Saturday, October 27, 2007

Finished Chevron Bag and a Fiber Gift

While poking around on Ravelry, I found this pattern for a Chevron Bag . I'm a sucker for color striping and it intrigued. I have never knit with Noro Kureyon because it feels like scratchy straw and cheap wool! There are bits of vegetable matter in it...I would not spin something with that much VM in it, so why knit it! Well, this project drew me in. The above picture is the "before". After that it went into the washer for some felting!


This is the "after' picture. Wow, what a transformation! This is so SOFT! It's like a little baby lamb and has a very fuzzy halo to it. The disappointing part is that it is so wide at the top that it could not be used as a purse unless it was lined with a zipper or something to keep things from falling out. It will however, work as a project bag, which is what I had in mind for the person I made this for. The colorway was Kureyon #150, which has greens, lavender, brown and turquoise.


And, last week, a package of "animals" arrived in the mail for me! My stepdad Jack sent me this...the first picture is llama. My Mom described it as "It needs cleaning, but I checked it and approved!" LOL My Mom is pretty picky about cleanliness, so this seal of approval from her assured me that I wasn't getting all the remains of someone's dirty stall! It is kind of "Palomino" colored and then to the right is a nice hunk of white that is creamy and soft. Can anyone tell me how to wash llama and prepare it to spin? I don't have a drum carder, I do have hand cards and a flicker, which should be doable for this small amount. How do I de-hair this?

And this is not a Llasa Apso sleeping on the dining room table, this is Angora rabbit clippings. It is in multiple shades of gray and very lovely. It does also have someblack hairs mixed in this. How do I get the hairs out? How do I wash and prepare this? Since I tend to react to Angora in sweaters I have never spun it. I understand it takes some skill due to the short staple length and it's slick. I am thinking that I may need to find some lovely gray wool and blend this with it. That might be a job for a drum carder?? Any help would be appreciated.

4 comments:

Donna B said...

Looks like a great spindle bag to me Theresa. You can do the quick draw with that bag!

Carissa said...

The bag looks great! I'm with you on the Kureyon,but it is so nice when felted! That is a ton of angora! You may want to make sure that you don't react to it before spinning. I'll be more than happy to card it for you. I have some pretty grey Cormo, and some grey Corriedale from Cary too! Only 15-25% angora is necessary for a great halo, and plenty of warmth, but enough elasticity from the wool. :)

Deby said...

I love your bag. Its amazing how different the colors are after felting. I like the pattern though. Great bag!

Tabitha said...

Are you sure that isn't a Lhasa Apso on your table???
The bag is really cute and congrats on your fiber find. Good luck.