Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

hand dyed wool

My new loom

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My new Ashford 60cm weaver’s loom, ah, it was worth the wait! After getting over my initial fear of setting up for warping (which wasn’t all that hard after all!) I’ve started on a stash busting scarf. Basically, I’m using up all my bits and pieces of yarn in order to practice.
Here is the first section. I’ve used a purple 8ply wool for the warp.
And for the weft I’m using up all sorts of bits and pieces from my stash, mostly that have been left over from other projects. I’m finding that handspun is perfect with its gradual colour changes. 
I have my loom set up next to my sewing table at a large sunny window and am really enjoying the weaving process. After the warping, the actual weaving is calm, straight forward and repetitive. I don’t find the repetition boring, as there is constant progress and it is a quiet and thoughtful activity. I particularly love watching the colours merge.
I can’t wait to finish the scarf and start on my next project, I have lots of ideas and also some requests (apparently the girls need a pretty rug for their cubby house).

Cute yarns and cute kids.

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I posted this collage to my Facebook page yesterday and was amazed that the yarns all sold within a few hours, that’s a first for me! Can’t wait to order and dye more now. Knitters sure are an enthusiastic bunch, and the positivity and passion is catching.

As for my new kitchen space, it seems to have been repurposed, I should have known!

Hope you’re having a great day, God bless!

Cast on, cast off!

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The knitting bug hasn’t left me and isn’t likely to any time soon. Likewise, the yarn dyeing bug šŸ™‚
The pattern is Granny’s Favourite by Tikki. The yarn is hand dyed by me, merino 8ply.

It’s my first attempt at lace knitting, and though I had to enlist a little help from Tas to read the instructions properly, it wasn’t hard in the end.

I got some lovely little heart buttons from here.

It’s a snug fit on Gem, but luckily her 2 younger sisters will be more than willing to take it off her hands next season šŸ™‚
I’ve been working on so much stuff lately it makes me giddy to think of it all! You could say I’m well and truly immersed in everything handmade. There isn’t much I can show you yet, but before too long I can reveal what’s been taking up my creative time.

New tools (or toys?)

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Delving deeper into dyeing yarn has been a painful experience! On my back, that is – winding skeins and balls by hand is not only time consuming but doesn’t agree with my easily aggravated back.
I made an agreement with myself that if my last 2 skeins of dyed yarn sold, I would buy some tools. They did sell šŸ™‚ So I now have a yarn swift.

And a ball winder. Watching the swift and winder working together for the first time is like magic!

I bought them from Petlins and their service was perfect.

I’m really pleased to see my yarn re-skeined, it shows off the colours better and gives a more even wind, hence a tidier appearance.

Oh, did I mention these 2 hanks are available for sale? You can head to my Madeit shop if you’re interested. 
I’m hoping to have time to dye some new skeins over the next few days and I may just be drawing inspiration from the Limestone Coast and redback spiders! Sound interesting?

Hand dyed yarn and a great short film

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Superwash pure new wool in opal and cyclamen hand painted. 100g skein.
This one is available for sale, leave me a message if you’re interested.

Hand painted cotton in rainbow colours, 100g skein.
Already sold šŸ™‚

Hand painted cotton in rainbow colours, 100g skein.
Already sold šŸ™‚
Love the colours in these!

We watched this excellent short film last night, if you go here you can watch it free. I won’t give away the plot, but the movie is about the value of every person and the filming and acting is really excellent.
Thanks for all your comments and positive interactions of late, it reminds me why I enjoyed blogging in the first place!
Oh, and I can’t not mention our new Pope!
God bless Pope Francis!

Hand dyed yarn

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My first attempt at hand dyeing yarn went well in some respects and not so well in others.
I used Luxury 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills and Landscape Dyes in fuschia and raspberry.

I skeined the wool and dyed bands of colour, wrapped it up then steamed it. If you’re interested in the process I’m more than happy to share a tute next time I’m dyeing.
I was interested to note how different dyeing wool is to dyeing fabric. The fabric is thirsty for the dye, whereas the wool resists it. Quite different.
Notes for next time: 
Water down the dye more, it was too concentrated.
Try soaking the wool in water for longer before dyeing.
Try a longer steaming time – the dye was not exhausted and I had trouble at the wash out stage.
Cover the kitchen counter properly or you will drip dye on it that does not come off!
Tyeing the hank with figure eight ties worked really well, I didn’t get any tangles.
Steamed wool in the kitchen is not an appetising scent and it does tend to fill the house!
I’ve already cast on a cardigan with this yarn and it’s looking great so far. I was concerned the strong colours would be a bit much but it has grown on me.