Let me catch you up on what has been happening with me at Keepsake Fibers.... my hobby and passion.
November brought an opportunity for me to get back to my loom and do some hand-weaving. It felt great to work with my hand-spun yarns to create a collection of scarves to be sold on consignment at Lupine Blossom Fiber Arts.
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| display at LBFA |
Following the scarves, I wove a couple sets of kitchen towels.
These too are for sale at Lupine Blossom Fiber Arts in Sandwich, NH.
Weaving is at a halt until the weather warms up. My workspace is located in a part of the house that is not insulated or heated. It is too cold for me out there! So, I turned to other interests...
I planned projects that were small and could be moved into the house easily, utilized materials that I have in stock and allowed me to explore a new technique or skill.
SEWING:
This is a quilted tote bag that allowed me to practice the Ryan McKenna applique technique.
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| Winter Birds Front |
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| Winter Birds Back |
"50 Shades of Blue" is the same tote pattern where I used a quilted collage technique. It gave me an opportunity to explore the decorative stitches on my new sewing machine. I also got to use up some of the many fabric scraps I've been collecting :)
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| 50 shades of blue |
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| | This purse is a good exercise in bag construction on a smaller scale. I had fun with the colors. My Mother-In-Law mentioned her favorite colors and I enjoyed shopping for the fabrics and working with them. I wish I had taken a photo of the back. It features a bird. | | | |  |
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| Inside pockets, side ties for expansion, swivel clip for keys |
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I'd been thinking of something I saw in Lancaster, PA... I had no idea what they were called but looked like they would make a good hostess gift. So I played around with a paper napkin and came up with a way to make these "wine coasters".
I added a beaded edging for a little sparkle. This made a great gift for my sister-in-law at the Christmas party she hosted. I think next time, I will add a wine bag to accompany the wine or maybe a little hat and scarf to adorn the bottle.
I am always thinking about how to promote my Etsy shop and with only the handspun yarn in it ... I was limiting myself. I also wanted to make a gift for a friend who is an avid knitter. I made this quilted cable needle case for her.... thinking if this is a success, I'll make some for the Etsy shop
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| cable needle case rolled |
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| inside pockets for cable knitting needles; pkg of beaded stitch markers |
Well the gift was a big hit! I liked it too. So, instead of making one for the shop I made another one for me, well I made two. Not just one for my cable knitting needles, I made one for my dpns too!
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| for the dpns |
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| quilted knitting needle cases |
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| for cable knitting needles |
I experimented with the heirloom quilt stitches on my sewing machine. The heirloom stitches look like hand stitching. It is achieved by using monofilament thread on top and the colored thread in the bobbin ...adjusting the tension was tricky.
This project provided me a great opportunity to inventory my knitting needles and record it in
Ravelry. I will take another dive into the fabric stash to make a few more needle cases for the
Keepsakefiber Etsy Shop.
BEADING:
I have quite the collection of seed beads. So I decided to make a beaded band using the bead loom. I will use this for trim on a quilted bag.
And I kept going, with beaded embroidery I made this button.
I also tried my hand a making some jewelry. I bought interchangeable earring findings so that I can switch out the earrings
These stitch markers were a little addition to the quilted knitting needle case I gave my friend.
And when I just needed a meditative project, I worked on my SAPGAP project. This is a project where I spin for fiber. I'm spinning shetland fleece into a 2ply sport weight yarn. Right in my comfort zone.
Notice, I haven't done any knitting... perhaps, next month.
I saved it because it was "good stuff". I thought I would sell it but realized that I would have to ask what seemed like an outlandish price. I packed it away and moved it a few times before I came to my senses and took it out of hiding. I moved it to my car for use when the AC was too cool for me and just right for my husband. I found myself admiring it and smiling. I then brought it out in public... oh yes, to the air conditioned office where I was chilly. I wore it with pride and admired it again when I saw it draped over the back of my chair. The color graduations amazed me... I didn't notice those changes in the yarn while spinning. I saw it in the knitting but hadn't planned the changes to match the pattern so nicely. Again, I wondered why I had shelved this good stuff for another day. What day is better than today? Enjoy. Use the good stuff. 
