A Little Update

I'm not sure if I've put this out there very much, but I have a website! It's dedicated to storing my documentation, classes I've made, and it has galleries for my knitting, spinning and natural dyes! If you have a spare minute, check it out and tell me what you think! Feedback is always welcome. Since this is my first attempt at a website, things are still in flux and any ideas as to make my site more user friendly and pretty are very welcome!

http://dreuxdanjou.wix.com/dreux

As a thank you, here's a teaser of a knitted hat I'm designing for someone! This is just a prototype, and I'll have a full write-up soon!

Spinning Fever!

This post will be a little short due to me packing and getting ready for Gulf Wars! We leave Saturday morning and I'm so very excited! Also, I'm working on a series of photo tutorials for some common knitting issues and fixes. I can't wait for those to come together.

 But, as mentioned in my last blog post, I've been spinning up a storm lately and I have finally spun and plied those beautiful braids of fiber and without further ado, here they are!

Fiber is plied and on the niddy noddy!

Skeined, washed and ready for its closeup! 

I really loved working with this yarn. Watching the colors transform and give the whole yarn a wonderful purple overtone was magical to watch. I can definitely say that there will be more experiments with color and plying! It's just too fun not to do! But, that's not everything I've spun. Oh no, I've finished more!

This is 4 oz of merino wool in a hunter green color. I completely spun and plied this wonderful skein at Nottinghill Coill's Baronial Birthday and Investiture last month. It was wonderfully relaxing and really added to the event for me. I think I'll be bringing my wheel to more events now. The camera messed with the color a bit, but you get the idea. This skein is a 2-ply and is delicious! I have an idea to make a bag out of this fiber, paired with some white I'll be spinning later on.

Here's a teaser of what I'm working currently! How about you guys? Have you been working on anything lately that you're super excited about?

100% merino wool in an undyed oatmeal color.

MMMMMMMerino

I recently purchased some lovely handpainted merino top from Lanitum Ex Machina on Etsy, and I can't help but share how much I'm enjoying this fiber. Nea focuses on multicolor handpainted tops but there are also some pretty cool art batts available. If you get a chance, check her out.

The fiber is actually two separate 2oz braids in different colorways and are meant to be spun individually and plied together. The blue is called Blur and the red is called Downfall. The fiber glides through my hands and I think my experiment in spinning silk has helped me gain better control of my hand movements while spinning. I have only spun up the blue so far, but if the red is anywhere near as lovely, I'm in for a real treat. Here's a few teaser shots.

Yay bags!

As mentioned in my last post, my knitting has really taken me in an unexpected direction. When I originally began my knitting within the walls of the SCA, I thought my road would take me down knitting socks. Lots and lots of socks. Well...........surprise, it didn't! I have become intrigued by reliquary pouches, and reliquaries in general. How they were made, why they were made, and what was in them? It's a fascination that I don't see subsiding soon. So, what sparked this interest? The Sion bags found in a cathedral in Sion, Switzerland.

Those are the pictures that sparked my interest in pouch knitting. There was also a 5th bag found alongside these, but I can't seem to find the picture right now. From the beautiful colorwork to the fine gauge of the knitting, everything about these bags interested me. I wanted to be good enough to not just make these bags, I want to be able to replicate them in terms of gauge ( 16 stitches per inch) and materials used (silk). It has become a passion to develop my knitting skills and gain the knowledge necessary to replicate these bags as close to exact replicas as I possibly can.

As you can see by the pictures, not all of the bags had a hanger from which to hang the bags from. I really liked that. When modifying the patterns to create samples or gifts for others, it gave me the versatility to leave out that element if I chose to. You can't tell from the pictures, but not all of the bags have tassels either. This also gave me flexibility. I like when knitting can be accommodating.

This was my first attempt at creating one of these bags.

The bag was made for an inter-Kingdom A&S swap called the Noblese Largess, and it was just the kick in the butt I needed to start down this path. The bag was knit in KnitPicks Pallete (100% wool) with size US 1 needles. I fingerloop braided the hanger and I made a lucet cord out of crochet cotton for the drawstring. I am extremely happy with how this pouch turned out, and for a first try, I don't think I could have asked for much more.

My next two attempts allowed me to stretch my creativity even more. I used elements found in the extant pieces as well as elements of my own creation, to draft my own patterns and make my own version of a reliquary pouch! To me, using the Sion bags as inspiration was really important. I want these bags to be special. I want the person who gets them to keep something treasured or valuable in them. Or, they can keep their car keys and wallet at an event in them if needed. They're so versatile and I love that about these bags.

The bag on the left was inspired by an individual's heraldry. I took the colors present (green, yellow and purple) and one focal item present ( 3 4-leaf clovers) and put them all into this bag. I had to draft the clover part myself which was a bit tricky, but I love how it turned out.

The bag on the right is actually the second bag made in this pattern. The original went to an individual who didn't have heraldry at the time, but wanted black and red with suns on it. So, using the flower motifs found one the extant pieces, I simply filled them in and called them suns! I didn't add tassels or a hanger to either of these, partially because I thought they would clutter the look of the bag. In future bags I will make sure to incorporate these elements. Again, both of these bags are in the KnitPicks Pallete and on size US 1 needles.

As you can see, I still have quite a ways to go before I reach my goal, but that's a good thing. It gives me a goal that I can work towards. Here is a sneak peak at my newest bag. It's in the Pallete on size 0 needles. I am practicing knitting with 3 colors at a time and long color blocks that have substantial floats on the inside. This won't be the finished product however. It is a test to see if the bag's pattern works! If it checks out, then I'll be recreating the bag in DMC thread and size 00 or 000 needles.

What about you guys? Do you have a long-term project that you're working on? What ways are you going about attaining those goals?

I'm back!

Well, to be more accurate, I'm here! I moved my other blog from a different e-mail account to this new one. It's all imported and pretty, so I should be good to go. Having to log out of my g-mail, just to log into another another account to blog really took the the spontaneity out of this.

Now, I almost didn't import my old blog onto here. There is such a substantial gap between where I left off and where I am picking up, that it almost seems like a new person is posting. My work has gotten much more detailed, and hopefully more period. In the end, I think it'll be good to see where I started and how I got to where I am. I'll probably write somethings about my adventures in pouch knitting/research, my recent dabbling in the sewing world, and what fiber blog would be complete without spinning and naturals dyes? All of that will be coming as soon as I can take pictures and get the words to come out. Until then, here's a little teaser of what I've been up to.

My first attempt at a sion bag

A prototype "ermitten" with my heraldry on it

Islamic sock in 100% cotton. Too small so I only made 1

Bag knit by me, pendant cast by master Andras. 

My most recent handspun

Shawl I made for Mistress Siobhan when I took her belt

Take care, brush your hair. I'll see ya when I see ya.

~D

Looking Towards The Future

As some of you may (or may not) have noticed, I haven't posted here in about a month and a half. Why is that? Well, I've switched which gmail I use more often. That has really created an out of sight, out of mind problem with this blog. I'm trying to find a way to allow me to post under my new e-mail address so that I can continue to keep people updated, and just to organize my thoughts. If I can't find a way to merge the two to better work on the blog, I might have to start a new one, transfer over the posts, and delete this blog. It's sad, but might be necessary.

In a while, I will also be setting up a website for myself and my husband. This could turn into a new blog for me as well. I don't quite know what the future holds for this blog, but I hope that I can remember to keep my readers informed on what has happened already and what will happen once I find the answers I'm looking for.

FO Friday: Lots And Lots of Shawls!

What is it about blogging that makes me feel bad for not posting? I wish I knew. Anyway, I've been super busy and productive and I can't wait to show you what I've done! This post is going to be kept relatively short because company is coming over and I need to clean, but I thought you guys deserved an update.

First off is my Sharktooth. You might remember it from this post, but you might also remember that I started out with a different color. The Ella Rae wasn't quite working for what I needed, so I changed to one of my Christmas presents. The Cherry Tree Hill yarn in color Slate. I love how this turned out.

 

 







I learned a valuable lesson with this project. Counting and paying attention are very important. This shawl should technically have about 200 yards less yarn that it does, but I accidentally added 6 more pattern repeats, thus making this thing huge. But, I love it and I'm so happy it's done.


Next up is something I've already finished and showed off, but I finally got around to blocking the darn thing!
Here's my 3rd Herbivore! This was a fun and quick knit, and it's one of my favorites.

Finally is something I made for my DH with the yarn he got me for Christmas! Here's my Forest Gyllis! It's an amazing lace scarf made out of a worsted weight 100% wool yarn. The pictures don't show off the subtle yellow and green heather the yarn has, but I'll try to get better pictures later.

That's it for now, I'll do my best to post what I'm working on this Wednesday!