What's In My Sewing Basket Today: Tie Rug

I'm using a hand tie technique for this rug and while it is quite laborious, I actually enjoy the sensory contact with the handspun yarn yummi-ness!

This rug is being created for the MoNA (Museum of Northwest Art, LaConnor, WA) show/sale on March 17th. This is a fun way to use up many of my small skeins of handspun and hand dyed wool skeins.

What are YOU working on today? :)

EnJOY!

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Make It Mondays! Cashmere HandWarmer Tutorial

Everything But The Oink means we use everything.....I mean everything of our recycled sweaters and other natural fiber items. It's eco friendly, frugal, responsible and fun to find ways to use every last piece. We even cut up the teensy scraps and use them to "stuff" our Mini Mice, Alien and Monster Buddies and our Bird Ornaments.

When we have a precious cashmere sweater find, we don't want to waste any teensy weensy piece of this luxurious upcycled fabric. So, we created Cashmere HandWarmers, filled with organic lavender and (uncooked) rice for a special treat to keep your hands warm during these cold winter months.

Here's all you need for this simple, easy-peasy project:
A small rectangle of cashmere felted "fabric"
Coordinating length of natural fiber yarn, threaded onto a large eye needle (chenille works well)
uncooked rice and organic lavender buds (optional)

STEPS:
1. Fold your rectangle of cashmere in half so that is square shaped.
2. Sew up all but one side of the square with a whip stitch.
3. Fill the cashmere "pocket" with uncooked rice and lavender buds.
4. Finish sewing up the last side of the square.
5. Heat in microwave for 30 to 60 seconds and then put it in your glove, your coat or pant pocket to keep your fingers warm and your body relaxed from the yummy lavender. :)

This can be reheated and re-used, over and over, and over again...for many years. These would make wonderful Valentine's Day gifts and your children can even sew these up for their teachers and favorite aunts.

Of course, you can make these out of other natural fiber scraps, but the cashmere handwarmer is...well.....just extra special.

EnJOY!

Projects Galore!

Yes, recycling and then upcycling wool/natural fiber treasures takes time.....okay, lots of time. Yet, it warms my heart to be saving a sweater or other clothing item from the landfill and then turning it into a treasure for someone else to enJOY.

This group of projects is from three months of work, each and every day. That's three months AFTER all of the sweaters, etc. were located and feltedx3 in the washing machine. Yes, lots of time, but also lots of LOVE in each and every stitch. :)

Nuno and Cobweb Felted Scarves

In between new recycled wool creations (check out our Etsy and/or FB pages to see Owl Babies, Alien and Monster Buddies and Mini-Mouse), I've been experimenting with nuno felt and cobweb felt scarves.

I love our hand dyed alpaca and an awesome ramboullet-silk blend (from Crystal Creek Farms) for the cobweb felt. Both art forms are perfect for incorporating little "treasures" of other fibers, yarns and threads. :)

Also getting excited about our first Fiber Friends 4H group meeting in early December. More on that project to follow.....

The Flu has Arrived, So no Tutorial, but Rug Progress

Well, influenza has struck, so sorry, but no tutorial today. We'll be back with a new tutorial next Monday. Before the flu hit, we started on our first wool rug. So exciting! Here is a pic of the close up. While we did some top stitching on the sewing machine for embellishment and reinforcement of the seams, everything is also hand stitched with wool yarn. This rug will last a lifetime.

We are already planning our next rug. Pacific Northwest weather allows for wool area rugs all year long. :)

Hope all of you are staying warm and healthy!

Wool Rosettes Class a Success...and SeaGlass Handspun

A busy, fun weekend! We had our inaugural Everything but the Oink class...how to make wool rosettes. These are great for hair ties, headbands, brooches, gift wrapping embellishment and more. Everyone in the class went home with three completed projects and supplies to make more at home. Some vintage button shopping took place too. :)

Adrianna left for Bozeman today on a recruiting visit for college. So, I spent the day on the spinning wheel, creating SeaGlass handspun from alpaca roving Adrianna and I had dyed a while back. Often we have a "dye day" and then the completed roving waits for inspiration...or an inspired buyer. :) Please message us if you'd like to purchase roving or handspun yarn. Tomorrow will be a tutorial on dying your own commercial yarns (or better yet, recycled wool embroidery or tapestry threads) for use with your recycled wool projects. These hand dyed yarns/threads add a truly organic feel to your project, making it extra special!

Several have asked if our yarns are for sale. We have an Etsy shop (spinayarn or royalalpacas) with proceeds funding our Merry Mittens Project and fiber arts education for youth. We never charge for classes for youth in fiber arts, just for adults. :)

Make It Mondays! Mug Mat/Hot Pad Tutorial

I LOVE blog tutorials! They not only teach me; they inspire me. So....I'm starting "Make It Mondays" with a tutorial (as often as possible) on Mondays.

Today's tutorial is for a simple mug mat or hot pad project. It is a stormy, high tide surge day here at the beach cabin, so ocean-y colors came to mind...and a cut of hot chocolate. (At the end of the tutorial, look for my "Heavenly Hot Chocolate" recipe...a 4H group favorite!

Okay, on to the tutorial....
Supplies needed: Recycled felted wool scrap, thinner craft felt scrap (or can use a thinner wool scrap piece), leftover yarn, large eyed needle, straight pin.

Steps:
1. Cut out your wool and felt pieces. I wanted a larger hot pad for this project, so I used a cereal bowl for my circle template.

2. If you want to embellish/embroider your wool felt, do it now. (I just did a simple ocean wave embellishment.)

3. Using a straight pin, pin your two pieces together.

4. Blanket stitch the pieces together with leftover yarn. TIP: If you use a bulky yarn and/or a thick scrap, use a sail, leather or upholstery needle. It will make your job much easier. Use caution with children using these "mega" needles however. I do not recommend using thread or superfine yarn. You will lose your embellishment in the thick felted wool.

5. Do not knot your yarn at the end. Simply weave your yarn end back and forth in your stitches and cut close.

6. For a more polished finished project, use an iron and steam your mug mat/hot pad flat.

Voila! These are a great family project and you can get an early start on Valentine's Day presents!

The final photo is of some of the yarns I dyed yesterday on our 4H dye day. These will be used for future button bag and other recycled wool projects.

Now to the promised Heavenly Hot Chocolate recipe! Disclaimer: Not healthy or low fat, but a delicious special treat!
In a mug, empty one packet of powdered hot chocolate mix.
Add a splash of milk or 1/2 and 1/2 and a spoonful of Nutella.
Fill with hot water and stir well.
Top with a heaping spoonful of marshmallow creme and microwave for 30 seconds (to melt the marshmallow creme.)
EnJOY!

Merry Mittens Project Update

Last night we "stuffed" 40+ completed handsewn woolen mittens and a handful of hats, scarves and ear warmers. Today we will drive down to Seattle to deliver these to the homeless. Sub-freezing temperatures and a major snowfall are forecast for mid-week, so this inaugural batch of woolen mittens were finished just in time!

I've also been working on completing the first two cashmere scarves this week. They are totally whipstitched by hand, with handspun, hand-dyed yarn, so each scarf takes two to three days to complete. I'll post pics as soon as they are finished, but right now, we're off to the mainland with Merry Mittens!

Merry Christmas from the Beach Cabin

With the children at their father's house in Canada for Christmas weekend, it has been a time of rest and reflection for me. I feel so blessed to live in this wonderful beach cabin. Yes, really...the view is from my fiber studio window!

After more than a year of not being able to spin fiber (due to my autoimmune arthritis), I oiled up the wheel and spent some lovely time spinning today! The baby blue yarn is from Adrianna's 4H alpaca, which we hand dyed last year. After being made into a 2-ply yarn, it will be luxurious embellishment for a button bag. Maybe a diaper bag for a baby boy?

I'm not totally alone today. Dream, our 6 1/2 year-old "Lassie" collie, is busy supervising (between naps) from her favorite perch on the loveseat.

In between spinning and working on the latest button bag, I've also spent some time organizing more buttons. Aren't they pretty? Within a week, I hope to have DIY button bags posted on Etsy. The DIY kits will include the felted wool sweater purse, ready to be embellished with handspun and/or handdyed yarn (included), instructions, and of course....buttons!

Hope and prayers for a wonderful, relaxing Christmas for all of you. And, please remember to recycle from your holiday celebrations!