Entrelac Bag

This was a really fun project. My own design.....just winging it really. Basically, I just hoped really hard all the way through that it would turn into something cool. I didn't write out a pattern while I worked like should have, I'm just praying that I can look at it and reproduce the results!!

I used Lamb's Pride worsted weight single ply.

I knit the main bag in 5 seperate pieces. Two identical for front and back, and two for the sides, and one bottom. After each piece was done, I fulled the knitting using the same technique for hand felting....soaked it with hot water and rolled the heck out of it!!! I didn't push it to a complete felt stage, so all of the stitches are still visable, but it's extrememly tight and strong!!

I sewed it together with the same yarn, and put the seems to the outside for a bit punky-ness. The finished demensions are 18"tall, 15"wide, and 8"deep. Because it's so large, bigger than the average paper grocery bag...I added reinforcements to the sides. The handles are just strips that I sewed into tubes and stuffed to be puffy. I found the matching buttons in my jar of saved and recycled buttons!!!It turns out that the side additions are very necessary and work really well!! I absolutely LOVE the outcome of the project!!! Now I'm going to design smaller versions too and add these to my inventory to sell at the Wool Fest!!! Next I'll try a little matching handbag!

Before Pics of Studio

It'll be 3 years this Oct. since my husband and I bought our funky little house in the trees. The house was far from finished, but everything oozed of potential. It's amazing the "set-back" effect that Lupus can have! But now we've started the reinuvation process on my art studio!! Yea!! So everything is packed away and piled precariously, ready to be moved at a moments notice.


Twilight and Thebes are coming out to help Daniel with the crazy task of putting on the new roof!! Thank God!! I've been working like crazy on the inside...putty, and sanding the sheetrock. My goal is to have it ready to paint by time my girls get here next week!!!




I've pretty much finished prepping the walls now. We'll be putting in the insulation, and a new ceiling!! I've even gotten the promise of some electrical lighting so I can work through the night!!




As it shows, all I have now is a sub floor. So we'll be laying another layer of plywood down, and then I'll get to choose my flooring!! I'm going to go with vinyl tiles for easy clean up of fibers and water and whatnot!!!




The room is 16 foot x 16 foot. It only has one window, which we are replacing. Normally this would be bad for an art studio, but because of the Lupus, it works for me!!




I love this little arched doorway leading to our closet! Our closet is really nice and big, but you can see that now it's our main storage place! We do have an outdoor storage shed, but it's currently holding all of the building supplies, Ugh!! I can't wait to use the closet as a closet again!!





This is what the outside looks like! Daniel has chosen crazy cabin style siding to put up, and it should be a very interesting process!! He says he's going to start it as soon as the new roof in on......hmmmm.



This is the front yard of the studio. My longterm goal is to turn this into a beautiful patio with flowers and shade....maybe this fall?? But if not, definately next summer!!

Preparing to Dye

Because of my small yarn budget, I have been collecting old wool sweaters and ripping them out! I spent over a year collecting all of this white yarn!! Now I have to make it into skeins!

I wanted very long skeins because I intend to hand paint some of this. On a whim, I measured the table legs of one of my folding tables from the studio, it was exactly 5 yards! Perfect. So I turned the table upside down on the end of my bed, so I didn't have to bend over, and began making skeins.

I tied the skeins in figure 8 knots with an acrylic yarn like the Dye book says to. Then I hung them on hangers and labled each one with the yardage. I had to hang the skeins from the ceiling of the Yurt. My husband is so patient and tolerant! I wasn't sure what he was gonna say, but he said that the Yurt looked great with my yarn hanging everywhere!! I think we might be onto a new decorating scheme!!!

Wool Fest Knucks

Here's another version of the glove, also made with hand spun yarn by Merce. This one is a short fingered one, excellent for Fall!!! I love how they're turning out! These will look so awesome with the vests that girls are wearing in the Fall! I'm starting another pair immediately!!

More Socks for my Lover!!

Another car project completed! My husband loves his new socks! He says that they cuddle his feet. They're the "Undulating Rib" sock from the Favorite Socks book. I don't know if this style of striped yarned has a name, but I love it, it's my fav!! I used a coordinating thread to reinforce the heel!!