Fiber Arts Friday - 2010 Year End Wrap Up

Welcome to Fiber Arts Friday, the New Year's Edition!  This is the place where Fiber Artists come together once a week to share their adventures in Fiber Arts so...what are you waiting for?  Join in and start sharing. If you blog then link your post here and if you just enjoy reading the blogs then share your adventures in the comment section. Most of all, please comment on the blogs you visit.  Give feedback...bloggers love feedback!

This week I am going to share the last of the Christmas gifts that I made but couldn't post until the gifts were given.  I am completely amazed at the transformation I've made in the last year with my skills (yes, I'm patting myself on my back).  A year ago I would cry when I knitted because it released so many painful emotions and now I knit with enjoyment.  My spinning, knitting, dyeing and felting skills have blossomed into a fiber arts passion that can only be fueled with more knowledge and fiber.  It's hard to believe that I didn't have any of those skills two years ago.  Really!  I learned to knit in February 2009 and it was late April 2009 before I even touched a drop spindle.  Yikes!  So you see what I mean when I say I've come a long ways.  As far as fiber arts goes, 2010 was an amazing year for me and I am looking forward to what 2011 will bring. Oh, Santa brought the family a Cricket loom so I can promise posts about weaving in the near future.

Now to share the last two gifts I created.  The first is a felted messenger bag that I made for my niece.  Her favorite color is purple so I created this purple and black  bag.  It's more of a purse than a messenger bag but I left the strap nice and long to go over the shoulder to hip.  I added a braid of handspun yarn wrapped around the felted strap for additional texture.  I really liked this purse and want to make another one like it because it really is sassy.  She also got a pair of Alpaca socks and a felted bracelet that another Alpaca owner made using Alpaca and recycled leather.

Finally, as promised, if an item wasn't finished I said I would let the recipient pet the yarn and WIP and sure enough, my aunt was able to touch her soon to be finished cowl when we had our family gathering.  It's using the Key to Warmth Pattern that I gave away in the contest last week.  I finished it on Tuesday so I was only a few days past Christmas and I promised I would give it to her before the year ended so guess who I'll be visiting today.  I am very impressed with myself (again) for finishing this so quickly.  It was a fun knit and even though I own one that KellyJ knitted for me now I want another one in another color. Yikes!  It really is an addictive pattern.  I used an Elle Rae Merino/Camel yarn for the base color in black then paired it with a handspun yarn I created at Fiber Expo in October from one of the Art Batts of Wonder I sell.  The vendor stalled next to me at the show insisted that I keep the yarn as a single and I wasn't feeling it because I don't knit with singles but when deciding what yarn to use for this project, it called out to me.  I was delighted how well it knitted up and the clarity of color because of it being a single.  Now I wouldn't consider making a wearable garment out of 100% Alpaca singles due to the structure but having it as an accent yarn I felt pretty good about knitting it up.  I may have to borrow the cowl back from my aunt one day because it really is gorgeous and the photos don't do it justice.  Also, you need to get your hands on it.  Squishy soft and delightful.  I hope she wears it a lot.

Now that the Christmas knitting is over, I shall take some time to spin more.  I've been neglectful to my wheel this last month and I miss the rhythm of the treadle and drafting.  May you end 2010 on a wonderful high note and begin 2011 the same way.  I will stay home with my family and spin, knit, weave and be merry.  Now, what were your adventures in Fiber Arts this week?
Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Submit your blog article using your current blog address NOT your complete blog  i.e. you would submit 

http://wonderwhyalpacafarm.blogspot.com/2010/02/e-i-e-i-doh.html  

NOT 

http://wonderwhyalpacafarm.blogspot.com

1. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Text link to  WISDOM BEGINS IN WONDER!   
2. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

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