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Author: carleneruns

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.

 

 

Active Meditation: Weaving a Couple of Shawls

Active Meditation: Weaving a Couple of Shawls

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Three years ago when I started my current job I bonded with two other ladies who had just started at the company as well.  The three of us shared many of the same interests and were a great team.  We all work from home but managed to meet up in the office or go out to lunch once in a while.  And we tried to support each other.

Recently our company had a layoff and one of our happy little Dream Team was let go.  It was a complete surprise.  I was upset.  To deal with my churning emotions I decided to pull out some yarn and make a shawl for my friend who was downsized.  This is the pile of yarn I started with.

Selection of blue and white yarns
Selection of blue and white yarns

Luckily I already had a black warp on the loom so I started winding some bobbins and then sat down to weave.  As I began to play with the colours and textures I started feeling better.  Calmer.  Happier.  More balanced.

In two sessions I wove the shawl.  Then I removed the piece laid it out for a look.  (I had woven 96″ on the loom.  After I took it off the piece measured 16.75″ x 91.5″)  Next I twisted the fringe and  sewed on a label.

Our little band of sisters had arranged to get together for lunch.  So I decided that I should make a second shawl for my other co-worker.  I went back to my stash, dug out some new yarns and set to work.  This time around I opted for oranges and rusts.  I also redid the threading of the warp to make the weaving wider.

Again, I spent a couple of solid sessions at the loom weaving.  I chose a clasped weft technique and also added in snippets of this bulky orange handspun to add texture and contrast.  With clasped weft you bring the shuttle through the open shed, pickup the second yarn and then bring the shuttle back through the same shed.  You can adjust where the two yarns interlock.  It is a fun technique to use.

Again, I did two solid sessions of weaving.  (I had woven 81.5″ on the loom.  After I took it off the piece measured 20″ x 72.5″) When I  laid it out to have a look at it I was very pleased with the colours and textures.  Next was twisting the fringe and sewing on my label.  The final step was washing both shawls to wet finish the fabric.  When fabric is wet finished the weave tightens up and the yarn blooms.  This can result in further shrinkage.  (I will admit that I don’t know how much shrinkage there was as I forgot to remeasure them before giving them away.) After washing the fabric was hung up to dry.

Our Friday lunch date arrived and the three of us had a lovely time hanging out together.  The ladies were thrilled with their new shawls.  And I have to tell you that creating these works and then gifting them was a real blessing for me.  The act of being creative and making something for my friends helped me to process the emotions associated with the layoff.  If you have read this far, I hope that the next time you are unsettled you consider digging out something and being creative.  It really does help.

Marta with her shawl
Marta with her shawl

 

Ruth with her shawl
Ruth with her shawl

 

Marta, Carlene and Ruth hanging out
Marta, Carlene and Ruth hanging out
Recent Shopping

Recent Shopping

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I have a confession to make…. I love to shop for craft supplies and love a bargain.  This had lead to some more items being added to my stash in the past few weeks.

Recently our guild had a destash sale that was combined with our Monday guild social.  Of course I found a few treasures to adopt.  The top right bag is wool roving dyed by one of the ladies in our guild.  The other bags are all silks.  (The bottom right is 200g of silk.  The small baggies are batts of carded sari silk.  And the white bag at top left is silk lapp.)  There will be many hours of fun from this pile of fibre.  I may even try to dye that white silk.

Wool roving and sari silk from the guild destash
Wool roving and sari silk from the guild destash

I also went to Value Village and found a couple of items to adopt.  The prefelt fabric was intriguing.  It may be for upholstery or sewing.  But it seemed like it had possibilities and so got put in my cart.  The bags of yarn were a nice bargain.  The top bag is Lion Brand Scarfie that I plan to weave with.  The bottom bags are random fizz accent yarns that will also find their way into my weaving projects.

I was browsing Ravelry and spotted someone selling a copy of this book about plain weave.  The title is Plain Weave (60 Patterns for Mastering the Basic Technique) by Tina Ignell.  I had never heard of this book and I was intrigued.  My Saori looms have 2 harnesses and so I do a lot of plain weave.  I ended up buying a copy of this book from Amazon and it arrived very quickly.  I haven’t had a chance to really dive into the book yet.  But at first glance it is a beautiful book with a nice clean layout.

Last weekend we went to London Ontario to visit our families.  We carved out a bit of time (in between visits) for me to pop into a local yarn store called London Yarns.  Of course I found a few more treasures that wanted to come home with me.  All the balls of yarn were on sale and only the 2 skeins in the photo were regular priced yarns.  I think I did all right.

18 balls of yarn
Sale yarns from London Yarns (in London Ontario)

My CH60 Saori loom is currently empty.  Once I put a new warp put on it, I am sure that some of these new yarns will be finding their way onto the loom.  New materials provide so many possibilities and spark creative thinking.  I think that is why I love shopping for supplies.

 

Three balls of Lion Brand Rapido Yarn in purple/blue
Rapido Yarn and a Bird Fibre Update

Rapido Yarn and a Bird Fibre Update

Comments 12 comments

Recently I was at Value Village and I spotted this super bulky yarn.  I didn’t have a use for it as yarn, but thought it would be nice to spin.  I have a fondness for blues and purples.

Lion Brand Rapido is a Super Bulky yarn.  This colour is called Tangy and it is 74% acrylic, 22% wool and 4% other fibres.

Three balls of Lion Brand Rapido Yarn in purple/blue
Three balls of Lion Brand Rapido Yarn

The yarn has a thin black binder or ply thread.  That black thread needed to be removed before I could spin it.  So I sat down and slowly pulled and then cut the black thread away.  I was left with three balls of roving.  I then started spinning.  After a few days work I had two bobbins of singles.  As you can see, one bobbin is much fuller than the other.

Next I started plying.  Initially I did a simple 2 ply yarn, using both bobbins.  When the smaller bobbin of singles ran out I was finished with the  2 ply.  With the remaining singles I made a 3 ply yarn by chain plying the singles.

The completed yarns look nice and I love both the 2 ply and 3 ply yarns.

In other news…. I have been continuing to monitor the Bird Nesting Balls (see Bird Nesting Balls 2024 for more info).  We have many American Goldfinches in the yard.  The Goldfinches diet is 100% seeds.  As a result, they time their nesting to coincide with seed availability which means they nest later than most of the other birds.  Recently I have seen the Goldfinches collecting wool, alpaca, bear and dog fur from my nesting balls.  Yeah!  (Getting photos of them collecting the fibre is much harder.)

Our yard has also seen a number of other visitors.  In addition to the steady stream of birds and Raccoons, we have had a fox visiting us quite regularly and last week this bear popped in looking for food.  I was sitting at my desk about 3 m from the bird feeder and their appearance was quite the surprise.  Luckily we were able to convince it move along by making a bit of noise and the feeders were undamaged.  I am waiting a while before putting out more attractive smelling suet or peanuts though.

 

 

Weaving
Loom with a view: adopting a new Saori WX60 loom

Loom with a view: adopting a new Saori WX60 loom

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A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to find a used Saori CH60 loom.  That loom lives in a spare room in our house. I wrote this post Weaving a Cowl for a Christmas present about using that loom.

On the weekends we usually go to our cabin.  The cabin is only a 30 minute drive from home so we go there, do yard work (amount varies seasonally) and then have a meal and a nice quiet night.  We return home the next morning to 3 cats who are very happy to see us.  The cabin is basic.  There is no TV, though there is internet.  While there I tend to do a craft of some kind.  Last year we added a screened porch to the cabin and I began to dream about sitting on the porch and doing some spinning or weaving.  Sadly our porch project started late (getting planning permission was hard) and was finished just before Christmas.  So we have been waiting for warmer weather to arrive before getting it setup.

So I started shopping around for a folding loom.  I had my eye on a Saori WX60.  Luckily one of my friends had bought one and it didn’t suit her weaving style so I was able to buy hers.  (My friend was planning to return to using her rigid heddle loom.  Whereas I sold my rigid heddle looms after adopting my Saori loom because I no longer had time for them.)  I picked up the loom at the end of March and I’m really happy with it.  Here you can see the loom on the porch.  I threaded it up the first day.

One of the nice features of the Saori WX60 loom is that it folds.  And you can fold it up with a project on the loom.  This makes the loom easier to store, and to relocate to another place.  I am still getting the hang of folding/unfolding the loom, and find it easier to get help doing that.  But I am sure that with practice it will become a solo task.

The loom weighs 13.5kg (29.8lb) and has the following dimensions:

  • When open the loom is 76cm (30″) wide, 76cm (30″) deep and 98.5cm (39″) tall.
  • When folded the loom is 76cm (30″) wide, 25cm (10″) deep and 106cm (42″) tall.

I cleared a space just inside the cabin where the folded loom could be stored.  I also setup a nice rolling cart to contain my tools.  This makes it easy to move the loom outside or inside as necessary.  I use a regular chair with the loom and prefer to add a nice cushion to the chair as well.  (Lifting your feet to treadle puts more pressure on the bony parts of your butt.)

The first weekend I had the loom I got it threaded.  On the next visit to the cabin it was time to start weaving.  This shows my porch and inside the cabin weaving locations.

Over the course of a few visits I proceeded to weave, changing colours and textures as I felt like it.  This is a highlight reel of the resulting weaving progress.

I am now nearing the end of the warp.  Originally the warp was on a square tube on the beam near the floor.  (You can see more details about the Saori warps on square tubes in this blog post.)  When the warp unwinds from the tube you transfer it to a rod so you can maintain warp tension.  In the left photo you can see that the warp is tied onto a rod that is located close to the beam near the floor.  As I continue weaving the rod is getting closer and closer to the shafts on the loom.  I have just a few more inches of weaving to do.  When I finish the rod should be just behind the heddles.  This loom design minimizes warp waste.  When I am done weaving I will be able to hemstitch my cloth and remove it from the loom.  The remaining threads will be trimmed slightly and twisted into a nice fringe for my cloth.

I should have some finished cloth to share soon.

Dog fur and bear on the bird feeder near the house. The alpaca and wool nesting balls are behind.
Bird Nesting Balls 2024 (the experiment continues)

Bird Nesting Balls 2024 (the experiment continues)

Comments 12 comments

Last year I wrote about my experiences putting out various fibres for the birds in Bird Nesting Balls.  This spring I have put out some new fibres to continue my experiments.

Our guild has a destash area where donated yarn and fibre is placed in our studio.  Members can adopt items and are requested to make a reasonable donation to our guild in return.  Someone had left a number of bags of dog fur on the shelf.  It was very soft, but also very short.  Pretty much unspinnable to me.  But I thought it would be perfect for a fresh set of bird nesting balls.

While discussing this plan with my guild mates a bag of Bear fiber was also produced and I was urged to take it.  While bear fibre sounds amazing, in reality it was very wirey and unpleasant.

Because I had quite a bit of fibre, I bought 3 metal rings designed to hold peanuts in the shell.

Bags of fur and metal bird food holders
Bags of fur and metal bird food holders

Here are the various fibres: tan dog fur, black dog fur, and bear.

 

I loaded the circular bird food holders with a blocks of Bear, black dog fur and tan dog fur.

Loading the fibre into the bird food holders
Loading the fibre into the bird food holders

Here are the holders after I stuffed them.  I also loaded a small amount of black cat fur into the blue bird holder.  (Last year the Chickadees really like the black cat fur.)  The lighter coloured fiber in the blue bird holder is llama.

Loaded fibre holders
Loaded fibre holders

Once the holders were loaded it was time to hang them up.  I spread them around the bird feeders in my front yard on April 21.  I also hung up the 2 balls I used last year, one with cream wool, and another with tan alpaca.

After a few weeks I began to notice that the holders were looking shaggy, which I assumed meant that the birds had been pulling out fibres.  But I had not witnessed the birds gathering fibres.

We have many hungry Raccoons in the neighbourhood and despite the baffle on my pole they manage to get up on the feeder.  We also have squirrels that launch themselves onto the pole and claw at things.  I recently noticed the wool holder was on the ground and falling to pieces.  So I went to the store and bought a metal cage designed to serve suet cakes.  I filled it with the wool and hung it backup.

New metal holder with wool in it. The cream nesting ball with alpaca is behind.
New metal holder with wool in it. The cream nesting ball with alpaca is behind.

Shortly after making this upgrade to my fibre supply station, I finally noticed a Chickadee taking fibre from one of the rings.  It looks like the black dog fur is the Chickadee’s preferred fibre.

Chickadee taking black dog fur
Chickadee taking black dog fur

I also managed to capture a short video.  I apologize for my dirty windows.

 

 

 

 

Set yarn. Yarn is smooth. Excess twist is gone.
Washing Skeins

Washing Skeins

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I spin almost every day.  Partly because I love to spin.  And partly because I can easily combine spinning with TV watching time with my husband.  This results in piles of spun yarn that needs to be washed and set.  When you spin yarn, there is often excess twist in the yarn.  Washing helps that twist settle out.  Washing also helps remove any excess dye present in the fibre.  For some fibers, when you wash them they bloom quite a bit and the final yarn can be shorter and plumper than it was before washing.  The following photos show the same yarn I before and after washing.  These yarns are from my previous batch of spinning/washing.

Unset yarn. Excess energy is visible as twists in the yarn.
Unset yarn. Excess energy is visible as twists in the yarn.
Set yarn. Yarn is smooth. Excess twist is gone.
Set yarn. Yarn is smooth. Excess twist is gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It had been about 3 weeks since I last washed any yarn and my bag of unwashed skeins was getting full.  I took them upstairs to our spare bathroom for washing.  This bathroom has 2 sinks which makes washing skeins faster.

Skeins of unwashed yarn
Skeins of unwashed yarn

I dug out my equipment.   Some leave in wool wash.  And my counter top spin dryer.  I bought this spin dryer in 2013 from The Laundry Alternative and it is one of my favourite tools.  I am going to be very sad when the motor dies and it bites the dust.  But so far it is still working fine.  The wool wash is from a local company and it is a great product.  Gentle on the wool and it has a light scent that is appealing.

Bottle of Biograde Wool Wash. This is a leave in wool wash.
Bottle of Biograde leave in Wool Wash
Spin dryer and wool wash
Spin dryer and wool wash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After getting setup I started washing skeins.  I fill the sink with slightly warm water and add a glug of the wool wash.  Then I push the yarn into the water to ensure it gets fully wet.  I leave it to soak for 15-20 minutes.

Getting the yarn wet
Getting the yarn wet
Washing yarn
Washing yarn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting the yarn wet
Getting the yarn wet
Washing yarn. Some excess dye is visible in the water.
Washing yarn. Some excess dye is visible in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After washing I drain out the water and put the skeins in the spin dryer.  I have a video from a few years ago showing the spin dryer in action.

 

Sometimes when I wash skeins you can see the dye coming off the yarn.  If the water is really stained with dye I will sometimes do another rinse.  It is best to remove any excess dye before putting the yarn into a project.  This avoids unpleasant surprises later.

Washing yarn, some excess dye is visible in the water
Washing yarn. Some excess dye is visible in the water.
Washing yarn, some excess dye is visible in the water
Washing yarn. Some excess dye is visible in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After spinning out the water, I take each skein out of the spin  dryer and snap them a few times.  This involves opening up the skein and putting my wrists inside the loop.  Next I quickly move my hands outward to snap the yarn tightly.  I will then rotate the skein and repeat this a few times.  Finally I take the skein and drape it over the neck of a hanger to dry.  After a day or two I come back and rotate the skein on the hanger so that a dry area is against the neck of the hanger.  This helps the other area (previously on the neck of the hanger) to get more airflow and dry thoroughly.

Yarn in the spin dryer
Yarn in the spin dryer
Skeins of washed yarn hanging to dry
Skeins of washed yarn hanging to dry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are my 8 skeins of yarn washed and drying.  All these skeins were wound on the same skein winder.  The variation in length shows how some yarns shrink/bloom when washed.  The two shortest skeins are also the bulkiest yarns, spun as coreless corespun and then plied with thread.  Both of these bulky yarns were spun from Mystery Batts I received in my World of Wool Botany Lap Waste bag.  The coloured skeins are all Superwash Merino.  And the one cream skein is a Mohair (70%)/ Wool (20%) / Silk (10%) blend.

Repairing my fingerless gloves

Repairing my fingerless gloves

Comments 16 comments

After having a green Christmas, winter has arrived in Canada at last.  In the past week Ottawa has received a few dumps of snow.  There is definitely an Arctic chill in the air.  As a result I have been firing up the wood stove and layering up to try and keep warm.  One of my favourite winter indoor accessories are these Possum Merino fingerless gloves.  I have a couple pairs of these and sadly at some point some hungry moths have eaten some holes into this pair.

Pair of fingerless mitts with holes in them from moth damage
Pair of fingerless mitts with holes in them from moth damage
Fingerless mitt with moth hole
Moth hole in cuff of the mitt
Fingerless mitt with moth hole
Moth hole in the glove

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fingerless mitt with moth hole
Moth hole in the glove

A few years ago I repaired my husband’s fingerless gloves by darning them with embroidery thread. The repairs were functional but overall I was unhappy with the results. This time around I wanted to try a felted repair. Unfortunately I could not find my felting needles. I am sure they are safely stored somewhere in my house.

Felting needles

Luckily I was able to purchase a few needles from Jan.

Next I needed to find some wool. I picked out this lovely Gotland fleece from Dover Farm Canada.

Grey gotland locks from Dover Farm Canada.
Using my hand carders to card some grey gotland wool

I quickly carded up a few locks using my hand cards.

I now had a mass of loose wool to use for my felt repairs.

Small pile of carded wool

Patch 1 before fixing (hole visible)

With my tools gathered it was time to start work. I placed the glove onto a piece of foam (pool noodle). Then added some wool and started poking away with the felting needle.

And here is the first hole after repairing it with wool. The felting needle shows where the hole was. Now I have a nice solid glove again.

Patch 1 after fixing. No more hole. The felting needle shows where the patch is.
Patch 1 on the inside of the mitt.

Here I have turned the glove inside out and I’m showing you the back of the repair. You can see the grey fuzz of the new patch of wool.

After I completed the first hole, the new few were quite easy to do. I will include a few more before and after photos below.

Patch 2 being started. The hand shows the small amount of wool used for the repair.

Starting patch 2. In my hand is the small bit of wool I will use for the repair.

Patch #2 after fixing. No more hole. Yeah!

Patch 2 after fixing. No more hole. The felting needle shows where the patch is.
Patch 3 before starting.

Hole#3 before fixing.

Patch #3 repair in progress.

Patch 3 repair in progress. The needle shows where the work is being done.
Patch 3 after fixing. No more hole. The felting needle shows where the patch is.

Patch #3 after a bit of poking.

Patch #3 on the inside of the glove.

Patch 3 after fixing showing the inside of the mitt.
Patch3 after fixing. This shows the inside of the mitt and how fluffy the new wool patch is.

Patch #3 from the side. This shows how fuzzy the inside of the mitt after adding the felted repair.

It only took me a couple of minutes to repair my gloves. Gathering the supplies (felting needles, wool and foam) took more work than the actual repair.

Fingerless gloves after repair. No more holes!

My fingerless gloves after being repaired. I fixed three moth holes and one thin spot that I found when checking over the mitts.

After the repair the gloves look a bit shabby.

Fingerless gloves after repair. No more holes!
Fingerless gloves after repair. No more holes!

But they feel comfortable.

I am delighted that my fingerless gloves are fixed and hope they give me many more years of service. I also hope the hungry moths stay far away. But if they don’t, at least I know I can fix any damage they do.

No Scrap Left Behind

No Scrap Left Behind

Comments 15 comments

I am one of those people who does not like to sit idle.  So I try to bring a small project with me to keep my hands busy while waiting.  Usually that is a small knitting project, and one of the easiest portable projects is knitting small dish cloths.  I knit in the car (as a passenger of course), while sitting and chatting with friends, during Zoom meetings for work, etc.  My go to pattern is called Corrugated Cloth which I knit on 4.5 mm needles with 33 stitches in a row.  So far in 2023 I’ve knit over 225 dish cloths and there are still a couple of months left.

piles of hand knit dish cloths in many colours
Hand knit dish cloths

I had been accumulating odd balls of scraps.  Bits of yarn too small to make a full dish cloth.  My scrap yarn bag had filled to the top and so I decided to make a scrap blanket.

Bag with many balls of assorted scrap yarns
Bag with assorted balls of cotton scrap yarn

After browsing patterns and projects on Ravelry I picked the pattern Excavation, but with a couple of modifications.  I opted to omit the fringe and instead knit the blanket continuously.  I also opted to alternate 2 balls of yarn, doing 2 rows with the first colour, then 2 rows of the second colour.  This resulted in a nicely striped blanket.  Often I joined in new yarn mid-row using a Russian join to splice the yarns together.  Generally I alternated scraps with a bit of white in them with scraps that were darker (no white).

Small knitting work in progress showing 2 types of yarn and alternating rows
Start of my scrap blanket. There are 2 balls of yarn and you knit 2 rows with one ball, then 2 rows of the next ball.

About a month later, my cotton scrap blanket was done.  The finished project is 46″  x 48″ (116.8 cm x 121.9 cm).  It was a very relaxing knit and the growth of the blanket was aided by some long Zoom training sessions for work.

randomly striped blanket knit from scrap cotton
Randomly striped blanket knit from scrap yarn

Now that the blanket is complete, I was evaluating my bag of scraps and there are still quite a few left.  I think I used 2/3 of the initial bag of scraps in the blanket.  I also found another bag with scraps and a couple of odd balls.  Another scrap blanket is on the horizon.  Maybe next time I’ll use a single colour to contrast with the scraps.  I will keep this in mind next time I’m shopping for more cotton yarn and see if I can find a main yarn I’d like to use.  I wonder what colour I should pick?  (I am open to suggestions!)

Large pile of scrap yarn and odd balls
Current pile of scrap yarn and odd balls of cotton