Crafting day with my sister.

My finished boots

Cutting and planning

My sister and I spent a day making Boots / Slippers from the woolen blankets that I dyed and the leather I got from the dump shop. The pattern is amazing and is from Twig and Tale. They are New Zealand designers and makers and their products and patterns are amazing. Very clear and easy to follow and these slippers stitch up so fast.

My sister 

My sisters finished boots. She finished first!

My finished boots

In progress

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Wool blanket dyeing day.

Having finished work and with a few weeks before study started, I set out for a day of craft fun. I went to Hanmer Springs and had a day with Jane from Stash Palace. I wanted to learn how to dye wool blankets. Wow did it make a mess, but what an exciting process it was. Watching blankets turn into gorgeous coloured felted wool was just inspirational. 

This is the blankets drying all around the Stash Palace studio. Jane has a special room all set up for the dye splatter which makes it fun being creative without having to worry about staining the carpet, the walls etc.

All the gorgeous pieces. I dyed the equivalent of about three blankets and got half of them dry in the day.

The trip up to Hanmer Springs was slow. I traveled behind a 3 bedroom house being relocated to Waiau for temporary housing, post the earthquake. 

A random photo of a river walk we did after church recently. Gorgeous winter day.

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A dedicated follower of fashion

Well not really. But last winter and through our summer all the crafty bloggers seem to be making cowls instead of scarves. A good idea I thought. Last night I finished it and just in time for this foul weather today. I wore it to my stitching group this morning and it looks like the trend may be passing on!!!

This is made from the recycled angora (goat) wool that I posted about unpicking etc here. I only started this when we were camping at Molesworth Station three weeks ago. I looked in my knitting stitching book and found a stitch they called twisted fisherman's. It is soooooo easy. It is just knit stitch but every second row you knit into the current stitch and the one below. So fantastic for watching TV and knitting.

Me wearing it as a hood and scarf at stitching this morning.

Aaron and Eli love this too so I have started knitting Aaron a scarf using the same stitch and the same wool. What an awesome upcycling project. One jersey and this is the fourth knitted item from it and I still have more wool.

A close up of the twisted fisherman's knit

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