Seriously, I swear January is lasting twice as long as other months, and yet this week flew by…I’m in some sort of time warp I think!
Knitting
My ADVENTuresome wrap had an outing this week on a walk, but it isn’t warm enough for the temperatures we are getting so far, so it will be hanging around until Spring now. My plan to have the orange/brown colours at the back has worked to hide them which is great. Sorry about the quality of the 2nd photo.
I made a tiny bit of progress on the pair of socks that I cast on. They are basically going to be Hermione’s Everyday Socks pattern but I’m going to place the purl bumps in different places. As I’ve really just got 2 cuffs made on a circular needle there’s nothing exciting to show yet.
I also finally got around to looking at how to do the provisional cast on so I could start on my Litmus cowl using the 2020 Cookston Crafts advent (in DK). I cast on 82 stitches instead of 100 as it is DK. We binge watched ‘Traces’ on Friday night and went to bed after 1.30am so I managed to actually get quite a bit done in just one evening. I’m using the coloured stripes to practice continental style and English for the grey. My tension is notably wonky where I have practiced it. I forgot on the salmon to switch.
Edit: I forgot I also knit 2 cup cosies!
Sewing
I ordered a walking foot for my sewing machine which I have now fitted and it came with a mystery attachment that I don’t know where it goes and doesn’t seem to be on any YouTube clips or on the instructions that came with it! Anyone know what it is for?
I also ordered some new good quality yarns and some new needles. So I’m all set to sew something exciting with it. I have lots of my husband’s old jeans to try to make something with and have some denim thread and needles so we shall see how that goes. I did wonder about trying to make a big bag out of them to carry my Ashford Traveller Spinning Wheel. That should make it easier to carry in and out of the car and protect it a bit if there’s rain, which could mark the waxed finish. Anyway…I have these lofty ideas but will just try some small projects testing my denim sewing skills first. I think I have 4 pairs of his jeans and I do have MANY pairs that don’t fit me too so lots of denim!
Spinning
I just did a tiny bit of spinning this week to try out a new office chair I have bought for weaving on and spinning on. It is the Yak/Silk blend. It is much harder to spin than the baby camel/silk. Not sure whether I may try felting the fibre instead or keep going.
Talking of spinning silk…in 2 weeks the Highland Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (HGWSD) are having a Zoom session with Skye Silks about spinning silk. We could sign up to buy a sample box of different types of silks and a lovely box of goodies arrived this week with lots of different samples. I need to start really moisturising my hands the next 2 weeks so the silk doesn’t all to stick to my rough hands (a regular problem when I’m wet felting).
Weaving
Well my Diamond Strip tea towels have now been through the washing machine and tumble dryer and have had their hems finished (rather badly oops). Now they are washed I actually prefer the back view of them to the front and wished I’d hemmed them the opposite way around! Next time I will totally change the way I do the hems. They are just face cloths for me so it doesn’t matter whether they are well hemmed.
I watched Kelly Casanova doing a video where she made a pinwheel pattern on her loom using some heddle rods made from some dowling, so I’m going to hunt in the garage and give this a go. I have some Wensleydale long wool skeins in a very pale teal and dark teal that I think may work quite nicely to make something. So that’s my next project I am planning.
I have really been making my way through Kelly’s videos on her online school so I guess that is where a lot of my week has gone. There are so many things I’d like to try and I do wonder whether knitting really needs to take a back seat and only be done evenings in front of the TV, so that in the daytime I can crack on with all these other crafts that are calling me.
The HGWSD had their first weaving interest group Zoom chat on Saturday as well, so that will help keep me motivated and help me develop my skills.
Other News
Some of that targeted marketing, that everyone complains about, got me this week and I signed up to join Craftsy for only $5 for a year! I’ve set the reminder to cancel it before the year is up and paid with a credit card that expires before next year’s payment is due. There were some comments from people they’d had trouble cancelling the renewal before it went through but I’ve safe guarded against that. There’s lots of sewing classes on there (plus other crafts) so I will be doing those as well as Kelly’s weaving videos.
My decluttering is continuing and I did a post yesterday with an update of the eclectic stuff I found under the stairs! Including a boat!
I guess now I’ve typed all this up I realise why my week seems to have gone so quickly! That’s another reason why I love being part of this group. It prompts our grey cells to remember what we did during the week. Just when you are about to beat yourself up for doing nothing all week you remember!
This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 10th year, but this is my 3rd year participating. If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry.
HighlandHeffalump 
1. You and your adventuresome wrap are lovely.
2. I’m sorry, I don’t know what a walking foot is used for. Please share when you find out. I’ve only used buttonhole and zipper feet.
3. Use a hefty needle for that denim. You probably know that.
4. Your woven cloths are so lovely. The fabric is thick, so I wonder if you could finish with a straight seam and a tiny bit of fringe instead of a folded hem. Or maybe just fold it once.
5. Look at all that lovely silk!
6. Marilee is signed up for Craftsy, I think, and she uses it. I think you will really enjoy it.
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The bar is a guide for your walking foot. I’ve never attached the guide to mine but this link might help you
https://www.thesewingdirectory.co.uk/walking-foot-guide/
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Oh! There must be a hole to pop it through then. Thanks very much.
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I’m with StichNSew on the bar. If I need a guide to keep my quilting straight, I just lay a piece of painter’s tape along the line. It works great, doesn’t mar your fabric and comes off easily.
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The adventuresome wrap in the wild looks great! I love the towels and agree a little fringe might look nice if you were bothered by the hem.
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The bar is a quilting guide which you slip into the walking foot and set at the width you want your rows of quilting to be. Then as you quilt you line the edge of the bar with the previous line of stitching and your lines of quilting are then evenly spaced.
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Oh that’s clever! I haven’t tried quilting yet but no doubt I will eventually so I have popped it safely away for now. Thanks very much.
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Lordy!!! You have been busy!! I’m exhausted reading your blog!! That Yak/Silk blend looks irresistible!! I don’t know anything about spinning but sure looks like it would be beautiful knit up. On the other hand you do make those amazing felted lampshades so it would beautiful in that too. Glad it’s not my decision to make. You and your wrap look so good. Completely can relate to your Continential tension inconsistency. That’s a goal I forgot to list as I know I need to just knit a scarf so that I can practice. On a recent project I was so tickled I got gauge with Continential. Then when I saw the wonkiness of the fabric I stopped and went back to English. I really really need to master it for the sake of my arm!! The spinning samples look ridiculously fun. What a great ZOOM session you are going to have! It’s funny to read you are enjoying the Kelly videos. Just yesterday, a local friend was telling about all she was learning from the videos too. I too signed up for Craftsy and have a note on my calendar to cancel after a year. Unfortunately I haven’t used any of the classes. Guess $5 wasn’t enough to motivate me. But I appreciate the reminder. I really should be checking it out more. What a great week you had.
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Once you get the hang of a provisional cast-on, it will open a whole world of fun!
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Okay, the boat discovery needs more information!!
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Good grief. You week should have sped by with all you did. The spinning you are doing……love the color of it. I hope it works out for you to spin it up. If not, you do such lovely needle felting….the fiber will not go to waste. I have not tried a provisional cast on as of yet. Now that I have a book of all sorts of different knitting things, I should probably give it a try. Your cowl is pretty. You did get a lot done while binge watching TV. I hope this coming week is good to you. January is behind us now so let’s get February moving right along too.
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The adventuresome wrap looks amazing. I have it queued as a possible project to use up all the minis I’ve been spinning.
Which brings me to your spinning, that color is lovely as it the sample box. If I wasn’t in the US I’d join that spinalong. I look forward to your updates on this project.
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Your Adventuresome wraps is beautiful, Liz. It looks nice and long! And cozy – even if not warm enough for your current weather. And so glad someone came through with that little doodad for your pressure foot. I had no clue until I read tatsdent’s comment. Clever!
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OMG – you have gotten so much lovely stuff done! Love your Adventuresome wrap, cup cozies, and woven towels 🙂 And look at that gorgeous silk – can’t wait to see what you make with it! A very long time ago I had a silk embroidery class, and before we started stitching, the instructor made us rub breadcrumbs all over our hands. It got off all the rough spots!
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Oh interesting, thanks
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Those Tea Towels would make gorgeous placemats, just sayin’
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WOW!!! I know I’ve seen some of these projects on Instagram this last week, but seeing it all in one place is IMPRESSIVE!!
Maybe the wrap is an indoor chill stopper for now? I like wearing my lightweight shawls/cowls around the house.
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The Adventuresome Wrap is lovely, well done. I subscribed to Craftsy a long time ago (before it was Bluprint, then while it was Bluprint, and am still there now that it’s Craftsy again), and I’ve learned a lot from their classes. $5 for a year is a steal!
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[…] Litmus cowl by Amy Florence (2020 advent yarn) ✅ Started week 31 finished week 33 (detailed […]
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[…] 2 x cup cosies ✅ week 31 These got a lot of use on our walks back from the Highland Farm Cafe. A good way to use up scraps […]
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