A Teetering Tower of Yarn

Q: What does a Morrgan do when she receives a tall CD-tower?

A: She fills it up with yarn, of course!



Alas, I must admit it's not the most practical form of storage. Even a tower this tall will only hold a fraction of my yarns. Sure, I was able to empty a whole box of yarn into this, but there's another 8 boxes of yarn in the storage room.



It does look rather pretty though, doesn't it? =) Some colour is just what that empty white space needed.

Tuesday Finds: Back to Nature

I just love natural materials, both the look and the feel.

Black Walnut Slices by
PineGardenBaskets.etsy.com

Genuine Baltic Sea Driftwood by
alatsupplies.etsy.com

Pebbles Post Earrings by
LAccentNou.etsy.com

Soy Silk Handspun Vegan Yarn by
Snowberrylime.etsy.com

Tuesday Finds: Summer Meadows

Midsummer Meadows Stud Earrings by
SoleDeVita.etsy.com

Sunlit Meadow Handspun Art Yarn by
WeirdAndTwisted.etsy.com

The Meadow Earth Light by
paperplanet.etsy.com

Being Framed Sun Necklace by
vadjutka.etsy.com

My Creative Space

The main joy in my workspace this week is the board I recently got to keep my magnetic creatures on. So tidy! So practical! And also so nice to see my creatures while I'm working at my desk. ;)



Also pictured: the pile of yarn I picked up from a yarn sale recently, waiting to be sorted into storage. I did promise myself (and Mr Morrgan) not to buy any more until I'd used up one of the basketfuls I have... But it was so pretty and soft! And on sale! That makes it ok, doesn't it?

Want to see the creative spaces of others? Head on over to Kootoyoo's blog for a look!

I bring you some knitting! Yes, really!

An actual post about knitting! Yes! *gasp*

The description of this blog says "a place on the net where I show off handmade creatures and creations of my own design", but it occurred to me that it's been aaaaaages since such a post. Oops. Well, today I'll fix that. Behold, a knitting project!

Mmmmm, what a yarn. Just look at those colours. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it, so I brought this home from New Zealand. It's a kid mohair/merino wool blend, so soft and light. Yum yum!

The project I'm using it for is a scarf for myself. Yup, for me. This yarn is MINE. It doesn't show up in the photo, but the scarf has a lace pattern - geometric and asymmetrical, just the way I like it.

At this rate I'll have it ready soon, just in time for... sunny spring. Ack!

Tuesday Finds: Relaxation

It's been a busy week, ladies and gents. A busy month, really. Completing orders (such as the pile of little ones on the right), packing them, running about after supplies and to the post office... I do love it, don't get me wrong, but at the same time I'm glad this only occurs once a year. ;)

One thing is certain: after such weeks, one is in dire need of relaxation.

When I think about ways to relax, one of the first things that come to mind is a nice cup of tea. 'Orient Express' by Tea Noir looks like a lovely alternative - a green tea blend with jasmine. (I recently tried this blend and while not perhaps the first choice for relaxation, it was indeed simply delightful!)
($10, TeaNoir.etsy.com)

Imagine a nice hot foot bath, while reading a book and enjoying the tea above. Mmm, the thought alone makes me a little less tense. How about a little something extra for the poor tired feet afterwards? Perhaps something like this Twinkle Toes Foot Repair balm by Dress Green?
($5, DressGreen.etsy.com)

I'm sure this doesn't apply to everyone, but the one thing that's guaranteed to relax me is knitting. Yes, even after weeks of it, non-stop. This gorgeous handspun mohair yarn looks oh so tempting indeed. While I haven't tried the yarns from The Fuzzy Bunny, I can happily recommend this seller based on my purchases from her bath and body shop.
($30, fuzzybunnyfibers.etsy.com)

Honestly, is anyone surprised?

I gave in. Oh yes I did.

Have a look at some more yarn

Long time no see! I'm back from my two-week vacation. It was great to have some relaxation, but it's good to be back with charged batteries too. :) Which are needed, as it turns out, for I have a couple of busy weeks ahead of me. I don't have the time to show off all the new knitted stuff immediately, but they'll trickle into this blog as I find a few moments here and there.

But first, here's what was waiting for me when I got back! A yarn package from Twisted Fibers with a whole three skeins - one a thick-and-thin cotton yarn in black, white, beige, blue and gray, and two soft cotton blends. I'm especially happy with the blue-brown one on the right, I love that combo.


I have plans for two of them already, but have trouble deciding what to do with the one in various brown shades on the left. Then again, right now I'm a bit too busy to get started with any of these, so I have time to plan. Oh well, these make a nice treat to look forward to once I've gotten everything done. =)

Adding to the Stash

What could be more fun for a yarn addict than to visit a yarn store. Here are my latest additions to the Stash, my teetering tower of plastic boxes full of yarn.

These are lovely big balls (ahem), each about 10 cm (4 in) across and over 20 cm (8 in) long, in red, orange, black and variegated mossy greens. The sun is hiding and these are too big to fit in my lightbox, so the red yarn isn't as deep, dark and delicious in the photo as in reality, nor is the orange as bright as it should be. I'm all set for my autumn projects now, methinks.

Sadly, said teetering tower was brought to the limit of its teeterings by these additions, so I will have to use some up soon. Or just buy another box to add on top.

I'll spend most of my evening tonight knitting another pair of fingerless gloves, in black, red and whatever colour strikes my fancy. It's not like I'm much good for anything else, since I seem to have injured my back somehow. Ouchie.

As final words of wisdom I can say it's a spectacularly bad idea to do a water change to one of your fish tanks using the ol' bucket method with a sore back. Big big ouchie.

Preparing for autumn

Remember that lovely yarn hubby got me for my birthday?

The cabled pair of gloves I visualised from the soft green merino wool were finished quite some time ago, but I forgot to take photos to show them off. I went out of my way to make the most detailed and perfectly fitted pair of gloves I have ever knitted and I'm glad to say they fit me like, um, a glove. Most glove manufacturers seem to think my little finger and thumb are abnormally long, so it's a fun change to have gloves where all the fingers are long enough.


All that shaping means these gloves don't want to lay flat. When I first showed them to hubby, he remarked that they have a certain disembodied look to them. So not only are they perfectly fitted, soft and warm, they're a bit creepy too!

While knitting is great fun, there's one thing I don't much like: weaving in the loose ends. I can't think of anything more dull than that. So the main problem with knitting gloves is that they have a bazillion loose ends to weave in. Combine that with my perfectionist nature and all I can say is ugh! I could feel myself getting older and older as I was struggling to get them all tucked in neatly.

In the end though, I'd say it was worth it. The only problem is that now I feel kinda guilty for wishing it was autumn already, so I could start using them.

By the way, that ball of yarn you see is what is left after both gloves. I wonder what I can do with the rest...

I've been naughty again...

I promised myself (and hubby) not to buy any more yarn until I'd used up half of my huge stash. I was doing pretty well until I walked past a local yarn shop and saw that they had a big sale. There was no way I could stop myself from going in to have a look. Nor was there any way I could walk out empty-handed.


In my defense, I was able to control myself enough to only walk out with this beige mohair blend. I've been wanting to get my hands on some nice mohair for ages, so when I saw these last three in the shop for a ridiculously low price, I had to get them.

Now, what should I make with this... So hard to decide! Any suggestions?

I love wool and I'm not ashamed to admit it

Wool seems to divide people into those who love it and those who hate it. I love the stuff and use it whenever possible. All my winter accessories and sweaters have some amount of wool in them. Before you decide I'm crazy or have no sensation in my skin, let me explain why I love wool.

The most common argument against wool is that it's itchy, scratchy, icky to wear! Well, it is and it isn't. Some of it is - the cheap kind is the horrible scratchy stuff. Because it's cheap, it's what is more commonly used and seen (felt?) in non-handmade items, and I imagine that's where the impression of "wool = itchy" comes from. I can't stand that stuff either. Also, cheaper wools may have been treated with harsh chemicals, which irritate sensitive skin. But all wool isn't like that - soft, high quality wool is something different altogether and this is the stuff I love. In between the extremes are all kinds of levels of soft/itchy that you may or may not like depending on how sensitive your skin is.

Now, think about wool from a hand knitter's perspective. When knitting, you feel the yarn all the time while you work - would you want use itchy stuff that irritates your skin? Or would you go for the soft fiber that is a delight to knit with? Hardly a difficult choice, I'd say. ;) The same goes for hand spinners. Besides, why spend time and effort knitting something from yarn that's too icky to wear once the item is finished?

Another aspect of wool that I appreciate is that it keeps you warm but 'breathes', which it has in common with other natural fibers. This is a combination I have yet to find in synthetic yarns. The few sweaters I've made from acrylic have made me all hot and sweaty, and not in a good way.

So, that's my opinion on wool and why I like to wear it. If you've never laid your hands on any soft wool then don't take my word for it; see if you can find some high quality, soft yarn (handmade, perhaps?) to feel - I think you'll be surprised!

*steps down from soapbox*

He really loves me!

I received a package a few days ago - a birthday present my husband had ordered. This is what it contained:


Both are 100% wonderfully soft merino wool in delicious colours. The variegated green one is hand-dyed and it makes me envision a cabled pair of gloves and a matching neat hat. The other one is both handspun and -dyed, and for the moment I'm content with just stroking it and enjoying the softness while I await inspiration.

If you like the look of these yarns, take a peek at the Etsy shop that sold them, appropriately named HandSpunandDyedToo.etsy.com.

Thank you hubby! :D

I came to a realization...

Magenta is really an excellent colour. Seriously.

No, I'm not talking about the horrible magenta that makes your eyes bleed when you stumble across it among the wide webs of the internet. (Especially when combined with yellow or turquoise. *shudder*)

I'm talking about the deep, rich, delicious magenta I'm using to knit a shawl. I've had this slightly shiny cotton yarn for ages, not knowing what to do with it. I'm not even sure how I got it in the first place. There it has sat and waited for years, until a week ago, I had a terrible need to knit a shawl.

Yes, that's right. I needed to knit a shawl. One can get addicted to anything, it seems.

So anyway, I started knitting this shawl in my own design. For such a bold colour, I chose to use bold lines. This thing will be awesome. Just you wait and see. Until then, here's a preview:


Excellent, I tell you.

EXCELLENT

Yum Yum, Yarn!

Monday morning gave a nice surprise, for here's what I received in the mail yesterday:


100 % natural silvery-black alpaca. Sooo soft, it was a real pleasure winding the skeins into balls. =) This lovely stuff can be found at Stick Chick Designs on Etsy, a shop full of all kinds of natural, undyed fibers. Go take a look!

The big question is, how do I decide what to make with this? Whatever it'll be, it'll be alllll mine!

This yarn is so delicious I could eat it

I usually don't buy acrylic yarn to use for clothing, because I much prefer the feel and qualities of natural fibers. Natural fibers are warmer, breathe better and just feel nicer on the skin, in my opinion. However, when I saw this particular acrylic yarn I couldn't stop myself. The colours were exactly what I had been looking for: a mix of turquoise, rusty orange, beige and brown hues. YUM


Perfect for an autumn/winter sweater, so that's what I'm in the process of making. Photos will be up once I finish this lovely thing. Stay tuned.

Etsy Feature: Temptations of a Yarn Addict

It's time for a confession. I'm a yarn addict. I have bags full of yarn everywhere, waiting to be used up. I shouldn’t buy any more before I’ve used up what I have, but it gets so darn hard not to when I see the wonderful yarns for sale at Etsy. I figured that if I can’t buy any right now, I’ll at least show off some of my favourites.

And as an added bonus, I'll be creating a handy shopping list for later at the same time. Just don’t tell my hubby, or I’ll get one of those suffering looks that say "not more yarn AGAIN".

Anyways, enough chatting and on to the important bit! I'll let the images do most of the talking, because I'm sure they'll do a great job of luring you over by themselves. Note that each image also links to the yarn in question.

Visiting chewyspaghetti.etsy.com sets my imagination going every time. Just look at these two!

ruby297.etsy.com has so many yarns I'd love to use... I wouldn't know which to choose, it was difficult enough to decide on which to use as examples.

I just love the look of that pink yarn. Spazspun.etsy.com also has more than just your usual wool - how about some llama, yak or ingeo?

Want a change from the usual striped socks? Epicurus.etsy.com offers something special: sock yarn that goes from light at one end to dark at the other.

FearlessFibers.etsy.com has a wide selection of both subtle and striking colours, as well as different fibers. My knitting fingers are itching already!

That's all of them this time. So, away with you to browse all these shops, you're bound to find something (or, such as in my case, many things) you like!