Weaving Workshop with the the Worstead spinners, weavers and dyers

I recently became a member of the Worstead Weavers, spinners and dyers group in Dilham near Wroxham. We meet on Tuesdays and Saturdays and all the people are really lovely and friendly. Last week we had a weaving taster day. I had never woven before and I learnt a lot that day. We used fingers pegs and a peg loom to start. Here are the samples I made, not enough to make anything with but I got the hang of the technique. These could be used for making bag straps or a rug for instance.

We went on to more complicated looms. I made this scarf (below) on an ashford knitters loom. 

Lastly we used the Ashford 8 shaft loom. This was my favourite as you could do lots of patterns on it. However, I think the knitters loom is more my level as I would not have a clue how to set up the Warp! Definitely a craft I would like to continue! 

Fluffy Cloud shawl

I love the shawl knitting patterns written by Boo knits (there patterns can be found on Ravelry), I chose the pattern called promise me and Angel by Debbie Bliss in white. This yarn is 76% Mohair and 24% silk, an absolute joy to knit with. The pattern was very easy to follow and includes diagrams as well as written instructions. I used 6 tubes of Clear/white (ICL) Miyuki seed beads size 6/0 with only about 10 left to spare. I added an extra repeat of the lace pattern in the mid section of the shawl to make it larger and I used the standard stretchy cast off from the pattern and decided against adding extra beads to the edge. If you have not used beads in your knitting you must try it, it was such a pleasure to see the little beads integrated into the knit. 

How to line a wicker basket

I bought a basket from a car boot sale a while ago and I have finally got around to lining it. I decided to post instructions of how I lined it. First here is how it turned out...

I have written a pdf tutorial for lining a wicker basket. Click here to download the pdf.

3D Christmas tree

I went to a course on the 9th November on how to make a 3D Christmas tree with Sally Holman. I only managed to complete one layer at the class (probably due to too much talking!) but I have finished the rest off at home. Sally inspired me to embellish. I bought two of her books at the class, she brought along a few of her projects which were gorgeous! Sally's tree was much more intricate with much nicer embroidery  and embellishment. So here is my version. 

I think I might spray the star with gold glitter so it matches the gold on the tree, what do you think?

Owl cushion cover version 2

I finally finished the second owl cushion cover. I used heart appliqué to decorate the back. Using up scraps of material I had left over from the front. For this I used the heat and bond method.

Watch out for my next blog. I am currenty making a Christmas tree that I started at a class run by Sally Holmann. Watch this space!

Owl cushion cover

I wanted to try the freezer paper method of appliqué. Tricia Vint (aka The pied pedlar on google blogger) showed me how and this is how it turned out. 

I used large vermicelli free motion quilting to surround the owl. I made it into a cushion cover with a pink trim around the edge and a heart trim on the back (bottom, centre photo). I made the back opening overlap so I did not need to use any buttons or zips. I think if I was going to do it again I would make sure I snip around the edges at more regular intervals before folding over the appliqué. This would have made the edges smoother. Also I ended up padding the eyes with some wadding to make the eyes pop out and prevent the grey owl body fabric showing through the white of the eyes. I hand stitched the eyes and the beak on but the rest I attached using my machine.

I made another version of the Owl using the heat and bond method which I preferred compared to the freezer paper. I also used the blanket stitch to attach all the pieces using my machine, which I was very pleased with. I was thinking of turning this into another cushion cover but I am not sure yet. I will post the final product when it's finished.