Catching Up

It's been a busy couple of months. In October, I went to SAFF. I entered some handspun and my mitten, and won three ribbons (the mitten's ribbon isn't pictured):



I took a few classes, including Spinning Novelty Yarns. It was a wonderful class, and I left with lots of notes and samples:

(Click here for big.)

At the moment, other projects are on hold while I finish some Christmas projects, including a scarf for my sister-in-law:


And a tea cozy. I decided to make this out of handmade felt because it's faster and denser than knitting:



I'm very pleased with this. It's two-colored felt. The inside is local mystery wool that I washed, dyed in shades of blue, and carded. This was wool from a farmer who hadn't sheared in forever, and when asked what kind of sheep he had, answered "just regular sheep." The outer layer is undyed merino, and the stripey decoration is Manos del Uruguay.



I'm aware tea cozies aren't terribly popular these days. My husband claims to have neither seen nor heard of them. (I know we've been in the presence of tea cozies before -- we have been to one or two twee English tea parlours in the Bay Area. Hubby isn't known for his observational powers when it comes to housewares.)

But this tea cozy was very much wanted and will be loved -- it was a special Christmas request from my stepfather.



It was fun to make -- lots of rolling and thwacking. Unfortunately, it shrunk a bit more than I expected, but it should just fit their teapot.