Poleworth Fiber

This picture may not look like much but, it is of incredibly soft Poleworth wool. The wool was dyed in exhaust from Boarder Leister yarn that was a special order. The exhaust bath dyed the prewashed fiber in shades and hues of teal. The true color is hard to see in the picture. Think the color of the ocean off Hawaii. The fiber was picked after it dried and carded once through on a Patrick Green carder using a production drum. The fiber is so fine I wouldn't risk making a second pass through the carder fearing slubs. The finished batts are soft and airy. This is a "next to the skin" project without a doubt. The feel of the fiber is so yummy you catch yourself feeling it every time your near it. The finished project has not been decided, but I can't wait to work with fiber and will start spinning it directly. Keep checking back for updates. I started spinning the fiber on May 3rd 2009. The softness of the fiber comes through in the final product. I am spinning on a Haldane with scotch tension using a short to medium draw. The finished yarn is very fine. The finished color of the yarn is that of the tropical ocean waters with the fluctuation of colors, caused by the ocean floor. I think I will be adding a metallic thread of iridescence teal if I can find one. I usually have a project planned before I start spinning but, this fiber was a golden gift. I was so excited about working with it I just started and thought the fiber would tell me what it wanted to be. I know it wants to be lace, and the most likely finished garment would be a shawl. This fiber is too beautiful to only be use occasionally so I'm thinking a lace sweater maybe a cardi.

So here is the yarn finished and started knitting into a lace cami. sad to say that the date today is 5/10/2012 It was started in 2010 but sat for over a year while I worked through a funk. I am finally starting to get back to work. I didn't add anything to the final yarn just 2 ply. I am knitting this on size 2 needles

Finally the finished product

This is Allegra modeling the hat and scarf that I made from a skein of super wash merino that I was given as a Christmas present. The picture doesn't show the space dyed yarn to it's true beauty. The set is so light and soft it could be used for a child.

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.