Falling leaves flannel sheet and matching towels

Sometimes you just have to get yourself something for your birthday. When I saw this flannel sheet set on sale I couldn't help myself. I didn't know when I bought then that they had a tan border, but I happened to have the perfect pattern of falling leaves. The border on the top sheet has a basket of apples with leaves around it in the middle then the falling leaves to the edge. The pillow cases have the falling leaves around their border. The towels were a gift from a friend their cream color match the sheets background perfect. It turned out really nice. For less than $35.00 you could have a perfect wedding, or shower gift.

Crazy Quilt

Just when you thought I exhausted my artistic adventures I throw you a curve ball. I have always wanted a handmade quilt. BUT there is no one (and I do mean no one) in the family that quilts. Not being one of those people that enjoy or even tolerate piecing little tiny squares together and making sure everything is square, a traditional quilt was out. Instead I went with my version of a crazy quilt. A mixed up wild collection of fabric that may be from a favorite article of clothing, or just a patterns you like. This quilt is a collection of cottons, flannel, denim, little bit of fleece, and even the cuffs of a wedding

dress. This photo shows a tri-colored Aussie head and if you look closely you

can see a humpback whale in the stars below.

After the top is large enough for a double bed, a piece of muslin will be place under it and pinned in place. Each edge will then be hand stitched with different embroidery stitches. Other additions will include ribbons, buttons, special hand embroidery, there will also be a spider and web added on one

of the pieces (meaning spider woman or weaver). This photo has a picture

of a bear fetish. The bear is the medicine animal for interception.

Once all the hand stitching is finished the boarder will be put in place and the top cut square. Needless to say for batting I will be using sheep's wool. I want a really lofty quilt that will last for years to come. This photo is showing "the Sugar" Lisa's rescue Whinnig haimer. At 18 months old she only weighed 35 pounds she is now a healthy 65-70. Without Lisa's love and patience Sugar

wouldn't have lived.

As you can see crazy quilts hold special memories with each patch. In this photo you can see Snoopy and a Arab stallion. Anyone that knows me knows that snoopy is close to my heart. I can assure you that his little pal Woodstock is in the quilt too. The stallion was pretty (honestly I couldn't find a gypsy drum horse). Every little girl dreams of her own horse and some of us very lucky ones get them. I haven't decided what material I will use for the backing of the quilt, or if I will use traditional "ties" for the quilt or have a company run a pattern over top to hold the batting in place. More to come soon.

the Three Generation Coat

This isn't the best picture but I promise to post a new one as soon as the coat arrives home. This coat took first place at Maryland Sheep and Wool show. It's a very special coat. The blend of fibers: Merino wool (for softness), Romney wool (strength and shine), Mohair (shine and loft), silk (strength, color and shine), Silk noils ( color and texture), Sammy and Husky hair (loft, softness, and warmth). Each one of these fibers were dyed a different color then sent to Zelingers fiber mill to be processed into roving. The roving was spun on a Haldane wheel using a short draw. Singles for weft, and 2 ply for warp. The fabric was woven on a Harrisville 36" 4 harness loom in a tabby weave. After weaving the fabric was washed in a commercial washing machine on gentle with minimum agitation. Then dried in a commercial dryer with no heat, cleaning out the vent often. The lining of the coat is made of my Mothers disassembled wedding dress. Every last seam was removed and it was casserole dyed with acid dyes, in colors to match the material. Because the gown was designed for a woman with a 17" waist The material had to be "patched" to make a solid piece for the lining. This was achieved by using fancy stitches like that used in a crazy quilt. The cut glass buttons are from my NaNa. They are something I played with in her button box when I was little(they were my diamonds). The buttons were her mothers brought over from Italy. All three of the Raia, Tantillo, Sundance families have added something to this coat. The entire project could not have been completed though without the help of a dear friend and a wonderful seamstress Millie Jaggard. Millie spun, knit and added the cormo I-cord to the coat as a finishing touch. It really sets the coat apart. I will be writing an article about this coat for publication in a national magazine and will let you know when and if it is picked up. Now it's just a waiting game Come-on cold weather whoo-hoo.

Dog Hair Ribbed sweater

This sweater was a surprise and a gift to myself. There was a point that I thought this sweater would never be. I had started the sweater using semi-heavy 2ply wool. I believe the wool came from a Corriedale/Coltswold cross. I originally planned a plain sweater for barn wear on cold mornings. The sweater planned isn't the one you always end up with. In all my years of working with fiber this is the only sweater that I have ever completely unraveled not once but, twice. The first issue I had with sweater turned out to be my dyslexia playing with the math for the sleeves. I unraveled both sleeves and had to re-knit them after both were finished. When the sweater was finished I didn't like the ribbing on the bottom. I spent an evening unknitting that and re-knitting one that went more with the entire sweater. I finished the sweater and just wasn't happy with the "feel" or "fit" of it. After two nights of staring at the finished project I sat down and unraveled the entire sweater and started over again. This time it "felt" different and the body worked up fast. When I reached the bust area I had a whim of adding just a touch of the left over Rene' hair/wool 2ply. I needed to double the yarn to make the same gauge as the wool I was using and threw in a gold metallic thread. I purled the dog hair blend to give the sweater a little humph. The second dog hair rib was when I joined the arms to the sweater. I hit a snag in this area when I ran out of left overs from Rene'. I'd like to thank the big guy for making another deposit in my fiber bank. After spinning up another batch of dog hair I found singles in my stash basket and plied 2 strands of dog hair, one of wool and one metallic thread. The same gauge size as the 2 ply base wool. After attaching the sleeves I added one more rib of dog hair to balance the sweater. The neck is worked in a k2-p2 rib with dog hair and wool until the last 3 rows and finished off. The sweater is now my favorite. The "feel" of it is just right. I can wear it everyday or as an evening sweater. The little touch of gold which I'm sad you can't see in the photo makes this sweater something special.

Fancy open work sweater

This natural colored Corriedale sweater is exceptionally soft. The open work allows the wearer to compliment the sweater with a Cammi or a turtle neck, depending on the weather. The sweater is light enough for a cover up for an evening on the beach, yet warm enough over a shirt for winter months without getting over heated.

The pattern was worked on a #9 American needles. The pattern was found in a English pattern book Great Big Knits by Dawn French and reworked using the Sweater Workshop Book. The sweater is the perfect weekender sweater

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

This was a regular Flannel Sheet set. In one afternoon they became a one of a kind family heirloom. I used a monogram as the center of the flat sheet and highlighted it using two snowflake swirls. Each side of the flat sheet are embroidered with different snowflakes both large and small in a random pattern. (seen in picture 4 and 5) The pillowcases are designed the same with both large and small snowflakes in random order. (see picture 2 and 3)

Christmas 2008

Well Rene' might not have been thrilled about his antlers but Allison was happy with her scarf Pok-a-dots, beaded fringe and all.

Dyed!

This is the wool/dog hair scarf after dyeing. It took several tries to get the right system down. Next time I think I will try making the dye with less water. I knew there would be bleeding of the dye, but it was difficult to get the right syringe, with the right amount of pressure to expel the small amount of dye needed. I worked with a 60cc, 3cc, 10cc syringe. The winner was the 60cc which I thought would have been to big for the job, and too hard to control. I ended up dyeing both ends of the scarf solid for uniformity. The yarn fluffed up nicely during the dyeing process, and the scarf has a nice halo already softening the color blue.

A christmas Surprise.

Lisa's niece saw her scarf and hat from last Christmas, and mentioned that she wanted her own scarf from Neo and Rene'. To be exact a blue one with white poke-a-dots and beaded fringe like her sisters. I started out by making a garter stitch scarf like I had for her sister. The resulting scarfs were too light and wispy to attempt dying a pattern in. After several attempts with different size needles I went a different direction. This is a basket weave pattern using 2 strands of the lace weight 2ply yarn. The reason I am publishing this before it is done is to give everyone a chance to see a scarf in transition. The scarf will now be dyed with acid dyes. I will make a strong dye liquor and use the pattern and a syringe to (hopefully) control the color. With luck the result will be the requested blue and white pattern. I will post an updated photo after the dyeing process and then a final photo after Christmas

Lisa's 2007 Christmas Present.

Lisa's Dogs Neo (pictured) and Rene' (see "Dottie sweater") wanted to keep the tradition Dottie started. Lisa collected hair when she brushed both dogs and kept the hair in large zip lock bags. She had no idea that the "boys and I had a surprise in store for her on Christmas day. The hat and scarf are both knitted in a lace weight yarn. The yarn is 2ply one pure Border Leister the second a blend of Neo and Rene' hair. I wanted the mittens to be denser and able to stand up to frequent use, to achieve this I used 2 strands of the yarn. When the scarf is laid out you can see the bands of color from the dogs coats it creats a wonderful effect.

Machine embroideried scarf

Yes I know this isn't hand spun or handwoven, however this is handmade. This is a olive green polar fleece scarf ( it is darker in color than the pictures appear). The scarf has snowflakes embroidered with rayon thread (shiny) in a monochromatic color several tints lighter. The snowflake design on either end differ from each other. This is the perfect gift for that special person that my be allergic to natural fibers, holiday office parties, secrete santa, or last minute guests. It is machine washable, hang to dry. This scarf is for sale for $25.00, beaded fringe can be added for an additional $10.00.

Scarfs and Shawls in mixed fibers

The orange shawl is done on a Daryl Lancaster type warp with a burnt orange Chenille. The feel of this shawl and the wonderful drape make it perfect for the office or evening wear. The 100% wool teal and purple stripped shawl is what the well dress woman is looking for on cold winter days to add to your coat or a light wrap on brisk evenings in the spring or fall. The white shawl in the for front is a white 100% wool warp with 100% spaced dyed mohair weft. The mohair was a color blend the was inspired by the waterlilies by Monet. As this shawl is worn it will get a nice soft loft from the mohair, that will add a halo appearance to the wearer. The last scarf is a white wool blended with a soft green dyed angora (bunny hair) it is knitted in an open pattern and the feel next to your skin is soft. This scarf will also get a loft as it is worn. All these items are currently for sale

Tams To the Left and Tams to the Right

These 7 different tams are all knitted using different types of fiber. The solid red is a mohair blend, The darker red hat is wool with a center that has plyed eyelash yarn in it. The pink hat is wool and silk, blue hat is mohair, wool, and silk. The green and brown hat has wool, angora(bunny) and natural wild silk. The next tam is a wool base that is space dyed with greens and pinks, it also has angora in it. and last but not least is the Jacob hat the dark outer edge is from a black spot on the sheep and the grey is from the outer edge of the spot where the white and the black mix together. All these hats are currently for sale

Grey Wool Jumper

This wool comes from a sheep called Houdini. I spun the wool with a soft woolen feel and a little on the heavy side. Even though the 2ply was bulky the wool itself is light weight and has a soft next to the skin feel to it. This sweater was used as a learning project for the South County Yarn Balls Knitting Group. The sweater is made without a pattern. Instead you use a math problem to make a perfect sized sweater no matter if the subject is small or large. This sweater would fit a large kindergardener to a small 2nd grader and is currently for sale for $60.00

Grey Wool Cable Hat and Mitten set

This wool comes from one of my favorite sheep Houdini. He is a cross bred sheep of jacob, corriedale, coltswold. He was a ram but was always a sweet guy since he had been a bottle baby. All that love went right into these Mittnes that were styled after mittens my NaNa gave me as a child. I made the hat without a pattern and used the cabling to bring the set together. These were my Christmas gift to myself. All spinner should treat themself to something special each year.

Eye Lash Sparkle Scarf

Emily Rose and her eye lash scarf. Although this blog is dedicated to hand spun I have included this picture of my niece with one of her Christmas presents. I used 2 strands of commercial acrylic yarn. One was sport weight the other eye lash in a bright pink. The scarf was knitted on size 10 1/2 needles using the garter stitch so the scarf wouldn't roll on the edges. Instead of fringe on the ends I used pre-strung beads sewn on satin ribbon. This made the scarf extra special because it was not only very soft but sparkling as well. I included a polar fleece head band and gloves with butterfly's done in sparkle as well

Mohair core spun scarf

This scarf is knitted with a mohair core spun on a wool yarn. The mohair locks were dyed using a casserole method. When dried they were hand teased and then core spun onto a 100%wool yarn. The scarf was knitted in garter stitch on large needles. leaving the color and texture of the scarf the noticeable factors. The scarf was completed with beads sewn on a satin ribbon then attached on the ends. Elena loved the gift from her Aunt Lisa and wore the scarf all Christmas day

5 Hour Baby Sweater: Tunis Wool

Little Miss Watson is looking fine dressed in her tunis wool 5 hour sweater and cap. The lace weight yarn makes it a perfect in-door sweater, without the worry of the child getting over heated. The softness of the spun yarn makes it perfect for next to the skin wear even on a baby.

Dottie's sweater

This is a very special sweater for my best friend Lisa. It is the first garment I have made for her using fiber from her own pet "Dottie" the sheep. The wool was spun in a medium weight 2ply. I had planned on weaving a rug with the fiber, because the raw fleece had quite a bit of kemp (a harsh hair like fiber within the softer wool fibers). Lisa expressed a wish for a wearable garment. I tried to discourage her thinking that this was not a "next to skin" yarn, but in the end compromised on a outer wear garment. Wanting the sweater comfortable, and wearable I went with a simple garter stitch on size 13 needles, using 2 strands of the 2ply wool. I made the collar and cuffs using one strand of wool and one strand of red merle Australian shepherd hair (2ply). The dog hair has a nice loft and in person almost gives the appearance of "fur" on the sweater. Lisa says there is no itchy feel to the sweater when wearing. Rene' her Great Pyrenees is hoping next year for Christmas he can supply the fiber for "mommy's" sweater

Tunis wool Baby Sweater

This sweater is made from 100% tunis fleece. I hand carded clean tunis wool and spun very thin single with a medium amount of twist. I plied the singles to create extremely soft 2ply baby yarn. I knitted this baby sweater using a free pattern downloaded from the internet.(the 5 hour baby sweater) I made some small changes when knitting the arms, but otherwise stuck to the pattern. The pattern included instructions for baby sizes and premie sizes. The sweater was shown at the New York State Sheep and Wool Show and placed 4th, a skein of matching wool placed 2nd. The sweater was made for a very special little boy Nathaniel Jefferson Belger that arrived into the world very early.