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Author: carleneruns

My sample pieces from the class (last on left, first on right)
Tapestry Class

Tapestry Class

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I have signed up for a number of classes from the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild this year.  The first was a 4 week introduction to tapestry class taught by Liane Thiry-Smith.

Our first loom was a DIY frame made out of a canvas frame with the canvas removed.  (Note that the teacher left canvas over the stretcher bars so that we did not have to sand the frames.)  She taught us how to warp the frame and secure the warp threads at the top and bottom of the frame.  Then she encouraged us to wind up some butterflies of yarn and start weaving.  I opted to do a simple gradient with part of the colour wheel.

In week 2 we took our first pieces off the loom and we were onto another piece.  I had a small tapestry loom that I had purchased online but had not yet used.  So I warped up that loom and drew a small sketch of a landscape scene that I wanted to weave.  Next I wound up some butterflies of yarn and set to work.

In week 3 I decided to warp up another colour study.  I studied the sample piece by our teacher Liane Thiry-Smith and I could see that she used many smaller blocks of colour in her piece.  This time I used a darker warp and selected my colours more carefully to create a nice gradient.  I wove it up and was very pleased with how it turned out.

My teacher encouraged me to try a larger piece.  (My other class mates were working on much larger pieces.) She had a loom warped up with some cartoon markings transferred to the warp that she encouraged me to take home and weave on.  In the first photo you can see what I started with.  I used this piece to experiment with different shapes and techniques.  It was fun to do something with no expectations of how it should look.

In the last class we worked on finishing up our pieces.  I sewed in the tails on my pieces and blocked them using a very hot iron and a damp cloth. I sewed one piece onto a dowel.  I think I will look for some nice branches to mount the other pieces.  But that will have to wait for the snow to melt.  (As I write this there is still a solid 2 feet of snow in my yard.) We also took a group photo where we showed off some of our pieces.

It was a great class.  I had lots of fun and learned a whole lot of things.  (Though I still struggle with that slip knot used to start the warp.)  I look forward to experimenting more with my tapestry loom.

 

 

Punch needle tree and coasters

Punch needle tree and coasters

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I am still learning how to use my new Oxford Punch needles and make punched fabric. This can be rugs, chair pads, coasters, art work.  Whatever you fancy really.  I continued working on the freeform piece that was started in the workshop I took last fall.  I decided to add a border to the piece.  Once that was done I took it off the frame.

Since I am still a beginner I decided to experiment with some blank Monks Cloth.  I stretched the cloth onto my frame and got out my Sharpie to draw a pattern.  I decided to try making a small Christmas tree and some coasters.  Then I picked out my yarn and started punching.  I drafted the pattern and started the tree one evening, then finished it off in another evening.

Then I turned my attention to the coasters.  After a couple of hours of punching spread over 2 evenings I had completed my coasters.  Generally you work by outlining your shapes, then filling in the middles. I was using a bulky yarn that changes colours slowly as you move through the ball.  On the first coaster I let the background yarn move through a colour transition.  But I decided that I preferred to have the background be more solid so I avoided that with the rest of the coasters.

I now had to learn how to finish my pieces.  I watched some videos and asked for help on a punch needle forum.  I learned that I needed to iron the pieces to block them.  So I wet a large bathroom towel, covered the piece with the damp towel and ironed them.  Both the front and the back of the pieces were ironed.  This helped flatten my pieces.  I cut out the pieces and used the iron to fold down the hems to make sewing them down easier.

After gathering my sewing supplies I started with the tree piece, sewing down the hems. Next I sewed the tree into a cone.  Then I added a small star made from pipe cleaner and sewed small brass bells randomly onto the tree.  When I was happy with all that, I stuffed the tree and then sewed a circle of black felt onto the bottom of the tree.  Then I moved onto finishing the other pieces.  The freeform piece was easy to sew since there were nice wide seam allowances.  The coasters were harder because the seam allowance was too small.  However, I fudged it and got them sewed down.

The final step was to sign my pieces.  Black sharpie for the win!  (Though I could not sign the tree since it had a black felt bottom.)

The tree was gifted to my parents and was a small addition to their holiday decor.

I had a great time working on these pieces and learned quite a few valuable lessons:

1) Design: The tree should not have had a curved line on the bottom (my tree leans).  Since this was a 3D piece I should have made a paper cutout to test my design.

2) Spacing: A larger seam allowance would have been better for the coasters.  They suggest 2″ on all sides.

3) Density: I should have made fewer punches in some of the pieces.  My punching was very dense which caused the pieces to curve when taken off the frame.  Luckily blocking with the iron helped with that.  In future I should skip more space between punches and leave a bit more space between rows of punches.  I think this is an easy beginner mistake to make because you are working from the back and the tendency is to fill everything in.  However, in reality you need to give the yarn some breathing room to let it bloom.

Thanks for listening to me babble about punch needling.  I’m enjoying learning this new craft and looking forward to my next project.

 

 

Poppy wreath at the Cenotaph
Remembrance and Looking Forward

Remembrance and Looking Forward

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As I write this winter is closing in and snow is falling.  However I wanted to start by sharing part of my November tradition.  In 2020 I made 2 poppy wreaths, one for my house and another for the local cenotaph.  Each November I put these out.  It is a small contribution to Remembrance.  But I feel it is important, especially with war and unrest bubbling around the world.

On Nov 8th I attended a Punch Needle workshop.  This was part of an event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the invention of the Oxford Punch Needle. The workshop was at the Calabogie Lodge, about an hours drive from my house. When I walked into the lodge I was surprised to discover this massive stuffed polar bear in the lobby.  I had to take some photos.

The workshop was put on by Christine Johnson, aka Free Form Fibres. The studio space upstairs was beautiful and so cosy.  There were punch needle projects at each station. We were given the opportunity to try punching with both regular and fine punch needles.

The first piece I worked on was this Christmas tree piece. I learned how to do the outlines.  Then to come back and fill in the background.  You apply the punch needle from the back of the canvas and it forms short loops on the front. The tails from where you start and stop each piece of yarn end up on the front of the piece and need to be trimmed off later. This photo shows the front of the piece.

Punch needle project with Christmas tree
Punch needle project with Christmas tree

Christine had some samples of her work on display.  They were so inspiring. It was also interesting to see that some of the pieces were 3D.  They were very cool. Christine has been working on a punch needle series PUNCHING WITH ATTITUDE. I love that she is using her art to express her feelings.

We rotated through a couple of projects during the workshop and I ended up at this frame with a freeform piece on it.  There really wasn’t much on the canvas when I sat down.  Mostly some neon lines wandering around the canvas.  I started by drawing in some hearts.  Then filling them in.  Then adding a blocky border in the middle of the canvas.  Next I filled in the background around the hearts. I played with filling in space using straight lines and with meandering stitches so that I could compare the results. I was hooked and purchased 2 punch needles to take home.

Christine ended up giving me the Freeform piece and some of the neon yarn to take home.  She also gifted me this awesome skein of Briggs and Little Atlantic (hand dyed colourway) and a nice bag with the colour wheel on it.

The next step down the rabbit hole was to buy supplies.  With some help from Christine and Robin (of Hooking Outside the Lines) some basic supplies were ordered.  I picked up a large frame, frame cover, fancy scissors, a kit, and some blank canvas.  The package arrived quickly. And putting the frame together was very straightforward.  The hardest part was holding the pieces steady without pricking myself on the gripper strips which have many very sharp needles.

After getting the frame together it was time to remount the freeform piece. The monks cloth is stretched on the gripper strips until a nice tension is achieved.  Then a cover is added to protect the user from the needles on the gripper strips.  At this point I was ready to restart, but I must admit that I was undecided about how to proceed.  So I took a break.  (It never hurts to consider your design choices.)

By the next day I had an idea.  I could rip out that lower neon line and move it down to make a larger box.  Luckily I had the spare yarn and so was able to do that. One of the neat things about punch needle work is that you can undo it easily. In the images below you can see the faint line where the original neon line was. This will disappear once I have filled in the piece with new yarn.

After making a larger box I could add the word LOVE below the hearts. I traced out the letter size on some paper, cut them out, then tried them on the canvas.  When I was happy with the size and placement, I flipped the letters over (remember working on the back means text must be mirror image) and traced the design onto the canvas with a Sharpie. Finally I was ready to select some yarn and start punching.  After punching the word Love my next choice is to decide what yarn to use for the background, and whether I’ll do one solid background behind all the letters, or blocks of background as was done with the hearts above. I am still undecided which way I will go.

So this is where the work is so far.  It was really fun to learn something new and experiment with a new way to use some of my yarn stash. I have also signed up for a number of classes at my guild in the first half of 2026 (Tapestry, Art Yarn, Short Draw to Long Draw – Drafting Woolen to Worsted, and Warp Painting). I look forward to sharing my punch needle piece and some of my other explorations with you next year.

Since this is my last blog post of 2025, I also wanted to say Happy Holidays!  I hope you have some terrific time visiting with family and friends and recharging your creative batteries for next year.

I also wanted to share that Christine will be teaching as part of In the Studio Online Workshop Week 2026 which runs from February 5-15, 2026.  Here is the blurb about the class:

Christine Johnson @christinejohnson1959 joins Workshop Week for the first time to teach us:
HOW to say WHAT we want to say. (These days, we all have something to say about our shared world.)

She builds on her punch needle series PUNCHING WITH ATTITUDE. This text-heavy class is for both hookers and punchers.

 

Carlene and Janet Sept 2025
Busy Month (WIPs, Fibre Festival, and a Vacation)

Busy Month (WIPs, Fibre Festival, and a Vacation)

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Hey folks.  When last we chatted I was working on my Memories Sweater.  I did continue working on it for a bit and tried to do the shoulder section.  However, I am not happy with my first attempt.  So the sweater has been put in the time out pile for a bit.  I do have an idea how I want to approach the shoulder differently for my second attempt but have not had time to try it yet.

I also spent some time weaving a couple of gifts for friends.  I made these 2 wonderful scarves.  The red and black scarf is silk.  And the other one is my hand spun yarn.  I needed to finish these before we went on our trip.  (We left home Sept 7th.)

And I learned that an old friend of mine is struggling with long Covid.  So I rushed to make a blanket and get it in the mail to her.  This is what I whipped up.  I used several colours of James C Brett Marble Chunky and I really like how it turned out.  This is a great example of what you can do with a bunch of odd balls of yarn.

Chain stitch square afghan using various James C Brett Marble Chunky yarns
Chain stitch square afghan using various James C Brett Marble Chunky yarns

On September 6th I went to Fibrefest, in Almonte Ontario.  The event is put on by the Friends of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum.  It is a lovely event at a local arena with many different vendors.  I had a terrific time shopping and came home with many new treasures for my stash.  The project bag from Van Djik Designs was my favourite purchase and ended up coming on vacation with us.  It was a perfect size to hold my knitting, a light sweater and a snack as we wandered around.  The tea towels from Artisan Originals by Susan were a special order and are a gift for my Mother-in-Law’s upcoming birthday.  The colours were selected to match her newly renovated kitchen.  And of course there was some yarn and fibre to buy.  I also found some lovely fabric designed by a talented First Nations artist, a cowl pattern and some buttons.

On Sept 7th we set off for Newfoundland, flying from Ottawa to St John’s.  We arrived quite late and eventually made it to our friends place.  From there we did quite a bit of exploring.  We visited Cape Spear, Cape Bonavista, Elliston (we tried to see the puffins but were unsuccessful), and St John’s.  In St John’s we saw where Terry Fox dipped his leg into the water when he began his Marathon of Hope.  We toured Signal Hill, the Johnson GeoCenter, and the Rooms museum.

We also enjoyed exploring the city and some of the various trails on foot.  This lead to some yarn shopping.  I purchased some yarns from local indie dyers, and some Briggs and Little yarn from the Dollar Store. We saw hand knits in many of the shops.

On September 11, 2024 I donated part of my liver to my friend Janet. Part of the reason for our trip was to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of our transplant surgery. Janet and I were also interviewed by CBC to chat about the liver transplant. If you are curious you can find the interview here. There was a party with family and friends to celebrate the Liver Giver Anniversary. You can see that Janet is the picture of health now that she has a working liver.

During my trip I worked on some Anemone Hats and many dish cloths.  These small projects were a good way to pass the time, especially on the long drives we took.  And they made lovely gifts to leave behind as well. (I gave away 55 dish cloths and 3 hats during my trip.)

We returned to Ottawa on Sept 16th.  Tired but happy.  Newfoundland is very beautiful and the people were so welcoming. We dove right back into work and I started yet another Chain Stitch Square blanket to be used as a gift for another friend.  This is my progress so far.  I’ve completed about 1/3 of the blanket.  This time around I’m using a single colourway (MC77) of James C Brett Marble Chunky.  It is a very relaxing set of colours.

 

 

 

 

 

Mitred squares detail view
Memories Sweater (Work in progress)

Memories Sweater (Work in progress)

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This blog talks about my attempts to knit the Memories Sweater pattern by Sally Melville.  I will start by sharing the project photos of Sally’s inspiring sweater.  As you can see, this is a neat pattern and a great way to use up random bits of sock yarn.

My first attempt with the pattern was in May 2022.  I dug out some sock yarn and started.  After 5 weeks, this is all the progress I managed.  I had a few hiccups… one was that the various sock yarns had slightly different gauges.  And the bigger problem was the square itself.  The mitred square in the pattern had a spine going down the middle of the square.  I found making squares in this style to be frustrating.  And so the project got put into a bag on a time out.  Three years later it has not been retrieved.

Modular knitting panel
First attempt (June 2022)

Now we advance to June 2025.  My husband I and were going on a long car trip to visit family.  I wanted to find a project that would be good trip knitting and also that would not take too much space.  I began to wonder if maybe I should attempt the Memories Sweater again.

To try and avoid the gauge problem, I decided to use a single brand of sock yarn.  I had this selection of Patons Stretch Socks, which is a fingering yarn with lots of cotton (41% Cotton, 39% Wool, 13% Nylon, 7% Other).  I thought it would be a good match for a summer top like this.

Patons Stretch Socks
Patons Stretch Socks

Next I decided to look around for another mitred square pattern to use as a substitute.  I found the Knitted Patchwork Recipe by Martine Ellis and gave it a try.  I was very happy with my first square.

Knitted patchwork recipe and first square
Knitted patchwork recipe and first square

And in late June I started knitting in earnest.  I knit steadily from June 30th to mid August.

Along the way I began to worry that I would run out of yarn.  I posted an ISO (In Search Of) post on Ravelry and a few people came to my aid and sold me spare balls from their stash.  These new colours got added into the panels.

 

Eventually I had 2 completed panels and then I began to add edging on 3 sides as the pattern instructed.

And here is a view of the panels with edging complete.

Completed panels (edging complete)
Completed panels (edging complete)

I then tried to figure out what to do next.  I read and re-read the pattern for the shoulder/sleeve section and was stumped.  In the original sweater the designer had more squares in her panels than I had in mine.  So after searching through pattern notes and looking online I resorted to emailing the designer for help.  Luckily Sally Melville kindly answered my questions and has provided some clarifications to help me move forward.  However, I have not yet had the time to devote to implementing her directions and starting the shoulder section of the sweater.  But I am hoping to get to that soon.  I look forward to sharing my finished sweater in a future blog post.

 

 

 

 

Fixing my purse

Fixing my purse

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I am in love with my large Healthy Back Bag purse.  Sadly the company has decided that they will no longer offer this size for sale.  So when my last purse died I scoured various sites so I could adopt a gently used purse.  I managed to find an affordable one in the correct size.  However, on my previous purse, the company had changed the closure on the flap pocket to use magnets.  But on my new to me gently used purse the flap closure uses velcro.  Unfortunately, the velcro was damaging my clothes as the nylon dresses I like to wear can easily be snagged/rubbed/pilled by the velcro.

I hatched a plan.  I decided to remove the velcro and replace it with magnetic snaps that I would sew on.  This lead me to do some online shopping and order a bunch of different magnetic snaps of various types and sizes.  When the order arrived July 1st (a Canadian holiday – Happy Canada Day) and so I set to work.

While struggling to get the seam ripper between the velcro and the purse I was obviously a bit too forceful and I ripped the purse 🙁  Sadness.

This required a bit of a rethink.  I dug out my large patch weaving tool and positioned it on my purse.  Then I used some strong nylon thread to create a strengthening repair of the tear.  (It is crude but hopefully effective.)

Next I dug out some embroidery floss to weave with.  I selected the dark purple thread bundle from the package on the left.  I was expecting it to weave up as a nice plaid.

Using some tailors chalk I then marked out the area I wanted to cover with my weaving on the pocket of my purse.  My goal was to roughly centre the patch of weaving, so I used a tape measure to check my lines. I was also hoping that the chalk lines would help me make a tidy square.

After planning my area I threaded the needle and began warping the mending loom.  There were a few challenges.  A few of the hooks on the mending loom were twisting over each other.  In addition, the dark purple was hard to see well against the black.  My needle was also a bit large and very sharp (there was some minor blood letting when I pricked my finger.)

I did get the loom threaded though there are a couple of crossed threads and one missed hook.  By the time I discovered those problems I was onto the weaving.  I figured that these flaws would be minor and so I continued on.

After a bit of effort the rectangle was woven. I did find the chalk lines were helpful to guide my stitches and keep the edges relatively straight. I would definitely use chalk to mark out my border again.  After removing the loom I sewed the pocket closed and then sewed in all my tails.

Finally it was time to work on my magnetic snaps.  I poked through the selection of various snaps that I purchased, and decided to use these metal snaps for the flap.  I also decided that I would install two snaps instead of a single snap in the middle of the flap. (My old purse had a single snap.).  I threaded my needle with the strong black nylon thread and sewed on the snaps.  (This was harder than expected as my needle frequently got jammed in the eye hole on the snaps.)

My project was a bit more involved than I originally expected.  But I am delighted with my purple patch and the new magnetic snaps on my purse.

I hope this post inspires you to repair something that you love and breathe some new life into it.

 

Spring shopping (Happy Birthday to me!)

Spring shopping (Happy Birthday to me!)

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I have been shopping with abandon in the past month or so.  This is funded by a bonus at work and birthday cash.  And so I have added some new equipment, yarn and fibre to my stash.

First off, I adopted a new eSpinner.  I purchased an Ashford Super Jumbo from Susan Allen in the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild.  Susan is an Ashford dealer and made the transaction really easy for me.  I got the espinner in early April and I’m still getting to know her.  I also ordered a 3D printed bobbin from MJFYIndiraDesign. The bobbin arrived really quickly and was really well made.  I’m very happy with it.

On the same day I picked up the espinner I visited a number of stops on the Maple Run Tour.  I had a fun time visiting the various stops and at one of them I stumbled across Stitch Noir‘s booth and adopted this awesome yarn.

Dyed sock yarn and gradient set
Dyed sock yarn and gradient set

Another tool that I have been considering investing in is a Rail Reed.  The Rail Reed is a reed for a loom that lets you adjust your warp density on the fly as you are weaving. They are manufactured in Estonia and I have been thinking of getting one for months. Just after I decided to invest my money in the espinner instead of the reed, a used reed popped up on Ravelry and I was able to adopt it.  I have not tried it yet but am looking forward to doing so after my current project is completed.

Rail Reed for weaving
Rail Reed for weaving

I also decided to invest some of my bonus from work on a bulk yarn order from Evergreen Export (aka S Silk on Facebook). I have to say that doing an international money transfer was a bit of a stressful adventure for me.  But it was worth the

Yarn order from Evergreen Export (India)
Yarn order from Evergreen Export (India)

Next up came an email from Les Belles Bouclettes, a local Mohair farmer offering me a discount coupon for my birthday.  I had purchased some washed mohair from this farm last fall and spun it up with some Gotland roving to make a delicious yarn. So I was happy to get some more fibre to play with (though I haven’t had time to wash it yet).

I received some birthday money and invested some of it in yet more fiber, this time from Adele’s Locks of Love (aka Adele Forward).  There is 1 pound of Superwash Merino tencel, 1 pound of Superwash Merino and 3 pounds of Superwash Merino Nylon blend roving. (Each bag is 1 pound of dyed fiber. ) And I purchased some yarn from another Indie Dyer Fiber Pusher Fairy.

Dyed fiber from Adele Forward
Dyed yarn from Fiber Pusher Fairy.

 

Then in early May it was time for the first fiber festival of the season The Forecast Calls for Yarn and Fiber. Early entrants to the show received a gift bag with some freebies. I saw Jan and Ann at the show and Ann was nice enough to gift me the knitting needles she received in her gift bag since she does not knit.

I got some awesome fibres.  It was fun to shop from some favourite vendors including Karberry Farm, Mapi Creations and Sassy Yarns.  I was especially taken with the Merino Cashmere Silk roving from Sassy Yarns. Once I felt it with my hand I could not resist it as it was amazingly soft. The rich colours are wonderful as well.

So… as you can see my stash is bulging and my wallet is empty. I am content and looking forward to using my new tools and transforming these delicious yarns and fibres into projects. Thanks for reading this long post about my various shopping exploits.

 

 

Electric fringe twister
Electric Fringe Twister

Electric Fringe Twister

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I have a confession to make… I seem to be falling behind on my fringe twisting duties.  It is a bit of a tedious job and requires sitting at the table and focusing on the task.  In the winter I find our kitchen quite cold, and so I have been putting off working on fringes.

Three woven pieces with untwisted fringe
Three pieces of weaving needing fringe twisting

Recently another weaver was talking about how much they loved their electric fringe twister.  I had a look on Amazon and ended up ordering a Lacis fringe twisting tool.  It was about $45 Canadian.

Electric fringe twister
Electric fringe twister out of the box

The tool uses two AA batteries.  There are two modes and you select them by pushing the button to the 1 or 2 position.  The 1 position rotates each black spindle and twists each cord separately. The 2 position rotates the entire head and twists all the strands together.  I found a short video showing these two actions online here.

Before I could get started, I needed to prepare the piece of weaving.  I selected one of the pieces of weaving and folded it in half, lining up both ends. I add a heavy book to the weaving to help keep the pieces aligned.  Next I use an open toothed comb (I think it is from the pet shop in the cat/dog tools) to untangle the warp strands.  Once the strands are combed out you can see that the length of warp left on each side is not the same.  I trim the warp threads so that both ends will have fringes of the same length.

Once the warp threads are trimmed, I move the book and reposition the weaving so there is only a single end of the weaving on the table. The book is re-positioned to weight things down and I am ready to try out the electric fringe twister.

Depressing the bottom of the black spindles opens a hook at the end and I am easily able to position a bundle of threads on the spindle. I repeat this for each of the four spindles. Then I move the button to position 1 and add twist to the strands.  Once there is enough twist, I remove two adjacent bundles from the fringe twister, tie a knot on the end, and then let them twist together. This is then repeated for the other two bundles attached to the fringe twister.  Yeah!  The first two pieces of twisted fringe are done.

Next I repeated this across the width of the weaving. When that was complete, I went back and gently trimmed the ends of each piece of fringe to tidy them up.  (Before trimming they look a bit ratty because the warp threads are different lengths.)  I rotated the weaving and repeated all these steps on the other end of the weaving.

It took me 30 minutes to complete the fringe twisting and trimming on the second end of the piece of weaving.  I do think the electric fringe twister is slightly faster than manual fringe twisting.  And it is easier on your hands as you are doing fewer repetitive movements.  So those are both very positive things.  (I did get faster and my last piece of weaving it was about 35 minutes to twist both edges and do the trimming.)

On the cons side of things… I found the fringe twister motor noise to be a bit annoying as it seems very loud. I also found that because the unit is round, that it rocks on the table.  This makes it more challenging to attach the warp bundles to the black spindles. More importantly, a few times when I hit the switch nothing happened.  I had to shake the unit to get the power to come on.  (I guess the batteries are loose, so the power connection is flaky.) It is very disappointing that a brand new unit does not function well.

After trying the electric fringe twister for the first time I give it an 8/10 rating overall.  The first night I twisted the fringe on one first piece of weaving and started work on a second piece before calling it a night.  On the next day I finished up the fringe on pieces two and three.  And I sewed a tag on the one piece that is shawl length.  The other two pieces are longer and should eventually get turned into a sewn garment of some kind.  Here they are all laid out together.  Next up for all of them is wet finishing.

Three pieces of weaving with twisted fringes
Three pieces of weaving with twisted fringe completed.

 

Christmas card for Antje

Christmas card for Antje

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Our group did a Christmas card exchange again this year and I was partnered with Antje.  (You can see Antje’s post with the card she made for me here.) My first card attempt turned into a disappointing failure.  After casting about for more inspiration I decided to try using some of my handspun to make a card.

I cut out some felt the size of a blank card, and sketched out a design using chalk.  Then I decided that would be challenging to sew.  So I loaded a larger piece of felt into a frame and started over.

Supplies on the table including yarn, felt, beads, scissors
Gathering my supplies

Next I did a chalk sketch.  I outlined the size of my working area and the tree element I wanted on the card.

Chalk sketch of tree and size of card
Chalk sketch of my tree

The handspun I wanted to use was a very pretty singles.  It was quite bulky and not really suitable for traditional sewing as it would fray if tried to sew through the felt with it.  As a result I used a needle and thread to tack down the handspun at each edge of the tree.  (I actually had 2 working needles going, one for each side of the tree.)  The handspun was thick and thin which made the tree somewhat textured.  I dug around in my stash and found this very crazy gold fizz yarn that I used to make a bold star.

At this point I decided my card was a bit too plain.  So I bought some beads and then started playing with laying them on the felt.  I took my project to one of our guild socials and got some feedback from the ladies there about what beads to use.  Once the beads were selected, I started sewing them on.  There are dark beads as shimmery snowflakes and some white snow below the tree.  When adding the snow at the base of the tree I purposely changed the direction of the beads instead of doing plain rows.

Next I cut out the panel and made sure it was the correct size for my card.

Ann suggested that I sew the panel onto the card.  That way if Antje wanted to repurpose the panel it could be easily removed from the card.  (Unlike gluing which would be more permanent and possibly not good for the felt.)  I used some clips to hold the panel to the card and sewed it down at each corner.  I then decided to add a couple more stitches along the long sides.  Sewing the panel to the card was easy to do and the threads don’t show very much on the front of the card against the dark felt.  (Thanks Ann for the terrific suggestion.)  Success!

My next job was to send the card.  Unfortunately Canada Post went on strike and so mailing my card was delayed.  I did attempt to send the card via courier.  After waiting in a long line I was quoted a price of $117, which is crazy.  So the card went back home with me to wait till the strike was over.

I was nervous about sending the card since the beads could be damaged by some of the post machines.  So I padded out the envelope with a few hand knit dish cloths and hoped for the best.  Antje let me know that my packet finally arrived at her place on December 31st.  I am resharing the photo Antje took of the card and dish cloths once they arrived in the UK.

3 My surprise exchange collection from Carlene.
3 My surprise exchange collection from Carlene.

 

 

Final patch detail view
Mending a bag

Mending a bag

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I have a few reusable shopping bags made from a light polyester fabric.  I love these bags since they fold into nice integrated pockets, fit nicely into my purse, and when unfolded they hold a lot of stuff.  I have 5 or 6 of these bags that I use all the time.

One of my bags got a hole.  Since I love the bags so much I wanted to repair it.  My first attempt at a repair was functional, but not very attractive.  I mended the bag with black thread and managed to stabilize the hole.  But it looked terrible.  I

I got the idea that one of those patch looms would be helpful.  So I ordered one.  My loom has 14 hooks and this is the contents of the kit.  The loom, some elastics, a very long and sharp needle, and a long hook.

Darning loom kit
Darning loom kit

Next I watched some videos so I could understand how to use the loom.  There are 2 methods for warping.

  • Individual warps – This method uses individual threads for each pair of warp threads.  This allows you to create stripes in the warp.  But it also leaves you with lots of tails to sew in.  This video provides an overview.
  • Continuous warp – This method uses a single thread to warp the loom.  It is tacked into the base fabric as you go and there are only 2 tails to deal with when the weaving is completed.  This video provides an overview.

I opted to use the continuous warp method because I didn’t want to have to deal with sewing in so many ends when I was done.  I stretched my fabric over the wooden disk and then setup the loom.  Then I started warping using some white embroidery floss.  You will noticed that I did not use all the hooks on the loom.  I used enough hooks to ensure that my patch was larger than my previous repair.

With the warping completed, it was time to start weaving.  I selected an orange embroidery thread and started.  As you rotate the hooks on the loom the warp threads change so that you are going over/under different threads.  After weaving a row I used a comb to push down the weft.  (If you don’t have a small comb I suggest a dinner fork could be pressed into service for this job.)

To start the next row, you then flip the hooks from left to right (or right to left) to change the shed.  You also need to tack the weft thread into the fabric you are patching before threading the needle though the shed to create your next row.

I found sewing down the thread before starting the row to be difficult, especially as my weft rows got closer to the loom because the working surface was so small.  When threading the needle through the shed the videos also suggest that you push the needle through the loom eye end first.  I tried using the needle both ways and agreed that the eye first direction was easier because the pointed end of the needle would sometimes get stuck on a warp thread.

I continued weaving until my patch was completed and there was no more room for weft rows.  I then removed the hook portion of the loom and set it aside.  But I left the fabric stretched over the wooden disc.  At this point my patch is really a small pocket on my fabric.  Next I carefully sewed down each of the loops at the top of the warp threads and secured the top of the patch to the base fabric.

It was now time to turn my attention to the inside of the project.  I sewed in the tails and then trimmed them.  (No photos.  My work is passable but not really photogenic.)  And here is my completed patch.  It blends in nicely with the bag and I’m sure that it will help to strengthen my earlier repair.

Because I had my sewing stuff out, I also did a bit of mending on the attached pouch of another one of my bags.  The pouch fabric had shredded 🙁  These photos show the pouch before I attempted to mend it.

Again, I used some white embroidery thread and mended across the ripped area.  It was challenging to create a repair that would not lead to further shredding of the fabric.  I also wanted to avoid bunching the fabric so that the pocket would continue to function properly.  My final repair is not the prettiest.  But I think it will work.

I am happy with my new patch.  The patch looks cute, it is not too bulky and I think it is stronger than my previous repair.

The mending loom worked OK.  Flipping the hooks from side to side was harder than I expected.  (I am not sure if that is my fault or because I have a cheap knock off loom.)  I also feel that the working surface was a bit small.  As a result I went ahead and ordered a larger loom.  I will be ready for next time I need to apply a patch.

Do you have some mending that needs to be done?  If so I encourage you to tackle it.  There is a great sense of accomplishment when something goes from the mending pile to being back into service.