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| Amanda in 'Zelda Fitzgerald' ~ wet felted merino wool & silk from Fleece Artist |
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| 'Zelda Fitzgerald' ~ finished with a sari silk flower |
Autumn is my favorite season of the year especially around Thanksgiving. Crisp, sunny fall days seem the perfect time for knitting and felting. As soon as the air cools and the leaves start to fly I find myself on the lookout for even more beautiful yarns and felting fibres. I wake up every morning thinking about what I will make next. There are always so many ideas and never enough time to complete them all! Starting a felting project keeps me home and busy for the whole day. For other days when I am running about I always have a pair of wristlets or fingerless gloves or another hat on my needles which I carry with me everywhere I go.
In this regard I am a firm follower of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's philosophy of knitting. Also known as the 'Yarn Harlot" Stephanie knits everywhere despite what people think. She says "I know they think I'm odd, but I think I'm just normalizing knitting within our culture". If you knit, of course, you get it. Still hands and idle moments are simply wasted stitches and wasted stitches are a crying shame! I love her books and her Blog at: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/
I like to complete as many pieces as possible in the fall in preparation for Prince Edward County's annual and appropriately named 'Busy Hands' show and sale. 'Busy Hands' is a fantastic artisan market place, featuring local, one of a kind, makers of very nice stuff! It is held every December (usually the second weekend) for two days in Picton, upstairs at Books and Co. next door to Miss Lily's Cafe. I have participated in this show for several years and love it. It's an exciting, high energy market with so many wonderful and creative local artisans taking part and a loyal following of enthusiastic, appreciative Christmas shoppers.
Here's what I have been keeping my hands busy with....
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| 'Manos Multi Fringe' beanie ~ hand knit twith extra fine merino |
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| 'Buttercup' ~ hand knit in chunky wool with organdy ribbon (design inspired by Lynn McCallum) |
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| 'Noro Blue Stripe' beanie and fingerless gloves ~ hand knit with mohair ruffles |
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| 'Noro Pink Stripe' beanie ~ hand knit with felted flower |
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| 'Winter Wedding' head piece ~ hand knit |
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| 'Winter White' wrist warmers ~ repurposed sweater cuffs with hand knit mohair ruffles |
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| 'Aqua' headband and wristlets ~ hand knit with merino silk blend |
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| 'Come Clocher' ~ hand knit and felted |
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| 'Monet's Water Lily' mad hatter ~ hand knit and felted |
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| 'Monet's Water Lily' ~ top embroidered |
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| 'Shades of Pink' cloche ~ hand knit |
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| 'Pink Flower' beanie ~ hand knit |
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| 'Pink and Red Roses' ~ wet felted, a joy to create and inspired by Monika Aebischer |
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| 'Pink Pistachio' fingerless gloves ~ hand knit with Noro wool, silk and mohair ruffles |
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| 'Shades of Purple' ~ fingerless gloves ~ hand knit with wool and soy and mohair ruffles |
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| 'Purple Roses" ~ wet felted |
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| 'Misti Purple' pork pie ~ hand knit alpaca with locks |