Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A Period of Rest

It seems that I am often rushing from one thing to another.  This is especially true during the fall months when I'm prepping for craft shows. Creating, packing, setting up*, repacking, and unpacking when I return home, leaves me physically exhausted. Add the holidays into the mix and by January I'm just plain pooped!


The only thing I really want to do after the holidays is sit on the couch under a blanket, watch tv, and recoup.  And so I did just that.  Yet, while my body was tired,  my mind is still thinking (and needing) things to do! I usually catch up on some knitting projects, but this year I decided to return to my fiber roots.

 Project #1

It's been years since I used a crochet hook but I had recently come across lots of bits of left over worsted weight yarn and thought it would be fun to revisit that skill because I needed to create something fast. This small blanket will be giving some extra warmth to a dear relative who recently went to live in a nursing facility.  Hopefully, it will liven up his room as well.
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Projects # 2-9


Like many other weavers, my first weaving projects as a kid were potholders.  While visiting Halcyon Yarn's website, I found a great potholder loom from Crazy as a Loom Weaving Studio) and decided to treat myself to a kit that included the loom and loopers. The loopers are left over from the production of
Solmate Socks - the socks that don't match.  The loom is made from recycled wood. A win-win!

Here's the result:





I had a great time playing around with the colors and plain weave patterns and I'm so glad that I also ordered extra loopers for future potholders. (Now the goal is to find white loopers so I can dye them!)

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I'm feeling much better and I'm ready to move off the couch and back into the studio. Next up? A wool/silk scarf for...shhhhh!  Its a secret!

*Special thanks to my hubby for supporting me, for carting my stuff back and forth to shows, for packing/unpacking the car, and assisting at the shows.  I couldn't do it without you and it's so much fun doing it together!