Joining-up crocheted squares commenced

Updated seasonal stuff on lovetheseasons.blogspot.com and am trying to combine several crocheted squares into a cushion cover …sigh.
Must photo when I get somewhere with it.

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I have a basket of crocheted squares, accumulated over the years as I made these largely from the left-overs of my hand-spun yarn projects.
They are approximately 6" size but not exactly equal so adding them together will not be as simple as a side-to-side stitching or crocheting. No, I'll have to crochets around the sets of squares in order to add to the lesser pieces and even out the size.
I've completed this effort with one set of three and have started the second set of three - using black dyed Merino I spun from roving some time ago. These sets will have to be blocked to the same size and then joined and are headed for a cushion cover.

I may knit a big square for the back when this part is all done.
Well, it's interesting to do anyway.

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Copper Shawl Pin

Since I knit so many little shawls and scarves and the like. I really would like to have - or make - a simple pin to hold them closed.
It's more complicated than it appears at first - the pin has to be sturdy enough to be useful but not heavy and should be easy to put on and take off. Plus, it would be nice if it didn't cost an arm and a leg, as they say…. not literally - but let's face it, the pin is likely to get mislaid, lost or stolen.

I was so delighted to find this little pictorial tutorial by Liz Corke on this page :
http://www.lizcorke.com/shawl-pin-tutorial/

But where to get copper wire??

The local hardware store in Ballymahon - Diffleys ?
 I asked for a "length of copper wire" - Mr Diffley thought for a moment (and, after I'd explained that the length in question was about my arm span) he unrolled such a length  - of copper cable and proceeded to strip off its outer two plastic layers - with a very good rest!

So I followed Liz's directions - well, roughly as I don't have the jewelry things ets - but I got quite a nice little functional shawl pin - very good for a first effort I think:

I like this - yes …I really like this .... thanks Liz and Diffleys

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Light blue fleece

I dyed this fleece - from one of my Easycare cross sheep - a light blue some time ago.
I'm in the process of flick-carding the locks and spinning this on the Ashford Trad. while I'm drum-carding the shorter fibers and spinning these on my little drop spindle.

The Wheel singles will be piled together and the first little hank of drop-spindled singles has been plied using the Andean plier. It's time to start another spindle-full.

So, some pics of the process:

First little woolie hank, awaiting more.

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Green Merino Hand Spun Knitted and Woven

Part of the "seaweed" yarn partly became this lace knitting based on a Periodot Necklace pattern I got from Ravelry member Alina Appasov.

Green hand spun hand dyed fine Merino - spun on the little drop spindle, was nice to knit with.

 Blocking

 Pins out:

Just have to weave in two ends.

Other parts of the green merino I wove into a Brooks Bouquet stole:

The warp is cream colored cotton

Twisted ends

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Spindle spun Merino, dyed and now being woven

I finished spinning the 200 grams of fine Merino roving and decided to dye it a moss free for weaving over a cream cotton warp on my Rigid Heddle Loom.
The dye is a mix of mainly yellow Eurolana dye with a very little Eurolana blue (any more than a pinch of the dark blue and the yellow becomes a dark bottle-green in a flash).
Looks like seaweed in the dye pot:

There are 100 warp ends of size 3 DMC 100% cotton with 7.5 dent heddle (about 13 inches wide) . The warps are 72" long

The wefts are the light green merino, Brooks Bouquet over 5 warps then 11 plain picks.

I think I'll just Brooks Bouquet all the way to the end . 

I placed 8 cotton picks at the beginning and hemmed it with cotton, then 4 picks of green before commencing the bouquet pattern. 

I expect to finish it in a few days - maybe.

I've placed images concerning the winter eason on my Love the Seasons blog - the last post was "Late december and New Year 2014 " or some such. Probably will find all sorts of off photos from phones , my camera and my daughter Jennifer's camera which will get added there later.

TAFN

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Huddie Horror - yuck

Look no further if you are particularly squeamish!

From the kitchen window, I saw Huddie pouncing around behind one of the raised beds. The bed is now empty, all the old growth cleared away for the winter. Went to investigate, whereupon Huddie assumed the innocent pose:

But wait, why is he shielding the raised bed?

NOOOO! What's that beside the hole?

And now he's grabbed it out and laid it on the lawn:

Yuck - it's a raw chicken leg covered with earth!

I shooed him into the house, followed him in and donned a pair of kitchen gloves to pick this thing up.

That done, I returned to find……..it's gone!!

In the space of a few minutes something - probably airborne - swopped in and snatched the delicious morsel!!

Huddie proceeded to follow me around the house, giving me side-long glances and licking his chops (his way of indicating hunger ). He thought I'd stolen his prize - I had to give him a clean piece of chicken to fill the gap in his belly.

Odd thing is, he's just been communing via email with his lady friend, Hollie, concerning his previous escapades with hens eggs (he stole and buried 4 dozen of them when I had hens - I found them in the raised bed for 2 years). It must have stirred up that memory.

Royal Cana ls still lovely

Walks by the canal near Ballymahon still lovely even now in early December .
Huddie runs ahead

Some horses on the way

And Huddie let them be :).


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