Saturday, March 31, 2007

... and the Wedding Shawl is Done!

Here it is!

Hooray for sunny days, they make pictures a lot easier. And here's a photo that shows a little detail of the shadow-weave...



Yum yum yum. As I said to my customer - I am just tickled pink with this shawl! Twisting the fringe takes almost as long as it takes to weave the darn thing, but it would look odd without it, I think. And a short, hem-stitched loose fringe doesn't feel right either, though the yarn would stand up to it ok. The twisted fringe just looks more finished on a dressy shawl to my eye.

Off to get some work done on a throw that is currently on my big loom and a bamboo scarf that is all set to go on my little loom. Hooray for Saturdays!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Wedding Shawl and Mr. Conall

So the commissioned wedding shawl is under way!

Yum. Really makes me think of spring - especially with a new little batch of crocus up in the yard today. This is the kind of project where I catch myself weaving slowly because I'm enjoying it so much. Whoops!

I realized recently that I haven't taken many photos of Conall. Probably because he hates the camera and it inevitably makes him cry. And he's got such a sweet smile, I wish I could catch him smiling! But I did take this one this morning - at least he's not pouting (about to, though). Not a very good pic of Bella (sorry, kiddo) - finger in her mouth.

He's a handsome little bald devil (in my so unbiased opinion, of course, lol) - he actually looks remarkably like Bella did as a baby, just more beefed up than her (he was two pounds bigger than her when he was born, after all) and more boyish.

Nice blankey, huh? Courtesy of Tio Ernesto and Tia Lexi, very nice present (there's a hat to match, too).

Monday, March 26, 2007

Bamboo, Part Two

Wow, is this ever a popular fiber! And I can see why, I absolutely love it, glad to see that other folks do, too...

I'm saying this because I got another custom order - yippee! At this rate I'm never going to manage to stock my store or build up inventory for a show. Not that I'm complaining. :) Anywho, it's going to look a lot like this scarf in my etsy shop:

But using a more chocolate-y colored yarn. I'll post a pic when it's done!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Bamboo, I love you!

So, I've actually gotten *another* custom request through my etsy store, I'm thrilled! This one is to make a shawl out of bamboo fiber that looks like this blue one that is for sale in my etsy shop, but made from these colors instead:


Lavender and black, it's going to be yummy! The lovely customer that ordered the shawl is going to wear it to an April wedding - bamboo is great for that, warm in the winter, but not too heavy if it's a warm day. Wish I had a wedding to go to this summer!

Wait a minute. I do! My fabulous niece, Marissa, is getting married this August to a lovely young man! Yippee! Maybe I'll make a shawl for myself, too... And one for my Mum, too, though I have one in reds lurking around that I really should get around to finishing. I should finish the darn thing (twist the fringe and wash it, I mean) and give it to Mum for the wedding, she looks fantastic in red. I wonder if she'd wear it? Maybe with a new dress that works with the colors? I've noticed that she, like me, never buys new clothes for herself... I should take her shopping.

So, on other fronts, we got a little heavy, wet snow here last night. Knocked down a big branch from our maple tree in our front yard, yikes. But the point is - Carlos and Bella went food shopping a little while ago, and I noticed the footprints they left on the deck on their way out:


Aren't kids great? (Bella's footprints are the little, meandering ones, obviously.) When I stop to actually listen/watch Bella, it's fun to realize how much you can learn from little ones about enjoying the journey through life instead of just rushing towards destinations. Pop psychology moment of the day. LOL.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Cashmere Scarf - Finally!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since the 9th. Yikes. Happy St. Patty's Day! (A day late.)

On the bright side, I've actually been very productive! Nothing like a custom request or two to get the shuttle flying...

So, I finally finished weaving the cashmere/tencel scarf from Fearless Fibers' yummy hand-dyed laceweight cashmere:

It's long and skinny, as expected, and the drape/hand is lovely! Hooray for Fearless Fibers! I like how her purples/blues/plums blended with the silvery grey tencel, a very nice combination.

And I also finished a headscarf made from bamboo and tencel as a special request for an etsy customer - it's patterned after a bamboo/zephyr scarf that I have listed in my esty shop, and came out really nice. That was the first time I combined bamboo and tencel and the fibers worked very well together.

Yum. I still love how those blues pop against the black.

And, in the meantime, I've got some experimental wool bookmarks going on my little loom for a grab bag promo being put together by the wonderful etsyFAST (Fiber Arts) folks. Check out our website!

That's about it for now - I'm off to post that cashmere scarf in my etsy shop.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Fridays Are Lucky

Wow, I made *three* sales today! Well, one definite sale and two inquiries about custom work... When it rains it pours!

But, at any rate, this scarf will shortly be going to a new home:

I've always really liked it, but feel like I've never managed to take a picture of it that does the colors and pattern justice... It's a combination of soft lilac, seafoam and golden brown yarns, woven in a shadow-weave diamond pattern, I think it's really lovely. I should have brought it outside on that sunny snow day - natural light helps so much! (That's what I used in this photo, but I took it inside, instead of outside.)

The two potential custom orders have me pretty excited, too - impetus to finally get my hand dyed cashmere/tencel skinny scarf off of my little loom! It's almost done, I just need to spend about a half hour on it, tops, to finish weaving, hemstitch, and cut it off the loom. No excuse, really, for still having it on there.

Well, apart from the fact that Conall has decided to take after his sister and will not nap for more than twenty minutes. AHHHH! (Aren't two month olds supposed to sleep a lot still?? Yeesh.)