Monet felted bag and spinning days

Nothing like Woolly Wednesday to get me thinking back over the month at what I've been up to, and looking forward to the month ahead.

So first is a ta-da moment ... my finished handspun, hand knitted, felted bag. The fibre was dyed (not by me) in Monet inspired colours, spun on two bobbins and plied together with the a gradient effect of lighter shades to darker shades. The yarn was than separated into two balls of equal size to knit a circular bag using up all the yarn for the circles.

A contrasting fibre was spun to knit the gusset in a plain colour so as to get the maximum of the Monet yarn in the circles. I had the perfect fibre in my stash for this.

Yarn for gusset of my bag

Here is the bag pre-felting.

Knitted bag awaiting felting

And here is the bag post felting, really giving that Monet artwork effect. I am so pleased with the results and have received many compliments about my bag which is now my knitting project bag.

 Finished felted bag and close up below

Talking of knitting projects, these were in the bag but now off the needles and ready to be gifted to a friend.

Handspun socks

Now the project in the bag is a hat for me using this handspun yarn from some fibre received via a Ravelry Secret Santa swap. The tale of this knitting project is that because it was a hat I thought it might be wise to break with my tradition of not knitting swatches and knit one to check the gauge was good for a good fitting hat. Well. Never again! My gauge was perfect for the pattern, I picked the correct size for my head but after knitting a while it became evident it was going to be huge! So it was ripped back and re-sized.


In spinning news, I've been busy with the wheel at home and out and about with the Guild demonstrating. I have some of the blue yarn left over from knitting the gusset to my bag, and more of this fibre to spin soon.

Bobbins of spun singles

Another fibre spun and on bobbins was this purple/blue mixed blend above, but rather than just plying these together I wanted to spin a grey fibre and create a 3 ply yarn for a project this year. So I picked up some Shetland grey and set to spinning that up to ply with these bobbins. I spun the Shetland at Mottisfont Abbey for a country fayre day with the guild.

Spinning Shetland 

I'm very pleased with this yarn and think the grey has just enhanced and brought together the colours beautifully. This was plied at Mottisfont Abbey, where I had a few requests to buy the skeins! The rest was plied whilst spinning at Manor Farm for woolly week - our local working farm museum that we regularly spin at, also home to the filming of Wartime Farm last year, hence my friend watching over me spinning!

Spinning position set up next to Peter Ginn!

 Plying a 3ply yarn

resulting yarn

Having finished this plying, I then moved onto spinning some Jacobs fibre that I received in the secret Santa swap too. This is commercially carded and separated into the different shades, so I am spinning it to the gradient of these colours and will then navajo ply it to retain them. I had thought to dye this before spinning but decided to spin it first then decide whether to leave it as the natural colours or dye it.

 Spinning Jacob fleece

Fibre shades and bobbin on the wheel

Keeping busy spinning and knitting x
Cone and link up for Woolly Wednesday and share your adventures.