Serious summer fiber fun!

We finally have had some beautiful weather here this summer mixed in between all the early cool and rainy days and the long stretches of blazing hot humidity! But I guess most of you around the country have had a taste of all these, too. We have struggled to maintain our gardens, the veggies have suffered the most. This just won't be a banner year for the produce from our backyard. We have moved into the orange and yellow flower phase in the perennial beds and it truly looks like August and you get a hint of fall edging closer already!

I really have been playing and working with some fiber projects this summer despite how my last two posts have sounded. This is my recently finished pair of hand knit socks. Knit from a very soft yarn called Melody from Jojoland, they are very comfy and though 100% wool I am sure I will need to wear them sometime soon!

Because it never feels right to be without a pair of socks in the works I have now assembled a long list of favorite sock yarns from various shops on Etsy for my next project. Now it just remains to narrow the list down to a reasonable number that won't break the bank! If you knit socks you should search for sock yarns on Etsy, the selection is amazing!

The summer scarf is finally complete and I love the way it turned out. It is light and airy but at the same time it has a cozy feeling - all good characteristics for a scarf! I have woven with this yarn before and because it has both colored flecks and a nice textured slub it really results in beautiful fabric surface. My photos do not do it justice! I need photography HELP!

This is a cuff that started with a white wool felt oval. The next step was crocheting the base and band from a lovely natural colored linen. I love the two natural fiber colors together. You just can't go wrong combining these!

Now all the little bits of color are chosen and all lined up. I have some small bits of wool, some sewing threads that just speak to me and beads and buttons that will bring it all together.

I hope I can translate the sketch and the embellishments into the piece that I have imagined! It is such a satisfying feeling to complete a project, even a small one.

I have been writing haikus this spring and summer (more about that on another day) and this is one that I wrote about my need to "make".

To be, I must make.

Shaping the things around me

Is just what I do.

Please allow yourself to "MAKE" to your heart's content!

Enjoying a quiet task . . . .

I forget sometimes how much I enjoy warping the simple, basic pieces like this scarf. I wound this warp on Sunday, one of my multi-tasking days. The warp was wound between loads of laundry, baking granola and all the various clean-up tasks that get relegated to weekends.

Once a path has been determined on the warping board to get the appropriate length, it just becomes a rhythmic flow around and around the pegs. I love the way the yarns are separated by the cross at the top. This keeps them in a neat order so they go onto the loom without becoming a tangled mess. And doesn't it look lovely, all lined up row by row!

I have always tied each one inch group of yarns together at the top and bottom of the warp bundle as I go along. Again, I like the orderly feel of this. It makes me feel confident that I will get the yarns transferred to the loom correctly. After all these years of weaving this is still rewarding.

Here is the cross of my scarf warp all completed and tied with the lease sticks in place, ready for stringing on the loom. This scarf is a simple plain weave so will be easy to thread.

The process is relaxing and rewarding at the same time. A cone of yarn being translated into a wearable piece of craft step by step. I do love the building, row by row, in many of the parts of weaving. It is very mesmerizing, even meditative.

The warp chain is soft and inviting in your hands. This scarf will go on the loom at 12 ends per inch and be woven with the same numbers of picks in the weft so it will be light and flowing, much like the process of this afternoon's warping task. I will post a picture when it is finished.

Enjoy your quiet tasks . . . . . .