Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Current Sewing Projects

Tumbling blocks quilt pattern, in a vintage color way called "Betty Dear", although I don't remember the  name of the fabric company that puts it out. I purchased the fabric as a jelly roll, but it did not have a good range of values, so I had to go out and purchase some additional lights and darks to round out the selection. This will become a small bag.
The next photo shows a beautiful complementary color scheme of blues and yellows, in a reproduction Civil War cottons designed by Jo Morton of Andover Fabrics. I cannot wait to try some civilwar era patchwork quilting projects with this. 

July 2014 Handspinning Samples

LThese handspun yarns were created with Ashland Bay Corriedale Top and Cheviot Top. Both tops were blended on my Ashford blending board, with various blends, ranging from dyed wool top, dyed mohair, and Sari silk ribbons that had been cut into flecks and added directly onto the blending board. Some samples were core spun using fine sewing thread in coordinating colors, and/or blended with bits of dyed silk noil. Some plied, some singles.....this was so much fun, and a serendipitous creative venture! It was a spontaneous mixing of colors and textures that yielded terrific results! I will probably use these yarns for Saori weaving, or maybe some fine knitting--the yarn is well suited to scarves or shawlettes.  I am thinking of a linen stitch, perhaps, that would show off all the color gradations, but there are many other options I could try!