Sorry about the blog glitches. I know that there have been troubles downloading patterns and such. I'm working on it as I've got a really scrumptious new yarn that I'm dying to preview. Coming soon.

Butterfly Moebius from the Knitter’s Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes in Swiss Mountain Tussah [in hummingbird] Knit by Pamela Subotincic.

Mara writes -
"In playing w/ it during a try-on session, I determined the center spot between my shoulder blades hosts the twist detail best. I reworked things a bit by stringing an elastic thru one edge for stability. This stabilizes the draping, effectively injecting a bit of collagen into the flipped over part where the moebius turns. So now I’ve resolved to wear it w/ the flat span across my chest, instead of across my back. Showcasing that ikat effect on the front of the piece makes it totally stunning. "

The striping is particularly wonderful in this one, don't you think?

Top Row: Topaz, Ocean, Berry, Ruby, Amethyst, Wine, Chocolate, Ebony
Bottom Row: Ivory, Smoke, Salt Spray, Straw, Pumpkin, Cedar, Moss

We've also added three new variegated colourways to our collection.

from left to right
Orchid - creams and corals
Cezanne - rich golds, reds, turquoise with hints of greens and purples.
Labrador - dark brown, grays and blueberry

in Fleece Artist Merino Sliver, Mugs by Laura McLean

Cross section with interior

I'm envious. hint, hint. (Valentines day is coming up and I don't need any chocolates, honey)

My husband makes felt by layering wool sliver in a grid. This piece had a core of cheese cloth in the middle with 4 layers on each side in a plaid pattern. Then he rolls it up in a piece of non-felting fabric and sprays it with very hot soapy water.

Then the fun begins, the part that 10 year old boys get a kick out of. He beats the crap out of it - first rolling it gently and by the end thumping it heartily. Every so often he unrolls and changes the direction of the log, adding more hot soapy water.

After a loose fabric has been formed, he carefully places the piece in an old fashion washing machine and runs a load. It's important that an older style washer is used as the fancy new HE washers don't agitate the same way.

Voila! - inch thick, indestructible felt.

From Top Left:
Hummingbird, Pewter, Hemlock, Safari, Stardust, Morgana

HM

Take a look at this view from the dye house. Looks like the end of the world, doesn't it?

Our Fleece Artist Studio is currently under mandatory evacuation due to a large forest fire in the area. We hope this to be brief as the winds have calmed and water bombers are working to contain the blaze.
We would like to thank everyone for their concern.

HM

But on the other hand, it kind of defeats the delight of the process of knitting. For many of us, that is what it is all about. Tactile meditation. Prayer almost.

So Knitting Machine - Friend or Foe?

Adrienne from Perl Grey says friend. While machine knitting does look different from hand knitting, it has a place. She has had great success using machines for large felted rugs, something where the machine knit look doesn't show up anyway.

This post was prompted by a shawl by Jo, owner of Crafty Cottage in the UK. Look at what she made on her knitting machine.

She writes:
"I made this scarf/shawl yesterday on the knitting machine – it would have taken forever doing it by hand and I wanted to get it done for today as it’s a present for my mum – so I did 111 stitches and 480 rows with 2 hanks of Sea Silk in Paris. Then undid every 11 stitch et voila (I got that idea from the Clapotis scarf on Knitty). It took an hour and a half from start to finish, no idea how long by hand (I started and finished it on tension 6 and then moved up to tension 10 for the rest, so it would be similar to 3mm needles). "

ahh. It kinda seems pointless to do anything like this by hand doesn't it? I've just never had much luck getting these machines to run smoothly. I'll get a couple of rows done, then it skips some stitches well, you get the picture. I always end up feeling that it would be less of a pain to just knit it by hand, even though I know it will take far longer.

Maybe I just tame my knitting machine, stroke it and get to know it a bit better? hum.

We realised the other day that we can no longer call ourselves "maidens" since we are both married with children. So are we "hand matrons" now? Oh dear, that sounds so dreary...

Shown in Casbah from left to right:
Ireland, Victoria, Aurora, Twilight, Merlin

I know that my "subtle series" of tonal colours has been missing from my colourways page for some time. Until we get those up, here are our current colours for your reference.

From top left to bottom right:
Ebony , Cedar, Ocean, Topaz, Pumpkin, Berry, Amethyst, Straw, Moss, Smoke, Ivory

HM
_

She writes:
"I have long been a fan of your yarns, and wanted to send a photo of a simple project that turned out beautifully. It is a simple mistake rib scarf made out of one skein of Great Big Sea. I always get lovely comments on it, so thank you for your efforts in making such beautiful material."

why thanks. This is a fine example of totally wearable fiber art. Doesn't this scarf show that sometimes simple is best, especially when working with hand dyed yarns? Let the yarn speak for itself.

"This just came off my needles the day before yesterday and it makes me so happy! It uses two skeins of Sea Silk (Woodland) on size 4 needles. When this yarn begged me to take it home (from Windsor Button in Massachusetts), I was determined to use it for something that would take maximum advantage of it. I looked everywhere for ideas, but no designs I found seemed just right. I borrowed all three of Barbara Walker's knitting treasuries from the library, and swatched and sketched like crazy. I settled on two motifs from her second book. I borrowed the border and top-down Faroese-style shoulder shaping from a Lucy Neatby pattern... After that came a lot of time with an Excel spreadsheet charting out ideas. I found the most logical place to end the shawl based on where all the different motifs in each area came to the end of a full repetition, which wouldn't have been the case had the shawl been either a little shorter or a little longer, and amazingly didn't run out of yarn before I got there. The ball of yarn I had left over at the end was about the size of a large marble (a shooter, we used to call them). So I guess I succeeded in making the most I could out of it. I love the shimmer in this yarn, especially in the stockinette areas, and the gentle way it radiates the warmth of your skin.

Someone asked me how I came up with this (my first lace shawl and my first design ever), and the answer I gave is that I asked the yarn what it wanted to be and this was its answer. I call it Feathers of the Phoenix. "

So much thought and effort went into creating this masterpiece, I just know that it will inspire others. Can you believe that this is her first lace shawl project? Jeri has made this pattern available on her newly created website "A la Kisala Designs".

Well done :)

She writes " It was greatly influenced by Sivia Harding's RiverRock scarf pattern, and the beads I purchased from Ellen at Earthfaire ." She gives very clear directions as well as tips for working with the beads.

Read more on Kristina's Blog Bespoke by Brouhaha. .

Kathy N in sunny southern Alberta writes,

"I bought your amazing Mini Maiden yarn when I was on holiday in Victoria BC this year. I wanted to knit something simple that would show off the gorgeous colours - and after much deliberation settled on the Cherry Leaf Shawl from Victorian Lace today. I just had to write to say thank you for your beautiful creation :)" Well, thank you for sharing your beautiful work. Love to see it. Kind of looks metallic, doesn't it?

See more on Kathy's blog .

As you may know, we have a number of yarns that contain seacell. We really like the fibre for spectacular hand, drape, luster and because it makes silk a little bit "sticky" so that it is easier to work with.

In a previous post, I commented on the health benefit claims of the manufacturer. I have had no reason to doubt them, knowing how wonderful our Sea Silk line feels to wear. We've even got a new yarn - Double Sea - a DK weight 70% Silk, 30% Seacell yarn that I'm happily working with. If you doubt that seacell has seaweed in it, you can try washing the fibre; it certainly smells like seaweed when wet!

I think that it's interesting that with an increasing interest in "alternative fibres" there seems to be backlash against them. Bamboo? Cultivated soy? Organic Wool? Even the carbon emissions let off by sheep have been touted as problematic. Sustainability is complex, but at Hand Maiden and Fleece Artist we're doing our best to make good choices and communicate to our customers honestly.

Our seacell fibres are great to work with, feel good to wear and have been certified by the European Union as a reduced-impact fibre. The health claims are currently unresolved. Whatever the conclusion, we feel good about the product, largely due to the great response we've gotten from our customers.

Treehugger has an interesting response to this story here: