Nostepinne & Handpainted Wool Carded Sliver

Nostepinne & Handpainted Wool Carded Sliver, originally uploaded by stelladanza's confections.

Handpainted fiber and the resulting spindle-spun yarn wound onto a walnut nostepinne by Craftiness of Austin, Texas.

Fingerless Mitt (almost done)

Fingerless Mitt (almost done), originally uploaded by confections.

I've been knitting fingerless mitts for the last month or so. My Mother and my next youngest sister received them for Christmas. This pair is being made for my youngest sister who selected the yarn from my stash when she was visiting before the holidays.

The yarn is Soy Wool Stripes by Patons. The pattern is by fellow Etsy artist Sand and Sky Creations and is very user-friendly and makes up quickly. If you've made a pair of socks and are comfortable wielding double-pointed needles, this project is a cinch!

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Calendar

nano-cal11.jpg, originally uploaded by Gun-gun.

I found this inspiring calendar page by fellow flickreeno Gun-gun while surfing flickr a bit ago. It will be essential to refer to it as I write my novel this month. The target word count in a cumulative sequence is given at the top of each date, with the goal of 50,000 words by November 30th in bright red. I can contemplate the beauty of these blooms as I meet my goals each day.

I'm trying to maintain a balanced schedule as I undertake this task, taking time to exercise and eat good meals, make sure I have my daily ritual of tea, spin some of my Ragamuffin yarn, keep in touch with friends and writing buddies, talk to my mother every day--she is a great source of storylines--and not overwhelm myself in the process. On with the novel writing!

Back to Square One

Back to Square One, originally uploaded by confections.

The simplest of all knitting projects, a garter stitch washcloth of self-striping Sugar 'n Cream cotton is one of life's timeless delights. I've been invited to join Ravelry, and I'm getting my knitting muscles back into shape slowly.

I made this the other day as a sort of meditation on simplicity. I was trying out my new square needles (size 8 US), and I enjoyed the process immensely. As a bonus, I get to use it tonight in the shower with some equally delightful handmade soap. Life is good!

Shuttle, bobbin and handwoven cloth

Shuttle, bobbin, and handwoven cloth, originally uploaded by confections.

This is one of my handwoven pieces from last summer. I'm hankering to warp one of my looms this spring and create some new cloth. In my yarn stash, I have a handpainted warp chain from a class I took with Christie Dunning at the University of California, San Diego Crafts Center. During the same handpainting session in that inspiring class, I painted a complementary skein of weft yarn.

In a few days, after my sister and her lovely kiddies head home after a too-short visit, I'll pull out my copy of Learning to Weave by Debbie Chandler, complete some calculations for my envisioned project, and get down to warping. Oh, the possibilities!

She is a weaver; through her hands the bright thread travels. -- Judy Collins