the “hard” part (and not all that hard) and the weaving is the “easy” part (which has it’s own challenges but is repetitive and relaxing). By weaving one inch red and one inch blue for the weft (the horizontal part) I was able to achieve squares (because I had already set up the pattern in warping by using the same 2 colours).

After cutting from the loom and knotting the ends to prevent unravelling (you can also hem stitch the ends) your project is washed, dried and ready! This is a sweet little table cloth for the cubby house which has been a great practice project. Next to come is a mat for the floor, and I may even try some different techniques – the rigid heddle is just full of possibilities!

So, what do you think? Are you interested in weaving? Perhaps you weave already? I’m looking forward to teaching this art form to my girls, I think they’ll love it!

Silkies and soap making

by Kelly 4 Comments

I have to show off Mary’s new silkies, they are so gorgeous! If you have ever considered having them, I do recommend them, especially as children’s pets. Don’t those feathers look soft, they’re more like hair than feathers. Look at those comical hair styles 🙂

I’m not sure how old they are (forgot to ask!) but they’re not laying yet, so still young.

These two are classic, they’re totally inseparable, even though the dark black one is much younger. They spend their days roaming our backyard and the best part is they don’t scratch up the garden and make a mess like the Isa browns do!

Soap making revisited. My second attempt – a different recipe this time. While the last batch of soap was nice it was nowhere near what I expect in a bar of soap. Too slimy and soft. This time I’ve opted for a castile recipe using beeswax and palm oil (sustainable of course!) to hopefully make harder, long lasting bars.

Looks like custard, the beeswax gives a beautiful golden glow and a really lovely, honeyish scent.

And finished! After resting overnight I’ll be cutting bars tomorrow, then curing for 4 weeks (that’s the worst part – waiting).

Happy Saturday

by Kelly 2 Comments

I awoke with a good feeling today, that sort of “I’m ready to take on the world” type feeling. Wouldn’t it be great if we could bottle that feeling and take a swig as needed? I’d be swigging it often, trust me!

Strolling around the garden I find it is very dry as we’ve had a lot of light showers but no soaking rain. Still, there are always good things to be found. Like the new, fresh blooms on the Datura.

Like the totally laden persimmon tree (and persimmon just happens to rank very highly in my list of favourite fruits!)

Like the red climbing rose that my husband grew from a cutting and that now insists on flowering 3 times a year! I’m not complaining 🙂

And in the kitchen I’m whipping up a batch of husband’s favourite pate fermente bread.

I hope your Saturday (or Friday as it may be for you) is feeling as good as mine.

God bless.

Waldorf softie doll tutorial part 2.

by Kelly 3 Comments

I’m a little embarassed at how long it has taken me to complete part 2, but I’m terrible at finishing what I start! Part 1 of the tutorial can be found here.

The pattern can be downloaded and printed from here.

For the body you will need 2 9x 9 inch pieces of knit fabric. Use a good quality knit with a percentage of elastane for a good result. If the knit is too stretchy, your doll will stretch out of shape.

You will also need clean carded wool for stuffing.

For the pixie hat you will need approx. 11 x 11 inch piece of knit to be folded.

Place your knit pieces together, right sides facing. Pin the body pattern on with the most stretch running horizontally and trace around it onto the fabric.

Place a few pins to stop the fabric moving. With a ballpoint needle and matching thread, stitch on the lines you traced, leaving a gap where indicated. Use small stitches to make strong seams. If you’re concerned about seams parting during stuffing, stitch right around the body piece again, leaving the gap open.

Cut around close to the seam lines being careful not to snip the stitches! Snip the curves. Be very careful when cutting between the legs, go slowly.

Turn the body piece right side out, running your finger around the inside seams to turn all the pieces properly. Ain’t that cute!

Stuff the body with clean carded wool. It is up to you how firmly you stuff, but keep in mind that the wool stuffing will relax over time. When stuffing, try to leave a hollow space where you will insert the neck.

Pop the head into the opening and stick pins into the “muff” that you created when making the head. Make sure the raw edges of knit are folded in around the neck – the great thing about knit fabric in this case is it tends to naturally roll inward, so it makes it easy to get those raw edges in.

Now, beginning at the back of the neck, hand stitch all the way around the neck, catching the head and body together. I use a little “catch stitch” which is almost invisible. I use a doubled thread in a complimentary colour. Stitch the little shoulder seams as you go. I stitch around the neck twice to ensure it’s really secure.

You can do a full head of hair if you wish but here I will show you how to do a pixie hat with a little hair tuft peeking out. Using a lovely, natural yarn make 3 – 4 loops. Pin these to the top of the head so that the cut end is poking towards the back of the head and all the nice loops are at the front, over the forehead. Stitch across the loops in a place that won’t show once the hat is on to secure them to the head.

Now the hat! Fold your second piece of knit with right sides together. Place the pixie hat pattern (triangle) onto your fabric against the fold where indicated and with the most stretch running horizontally. Stitch along the long, straight side, up to the point, leaving the bottom edge open.

Turn right side out and poke out the point of the hat with a knitting needle or similar. Placing the hat seam at the back of the doll’s head, pin in place. See how the knit has rolled up at the front to make a rim?

You may have to tuck up the hat at the back, which is easy to do. Using a catch stitch and matching thread, sew all the way around the hat, catching it to the head.

How does your doll look? I’d love to see it!

I’d also love your input (i.e. let me know if there are any mistakes in the tute!)

Just a little heads up. I’m approaching 800 blog posts and am in the mood to celebrate with a little giveaway. I’m thinking this mushroom doll may be featuring. Ssshhh!

First foray into screen printing

by Kelly 3 Comments

I’ve been interested in screen printing for ever so long and finally got myself organised to book into a workshop and head down to Ballarat today.

Laura from Learn 2 Screen-Print has recently relocated to Ballarat from Melbourne and has a great studio set up at her home. We started out by cutting some stencils to screen print onto cards.

Our next cut out stencils were printed onto fabric. Husband and I designed the pattern together. It’s hard to appreciate the deep red colour due to my night – time photos.

Another one printed on linen. Deep red on linen looks so delicious!

I’m thinking it would look great embellished with threads and beads.

My class mate Lisa chose to print this beautiful design and I was lucky enough to score one to take home 🙂 Lisa is a very enthusiastic quilter and is just as excited as I am about the possibilities this art form offers.

I had a really great day and it’s so wonderful to learn new skills that relate to and build on what I already do.

Laura was a knowledgeable and relaxed teacher and I really feel confident enough to start screen printing at home on a small scale – can’t wait!

Art I’m loving on Flickr

by Kelly 3 Comments

Persuasion

Butterfly Wreath

Squirrel Stumpwork Project

These beautiful embroidery pieces were created by Emily – a self confessed stitchaholic! To see more of her work you can visit her at The Flossbox, she has a lot of patterns, tutes and tips for embroidery and cross stitch.

Beehive bookplate

Letterpress mini bunting

Mushroom bookplate

Narelle from Ruby Victoria Letterpress is one of the reasons I recently bought a set of lino cutting tools and equipment, I just love her work. And I love the unique quality of a linoprint.

Narelle has an Etsy shop and can be found at markets if you’re in Tassie.

What can I say about these, possibly the most awesome pieces of wearable art I’ve ever seen!

Lisa from Lil Fish Studios is my kind of artist. She crafts objects of beauty that are functional. She firstly needlefelts and embroiders her brooches, then she searches her own property for exactly the right mount for each artwork.

The base may be made of wood, a shell, even antler. She handcrafts the base with a saw, drill and sanding.

Inspiring works from lovely ladies, thank you all for sharing your crafts with us 🙂

Just a reminder that my Christmas giveaway is still running so get in while you still can!