Just a quick note...

and picture of my freshly knitted Cupido cowl :-) I found the pattern on Ravelry, but there's also a blog post about it on Please Don't Eat the Daisies if you'd just like to see a few photos. I finished knitting the baby blanket some time ago (but haven't blocked it yet, and time is getting short...) and there were two skeins of yarn left. I had had no idea how much I'd need and decided to be on the safe side. I thought about putting the two remaining skeins in the shop, but when I saw the pattern for the Cupido cowl, I just had to knit it and the yarn seemed perfect. I absolutely loved knitting with the yarn (it's so fluffy and soft!), but since the colours really don't look so good on me I hope to trade the cowl for something I can't make myself. I might put the last remaining skein in the shop, though, which is white, blue and yellow. I'll need to take photos some of these days.

In other respects I'm spending pretty much of my time studying, my first oral exam will be at the end of the month. It's freaking me out and alternately filling me with joy since it will bring me closer to the end of my student days...

Ladybugs - A Special Art Yarn with Handmade Glass Beads

It's been quite a while since I wrote about a trade I took part in. I received two sets of handmade glass beads, then, one of which I spun into a yarn very soon. I'd been looking forward to make a yarn with the second set of beads, but it was only last week that I was finally able to decide on colours and fibre types for this special yarn. There was also the question of the spinning technique, since I dind't want to make this yarn the same way I made the other. I decided on the corespinning technique, which always results in a very lofty, highly textured yarn and which is also suitable for beads this size. Here it is.

Ladybugs in the Meadow

It's already listed in the shop :-)
I'd like to thank the maker of the beads again, they are so amazing: Danke, potzblitz!

Mysterious Project Revealed

A short while ago, I hinted at a secret project I was planning for myself. Well, now - here it is, or at least, here is the plan and part of what I'll need :-)

When I saw some beautiful, drilled sea glass on Etsy, I started day-dreaming about an ocean-themed shawl. I don't like spinning lots of the same yarn (it gets boring far too quickly ;-)), so I thought about spinning a variety of ocean-themed yarns, spun in different styles, textures and colours. I thought a shawl made from them would be marvellous - but then I looked at the prices for drilled sea glass and postponed further thoughts about the shawl.

It came to mind again when the wonderful potzblitz, with whom I had already traded cute toadstool glass beads, offered to make some more glass beads in exchange for a skein of art yarn. I requested glass beads looking like sea glass. I wanted them to be irregular, colourful and frosted - and here they are:

Aren't they wonderful?

After I learned I would get them, I started spinning the first yarns for my project. Before I can spin a yarn containing the beautiful glass beads, however, I'll need time to dye some fibre. I'm thinking dark, stormy grey-greenish-turquoisish, and I won't add much else than the beads, so they will stand out.


So far, I've spun four yarns for the shawl: two small skeins and two regular ones.

The small ones are corespun yarns, the core of which consists of glow-in-the-dark-thread. One is of light turquoise and contains dark sea shells and large peacock freshwater pearls; the other is of dark grey and dark teal, and contains lots of angelina and shimmering sequins.
I spun one of the larger skeins from hand dyed wool/silk blend, adding lots of freshwater pearls, frosted seed beads and sequins. For the last one, I carded and spun up a batt from merino wool of many different shades of teal and turquoise, orange highlights and sparkling angelina. It also contains lots of seed beads, some white sea shells, and commercial eyelash yarn.

Trading Wire Bending Art

A while ago, I signed up at kreativtausch.de, a German community where people trade handmade items. I've already shown you a shawl pin I made and some of the glass beads I traded it for. Last week I saw some gorgeous-looking soaps I really wanted, and I was asked to make two bookmarks for the trade:



I really like the one with the skull ;-) I've been wanting to make a pair of earrings for myself using the bone skulls, and I hope I will find the time soon.

Today, my soaps arrived, and they don't only look gorgeous, they also smell wonderful!


I also agreed to a trade of two shawl pins for a lot of jam quite some time ago, and I finally managed to make the second pin:


The design was requested by my trading partner and I am glad I managed to accommodate her :-) I am really looking forward to the jams, they will fill a hole in our pantry ;-)

I also listed some yarns for trade, and I found some people who were willing to make some wonderful things for me - but I haven't received any of them yet, so I'll tell you about them some other time. Just let me say that I'm waiting for some handmade glass beads I'll need for a big project I'm planning for myself and which I'll tell you about soon.

More Toadstools

Some weeks ago, I traded a handmade shawl pin for two sets of handmade glass beads. I had mentioned this before, but that was before the trade took place. By now the beads have arrived and I absolutely love them! I am stunned there are people who can actually make something like that with their own hands. Well, some people out there probably think similarly about yarn, I guess ;-)

I have already spun one set of beads into a yarn - and here it is:


The other set is also red, but with black spots and I intend to spin a ladybug yarn from light green wool or maybe wool/silk blend - and I am really looking forward to it :-) I'll post a photo as soon as I am done.

The beads were made by Potzblitz - viiieeelen Dank nochmal! :-)

Odds and Ends

There's nothing new, really, I just wanted to let you know we haven't forgotten our blog readers ;-)

I still can't spin on a wheel, but I'm feeling a lot better and can walk again, though not without pain.

We won't be able to participate in the Tour de Fleece this year, because we'll be on vacation. Which reminds me: we will close the shop for about two and a half weeks (starting Thursday morning, our time zone), so if you need some yarn before we leave, be quick ;-)

I'm planning a new knitting project to take with me to Norway (yes, that's where we'll be going :-)) and have decided on the Myrtle Leaf Shawl (ravelry link) from Victorian Lace Today. I'll be using handspun and hand dyed dark greenish/blueish icelandic wool which has been lying around for a few months now. Hopefully I'll make enough progress to show you when I return. But I also need to work on the Scarf of HoRRoR, so we'll see... ;-)

I have taken advantage of my non-spinning situation by creating this beautiful shawl pin from hammered silver wire:

...which I have then bartered for delicious redcurrant and elderflower/orange jelly :-) I had registered for a German trading forum previously, that's where the trade took place. I already have a request for another pin like this and I'll be swapping it for handmade glass beads I can spin into yarn. I hope to show them to you when I get back!

We'll be back at the end of July - take care and be creative! :-)