Seven Moons

on the edge today,

working with some of my indigo shibori

to create reverse appliqué moons,

inspired by Judy's work...

playing around with confining the edges...

ready to dive back into the water this evening...

dragon moon

There's a full moon just beginning to wane in preparation for darker nights. Heavy frost crunched under footfalls this morning as snow clouds gathered overhead. As it became lighter the rising sun cast a crimson glow on the low dome of the heavens. The old folks say it's a harbinger; bad weather is on the way. Maybe some snow, but definitely colder. Tomorrow may be bitter. A blanket of snow and breath that steams.

As recycled denim legs were torn into strips, threads frayed from the edges. Upon closer inspection I found they were patterned with alternating white and blue. Incindental ikat. To wonderful to waste.

Gathering Stash

gathering blues this morning

some a bit intense for the indigo dragon

also a few whites

all from the stash

most recycled/gifted/thrifted

some a bit too intense

may need to refresh the vat

to make them more dragon worthy

may need to go into the vat

Newborn Mini Cable Beanie--Free Pattern

When we visited my daughter over Thanksgiving I took knitting with me. I was working on some baby legwarmers in a variegated sock yarn for our new grandson who is due in about three weeks. Nathan, the current youngest crawled onto the seat beside me and said "Nana, you make hat for my bebee?" When I told him, no, I was making legwarmers for the baby, he repeated his request. So, Friday after returning home I made a hat for the new arrival. I am currently working on a second one, a bit larger, so that Nathan and his "bebee" can have matching hats. This little bit of knitting turned out so cute I thought I would share the instructions with you. (I don't have any photos yet of the little cable in process, but I will try to get some this evening and add them to this post tomorrow.) If you have any questions about the directions post them in the comment section. 

DOWNLOAD PATTERN HERE

NEWBORN MINI CABLE BEANIE

Yarn: worsted weight

BODY OF HAT:

CO 48 stitches. Join to knit in the round.

Rows 1 – 6: *K2, P2* ribbing
Row 7: *K2tog (do not slip resulting stitch off Left needle), K into 1^st stitch of K2tog pair, slip both stitches to right needle, P2*

Repeat Rows 1-7 six times.

CROWN OF HAT:

Decrease crown of hat as follows:

Row 1: continuing in established pattern *work 6 sts, P2tog* (6 dec  total)

Row 2: work even

Row 3: *K2, P2tog, K2, P1*

Row 4: *K2, P1, K2tog, P1*

Row 5: *K2tog, P1, K1, P1* (at the end of this row you should have 24 sts of K1, P1 rib)

Row 6 & 7: K2tog around.

Cut yarn leaving a tail about 8” long.  Thread through tapestry needle and run through remaining stitches. Pull tight and weave in ends to finish off.

sassafras wall hanging

i promised someone a bit ago that i would post images of this leaf pounded wall hanging

 done as a demo piece for my appalachian arts students a few years ago

 

young tender sassafrass leaves

 a single-, a double- and a triple-lobed

 were pounded onto a piece of prewashed muslin

after the piece dried it was soaked in salt water for about an hour then rinsed

a micron pen was used to add details to the leaf pounding

everything was ironded to heat set the colors

 a patchwork border of stash fabrics was sewn around the leaf pounding

 and then the entire panel was hand quilted

both the leaf contours

and concentric pattern around them

the color has survived

several years hanging on my hearth

as well as hand washing

and line drying

with no signs of fading

Magic Feathers Flying Away to Jude

our magic feathers are ready to fly off to jude...



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:School

Stitching Again--One for Me

over the weekend I started a new piece of stitching

feather tree backdrop

for one of my favorite visitors

carolina wren

barred russet tail

cocked in the air

this time right side up

though he usually creeps other way around

chittering and churring

making a general fuss

- iPad photos, Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

One Down for Magic Feathers

finished my first feather Friday while the kids worked...



....closer detail...



...second feather in progress...brighter...different but similar...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Rag Rug Roundup

     Even though I am back at work and no longer snowed in progress on the rag rug continues. Initially I had intended to use only stashed fabrics, but I ran out of large pieces much sooner than I thought I would, so I gave in and bought some cotton fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was on sale though, at 30% off, so all in all it wasn't too bad. I probably could have done without buying fabric, but I realllly wanted some red and black in it, so there. I have confessed! In its current state the rug measures 35 1/2 x 43 inches. I am hoping to get it to about 4 x 6 feet without having to purchase more fabric; I have been hitting the thrift stores with my eyes peeled. As I was ripping the fabric, there were some peices that were not as wide as they needed to be. I saved all of these narrower strips and am in the process of making potholders with them. The peice on the left is made from strips of the blue fabric leftover from the center of the rug. I edged it with some bits of a red floral print from my stash.

     My Appalachian Arts & Crafts students wanted to try their had at rug making, so I found some sheets at the thrift store...a whole box full for $3 (special price for the school). They thoroughly enjoyed tearing the fabric! I started a smaller lighter weight rug (on the right in the photo) to demonstrate how to begin the rug, and continued working on it while they were busy with their own pieces. In general, they made potholders, although one boy had trouble keeping his flat and decided to just make a bowl instead. I didn't manage to get any photos before they took them home to their mothers.

What do you do when you get snowed in?

A lot of the people I know don't like to get snowed in.

Mainly I think because they don't know what to do with themselves.

They get bored.

Not me.

I can always find something to keep my hands and mind busy.

 Yesterday was a pretty productive day.

In addition to laundry and cleaning the kitchen and dining room floors I

hemmed 3 pairs of new jeans that have been waiting since summer

made 16 napkins from prewashed muslin in my fabric stash

(one day I will get around to making some of these,

but for now plain muslin beats paper)

mended my husband's favorite camo shirt

and worked on Jonathan's vest

 The shirt had several small holes in it.

I mended them with the darning stich on the machine.

This is the worst one, at the base of the chest pocket, barely visible now

 Unless you look closely.

 This is the inspiration for Jonathan's vest, in the latest issue of knitsimple magazine.

He chose the yarn colors from knitpicks.com and

asked for no buttons, so

I am modifying the pattern to pullover style.

The stripes will begin this evening or tomorrow.

 Today I am working on this, a rag rug,

while looking at blogs and doing more laundry.

 Last Monday at crafts night one of the ladies was making a toothbrush rug.

I watched and thought I could figure this out on my own.

I'm not sure if I am doing it the same way she did, but it is working.

A bit wonky, but a good first effort.

She was using a beautiful wooden needle,

which I think my wonderful s-i-l can make, but

since this plastic tapestry needle is what I had on hand it is what I used.

The technique is basically a buttonhole stitch.

I worked around a core of an additional strip of fabric

(donated by a friend a couple of years ago,

 indigo with white broken stripes and anchors,

I like the way the pattern gets broken up in the stitching process).

The rug looks similar to one I crocheted a few years ago.

But this technique is easier on my hands and shoulder.

This first one will be a small rug I think

because I don't have a lot of this fabric.

But then maybe I can find something that will work with it.

A good reason to hit the thrift stores.

So, what do you do when you get snowed in?