The challenge ...

So those weaving squares I have been making on and off this year were to
a) use up odd bits of spun wool, small balls that wouldn't make up much else; and
b) to make a cushion for the Guild challenge.

It's the Guild meeting this weekend and the November one always includes the revealing of members' Guild challenge projects which this year was to make a cushion for the seats to make sitting at meetings a little more comfortable.
 This week I gathered them all up and realised I needed another couple in white so quickly made them on Sunday. I have now sewn them all up - using white breed squares on one side and a mix of colours on the other side. I then looked at it and thought it would look nice with a border so quickly started knitting that up to sew in between the layers. Here are the squares all sewn up -

 

Squares sewn together

Greys/White mixed squares side

So here it is finished with the border, I have used Dorset Horn, Hampshire Down, Portland, Jacobs, Zwartble/Suffolk cross and a little Shetland.

 

Greys and mixed colours side above

White square side below - 2 shades of white from different sheep breeds

Sheep to finished product - all fleece prepared from raw fleece from the sheep, spun, plied, washed, woven and a little knitting and here is my finished cushion to make those hard seats more comfortable to sit on.

I am really pleased with the result, enjoyed making this and it has inspired me to make a blanket out of more squares - I'm going to do it as a kind of fibre samples blanket - every time I spin something different I shall weave a square to add to the blanket. I have a plan to spin as many breeds as possible in all their glorious natural colours over time.

So a challenge finished for the Guild challenge of 2011, and a new challenge for me which I shall start and blog about in January 2012.