My New Truck and Other Things

I saw this metal truck at the grocery store parked next to some plants and other decorative objects. I knew I had to have it, but for some reason I kept passing it by. Yesterday, I went to town for a lunch date and while I was there, decided that it was going to be truck purchasing day. They were gone! OK, that is what I get for not buying it the minute I saw it. But wait. I will just walk down the whole front of the store just to make sure. And look. I found it. It was sitting on the ground surrounded by other things. It was bigger then I remembered, but it went straight into my cart and then home. I was so excited. Here it is. I plan to put a small plant in the back.

You thought I had forgotten about the Tassels, right? Well no. They were just in the chorus waiting for a chance to take step up to the foot lights. Here is the one I made this morning and I think it is Star material. I made it from some of my hand spun yarn--silk and rayon fabrics spun with "knots" and "flags". I added a couple of large pearl buttons and some hand rolled felt beads. The felt beads were fun and so when I finished the Tassel...

 

I made more of Beads out scraps from unsuccessful  projects. I have been looking for beads with larger holes. Most of the ones I make, are made on a knitting needle and have regular sized holes. These will be useful. Plus I used up some of those unloved patches I made a couple of years ago.

Yellow Feather Yarn

Yarn spun with Yellow Easter Grass and
Yellow Feathers from a Boa.
The wool is various pieces carded together
 with the Easter Grass and a little sparkle.
The Sparkle is for my Granddaughter Casey.
The Easter Grass is for my daughter Bonnie.

On The Table

These projects are on my table this weekend.

The on-going knitted collage,
(who knows what this will be)
Things I bought at the thrift store to spin,
(Thanks for the idea Bonnie, but the Easter grass doesn't want to spin)
A hand stitched piece that needs pliers to pull the needle through the fabric,
(remind me never, ever to dye fabric that I can't stitch through with a needle and thread)
A piece ready for hand stitching, but I think I need to machine embroider it instead
and, finally
The Sketch Book Project pages with "under-painting".

I was moving right along on the Sketch Book pages, but then I went to the care facility to see Mom and she and her roommate cornered me in front of the closet and bombarded me with questions that made no sense. And Mom wanted me to take her home because she was done visiting with Patty and she couldn't just stay there in Patty's room. Well, it is Mom's room too but apparently neither one of them remembers that! Patty didn't want me to put Mom's clean clothes in the closet because I needed to take them home when I took Mom. Mom thought she had just returned from Church and Patty thought she was going to the ranch. Mom wanted to know where I had parked her car. Yesterday, Mom told me she had been to Dallas for a visit. It was a "mad" scene reminding me of the Abbot and Costello kit "Who's on first". I felt like I was being attacked by a pair of Blue Jays. Steve and I finally escaped but when I got home, I had to unplug the phones. 12 calls and 12 messages to come and pick her up as she couldn't find her car and she needed to get home.

I will have to chill out for a bit with a large bowl of ice cream before I get back to the pages.....

Black and White Challenge

Here are the Black and White "yarns" I spun today for the challenge with the Fiber Artists and Spinners on Facebook. Really, they are black and white. The photo turned out blue and so I changed it to black and white in Picassa only I forgot to save it, so here it is in BLUE!

The piece on the left is black and white tissue paper, spun, and then core spun with a commercial black single. I haven't measured the yardage yet.

In the middle, I have 15 yards of recycled silk fabric, spun, and then plied with the same paper yarn.

And finally, on the right is six yards of the paper yarn spun with some black and white silky thread, hand knotted and then waxed.

A whole package of tissue paper will make a lot of paper yarn. I filled one bobbin and still have some strips left over.

From Start to Finish

Well, not exactly. I mean I didn't shear the sheep or wash the fleece, 
but I did spin the yarn from a roll of space dyed pencil roving.
I have never tried using pencil roving.
It is the most wool I have spun at one time, four ounces.
Sounds silly I know, but don't forget, I have only been spinning since January
and part of that time I had a broken neck and wrist! 
It is also the thinnest yarn I have ever spun (thanks to the pencil roving).
After spinning the single, I divided it into two balls and plied them.
Then I washed and dried it and here it is ready to make into something.
I wonder what?

Tag, You're It

More tissue paper yarn. This is spun with:

Purple tissue paper printed with white hearts
Pink Mulberry Paper
Dip-dyed Rice paper
Rayon thread
Sale tags

Basket or Hat?

Last night I picked up a ball of yarn I had spun from a vintage tablecloth.
I started crocheting it with a large hook into a circle and then I kept
 going and going..........
 I added in another piece of a table runner
not spun, but cut into strips with the embroidered motifs left whole
and called it a night.
This morning I added more fabric to the top/bottom edge
and tacked down the motifs with buttons.
Now
Should I wear it or put something in it?
Both?

Progress?

I think I am getting the hang of it. Sometime in the fall I bought three bags of wool roving from the trift store. I had no idea I would acquire a spinning wheel. I bought it because it was cheap and I could needle felt with it or make Nuno or whatever. Now I am so glad I bought it. It is the perfect practice fiber for the spinning wheel and I am not in the least worried about ruining it!

Four Silk Scaves and A Shirt

Wait!

I thought this was a blog about four silk scarves and a shirt?

Well, it is.

All spun and then crocheted into this Pinata Hat

(which is what it reminds me of) 

with wool fiber and some plastic beads which were threaded onto blue nylon thread.

A silk hat for spring

The hat has a sort of 1920's dip on one side

which was a spur of the moment thing,

but makes for a cute fit.

A Squiggle Scarf

A bear of very little brain
wearing my new
knitted
silk and linen
Squiggle
scarf
Silk yarn spun from a thrift store shirt
buttons and all!

Silk Yarn

Another use for those thrift store silk shirts.

Cache Pot

Crocheted

spun plastic bags

with copper rayon thread

 plastic tubing

 pottery beads

  washers