The No-Waste Scarf

When I was created – in the melting pot, you know, I think they used a outdated housewife mold from the 50ies or there about. Throwing things away, food, clothes - well anytning - is just something I cannot do. I guess it was also just the way of things when I grew up, 'no biggie' as they say nowadays; we didn't make a big deal out of it - just the ordinary life.

Lately I've realised it actually makes me quite modern. All that re-using, mending, composting, thrifting, homemade, 'stop the food waste' thinking that the western world is finally beginning to get the grip on, well, that's more or less everyday life here ...

No-Waste Scarf

 This scarf was made of something I actually was on the verge of throwing out. I found a bag with some wool I've dyed with madder root at some point, and then forgot about (or repressed). The thing is - the wool was short-stapled and not soft at all (like steele wool), and I wondered what I've been thinking about when I chose to dye it. Beats me. Not wanting to let the wool – and the water, soap, madder root, energy for heating it all up and time spent on it already go to waste, I decided to make something usefull from it. So I carded it with some angora and silk I had laying around, in order to make it softer and more skin-friendly, spun it chunky and softly on the drop spindle and knitted a very simple scarf-in-the-round. And I used every little bit of it up.

I'm sorry, but my stylist had the day off - and likewise the photographer, my hairbrush and mascara ... you get my point, right? - But my newly turned 8 year old was luckily available, and he did it all for free. Well, skipping the styling and make-up and went for the fun camera part - but for free! I know I've said it before - but there's just something very satisfying in using things up to the last thread - or making stuff from scratch, from materials that could have - but didn't - go to waste.

handle with love

I've come to believe that mending is an art form, really, it requires manual skills, knowledge about different materials and their interaction - as well as a bit of imagination. It's a good way to think about a sometimes tiresome task, isn't it, pretending it's an art form ... but a somewhat forgotten art form, though. Anyway, this cardigan of mine is so loved that it's almost worn to pieces, but not quite. I'm determined to really wear it to pieces, so elbow patches was the first step in that direction. I considered several ways of doing it, patches can say so much about a person without words, you know, and I really didn't want my patches to say something about me that I didn't like. Ahem. Finally I opted for the exceptional loving, totally homemade version. Remember these babes? Yummy fleece, I tell you! I've spun some of it - and that's what I used for the patches.

Another way of mending, like mending socks. Only it's a dress and embroidery yarn. It works well, I think, considering it's a very lightweight silk/cotton dress, and the mends are quite visible on the front of the dress. But I'll wear it proudly.

Lastly, this is (some of) my work in progress. Some spinning, both on wheel and spindle. The dark yarn is also from the before mentioned twins - together with some bunny fleece, making it tweedy, and oh so soft. The yarn on the spindle is a blend of a superlative longstapled wool from Gaia - more bunny fleece and some natural dyed wool (from Gaia's mother Karla, I think). It's both silky shiny and matte at the same time, and variated in colour since I just toss some fibres on the hand carders.
The granny square is a part of a project I made up for easy-bringing-along-to-the-beach-or-going-by-car-etc. So this square is 1 out of something like 280 squares for a blanket. That's a whole lot. Perhaps someone I know will get pregnant and then I could settle for a baby blanket instead. Allways look at the bright side!

This is what the sky looked like last night. The purple colours in the upper part of the picture looks like my natural dyed purple, I think. Or is it the other way around?

Autumn it is ...

... and I can feel the need for wool between my fingers (as well as covering most parts of my body - I prefer that wool to be knitted, though). This is an autumn wreath for our school, a bit of forest floor with a couple of mushrooms and gnomes. And Mother Nature in her autumn dress ...

Let me introduce you to these furry, silky cutesies, who are the newest additions to our household. Aren't they adorable? In a month I'll have to cut off all that soft, lovely fibres and make them look quite silly. They haven't got any names yet, so suggestions will be appreciated!