This is a stitch we were talking about recently. Originally it was knitted on very fine needles with very fine yarn and tailors would cut their clothes from this handknitted fabric. It is a good stitch to know so you can create a thicker fabric for bags, jackets, blankets and whatever else you want. VeryPinkKnits explains it well. She explains everything well, actually!
Show and tell
Was a lovely warm day today and so much was going on in the club rooms. We are looking forward to next week’s dyeing workshop and were making sure everyone felt confident about it. It has inspired members to already get started on solar dyeing because it is the weather for it. Solar dyeing produces lovely, soft colours.
Show and tell
Karin has been really busy this week weaving a beautiful woven scarf in Alexis colours, knitting a pair of green socks and an autumn colour beret . She has also spun a large skein of rainbow solar dyed wool.
Marjorie knitted atop down jumper in Bendigo wine colour . All the wool was spun on her little Eel wheel.
Cathy : a ball of spun wool in greens and a crochet cowl in grey and solar dyed unicorn colours.
Janette: a large bag of solar dyed fleece in blues and apricots.
Jan E : a felt flower and 3 necklaces made up of her felt balls. She showed us how to help the felting process by shaking them in a plastic container.
Show and tell
We were full of good cheer, projects and chat. We were very fortunate today to have a visit from Marie and Lauren with their fleeces and we went home with bags full of lovely fleeces to spin. Marie was kind enough to give us a lesson in skirting a fleece so that newer members would know what to look for and how to skirt a fleece when they bought one. She invited one of us to try doing it so she could mentor us. It was very worthwhile. Maybe we shall dye some of this fleece on dyeing day on 30th January which is how we traditionally start the year. We like to colour our lives.
Show and tell
Janette: solar dyed two bags of fleece in lovely pastels shades of blue and peach.
Cathy: a ball of spun wool made up from some of last year’s spinning.
Corina: a unique book made up from samples of different methods of dyeing with a handstitched patchwork cover and a jacket made up from many handspun colours and knitted in a linen pattern.
Alrisha: a beanie in various handspun colours of blue in a fluted pattern.
Marjorie: a bag of solar dyed alpaca using kingfisher blue.
Maxine :Nuno felted silk scarf in green with a coral design on it.
Sheila Mc: Two balls of spun tops in a dusky pink colour mixture and a ball of handspun burnt orange.
Alexis: spun pure white skein from Jenny Gunston, Finn/Corriedale.
Jan H: two small crotchet baby rings blue koala and a yellow yellow giraffe.
Hilary : handspun beanie made from leftover colours and a solar dyed skein in pink and green.
Show and tell
We were all so happy to see each other today. We had had a nice break but we are looking forward to getting new projects going, getting old ones finished and getting new ideas to spur us on. We shall have our traditional dyeing day on 30th January. This helps new members learn the skills and others dye some colours they can use in their projects. We shall include solar dyeing again because it is the weather for it.
Plenty of great projects on our show and tell table !
Show and tell
Maxine: a large multi colour jumper, long green cable pattern cardigan, nuno felted silk scarf in black and grey tones. Two large green balls of spun wool.
Anita: two green balls spun wool, two beanies: one cream with red band, one brown.
Cathy: two balls spun wool: one blue, one purple.
Lyn: long lime green beanie made on a knitting loom.
Dagmar: a pair of fingerless mittens brown rib, brown beanie.
Marina: woven striped bag; beret made on a card loom.
Alrisha: long multi striped beanie with a pompom brown/green.
Peter: a very long piece of weaving in multi stripes for project as yet unknown .
Jan E: three felted flowers: two shades pink, two shades of aqua and purple/white.
John: a large piece of woven material suitable as a table runner or shawl.
End of year celebration
It was brisk down at the beach front this morning, but the day warmed up, probably because we were so enthusiastic and full of good cheer. Despite viruses and a tough winter, we have sailed through this year and ended on a high. It was lovely Maria could attend our Christmas break up and it has been rewarding to welcome new people to our club who have brought their energy and skills to add to ours. We catered our own lunch and did ourselves proud. The meal was both festive , wholesome and tasty. Our Secret Santa was successful again and we can end the year being enormously proud of all the projects we have made, the ideas we have shared and the way in which we have lifted each other up. Our sharing of skills and ideas is intrinsic to our individual success because no one is allowed to struggle. We ensure everyone can achieve what they are trying to do and then we get things like the dyeing workshop, our outings and the nuno felting workshop which provide inspiration.
We’d like to thank John for always being there to help us fix and repair things. We’d be lost without him because he always seems to be able to get our cantankerous wheels going.
We thank Margaret for being a dependable and reliable treasure who ensures our financial matters run smoothly.
We thank Hilary for booking and unbooking bus trips for us because the weather has played a large part in whether trips have been possible or not. We also thank Hilary for providing us with minutes each week.
Thank you to Deb for organising virtual payments and advertising resources for when we present as a group.
Thank you to Marjorie for her longstanding service as our former president and all the good work she did to ensure we could do what we wanted and who always encouraged us to own the club and play our part.
Thank you to Karin for becoming our new president and transitioning smoothly into that role and keeping us all focused and productive.
Thank you to Cathy for running our weekly meetings and social media.
Thank you to Alexis for getting us up and running each week.
In case we have overlooked someone, we sincerely thank every member who has contributed in any way to what has been such a successful year. We have constantly been enthusiastic, inspired , productive and creative. That doesn’t happen by itself. We are pretty awesome, really 🙂
Show and tell
This week was our penultimate meeting for the year and now we are nearly there we have much to be pleased about and can be certain our skills, colour and inspiration have kept us going through a demanding year. Today was sunny inside and out. We had plenty to talk about and we were all busy. As usual some great ideas for projects and plenty to look at on the show and tell table.
Show and tell
Anthea : Nuno felted another silk scarf from this morning in turquoise with a blue and purple design.
Marjorie : a blue striped beanie with a cable design on the crown.
Corina : Beanie in natural Corriedale wool.
Marina:One beret wool/cotton mix in pinks, black and white, three cowl type beanies in blue/white and a fawn one striped with sari silk trim.
Margaret : a felted bag bought at the Guild, woven poncho in pastel shades, a teddy wearing a striped beanie & a waistcoat with a sheep design.
Cathy : a fawn knitted felted beanie ,a wet felted and needle felted cat and a nuno felted scarf in burnt orange, cream and fawn
Anita : a beanie and a lacy scarf to match in pinky mauve.
Joanne: needle felted tall cat in red with pink stripes.
Hilary: a slouch beanie in blues and pinks.
Margaret brought in some photos of members in Tasmania for the Bothwell International spinning.
Anthea brought in a beautiful Tiffany lead glass lampshade she had made in blue glass, but unfortunately didn’t get in the photos.
Show and tell
Cooler today but a riot of colour in the club rooms. We had brought back the nuno felted scarves from our three workshops run by Alexis. They were all so different, so colourful and so beautiful. Proof you can live and learn in a good way. We have two more sessions to go this year. So many projects are being developed and that is good. It will keep us going over the Christmas break. Everyone is doing what they want, having fun and we are ensuring we keep the ideas coming and the projects moving along.
Show and tell
Marina: a cosy jumper in blue merino/cotton mix.
Karin: skein of Alexis dyed tops in a heather mixture.
Joanna: a small needle felted mouse in blue/grey.
Nicki: 2 felted drink bottle holders brown with multi coloured outside.
John: a beautiful check scarf in red/green and white: Christmas colours.
Hilary: an asymmetrical scarf in wool dyed in a ball with two colours.
Jan H: beautiful yellow/brown crochet dragon.
Christmas tree hats
We don’t have the weather for beanies at Christmas, but, you never know, the weather has been weird and unseasonal so maybe… Some of you will live in climates where could could wear them and sometimes, some of us, we do Christmas in July here. Marina sent through some pictures of cute Christmas tree hats you can knit for babies and children. You can find the free patterns on startknitting.
The video gives you a really nice crochet Christmas tree hat to make . If you are looking for more Christmas hat choices , then there are over 20 on Knitting News. There is not only plenty to choose from , they are of all different knitting styles too. Have fun!
Felted scarf techniques
Jan E shared these two videos. The paper used in the first videos seems to come form USA and would be expensive to purchase in Australia because of postage costs. That said, other things might spring into your mind which you could try. If nothing else, Artfelt on YouTube is worth knowing because there are so many good ideas and tips which are shared which would help you with felting. If you are new to felting it is good to watch someone lay out the fibre so you understand how to do this. It is also good to watch the colour combinations. This second video shows you how to make a ruffled edge with your felted scarf.
Show and tell
The club rooms were abuzz with the third, and final, nuno felted silk scarf workshop. Such a flurry of activity and creativity which never cease to energise everyone. It is going to be good to see all the scarves from the three workshops next week. Alexis did a great job of running the workshop with John’s , Karin’s and Sheila O’s help. It is always inspiring when you learn a new skill.
Show and tell
Jan E : Two felted scarves blue from last week’s workshop and then one red with ruffled edge.
Marjorie : a felted scarf from last week’s workshop in multicolours, a pair of socks knitted from the toe, a box of rolags in aqua, blue , purple and yellow mix.
Marina : two balls of spun wool/silk, a lovely woven bag constructed from various woven techniques with crocheted scrumbling embellishment. Peter did the weaving.
Cathy: Two doughnuts : one Christmas theme, one 2 two tone blue. (8 ply yarn scraps , size 4 needles, 18 stitches and 80 rows of garter stitch. Fold lengthwise and sew. Stuff and join open ends into ring shape. )
Fay : a green beanie knitted in a Fair Isle pattern.
Lynn: a skein of natural colour spun wool.
Hilary: small test spin of natural , white fleece
Show and tell
Great meeting today at the club with plenty of colour and chat. Alexis ran another successful nuno felting silk scarf workshop and we thank her and her helpers Karin, Sheila O and John. One more to go next week! We shall be seeing all the finished scarves the week after next.
Show and tell
Cathy: Another colourful ball of spun acrylic in orange, pink, yellow and purple. Fair Isle beanie in spice colours.
Fay: Four balls of her first spinning in green and yellow. Well done!
Lynn: Two skeins of her first spinning in natural coloured wool. Well done!
Margaret: Knitted socks , from toe up, in orange, red, brown, lavender. Sock wool. A purple felted neck piece with a knot pattern.
Maxine: Nuno felted silk scarf in black with a floral design.
Corina: Nuno felted silk scarf in pink and pale blue with abstract floral design in maroon.
Show and tell
What a wonderfully inspiring, creative day full of colour and skills! Our workshops always give us a lift. Our first nuno felting a silk scarf workshop was today and the results were amazing. We cannot wait to see the finished scarves next week. We thank Alexis for all her time and effort in ensuring we could achieve good results in this workshop. We also thank John for shifting furniture so we could fit the workshop in and those of us who were not participating today. Our show and tell table was really interesting too.
Show and tell
Kay: a big bag of spun brightly coloured balls of wool.
Cathy : always comes up with something different has made a knitted doughnut in wool decorated it with core spun flowers and it has many uses, also a ball of brightly coloured spun acrylic.
Dagmar: a lovely soft brown wool scarf in a cable pattern.
Lynn : 3 lovely coloured toys made on her knitting sock loom.
Anita: her first 3 spun balls of wool in pink tones. Well done!
John : a lovely woven cream scarf with an unusual stitch pattern on it and a lovely grey, embossed woven scarf with contrasting stripes on the ends.
Karin: a nuno felted beautiful tie-dyed silk scarf in tones of blue with sea green merino.
Janette : a lovely spun wool knitted cardigan in spring colours.
Hilary: a knitted beanie spun from one of Brenda’s plaits.
Corina: brought in some calico bags to give away. Thank you.
Show and tell
Back to winter with the weather! Cold and wet. We had fun though. We are getting excited about the nuno felting workshops Alexis will be running for the next three meetings. We are going to learn to nuno felt a scarf. It is cheering us up because the spring weather has been more like winter a lot of the time. There was plenty to see and do and some really great ideas again this week.
Show and tell
Margaret: items from the retreat in Belair: skein of very soft lemon wool from Susie Horn, knitted red rabbit You can find the pattern on our blog here, needle felted key ring, the asymmetrical exchange scarf in stripes in greens/browns, also a pair of colourful knitted sheep socks.
John: a lovely woven piece which would look good as a throw on the end of a bed red/black.
Kay: an inkle loom strap in strips of various colours.
Corina : a skein of finely spun natural flax
Anthea: two balls of spun wool blue/white and pink/grey.
Karin: beautiful Fair Isle beanie blue/grey with sheep and ships design.
Alexis: a Star Wars Clone Trooper beanie in black/white.
Marina: a large useful square bag knitted and lined with plastic in multi coloured stripes. Inkle loom edging.
Nicki: lots of hats :one colourful Madeline style hat, a grey/white cloche style, a snood style for covering long hair or dread locks, a felted piece with a needle felted design on it which looks like stained glass.
Cathy: ball of spun wool and alpaca in browns and fawn.
Knits and Wool theme
If you are looking for a nice yarn theme for your Windows desktop or laptop then take a look at Knits and Wool in the Microsoft Store which has 16 really good yarn images. It is free. This is where you can find Knits and Wool.
Show and tell
It wasn’t sunny but it was warm and the ocean views were nice and watching the helicopter buzz around above the ocean. Inside we had so much colour and so many things to look at. We are getting excited about the nuno felted scarf workshops next month and we got to choose our pieces o silk today. Alexis had provided us with such a colour choice in the silks!
Show and tell
Cathy: blue fair isle beanie.
Jan E: citrus green beanie, skein spun wool of variegated rose pink dyed plaits from Alexis, shocking pink wet felted flower brooch.
Maxine: a knitted jumper with a rural motif of a landscape in browns and fawns.
Hilary: a cable cardigan knitted from Bendigo light brown.
Kay: an inkle loom strap in dark brown with multi coloured stripes, crochet beanie in brown multi coloured stripes, large warm knitted poncho in colours of nature.
Marina: an orange crochet basket with crochet squares around it and ideal for carrying her wool stash ( and the very thing for Hallowe’en).
Slippers from a knitted square
If you speak Russian you will have no trouble with this video. Those of us who don’t can simply watch and be amazed. This lady shows us all how to make a pair of stylish slippers just by knitting a garter stitch square. It is people like this who help us keep going with inspired, easy projects so we always have something we can achieve. Have fun. 🙂
Show and tell
Lovely, sunny day and a very packed, busy club room and so many great projects to show on our table. We have been busy! It has got us through the winter ills and chills and made us very keen to keep growing our ideas. Being with others means we share our skills and ideas constantly and we are immersed in colour therapy.
Show and tell
Sue finished her lovely wall hanging in blues which everyone admired and gave their opinion as to what they saw . She also showed a beautiful orange/brown tone quilt made in just a few weeks. Not sure if Sue sleeps at all!
Jan E brought in all her beanies: one black/grey for the charity shop, two2 pink, one blue and one light grey with a cable band plus 3 skeins of spun wool tops.
Deb: one beanie in aqua/pink from an afternoon dyeing in the back yard aqua/ pink
Fay: a pink crochet beret.
Sheila O: an unusual blue knitted scarf with eyes, a tongue and a big red pompom.
Alrisha: beret with multi coloured stripes.
Corina: Beret with variegated green stripes and a beautiful, knitted cardigan with cable inserts in handdyed autumn colours.
Dagmar: small beanie in very soft wool in orange/green and a beautiful,fine triangular scarf in bright multi coloured sock wool.
Marjorie: a pair of socks in dyed processed Sue’s Horn Finn fleece variegated mauves.
Alexis: a large skein of spun tops in pinks plied with white.
Maxine: two balls of spun wool in Bendigo Woollen Mills green.
Cathy: a ball of spun wool/alpaca / gold sparkle in brown/latte.
Janette: a sleeveless jacket in multi coloured stripes plied with white.Peach, mango and white
Marina: a lovely soft jumper silk/alpaca in fawn tones.
Jan H: a lovely crochet scarf from alpaca wool and a pair of fingerless mittens in speckled white
Show and tell
Sunshine , sea views and very happy spinners and weavers today. We were so pleased to see each other again after a fortnight’s break. We were full of good ideas, colour and some great projects on the show and tell table. Always interesting how we can seem to colour co ordinate even though we never talk to each other about it. There was the forest palette, then the blues and purples palette. Everyone was busy and happy and there were some great exchanges on our exchange table today. That has gone so well this year. We were pleased to hear John, Alexis, Karin and Dagmar has won awards at the Yankalilla Show.
Show and tell
Cathy: colourful beanie brown/orange stripes bulls eye pattern with knitted discs embroidered around.
Dagmar : a beautiful pale mauve/pink scarf in spun silk feather and fan pattern,
John: first prize winning woven scarf in aqua with variegated shades of yellow warp.
Margaret: blue striped Fair Isle beanie and one colourful sheep sock.
Alexis: Beanie in black/white Shetland pattern, plus one in a Shetland zigzag pattern.
Marjorie: Beanie in aqua oddments from spinning plus purple beret.
Marina :a multi coloured child’s beanie green/orange and blue stripes with cable embellishments.
Karin: a skein of spun wool and silk in coral colour and a beret in shades of pale orange and brown.
Anita: first ball of home spun wool brown plied with white. Well done, Anita!
Fay: beautiful colourful sleeveless jumper from her home spun wool in stripes of green/orange/citrus mix.
Alrisha : skein of spun wool in natural colour.
Hilary : skein of spun tops in green, blue, purple , yellow and charcoal.
Weave a hat
Inspiration reaches out and grows. Someone gets an idea from someone, they run it through their own skills and knowledge and it becomes a project which is very satisfying. One of the advantages of our group is we have so many people of diverse skills. We see what they are doing. We can learn from them, we can mentor others and so the projects are always interesting, good quality and absorbing.
Marina was inspired to make a woven beret. It was a challenge . She had to adapt her weaving skills and she, in turn, has inspired others. Sue has gone home with her template and will use her skills to produce something of her own. John, one of our best weavers, was fascinated by the template.
It is a highly portable project and that makes it attractive. We like carry around projects. You can find it on The Essential Hat but it is a Zoom workshop which you have to pay for and which can be scheduled if they have enough interest.
spinning down under blog does have some very useful, detailed instructions for a woven beret and some great ideas for a very fashionably crazy woven beret.
If that is all a bit much for you, then kindred looms has a helpful YouTube clip showing how to make a simple woven baby beanie and explains how you can make it larger sizes. Weaving is a good way to use oddments and create texture so it is worth considering these things.
Show and tell
What a great day. Alexis brought in some lovely dyed tops for us. All those colours cheered up the day. We are still doing dull and grey , wet weather with a bit of sunshine. Spring has not sprung yet. Our weaving and felting projects are literally taking shape and there is some good spinning going on. We have to congratulate Lyn for learning to spin so well in her first lesson today with help from Janette and Dagmar. Everyone is working with a clear purpose in mind.
Show and tell
Fay: fawn/pink beanie using Sheila O’s unusual puffy knitting pattern.
Cathy: dark brown beanie in handspun wool and a crochet doll with knitted jacket for her granddaughter. Colourway from Felting Ewe.
Alexis: Shetland Fair Isle Beanie in a traditional pattern from Shetland wool week. The free knitting pattern is on the Shetland wool week site.
Sheila Mc: a large colourful knitted bag in hand dyed, handspun wool ready for felting.
Margaret: a large crochet bag in blues with a multi coloured stripe.
Show and tell
Very busy and productive club room today and plenty of chat , ideas and skills sharing. The bonus was we had sunshine! Makes all the difference. Everyone is immersed in their projects or creating good yarns. We also celebrate five years on WordPress this week so that is cheering news. We had plenty to look at today.
Show and Tell
Dagmar: a beautiful silk scarf in feather and fan pattern in pale pinks/purples and a brown wool beanie in a cable pattern.
Marina : a knitted beret style beanie with a fluted brim in a mixed berry/blue colour.
Anthea: a lovely warm jacket crochet in stripes of navy blue/aqua/deep purple with a navy crochet waves edge plus one ball of spun wool plied with dyed silk thread.
Karin: an eyecatching beanie in Shetland wool knitted in a traditional Fair Isle pattern and one large skein of spun merino in bright green .
Sheila Mc: knitted beret in spun wool soft rose colour.
Cathy: knitted, felted beanie in brown/green and fawn stripes with a furry pompom. Handspun.
Deb : two beanies in handspun, solar dyed wool: one pale yellow and one pale aqua/yellow plus one long pair of fingerless mittens in blue that Margaret had dyed.
Fay: a pair of fingerless mittens: one red/cream, one cream/red.
Hilary : a large skein of spun wool: one strand Brenda’s Circus plied with one strand Kathy’s charcoal .
Show and tell
Great day today and the weather wasn’t too bad. Plenty to see and do. We should particularly like to thank Deb for all the work she did to create our new stand alone banner with Cathy’s photos. We can use it to advertise ourselves at events . The QR code links to this blog so people can find us and our other social media accounts. It is a fabulous banner. There are times when we collaborate on things so a project is finished or accomplished more easily. One such example is today’s picture which Margaret had started and Sue finished. The colours are so well chosen. We are up to 999 Instagram followers so we are hoping to pass the magical 1000 followers this week . That is so heartening. We might just have to look at our stats this week. Such a good day full of fibre and fun.
Show and tell
Sue has worked her magic on a piece that Margaret gave her which she felted and embellished with lots of embroidery and appliqués.
Nicki : a black felted hat with a brim decorated with tensile and a felted rolled rose flower.
Dagmar: a lovely soft green beret from merino and silk.
Margaret: a long, very colourful crochet scarf.
Maxine : three hand towels decorated with knitted end fringes, white, pink and purple.
Hilary : cable pattern knitted beanie from Brenda’s plait.
Environmental crochet project
Weaving the streets is a community arts and environmental project in Spain which is bringing communities together. They are upcycling and crocheting plastic bags to shield the villages from excess sunshine. As you have probably heard, Europe has had some extreme heat this summer. You can read an article with a video of these weavers on Yahoo. There is also our own local abcnews article which explains how this project came about. Good to see textile skills going to good use. We thank Christine for sharing this article with us.
The giant octopus, left, was created and woven by Jacq Chorlton in 2010 and was one of our ways of creatively repurposing plastic bags.
Show and tell
Such a good day today and some nice things to look forward to. We had better weather and the sorts of colours and projects members are engaging with are all fascinating and interesting. really makes for an interesting time together when everyone is doing something different.
Show and tell
Janette: two pairs of warm comfy slippers. One pair pink/white and the other pair brown/white and pink.
Sheila O: a lovely soft wool beanie in black/grey.
Peter: a long piece of weaving which Marina is going to make into patio cushions.
Corina: a soft wool small beret in soft grey colours and a red felted scarf with pink/white embellishments.
Cathy: a crochet felted hat with a wide brim in multi colours , a long green knitted cowl and a beanie with tassles in blue, purple and pink.
Nicki : two hats: one pink with pleats around the crown, one black/red with a flower decoration.
Show and tell
After a beautiful spring day yesterday we were thrown back into winter in no uncertain terms today. It did not dampen our enthusiasm and we had a very interesting, happy, fruitful day full of colour and ideas. We are living proof colour therapy works.
Show and tell
Jan E : rust coloured knitted hitchhiker shawl.
Kay: Three crochet beanies in various colours in wool and mohair and a crocheted large bag in brown wool with multicoloured stripes.
Marina : two skeins of spun tops from Brenda’s multicoloured plaits and a beanie in dark green and white. She used wool, silk and cotton.
Cathy : three balls of spun wool/silk in fawns , creams and white.
Maxine: two large, squishy skeins of spun wool which were blends of all her oddments.
John: a woven scarf in cream with an embroidery stitch pattern on the ends.
Show and tell
The view of the ocean was great but we had a cold, wintery day. It was very busy inside the club with so many members present and all involved in fascinating projects. Everyone had something worthwhile they were doing and the different ideas and approaches makes for a very stimulating day.
Show and tell
Janette: a lovely, soft hand spun pink and white knitted jumper.
Corina has finished her very attractive black felted bag with silk embellishments .
Dagmar: hand spun and knitted lovely, fine scarf in black alpaca plied with multi coloured silk.
Alrisha : a very attractive knitted beret in multi coloured stripes. Mix of handspun and commercial wool.
Cathy : a ball of spun wool from Luba’s rare breed collection natural brown and a beanie in hand spun wool pinks and pinkish white with a faux fur pompom.
Karin: hand spun and knitted felted hat on a block in red and grey.
Alexis: hand spun and knitted felted hat on a block in various tones of yellow.
Kay: three spun balls of wool and mohair in pink, red, yellow, three crochet beanies in bright multi coloured wool/mohair mix, a hand spun wool jumper knitted dusky purple/pink mix.
Deb: two natural dark brown hand spun and knitted beanies – one cable, one with white sheep motifs and a large pompom.
Jan H : two crochet Amish puzzle balls in multi colours.
Hilary: a hand spun skein of Alexis’ dyed tops in blue/green tones.
Show and tell
Still a bit cold but a lovely view at the beach. Our meeting was full of great spinning, knitting , weaving and some great wet felting. We have been determined to rise above winter and just absorb ourselves with our plans and projects.
Show and tell
Margaret: a crochet knee rug in bright colours, a daffodil knitted pin cushion.
Sherilee: a natural brown crochet bag to carry watermelon with various red tassels for her llamas.
Nicki: an impressive felted gnome with lots of colourful plaits and butterflies on the hat.
Karin: a skein of red wool plied with yellow and purple.
Corina: skein of spun wool dyed with onion skins, black felted square with silk and wool embellishments, three silk pieces in yellow, mauve and pink.
Cathy: Two homespun beanies :one blue, lavender and pink, one pink with unicorn stripes.
Marina: a woven multi coloured striped beret made over a carboard disc, a fawn cap of scrumbling to fit over the head part. Embellished with beads.
Christine: Three skeins of wool: one Brenda’s colours in aqua/yellow, one pale fawn, one fawn/ brown w/orange plied. Some good examples of fractal spinning.
Hilary: Skein of wool in Alexis corn colours.
Show and tell
Lovely sunny day and blue seas today but a bit chilly still. We had a very busy time with all our ideas and felting is coming to the fore as a focal point of interest. Colour, movement, design get you through dull, grey days.
Show and tell
Marina: Handspun crochet beanie in mustard colours. Woven beanie in whites, purples and browns
Cathy: Knitted jacket in handspun wool, silk and alpaca. Greens, blues, lavenders and pink.
Marjorie: Handy crochet bag in greens and blues and purple.
Anthea: Handspun brown fleece skeins with touches of colour and a skein of handspun amethyst tops
John: Woven scarf in rust and fawn with a circle design.
Peter: WIP : Still working on his long weaving which is really taking shape now.
Show and tell
Not a bad day by the beach front and some signs of spring today. We have a nuno felting workshop planned for November and it is creating interest and excitement. There are so many good projects and ideas coming out as well. We have beaten the winter blues with colour and interest. Every week we have such good colours to look at and so many great ideas being developed. The meetings support those ideas so the finished projects are the best we can do. This kind of creative engagement has helped us all manage a tough winter.
Karin: beautiful Fair Isle beanie in blue/white design, a pair of socks red and pink stripes and a skein of spun alpaca grey tones.
Sarina: a lovely wooden bowl to hold a ball of yarn.
Peter: a long narrow piece of weaving from carpet wool for Marina to make something wonderful with in multi coloured stripes.
Fay: two beanies: one brown plied with white, 1one lime plied with brown and a cross over red/brown cowl with a button to fasten it.
Sheila Mc: An assortment of painted squares ready to put together to quilt.
Sheila O: a lovely beanie in red, pink and various shades of blue.
Cathy: a small crochet cat with lots of embellishments.
Show and tell
Beautiful ocean views today but it was so blustery. We had all sorts of colour combinatio9ns being used in the club rooms and it was inspiring to see what people were doing. Colour has got us through winter.
Show and tell
Marina: Two cakes of Bendigo sock wool which were microwave dyed with cold dyes. One blue, orange and white. The other purple and raspberry. A quantity of fawn fibre which we had to guess. It was flax.
Cathy: Alpaca and spun silk by Dagmar knitted into a cable scarf of soft greens. Cake of handdyed blue wool, alpaca and silk. Wetfelted cat with needlefelted embellishment.
Jeanette: Very soft pink and white wool made from Brenda’s colours and white fleece.
Corina: Gradient dyed handspun wool and a cable cowl in similar autumn tones.
Show and tell
Was lovely and sunny to start with and then returned to wintery, grey and dull. We were all busy because we all have plans and projects so there was plenty to do and discuss.
Show and tell
Dagmar: Homespun , fine shawl in black and bright colours. One strand black alpaca. One strand silk.
Anita: Alpaca and spun silk by Dagmar knitted into a cable scarf of soft greens.
Jeanette: Sleeveless jacket in apricot/yellow which were Brenda’s colours plied with camel hair from Luba. Very soft.
Sheila O: Lovely skein of green wool which she had spun . Sourced it from fibreartshed.
John : Woven piece in nice soft colours.
Show and tell
Another chilly day for us at the beach front but we had a visit from Brenda at Felting Ewe and all her colours cheered us up. It was a cheerful, productive day and we did not spend much money.
Show and tell
Dagmar: Homespun jumper in black and grey alpaca. Geometric design.
Cathy: Rose pink and pale pink Fair Isle beanie . Merino and alpaca fleece. Ball of greens and greys plied with Alexis ‘ dyed claret coloured tops.
Alrisha: Colourful socks knitted by a friend in South American wool which Alrisha had bought on our trip to Yarnarama
Faye: Her first spun fleece knitted into a lovely brown and fawn beanie.
Marjorie: Bendigo Woollen Mill socks in dark pink and green. Handspun beret in pinks and greens.
Margaret : Teal crochet beret.
Marina: Handspun brown Shetland wool jacket and beanie for Peter.
Alexis: Fair Isle beanie in cream, blue and yellow. Beautifully soft shawl knitted in highland fleece mix.
Jan H: Crochet , colourful fidget toys.
Show and tell
It was icy cold today and eventually we warmed up. It was good to be able to help each other progress with ideas, skills and new ways of doing things. Kept us happy and productive.
Show and tell
Karin: Beret in 11 different colours,gentle tones. 4ply commercial wool. Size three needles. 195 stitches! Asymetric shawl in crowns, creams and yellow. Tops dyed by Alexis.
Cathy: Swaledale wool from Luba plied with other fleece dyed with bottlebrush and avocado pits. Latte colour.
Alrisha: Noro yarn ridged beanie in blues and pinks.
Sarina: Congratulations on plying her first yarn (with help from Margaret) after the bobbins had sat on her Lazy Kate for 14 years . Natural brown and fawn tones.
Marjorie: Carded suri alpaca in a light caramel colour and so shiny!
Show and tell
The weather improved over the day so we were looking at a lovely blue ocean. Very cold , though. (Okay, cold for us in Adelaide.) Plenty to look at and discuss and it was a very positive, productive day with plenty of ideas to inspire us and to work towards. Our stall at the Beanies to Berets textile day at the weekend had been very successful and we were pleased with what we achieved.
Show and tell
Marina : sleeveless jumper in alpaca browns, fawns and pinks. Dyed and natural colours .
Marjorie : dyed a skein using only a ¼ teaspoon of colour in the dye bath: pink and aqua.
Jeanette : skein of spun wool grey and white.
Cathy: a ball of spun wool brown plied with multi colours, a large crochet blanket for her grandson in the bright colours he chose.
Sheila O: a dark grey embossed patterned beanie.
Hilary : a pair of fingerless mittens in green, pink and white handspun wool.
Show and tell
It was another blustery day down at the beach front this morning and then it poured! Winter is really upon us. We were nice and cosy inside the club rooms. We were surrounded with colour and ideas. We have watched projects progress from fibre to finished product and there has been some wonderfully squishy skeins of handspun wool to admire. In winter we see all the hats, scarves and warm, woolly things. It is good and keeps us full of cheer.
Show and tell
Corina: a lovely soft shawl in soft blues/greys.
Cathy: a ball of spun wool from Sue Horne’s mixed bag plied with a plait of Alexis dyed tops.
Fay: a skein of her first spinning which was very impressive. Congratulations!
Marjorie: a beret from Susi Horne’s mystery bag and a pair of socks in pinks.
Dagmar : small beanie in pastel colours, fawns /white mixture plus a lovely cable scarf in green.
Sheila O: a frilled neck scarf in blue pastel colours and a beanie to match in a knitted shell pattern and a skein of spun grey West Highland moulting type sheep in a grey colour. Alexis has already spun her West Highland fleece and is knitting a shawl which we will see on another occasion. Sheila has also spun a skein of pale , hand dyed wool using blue and aqua.
Jan E : a skein of mixed colours from Brenda at Felting Ewe and plied it with blue from the Guild.
John has woven 2 kilim type pieces of fabric ready to make into a garment
Hilary had a visit to the Canberra Felters and came back with a few spoils by way of pre-felts and pieces of sari silk ideal for felting into a scarf or bag.
Show and tell
Another blustery day winter’s day at the beach front but at least the sun was shining. Plenty of warm conversations and happy activity inside. The colours were good to look as well as seeing what people were doing with their colours. Show and tell table had some good things to look at but we are up to the bit where people are creating their new projects again and these things take time especially when you go from raw fleece to finished project.
Show and tell
Jeanette: a ball of spun wool in yellow and white,
Hilary: Swirl beanie in rust and pink tones.
Margaret : a crochet shawl/rug in multi coloured shell pattern.
Deb: Three skeins of dyed wool in pink, blue and purples and a crochet baby blanket with a Winnie the Pooh design.
Show and tell
Very blustery down at the beach front today and the wet , windy weather made for a spectacular ocean view. Winter has arrived a bit early! Inside the club we paid no attention to the cold and had a room full of colour, conversation and inspiring ideas. Our show and tell table was full of lovely skeins and cakes of wool and some great projects.
Show and tell
Maxine knitted a beautiful long cardigan in a cable pattern with a beanie to match in dark green Bendigo Woollen Mills 8 ply, plus several multi coloured skeins of spun wool.
Alrisha brought in a lovely woven rug woven from a factory India that is no long making these rugs.
Cathy: a ball of spun wool green/blue.
Karin :skein of spun wool in autumn tones.
Alexis: a large skein of spun wool oranges/browns and a skein of Navajo plied reds/yellow.
Jan: bright skein of spun top pink/purple, a grey beanie with a flat top with stripes in different patterns, plus a skein of spun wool in grey.
Dagmar: two balls of spun black alpaca plied with multi coloured silk.
Sheila O knitted frilly scarf and beanie in pale yellow/lime beanie knitted in a lacy pattern plus a skein of yarn in autumn colours.
Hilary: a ball of spun wool dyed with a selection of colours which turned out lime green.
Corina: a lovely shawl in browns/fawn and cream colours plus a skein of multi coloured wool which was predominantly blue.
Alexis has been busy dyeing her tops some with multi colours and English Leicester tops in plain colours.
Show and tell
Beautiful sunny autumn day at the beach front today and inside the club rooms it was just as warm and sunny. We thanked Marjorie for her years of reliable, steady, thoughtful service since 2004 as our club president and welcomed Karin as our new club president. We also have a busy schedule ahead of us and plan to keep ourselves happy and engaged with our textile arts and crafts. Last week’s trip to Saddleworth was a big success and members who attended spoke highly of the day they spent with the Saddleworth spinning group. Jan E reminded us that the Fibre Feast at St. Agnes is coming up on June 12th, our long weekend. Last year it was a huge fibre success.
Show and Tell
Christine finished John’s beautiful jumper in a cream ribbed pattern.
Margaret shared her hand dyed woven matt with mohair fleece.
Alexis has knitted two beanies – one pink with butterflies, one purple with dread locks. Very impressive.
Maxine had spun two skeins of spun wool with mixed colours plied with grey.
Cathy had spun three balls of spun wool in dark green, lighter green , yellow/pink and purple/turquoise
Marjorie had knitted a grey man’s jumper in homespun wool.
Deb had spun a skein of white corriedale.
Show and tell
Very busy , chatty time at the club today and the were definite signs of winter. We could watch the rain coming in and then we’d be talking about our ideas and forget all about it. The show and tell table was full of great ideas and our exchange table went well again today.
Show and Tell
Kay shared her colourful beanies and knitted felted bag . Yellows, limes and and blues.
Alrisha knitted a sleeveless jacket with a fringe around the sleeve, dark blue/red.
Maxine knitted two very colourful chickens and shared several skeins of brightly coloured spun wool.
Cathy brought in her challenge this week which were one orange and green witch and a blue wizard, complete with colourful pumpkins.
Jan E spun and knitted a grey beanie with a cable band knitted sidewise.
Janette knitted a sleeveless vest in pastel shade and a scarf to match.
Anthea has painted small square cards with alcohol ink which make very attractive patterns.
Hilary spun and knitted a dark brown alpaca jumper with alpaca motifs in white. She also had made two felted creatures in read and blue.
Sheila Mc Had made a challenge quilt in purples and another small star quilt in creams and fawns.
The annual challenge
It was our AGM yesterday and it was decided to carry on as we were and help people when they needed it because we live in strange times. There were plenty of people there yesterday which was good for our Cancer Council morning tea fund raiser. It is an organisation we like to support and this was an easy way to do our AGM and the fund raining. This year’s challenge was to create a doll/ animal for the late Jean Greenhow range of dolls. We had been given 100 gm of fleece to spin and dye. The dolls which came back are lovely.
Marina’s owls won first prize.
Hilary’s swagman , bottom left won second prize.
Anthea knitted the big white bear.
Deb knitted the swashbuckling cat
Margaret made the beautiful robin.
Maxine knitted the lovely fireman which every grandson needs.
Show and Tell
We are ba-ack! We had a public holiday on Easter Monday , followed by a public holiday the following Monday for Anzac Day. We kept our Instagram account going but no show and tell for the blog. That all changed today because we were back, happy, chatty and very productive. So many great ideas and the weather was pleasantly sunny. Next week is our AGM which we are combining with a morning tea for the Cancer Council. That should make it an especially nice day.
Show and Tell
Cathy has made a neck scarf with heavy plait each end to go on the beach in wind, plus a ball of spun wool.
Dagmar : a lovely brown fine scarf in alpaca with a diamond pattern running down the centre. A ribbed beanie in browns with a blue trim
Anita: Red cowl with buttons to hold it close to the throat.
Maxine: a quilted puzzle block set suitable for a small child to play with.
Marina : a woven basket made at a workshop with Adele from the Adelaide Hills Spinners and Weavers full of balls of spun Shetland wool, a bag made from weaving with wooden rods with a woven handle.
Janette: a lovely jacket in spun wool and two cakes of spun silk, camel hair and wool.
Maria :small crochet beanie with a pink design.
Peter: A round weaving in greens and blues with a white centre.
Hilary: Skein of spun wool from Luba in greens, tans and pinks.
Show and tell
Winter comes June 1st in Adelaide and there were signs this morning of cooler weather and then the sunshine turned up its warmth and it was another lovely autumn day. We had plenty to talk about and so many good projects are underway. We are certainly producing a variety of colourful and textured yarns.
Show and tell
Margaret has been sorting out her stash and found these two weavings: one woven rug turquoise/blue and one woven floor mat red/grey, also a beanie with a border patterned in blue/white and yellow.
Marina: three balls spun, dyed alpaca plied with cotton, one ball spun coral wool plied with cotton.
Cathy: cake of spun wool in pink merino tops and naturally dyed polwarth
Sheila O: a large skein of wool in dyed in lime/yellow.
Marjorie: a large skein spun wool with lots of dyed wool colours plied with light grey wool.
Joanna: a beautiful small needle felted gnome.
Jan E: knitted beanies ready for Alice Springs: two in blue, one pink and one green.
Nicki: a large hairy felted gnome with a pink hat and purple boots.
Crochet felted bag
Alexis shared a really good crocheted, felted bag for show and tell. We have shown you knitted ones. You knit or crochet a big bag. You can hand felt it or put it in the washing machine once or twice , depending on how much you want it to felt. The bag will shrink at least by a third. Why felt it? It produces a softer look. it is very durable fabric and so a bag like this can be used to carry heavy things and quite a lot. Knitted or crocheted felted bags go to work as soon as you make them. Use wool and it is a good project for leftover colours because they will blend well when they are felted. There are some good crochet bag patterns on crochetpatterns. If you want to felt them, make them bigger or your bag will be at least a third smaller than the finished item.
Grannie square blanket
Maria and Cathy have crocheted grannie square blankets and you can see how cheerful they are. Colour choices make a difference and an impact. Grannie squares can be big or small and all of that changes the look of the blanket. Maria’s is a wool blanket. Cathy’s is acrylic yarn . What you use depends of whether you or the recipient of the blanket is prepared to hand wash it. Machine washables are better if there is not much opportunity for handwashing. Wool is warmer and heavier. Your choice of yarn makes a difference to the weight of the blanket so you can make them for different weather conditions.
Maria’s is an African flower grannie square. You can find the instructions on cuteandcozycrochet. Cathy’s is the more traditional grannie square pattern but the centres of some of the squares were altered to give a different visual effect. You can find lots of free patterns for grannie square blankets on crochet kingdom. It also gives you a chance to see how different colour choices play out.
Show and tell
Lovely sunny day at the beach front today and so much to see and appreciate on the show and tell table. The colours were great and the colour combinations were inspirational. Everyone is buy and happy with their projects. Last week’s day trip went well and it was good to hear about it.
Show and tell
Karin: Blue beret, orange tones beret and spectacular Fair Isle beret from a pattern from an American designer in 11 different colours – golds, pinks, greens.
Cathy: Ginny’s hat from the Tanis Grey knitting book in fawn and peach threaded with corespun yarn. Crochet blanket in white, pink and blue grannie squares.
Maxine: Two knitted jackets and a jumper for her great great nephew! Hooded one in blue, one in autumn colours, one in green. Attractive buttons.
Margaret: Cable jumper in natural colours in mohair and wool.
Marjorie: Grey double ribbed beanie, two green ocean colours beanies in overdyed wool.
Dagmar: Cowl in natural coloured , spun wool with two flower trims.
Alexis: Crocheted , felted bag in green and pink speckled colours .Two Fair Isle beanies in nature colours.
Maria: So many lovely beanies both crocheted and knitted in greens, maroons bright colours, white, Most had stripes. African flower blanket in bright colours. Knitted child’s jumper in blue, red and yellow.
Where did you get that hat?
More hats on the show and tell table recently because we are coming into beanie season and we need to be ready! Top left is Marina’s beret she knitted onto a garter stitch band. Top right, is Sheila O’s Gryffindor hat from the Harry Potter knitting book by Tanis Gray. Top middle is Sheila O’s beret from her homespun , hand dyed colours. Maxine knitted the layered hat in the middle . Such an interesting effect and would provide some real warmth. Bottom left are some plain, homespun beanies by Maxine followed by two home spun beanies with the flower motifs. Such good colours. Then comes Maxine’s knitted a black beanie and trimmed it with Anthea’s red poppies. She has been on a beanie knitting spree. Cathy used Anthea’s red poppies on a purple beanie which Margaret had knitted but Cathy felted and trimmed it. Such striking colours and some good ideas to make beanies look that little bit special.
Knit a cute Easter bunny
Monday fun day
No show and tell today. We operated as two groups today. Half went on a trip north to woolchambers , where you can get rare and unusual fibres, an then onto yarnarama .The other half kept the club seats warm for next week. Those of us there today had a productive , useful time and it was good to see the colours, the spinning, the needlefelting and the weaving projects. Next week we shall be able to hear all about the trip. Today was a good chance to catch up on our yarn projects and really enjoy the ocean views.
Show and tell
Beautiful day at the beach front today and some beautiful things to look at on the show and tell table. Such good uses of colour and design. We also have a very welcome exchange table which made everyone happy.
Show and tell
Christine: skein of spun grey rabbit hair, round crochet lap rug with design in black on colourful , variegated background
Cathy: Beanie in dark alpaca and fawn wool, knitted felted purple hat embellished with crochet poppies, green and grey crochet cowl in handspun wool and silk.
Maxine: layered, colorful beanie, black beanie with red poppies, hooked cushion in handdyed wool, purple and turquoise beanies with pink flowers, plain grey beanie, stripe brown blue, grey and brown wool beanie.
Margaret: Crochet bag in fawns and pinks from a vintage club challenge, cute , handmade teddy.
Sheila O: Harry Potter Gryffindor beanie, handspun colourful beret.
Sheila Mc: Washed and skirted fleece which she dyed in an array of colours.
Sue: Purple felted fabric which will be sewn into a bag.
Anthea: Skein of white alpaca and skein of fawn wool.
Jeanette: Thick , striped wool jumper in blues, fawns and greys.
Maria: Cute chicken egg cosy
Spinning fleece
We are surrounded by clouds of fleece . Some is drum carded, some combed, some hand carded and some have the skills to spin the fleece from the staples. Some wash and prepare the fleece first, others spin the fleece and wash it afterwards. It is a visual and tactile experience. Some make wool batts combining colours and fibres. Spinning silk and plant fibres offer a different experience. The more you spin, the more you have your own way of preparing fleece for your spinning. When you have had enough of that, you buy some tops and just spin those as a break. The clouds of fleece have such an attraction, though.
Seaford Spinners and Weavers 