Not sewing...

...but still creating!!!

I have lots of hobbies. Too many actually!

One of them is knitting. Several years ago I was given a spinning wheel for Xmas. It stood as decoration for a few years untill I decided to teach myself to spin. I don't know anyone who spins so I read a lot of aritcles, googled spinning and had a lot of trail and error. Mostley error!!

Then I went to a local crafts fair and there was a lady there spinning wool mixed with dogs hair! I asked her how she did it, spinning, because I could not for my life get the hang of it. Being very kind, she plonked me down in front of her wheel, told me to not bother about treadling (she did that) and just made me concentrate on my hands and the wool. And guess what??

It all clicked!! All the bits fell in to place and I was off. I managed to get a sack of sheeps wool that a sheep farmer in the neighbourhood was going to throw out (!!) and I used that to practice on. It was white so I also had a play around with dying. I used plants, I used synthetic dyes and I had a wonderful time experimenting.

I LOVE spinning! It is so relaxing. This is my latest yarn. This roving was bought at a craft fair and has spun in to a lovely mottled yarn. I prefer Navaho plying which is a single yarn that is looped while spinning to become a 3-ply yarn. Love this technique. Much better than 2-ply. I havent got the patience to spin 2 spools of single yarn to ply. I want to ply straight away!!

Not sure what to knit from this yarn yet. Only 200 grams .... Hmmmm, I'll have to think.

Creating again!

It has been another beautiful day here in Sweden. It should only be spring but at the moment we are having summer! So, to nice to sit indoors and play with dolls. But that doesn't mean that I can't be creative. So swapping my scissors, needles and thread for a power saw, hammer and nails I have today built two large-ish flower boxes.

Or so I thought!! Turns out that they weren't boxes at all. The were children hutches!!!

I turned my back on my work for two minutes and came back to find both my children each installed in a new box. Now I don't plan to keep the girls in there. Once I evict them I shall plant some climbing plants I have that desperatly need new homes. Honeysuckle and a very pretty pink clematis.

Almost done...

Well, my Dark Fae, Raena is almost done. This is Vala's sister. Older sister I think?

I still have a little to do on her, like adding fingernails and attaching a clear nylon fishingline to her back so she can hang suspended from the cealing. I'm quite pleased with her. But not the photo! I must rig up a nice setting for her and take some really good photos. This one doesn't do her justice at all but I did so want to show her off!

Raena, like Vala, is pretty gothic looking but slightly more colourful with her striped dress and her dark red wings. I was watching Tim Burtons Sweeny Todd at the time I was dressing her and was inspired by Mrs Lovett's dresses. Raena is made from the same pattern as Vala but the legs have been altered and she is wearing a proper tailored dress. Valas dress was just strips of dyed cheese cloth. And I just had to give her pony tails. My daughters said; Oooo look! She's got punk pony tails!! I like that. Punk pony tails..... :O)