A Little Knitting

...for Barbie.  :)

Turkey Tracks

Finding these in my yard today
reminded me that there was a
quilt pattern named "turkey tracks."
I looked it up, online.
It appears there are two or more
quilt patterns named "turkey tracks."
This is not greatly surprising as,
in many cases, the same pattern has
more than one name.  It seems to
depend, partially, on the region where
the quilt was made, what it was called.

This appears most often as "turkey
tracks."  It is a basic nine patch
with the four corner patches divided
into six pieces, thusly. :)
There are variations made on this
pattern by changing the sizes of the
main patches.   Some of these
variations also change pattern of the
corner pieces.  Some of these
variations appear to be applique
work.  Oh, my!  So much to see.

Here is a detail of the six pieces
that make up the corner pieces.

I've made some small quilts.
I've tied or tufted the ones
I have made.
Any experienced quilters
amongst my blogging friends?

Wool, I Shouldn't be Surprised

I has been a while since I
worked with wool, but
the colder weather inspired
another dive into those boxes.

Last Spring I found quite a few
wool sweaters at Salvation Army
priced at two for a dollar.

I bought a cart full!

One is for me.

Dad took three, I think.

Some may help keep
Uncle Si and/or my son
warm, this winter.

Two I unravelled to have
the yarn to reuse.

I cut others apart at the
seams to shrink them
and see what I could do
with them.

They all shrink differently.

I shouldn't be surprised.

I cut some that are close to the same weight into six inch squares.  That way I can get two squares from one 
sleeve.  The backs and fronts yield three or more squares and leave a lot of waste.  I'm not sure this was the
best way to handle this material.

I am not surprised.
This was an experiment, after all.

 Sewing four squares together, lapping about a half inch seam, yielded an eleven and a half inch square.

Allowing for half inch seams, a blanket eighty eight inches
square would take 64 four piece squares
or the equivalent.

64 X 4 = 256 six inch squares.

I don't have enough sweaters.

Considering that some are very heavy weight
and some are quite light, I don't have nearly
enough sweaters.

This project is not going to be as fast, easy or 
beautiful as I pictured.

I shouldn't be surprised. :)

To see my earlier experimentation
with wool,
look here, here, here, here, here or here.
 Fulling/Felting is a short explanation.

Seeing the Real Picture

Stop me if you have heard this one.

Wait! Don't!

I heard it years ago

and I still love it.

Then I saw a short film of Corrie Ten Boom

using some needlepoint,

I think, to illustrate this object lesson. 

So, here goes.

Here is the part of God's work we can usually see.
Got the picture?
Well, no, I don't have the picture
because I'm seeing a small part of the back of
the embroidery.

Sometimes we catch a glimpse of the whole picture.
We get an idea of what God is doing.
Still, we can't see the real beauty of it.
Why so much black?
Isn't brown kind of boring?
 

If you look at the right side

everything becomes clear.
(This is not my work, by the way.)

When we have seen God's plan come together 

we marveled at His handiwork.

When we see the whole picture,

as I think we will, in Heaven,

I think that we will be speechless

at the intricate beauty of it all.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament showeth his handiwork Psalm 19. 1 Everything that He creates declares His glory! Even me! :)

For we are his workmanship

Ephesians 2.10

A Little Tapestry Weaving

I was thinking of the sky as I
wove this tiny tapestry.

I am still experimenting.
Ha!  I'll bet the most experienced
weavers would say they
are still experimenting.

This photo shows the beginning
of taking my little work
off my improvised loom.

Fulling Felting

If you have looked into this subject

a little, you may think that you know

the definition of felting and 

fulling as it pertains to fabric.

Basically, felting is to form a fabric

by matting together fibers from

animals.  Wool from sheep is

a common example.

Fulling takes a fabric that is already

formed and shrinks and matts

it into a thicker fabric, adhered

beyond restoration to the original

form.  That is, you can't ravel it.

That's the simple, but not 

really accurate

definition and difference.

Here is a swatch.

Loosely woven of new wool yarn
(Patons Classic Wool Merino)

having been fulled or felted in
washing machine

Since the process of felting involves

the matting together of the fibers,

fulling involves felting,

doesn't it?

Fulling refers to a process

by which a cloth is cleaned,

as well as tightened (shrunk)

and fluffed.  In fact, for some

fulled fabric, the fluffy part is

removed, as in 

wool suiting material.

Mark 9 v. 3 refers to

Jesus' clothes in 

transformation

as "so as no fuller

on earth can 

whiten them."

Obviously, this term

can cover more than

the simple shrinking, 

thickening and matting

of fabric.

So, you see, I do not claim

expertise, just interest.

If this subject intrigues you,

here are some links to enjoy.

There are many more.

For the "eewww" factor,

I recommend this video:

fulling in the middle ages

fulling definition

fulling

fulling/felting

early fulling by mill

felting and fulling vest class description

fulling, felting, boiling

Wool You Swatch It?

Twice in one week, I have been asked,
"Now, what are you doing?"

"Making swatches." has been my reply.
"What are swatches?"
or
"What's a swatch?"
has been the next question.

A sample of textile is called a swatch.
There may be other applications.
In knitting and crochet, one is advised
to make a swatch to test whether
the gauge matches that of the pattern.
I usually ravel that out,
if I do it at all,
and incorporate it into my project.

In these examples, I am testing for
the fulling properties of various
wools.
Putting several in one swatch proved to
be a poor idea, as seen in this photo.
I may attempt to full (or felt)
this piece, again.

Some swatches are very satisfying.
I love the look and feel of this piece.
Now, I need to work on keeping the
sides straighter.

I had made two attempts to post 

about my latest interest and experiments.

Each time the post became impossibly long.

I shall now attempt several short posts

on the subject of wool.  

This is not a comprehensive study.

I am a dabbler, not an expert. :)

Soon:felting and fulling, what is what.  

Plarn It!

I know that anyone who reads this post
is always  prepared with shopping bags.
I, on the other hand, frequently forget
or end up in a store when I did not
expect to be there.  So, I collect the
plastic bags up, shove them in the
trunk of my car and recycle them
at the stores, when I remember.

I learned of plarn, a yarn made out of
plastic bags, a while back.  I "Googled"
it and found there is more than one
method to making plarn!  I chose
the simplest looking one, first.
The first part of this SLIDE SHOW
shows the method I use, except,
I use scissors and I just "eyeball"
the slanted lines.

My first project, finished
today, was this small
shopping bag.

So, yes, I made shopping bags into
another shopping bag!
It's surprisingly sturdy.
I think I'd like to make a bigger
bag for carrying wet stuff away
from the beach.  We shall see.

NeedleDoodling, Again

On Sunday, while watching Downton
Abbey, I fussed a bit with some
scraps of fabric and some embroidery floss.
This was the result.

On Monday I tried again.
I like this one.
So, of what use is it??
:)

Catching Up

It's been over a year since
my sister blessed me
with
this pair of pillow cases.

I love the colors.
(She knew I would.
She loves them, too.)
This photo is at least twice
the size of the real thing.
This curve is a little
smaller than my
little fingernail --
you know, the end of it.
The stitches are tiny
and beautifully finished.

I was overwhelmed with her gift.
I still am.
I have no intention of using
the pillowcases for everyday.

So, I put them away somewhere "safe."

You know the rest!
 I found them, again,
last week.

Thank you, Sister Grace!

Another Shot, or Four -- In the Dark

one

two

three

four

These ornaments
or
gift holders
or
package tie ons
are my latest
venture on eBay.
We shall see.

Whew! I Sold Some Stars and Listed Some More

and these, listed today,
have a "watcher," already!
:)

It's Nothing Personal, Is It?

What is it about putting
my own work up for sale?

I dislike the comparison to
having children.

My Needle Doodles are
certainly not like my children.

There is an element of my
self in my work.

After all, I chose the pattern and
the fabrics.  I did the work and
took the photo.
So, if someone does not
like my product...

...it is kind of personal,
isn't it?
The birds are an experiment.
They are on eBay, right now.
The stars have been
somewhat of a success.
These were sold and shipped.

Starting on Christmas!

I've sold some of these on
eBay.
I've sold patriotic stars
and Christmas stars.
I figured I'd start now
and see how many I can get done
ahead of the selling season.

Well, You Never Know!

Once upon a time...

I think I've told the story, before.

I was helping along with another

 young woman, in one of those

situations where someone 

must be on the spot, but

the regular work was quickly done.

My friend had a new magazine.

From it we took patterns.

She shared her stash with me.

We hand sewed these stars.

Having gotten close, again,

she reminded me...

...so, I made one.

I made a few more!
These were for a woman who
understood I might not be able
to get them done.

In the mean time, I made what
my fancy dictated.  I found it
relaxing, enjoyable and
somewhat addicting.
I sold some in October
and November of last year.

Fast forward a few months.
I thought I'd try it with
patriotic themed stars.
Yup, they sold!
One set was bid up to over
nine times it's starting
price.

I think they all sold, except this set.
So, I re listed it.
Just in case.
Might just as well give it a shot.
Well, there are bids on
this set.
Please note: "bidS"
Well, you never know.

Added this set...

...and this one, today.
One has a bid,
already!
I guess I'll get going
on the Christmas ones before
long.  I could make
more patriotic stars,
but they might not ship in time
for the fourth
of July.
I don't make much on these.
I do get a little
thrill when someone
likes my work enough
to buy it.
Then, when they come
back for more!
Wow!
Just shows ta go ya --
you never know,
'til you try.

Wow! You Never Know!

These sold (for nearly 10 times their
starting price.)

These did not (for any price.)

So, this week I am listing these,

these,

these and

these.  :)

We shall see!