A Red Leaf Design

Seeing all this brilliant red foliage around here lately was giving me some ideas.

I had been knitting a felted purse in muted shades of green and gold and decided it could use a little punch of color.

I found a site where I could print out graph paper for free. Then, I began making random circles to represent a leaf pattern that I could use as a guide when I knitted the flap of my purse.

Here it is on my pre-felted piece.

And here's the finished piece, where I realized the red yarn I used was not 100% wool, as it did not felt. (And I'm not really sure what kind of tree would yield a leaf of this shape.)

But maybe with that leaf pile there, no one would have really noticed.

In My Spare Time

Whenever we go anywhere, I always take my knitting with me, because I'm never called on much to drive.

If I could only figure out how to take my washing machine with me, I'd be all set. After I knit my purses in wool, to felt, I use the hot water and high agitation cycle with just a touch of laundry soap and a pair of jeans to help with the agitation. This is how it looks when it's fully felted.

Then I select one of my raku embellishments I made and attach it with sone black waxed linen thread.

My chauffeur says I'm wicked spoiled....ayup...I am.

More Felted Purses With Raku Embellishments

A raku pin I made

to embellish another purse I hand knit in wool and felted

And here's another raku fish pin

that I added to yet another purse I made

And here's that silly Ringo, the pink felted flamingo posing with all 3 purses.

I think he may be having gender issues...not that there's anything wrong with that!

Felted Purse Paired With Raku Fish Pin

First, a little documentation of a sunny day in Maine.

Here is my hand knitted wool purse that has been keeping me busy during our rainy spell. It did not come out as I intended, but if you haven't seen the original pattern you would not know. I used a pattern out of Ella Ray Book #8. This is the pre-felted picture of it.

Here is the finished purse with one of my raku fish pins added to it.

Rather than drill a hole into the fish, I wrapped it with black linen thread to secure it to the purse.

Did I mention the sun was out again today?

Proof, just in case anyone in Maine missed it.

Getting Funky With Felted Wool

This is my stash of wool yarn...

and here are my bamboo knitting needles.





I like to knit with wool, because it shrinks when you wash it in hot water and you get a totally different look. The process of shrinking wool is called "felting."
Here are before and after pictures of a couple things I handknit in wool on a larger bamboo needle. In the before pictures you can clearly tell they were knitted. In the after pictures, the stitches are less visible and have a matted and much softer look.

Funky Felted Wool Fish Before....

Funky Wool Felted Fish After....

Funky Handknitted Wool Hat Before.....

Funky Handknitted Wood Hat After.....

And this is the shawl I started today. It will be perfect for wearing on cooler spring days to take the chill off and will be a good way to dress up a pair of jeans, just in case I get to go somewhere fun on a Saturday night!

Or perhaps a visit to a nearby farm on Maine Maple Sunday. http://www.paintedpepperfarm.com/maple_sunday.html