WIP Wednesday - Getting Foxy

A WIP, almost 3/4 done! A friend was looking for fingerless mitts, and I couldn't resist. (I do have enough yarn, after all.) He's a fan of Foxes, and researching his ancestry. Thus, a pattern was born - a friendly fox, and some polish embroidery designs!

Now, I am in fact a rather lazy knitter. I did not set out to create a pattern for this! But Ravelry couldn't provide me with a chart of the sort I desired, so I was forced to make my own. After the mitts are complete I expect that I may clean up the pattern and put it out for the universe to use as they see fit, since the world needs more foxy folks...

D&D Character Portraits.

Recently, as practice for doing commissions, I've been doing character portraits for all of the players in our group. Here's the first batch.

 Darla Stonebottom (Perhaps not her given name?) is a roguish dwarf with a sassy disposition. There is not a pocket she has not picked. But, it's mostly curiosity, and she always leaves something behind in exchange... it may of may not be of equal value, though.

 Lyrile of the Woodland realms. Don't let the sickle scare you, she's just gathering herbs! Our kind hearted Druid will lend a helping hand to any and everyone who passes, no matter how small or large the matter. But if you harm her Dire Badger she will destroy you.

Clavius, the apprentice. His master is kind of like Trump, but less evil. He's just a worldly, well educated sorcerer, who has a strange affection for skulls. Nothing evil going on here, carry on...

Urk Durk, a mighty barbarian with Orcish blood. (In him, there's a lot of different bloods on him.) To understand him -

While I was talking to him about his character we go this little gem - 
“So he’s got pale skin, red eyes, long hair…”
“Long hair? Are you sure? I recall something…”
“Oh right! You guys held me down and shaved my head after I got covered in rotten exploded purple worm goo. Since I smelled so bad.”

Which is more or less his character in a nutshell. Orcs.

As I work through all our party I will share more of our PCs. Assuming we all survive long enough to get drawn...

Solstice Blessings!

 A mighty log, adorned with candles to burn through the coldest nights. A green tree, adorned with memories! The settings to feed however many folk might wander through on this cold night.

A fire blazing bright, to ward of the dark while the sun is gone. Perfect for passing cups of mead around! Hail to the reborn Sun!

Happy Holidays to all my readers, no matter how you gather this season. May light and love be in your house.

WIP - Handsome and Handspun

My yarn stash, as always, overfloweth. After another year of spinzilla, my bin of handspun was getting rather tight! I have always sold the majority of my handspun yarns, but over the last few years there have been a number of small experimental skeins, special purchased fibers, and the leftover small skeins from a big batch that's been divvied up.

And so, I have decided to create a blanket using up all my handspun bits! Some are a true mini-skein or a wee ball, some are simply an orphaned skein with no other plans. All of them are being crocheted into the biggest square they will make (Well, no bigger than 12" or so, extras become little squares.) and will become a blanket! I've got two sizes of hook on hand, and anything too small gets doubled up to make a good thick fabric.

I'll update when I've got a big enough pile to lay out and begin piecing, in the meantime the bin of yarn is becoming a bin full of squares, and I'm realizing that I've got some favored colors...

Anu's Farm

 (This is a continuation of a previous post, in which we visited a textile museum with the curator - Textile artist Anu Rand. Her artwork is a permanent gift from Estonia to the UN.)

Not only does Anu live in an idyllic little farm house, it's full of yarn! A traditional wood stove and classic textiles fill the farmhouse with a rustic feel.

And the weaving studio has baskets of yarn stacked in the corner. (I kept reminding Mr. Crafty that my yarn at least fits in a closet!) Anu showed off her looms and a finished piece, this one created during an artist residency in Finland.

Outside she has a herd of sheep. A wide variety of breeds and colors filled the field, munching away in the midsummer sun.

Anu has wool milled occasionally at a local place, but of course the sheep must be sheared no matter what! Fleeces were stored in this overhang of the barn, and we were invited to take home a handful. (I grabbed two!)

The garden was filled with all manner of veggie delights, and the usual greenhouse. Because of the short season and large temperature swings everyone seems to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in greenhouses. In the period after Soviet collapse (and at times during Soviet occupation), when food supply chains were not yet reestablished, many people subsisted almost entirely on tomatoes and cucumbers from their own gardens. We found that a plate of sliced fresh tomatoes and cukes were available at almost every meal, a staple garnish as it were.

And this lovely oak! The farmstead has been in the family a few generations. This tree was planted by Anu's father, from an acorn gathered at his father's gravesite. A fantastic heirloom!

Scene's like this gave us a great temptation to more to Estonia and become farmers, but alas! My city loving ways are at odds with my farmhouse desires. It was wonderful to visit Anu's studio and hear her talk about her artistic process, her vision for Estonian handicraft, and the history of the area.