Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

hand dyed wool

Scarf off the loom

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Another week, another item off the loom! This one took a little longer (a lot longer) than I had envisioned, but I’m overjoyed with the result and that is what is important.
I started with some 4ply merino that I had dyed in a rainbow gradient for the warp and teamed it with grey merino for the weft.

The pattern is 3/1 weft float, which was easy to work but was a significant time investment. This is the back side of the scarf (remember, when weaving patterns you get the additional surprise of seeing a different pattern on the underside!)

And this is the top side. See all those little grey floats?


I love the scarf and the colour arrangement has given me ideas of using a tencel or silk yarn for a real shimmer.
Available for sale in my Etsy shop now.

So, next project? You bet I have one planned already, in fact, I have a whole queue of them! Towels. Experimental towels. Stay tuned šŸ™‚

Yarnification tonight!

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The “Favourite Things” showcase is on at Yarnification on Facebook tonight at 8pm. There are lots and lots of beautiful fibre related goodies up for grabs.

I have 2 items available, some wonderful Cashgora and wool fibre and some gorgeous Silk and wool fibre, both dyed in my favourite colours. I’ve dyed some extra Cashgora to spin with and it’s so lovely!  What on earth is Cashgora, I hear you say? It is fibre from a goat that is a cross between a cashmere and angora goat!


If you already have your eye on something, be ready at 8pm as this is a very popular showcase šŸ™‚

Curtains and spinning

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I loved this colourway from the moment I unwrapped it after steaming. I started by spinning a single, then also did a single of black that I had dyed.

I plyed the coloured single with the black and it just popped straight away!

The end result is this gorgeously soft and squishy and dynamic skein, I can’t tell you how much I love it. My goal in learning to spin was to be able to spin something like this, so I’m very happy! I only wish I had 3 times the amount of yarn to weave into a shawl.

Another creative project I’ve been busy with is the makeover of my 14 year old son’s curtains. The little kiddy curtains that were old and faded have needed to be replaced for years but I was more than a little bit apprehensive about tackling curtains for the first time. 

The best way to get my brain around the fabric amount I would need was to measure the existing curtains and add the allowances. This worked out really well, except they are a little shorter than I would have liked. I learned a lot making these. The new fabric was a lot heavier and stiffer than the former curtains, so next time I would sew weights into the hem. I also found this fabric a little bulky at the top, and have purchased some extra curtain rings to try and even that out. 
I bought the fabric at 40% off – these would have cost a fortune to make otherwise, so it’s really worth waiting for a sale for a project like this.
Overall, I’m really happy with how the curtains look. The only trouble now is his bedspread looks faded, so it might be time for a new one of those too šŸ™‚

Completed cardi and more spinning!

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Hooray, the cardigan is finally done! And it’s perfect, there is room to grow and she is just so warm in it. It’s hard to believe this little sweetie is turning 5 on Sunday, can’t I wind back the clock just a little? 

I knit this with my hand dyed 8ply merino. The buttons are from Buttons by Benji, and though it’s hard to see from the photo, they are totally gorgeous. The pattern is “Annie” by Tikki.

On the wheel currently is my “By the shores of Lake Violet” colour way on merino roving. Loving these colours!

And here is an idea of what it looks like randomly spun and plyed. 

Brrr, it’s cold!

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Yes, Winter is well and truly here but thankfully I have many activities to keep busy and warm. This is my last handspun skein.

I used my hand dyed “Mixed Berry” roving and employed the fractal spinning technique and it worked out beautifully!

The garden has slowed down but we are harvesting all those lovely winter veg now. Our son and I (so lovely to have a kitchen helper!) cooked up a big pot of garden harvested veggie soup with barley tonight.

And garlic bread made from scratch was the perfect accompaniment.

This is my newest colour way, now in the Etsy shop.

And I dyed some of that gorgeous First Edition roving in the same colour way. This is now on my spinning wheel and looking splendid.
So, Winter isn’t all cold hands and noses, there are many delightful things about it too šŸ™‚
What about you. Cool weather? Or warm?

Beginning spinning

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My long term goal to own a spinning wheel came to fruition recently! I bought a second hand “Sleeping Beauty” wheel and she sure is a beauty. She could use some repairs but still spins well enough for now. 
I took some classes with Cathy of Cat and Sparrow Fibres and am so glad that I did. Something that seemed so complicated now makes sense and I’m continually building my spinning knowledge.

This was spun from some commercially prepared and dyed roving.

This skein was spun “in the grease” from a coated fleece and then washed, lovely!

And this one is from the same fleece which I washed first, dyed in two separate lots of pink and blue, spun as singles and then plied together. Interesting.
The last skein I spun that is currently drying is what I would consider a major improvement for me. I’m getting more control over the thickness and general consistency of the yarn I’m producing, which is quite exciting!
One of my main aims for learning to spin is to have a much greater involvement in the fibre items I produce. So, goal number one is to dye and spin enough yarn to weave a scarf with. I’ll keep you updated on that project šŸ™‚
Hand dyed, hand spun and hand woven, sounds fabulous to me!

Always making

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It’s true, I’m always making something and more often than not I’m making many things! Here are a few of my recent and current projects:

I’m quite in love with this Primrose already, lots of knitting to go but I’m enjoying every stitch. I dyed the yarn especially for this dress and it looks better than I envisioned. It’s going to be for my littlest woolly lover, she is a most grateful recipient of anything knitted.

Always dyeing yarn….sales have dropped off a little but it’s only natural considering it’s Summer here. Anyway, my Etsy shop is stocked with plenty of yarn at the moment.

I have tea towels on the loom and things are going pretty slowly. I’m hemstitching them on the loom which always adds a bit of time and I’m also using 4ply cotton, so the weaving is not quick. These are my first tea towels so I hope they are a success after this time investment!

I dyed and made a top for me – it didn’t suit me at all so I cut the main part down to make a top for my eldest girl along with some Euro fabrics from my stash and one of my favourite top patterns for my girls – CZM Mareen. This girl just won’t stop growing!
As usual I have about 1000 ideas for things I “must do” but don’t have the time or money for, but they keep me ticking and I’m grateful to the time that I currently have to be creative. I have a couple of exciting happenings cooking up in my mind for this month, so stay tuned for those!
God bless you all šŸ™‚