Maeve's handwork

[ragdall]

Great progress! The yarn looks darker than I expected when the fleece seemed to have so much light. It looks as if it will be very warm and strong.


rags

[maeve]

I've added a progress photo of one big ball of single ply and another in progress on the spindle. This mixed color batch may be what I dye with hollyhocks, leaving the very dark and white wool natural.

You'll also notice a photo of several balls of unraveled Peruvian alpaca yarn from a damaged sweater. That still needs to be wound into skeins, wet, then weighted and dried before I can re-use it.
(Links removed by me!)

[sandrainsydney]

a few weeks back we were at the Australiana Pioneer Village www.theaustralianapioneervillage.com.au/ & watched a shearer (aka spinner who learnt to shear years ago) removing the fleece from one of her sheep.

Most of the buildings in the Village were moved from other locations & saved for posterity in the 60s & 70s. It's a fascinating place & we'll be back again as often as we can. The oldest building is c.1811, & there are several building facades built for a period TV show a few years back which were kept as they add to the atmosphere - I just wished they had signs saying they were repros. But all authentic buildings have signs giving their history.

www.scottbirdphotography.com/Local-History/Around-Sydney/Australiana-Pioneer-Village/i-C89Zj6K An amazing series of pics taken at the Village. Check out his other albums, too, for more pics of historic Sydney locations, inner city & out west.

my.opera.com/BushMusicClub/albums/show.dml?id=15097292 Pics a friend & I took of the day at the Pioneer Village.

sandra

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[sandrainsydney]

oops, I forgot to say, the yarns & fleece look great, I'm looking forward to seeing their progress & results.

sandra

[ragdall]

You're making good progress, maeve.
I wonder how your yarn will look after you colour it with the red hollyhock dye, and how that will look with the coloured Peruvian alpaca yarn?

Sandra,
Your photos from the Australiana Pioneer Village are very interesting. It looks like the perfect setting for the musical events.

It always amazes me how a sheep will allow itself to be stood on end and sheared like that.

rags

[maeve]

The alpaca yarn is a bit too soft for using in the Navajo style rug, but will be lovely and soft for a scarf or hat and mittens.

Here are a few photos showing a little of the yarn activity in our house. It's the same link with added photos.(Link removed by me!)


The large needlepoint seat cover is one someone else started- I'm finishing it and will cover my mother's sewing machine bench with it. Similarly, the needlepoint pillow (heart and flowers) cover was started by my mother's good friend who died. I'm finishing it and will add her initials before making it into a pillow for my mother. The alpaca hat is also a "finisher" project.

The scarves will, I hope, be sold at a local craft fair. I'll be working on them until I have enough for the sale. One may go to my Secret Santee.

I make cordage out of various plant materials. The aspen fiber is found between the bark and the wood. The cornstalk fiber can make an expensive yarn similar to bamboo yarn, but I just twist it into cordage. I also make cordage from Amsonia/Blue Star plants. It's native to the Western US, but grows very well here. I plan to grow enough to spin, eventually. Finally, milkweed stalk fiber is very like flax, while the seed silk can be spun or used as fill for life preservers, jackets, and comforters.

The last photo is showing mostly blue yarns tumbled out on the chair to select yarn s for the next scarf. There are more colors/colours bagged up in storage.

[sandrainsydney]

wow! more great pics - which gave me the idea of taking a pic of my current yarns (I do have other yarns in a few boxes)

yesterday my local craft shop had a 30% off sale - so I bought 6 more yarns - not that I need them. But at least I ONLY bought 6!!

pics on my thread.

[maeve]

Good for you, Sandra! I find it helpful to keep a photo or two of my yarn stash so I can see at a glance what I have on hand. I can't buy yarn, so I watch for yarn donations at our village recycling shed. Some of my skeins were a gift from Jacqui after the fire, so when I find something she can use for shawls or with her handwork classes I give it to her.

[sandrainsydney]

Leftovers & yarns I can't use are given to an 89-year old lady who is a friend of a friend.

I've only met her twice - she is very deaf, & blind in one eye & her other eye doesn't have much sight, but she spends all her time working for the Good Shepherd Sisters - knitting, crocheting, making cakes, making jams (jellies) & chutneys etc. She knits & crochets blankets of small squares & diamonds of every colour & type of yarn she has, some yarns only make a few stripes, others make whole elements - they are very cheerful.

[maeve]

Added the newest scarf-in-progress to that same link...last photo.

[sandrainsydney]

beautiful colour!

[ragdall]

Maeve,
What a great idea, photographing your selection of yarn as an inventory. You have so many creative projects on the go and they all look expertly done. I'm amazed at the knowledge and skills that you have such as being able to spin yarn and turn bark and cornstalk into cordage.

rags

[maeve]

Thank you, Sandra and rags.

It's only a matter of learning how to do things, rags. As with your photography and carpentry projects, you learn how and each skill you gain can be applied to something similar... then you spend the rest of your life learning to do it well. These scarves are a matter of needing cash and I enjoy making them, but it's also very nice for me to have something I can finish for a change, while the spinning and cordage are a source of pleasure for me as well as having practical uses.

I finished the basic creation of two scarves while waiting for work to be done on our car. Each of those took about 2 hours. They still need finishing touches.

[maeve]

I've added photos of the finished hats and scarves at my craft fair booth last night. I only sold three pieces plus lots of biscotti, but that covers the table rental and gives me $30 for Christmas.

I don't usually leave photos up as long as this. I expect I'll remove the links soon. I can always add them back in if needed. (Links removed by me!)

[sandrainsydney]

congratulations - first on a beautiful display of beautiful work, then on making a (small) profit!

may you establish an appreciative market for your ares.

sandra