DFW Fiber Fest 2012

I finally got to go to a fiber convention.  YarnCon, hahaha! Actually it was really DFW Fiberfest.  It was earlier this year in April.  Very cool.  So many things to see and touch and covet and purchase and, and, and...

I did walk away with a few skeins.  The green is a merino/silk blend, this will be a scarf and hat for the husband, the lilac and cream is a bamboo/merino blend, not sure what this will be it just felt heavenly and the colours appealed to me, it's just going to have to age appropriately in my basket o' yarn until the knitting muse speaks, and the multi-coloured skein is a hand painted worsted superwash wool that was initially meant to be mittens or fingerless gloves for me, but my friend's little girl has a thing for hand knits, and this suits her personality.  Maybe it will become a little sweater vest or shrug.

There were spinners. This captured my attention.  I would love to try it, but not sure I have the time or space.  I think I may at least try a spindle class.There is a small farm near where we live that has spinning classes.  She raises Jacob sheep and Alpacas and has classes and a drop in knitting circle as well.  I have it on my to do list, I just have not gotten around to giving her a call. She had a booth at the convention.  I will call this week, how about that!

More knitting...

Blogger finally works on my computer again.  I was having some technical difficulties there for a couple weeks.So, I can now show one of my recently completed projects. 

He asked for a green sweater with a hood and buttons down the front.  He couldn't decide on what colour green, so I found this cool camo blend and he loved it.  I have used it previously to make a skull cap and gloves for his older brother.  I should post pic of those, too.  It 100% wool and he thinks it's a little itchy, but once it's cool enough to wear it, he'll wear long sleeves under it anyway.

I definitely like the pattern and I'll use it again, for sure.  I'd like to try it again and modify it with a zipper instead of button holes.

 My memory is blanking on the name of the book I got the pattern from.  Chicks with Sticks patterns for Older Kids or something like that.  I'll have to remember to post it.

Trying my hand at Bartering...

I suppose this was a barter or maybe more of a trading of goods. Whatever you call it it was great fun and worked out well for all parties involved, if I do say so myself.

So, in exchange for a lovely watercolor painted by my friend and neighbour - which I in turn gifted to another friend, as well as a giant load of canvases and other art supplies for my son to experiment with, I traded a knitted poncho - top right pic (ya, not very good) and a little spring sweater with tiny ducky buttons (also not a great pic, but oh well) for her daughter, whom apparently has quite an appreciation for hand knits even at her tender age. What can I say, she's already got good taste, ha!

I dig this trading of goods. I would do this again. I actually hope to do this again. It just plain felt good.

Rainbow Beans

This is one of my favorite recipes using beans. Rainbow beans over rice. I use brown rice to bump the nutrients and fiber up even more. It is super easy and quick to make and the leftovers keep well. I have used the leftovers in omelets the next day, for variety. Everyone in the house likes this dish, too, even the little boy who tends to be fussy about new things.

1 can black beans

1 can white beans

1 can red beans

1 can or 1 cup frozen corn

1 can diced tomatoes

one diced onion

1 tsp cumin

chili powder to taste

1-2 tsp minced garlic or garlic powder

Sweat the onions in a sauce pan with olive oil. Rinse the beans and add to pan. Drain the corn and add to pan. Add tomatoes with juices to pan. Add the spices and simmer. And that's it!

Serve over brown rice. Yum yum!!

I did try black eyed peas from scratch for New Years Day - yuck - epic fail!!!!! Not worthy of a post. Next year I'll remember to get the canned ones, I like those better.

T-Shirt Blanket

Last Christmas I made a fleece blanket for my little guy, this year it was the big boy's turn. I decided to try and make a blanket for him out of his very cool, very beloved, yet very outgrown t-shirts.

I cut out the logos with my rotary cutter and made them into 14X15 inch squares. Then sewed them together, strip style, like a patch work quilt. I then laid the completed top over a piece of polar fleece. (I purchased 1.5 yards and that was the perfect amount for 12 t-shirt squares.)

Once it was thoroughly pinned down, I stitched "in the ditch" vertically for each row of squares and then stitched around the outside to fasten the top to the bottom. (again machine quilting style) When the top was fastened to the bottom fleece, I trimmed around the whole blanket with pinking shears to give it an inch and a half border.

Presto!! A t-shirt blanket. I think it turned out pretty cool. I went ahead and gave it to him last night when it was finished, since he knew I was making it and it wasn't going to be a surprise.

And he was very happy.....

A little bit of Crochet

My 14 year old says to me the other day, "Mom, you need to use up the wool you have before you buy any more." Since when is a 14 year old boy the voice of reason??

But, he does have a point, I have a lot of yarn, especially half used up skeins and it is kind of everywhere.

I had an inspiration. I saw this vintage afghan pattern on another blog a long time ago and loved it. I think it is really pretty. the pattern can be found at Bella Diva - http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/2006/11/vintage_vertica.html

It seemed like a great way to use up my scraps. So, far it is turning out really pretty. We will see as the colour variation dwindles. I have made a vow to myself to not purchase any yarn to complete this afghan. We will see. I might have to.

I have to add, I am not a crocheter. I knit a lot, but crochet very little, so this has been a good experiment in elementary crochet.

My verdict on the project - the jury is still out, we'll see how it looks when it is finally finished.

Felted Dryer Balls

I love, love, love, these!!! They really are the perfect companion to the home made laundry soap. The clothes were already coming out of the dryer softer and now with the dryer balls there are almost no wrinkles, even cotton dress shirts. Again, huge bonus, because I hate wrinkled clothes and do not have enough time to ever catch up on my ironing. Supposedly they cut down the drying time as well, but I can't say that I've noticed a difference in that respect.

Very easy to make. You need 100% wool yarn. I had some Patons 100% wool yarn left over from a couple projects, but that did not go very far, so I bought a skein of Lion brand Fisherman yarn. It has to be 100% wool and not superwash, because you want it to felt up into tight balls.

I just wound the yarn into old fashioned balls, about the size of a softball. Then I cut off the leg of some old tights and stuffed the ball into the leg, tied it off (with acrylic yarn), stuffed in another, tied it off, etc, etc. I felted 4 at a time. It should look like a string of sausage when it is ready to go in the washing machine.

To felt them, I washed the tied up balls with my towels, one cycle with the temperature on hot wash/cold rinse, then threw them in the dryer. End product, nicely felted dryer balls!

I made 10 and put them in every load I dry. Winner!!!