Winter projects, what are you all doing?

For me winter is a bit of a rest from the rush during the rest of the year, I work on the block of course and also as a gardener, so at least there isn't so much to do when the ground is frozen solid.
Gives me a bit of time for crafts, wondering who else is the same? This winter the kids and I are making korowai. A great group of ladies came to buy feathers, the kids were so interested they offered to teach us too. I love working with the feathers and it's been a great way to remember my special birds, yes I can look at a feather and remember which bird it came from! Love my chooks but sadly can't keep all the roos tho I usually have far to many here;)
Any way here's a pic so far

Hope that works never put a pic on before.
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Wicked skite! That's neat.
My sister made a Korowai for her daughter a couple of years ago when she graduated from the Maori unit at her school - graduation from primary school! It ended up being a community project, as all the other mums who'd already finished theirs, or whose kids weren't part of the unit, helped with the cross-stitching of the top band, a rather ambitious but very beautiful piece of work.

I've been continually knitting socks, because it still keeps me entertained.

Stunning, congratulations, love it

That is beautiful. Congratulations!

I have no space for crafts this winter, so am doing the odd bit of origami to learn new folding techniques. They don't take much space!

Edenview that's amazing and more than worth the work you've put in. I've been doing a crosstitch birth chart for my new(ish) grandson. Its a tree with 5 little owls in it and lots of green and other pretty colours. Not specifically a birth pattern but I'll add his name etc along the bottom and am really enjoying it. I'm really slow so winter is a good time for me too.

Wow that is so beautiful. Lucky you getting the tuition.

Mr D has been building my 4th hen house, for the Barred Rocks, it had to be bigger as they will be our meat eating birds, and they had to be separate as the rooster is to heavy for the Shavers etc.

I have started painting some fences, but I won't bore you with photos of that. I did staple all the chicken wire to the separating fence between two of the coops, that shattered my Fibro arm for a day or two.

jeannielea;497771 wrote: Edenview that's amazing and more than worth the work you've put in. I've been doing a crosstitch birth chart for my new(ish) grandson. Its a tree with 5 little owls in it and lots of green and other pretty colours. Not specifically a birth pattern but I'll add his name etc along the bottom and am really enjoying it. I'm really slow so winter is a good time for me too.

I would love to see that finished. My daughter enjoys doing X stitch too.

just finishing 4 days of putting together a kitset green house, only 6x10ft but never again, the instructions were dire, I had to dismantle some of it several time as the instructions only became clear several steps later.

Thanks guys, just had to brag! The kids are so proud of their work, I've just been sewing the strips they make together. Not much of a sewer so it's been a mission. The band across the top has me stumped as at the last meeting no one knew how to weave it which is what I really want to learn. Hadn't thought of cross stitch that's a good idea.
I'm envious of those hen houses! I've just got a BR roo looking forward to chicks now.

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kai;497794 wrote: just finishing 4 days of putting together a kitset green house, only 6x10ft but never again, the instructions were dire, I had to dismantle some of it several time as the instructions only became clear several steps later.

Mr D can relate, and shudders when I tell him we are ready to buy the 2nd one.

Quilting It's a bit of an addiction, and frustrating when I run into a colour I can't make 'fit', which sets off a flurry of hunting through junk shops looking for a colour combination I can't describe and won't know until I see it...

Oh, and if any of you korowai-makers would like peacock feathers, I have plenty, just say the word. They are lovely when you have a few (the feathers, not the birds I hasten to add) but when there are hundreds, it's too many!

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Lovely feathers on the little cloak!

Haven't got to my winter craft/sewing projects!! I'm still trying to locate my sewing table which is buried under gardening gear.
Am currently working through a 4 cubic metre pile of garden mix, potting up 51 new bare root heirloom fruit trees... 26 down and 25 to go!! Not sure if there will be enough soil to finish? The PB150s are huge, but the root systems are quite large and need the width.

Hopefully once the fruit trees are potted I might be able to get some sewing done before winter is over... and have to face the vege garden again!

I have the fabric and patterns to make new winter thermal shirts for hubby and me and also have fabric and pattern to make new dungaree overalls (Kwik Sew 3897) to replace worn out jeans. And fabric and patterns to make new dresses, Tshirts and pyjamas...

Wow, all such amazing creations! Including the cool chook houses...wish I had better ones for my chooks. We are considering trying to make a half round shape one that can be dragged about by the tractor. We have an old damaged tramopline (it blew away over the garden fence into the paddock with my preschoolers on it!) and an old swing set - and a pipe bender. OH thins he can use the metal to make a frame.

I enjoy crochet and found a project that used up some of an awfully large stash of left over yarns. It was to make a very heavy blanket, which is for my son who has Aspergers. Weighted items of clothing and bedding are very helpful for many on the Austism Spectrum and I had been wondering how to make him a weighted blanket. This pattern did the job well and used up a huge amount of 'scrap' yarn that I couldn't have used otherwise, so it was very efficient!

This is not a great photo of it but:

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Wow, you're all so clever - what a talented bunch (including Mr D!) Edenview, that korowai is unbelievably beautiful. Geba and Tonic, I'm so envious of how you put those colours together - they flow so well and the overall effect is wonderful. Mixing colours like that doesn't come easily to me so I've been working at colour lessons using the colour wheel and looking at how nature puts colours together and in what proportion. I think I'm getting a better understanding of it now so maybe I can get my quilts to "flow" like your beauties.

I've finished another French Braid quilt for a friend - just needs to go and get quilted - and am nearly finished a Row by Row quilt with a theme close to a few LSB hearts - goats! Will take both to be quilted and post photos when I get them bound.

Other than that, I belong to a small group of international quilters. We've all been close friends for years and for most of those we've done a home-made Christmas ornament swap. They aren't all made of fabric and each year I'm amazed at the creative ideas the group comes up with. As the only Kiwi in the group, I try to incorporate a NZ theme and this year I'm going to do cross-stitch ornaments. Since swapping X-stitch and hardanger for quilting ... um ... about 20 years ago, I just felt like doing a spot of stitching (if my eyes will stand up to it after all this time, LOL).

Next on my agenda is to finish an American Civil War quilt for DH - it's been on the go for more years than I care to admit, and is appliqued Yankee and Confederate soldiers, horses and flags. DH has been really patient but every once in a while he'll gently mention it... []

Loving reading what you're all doing. Ruth, I've been dying to give knitting socks a go for ages.
Cheers, Mich.

Wow there are some amazingly talented people on here!

This is what I've been doing on my floor loom, it's the start of my first weaving project and is a length of homespun wool which I am weaving and will be making into a garment for Medieval re-enactment. I will be dyeing it a more suitable colour [pink is just NOT my colour and it is also not a traditional Medieval colour], but the wool was kindly given to me by the lady I bought the loom from and there was a lot of it, so in effect the loom cost me virtually nothing.

I'm just about finished my length of cloth now, its about 4m+ long so should make up a nice cote hardie or similar surcoat.

The other photo is our contribution this year to the NZ Riding for the Disabled gingerbread horse campaign, we made mares [pink & white manes and tails] and stallions [blue & white manes & tails] and sold them at work and school.

The spinning is still a bit of a work in progress, I've nearly finished spinning my 2nd bobbin so will be plying these for the first time which will be an interesting experience. I'm rather slow at doing the spinning because I just don't have much free time at the moment and its slower to get done than the weaving which goes along at a cracking pace! Also I have to spin when the cats aren't around as they like to play with moving things...

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