Cozy Nest Cross Stitch Finish
Hello friends,
Recently, I finished cross stitching the Cozy Nest pattern by Nathnolu, which features an adorable raven knitting a sock while sitting in a comfy-looking chair.
For this project, I used the other half of the fat quarter of Fiber on a Whim 18-count Aida in the colour Old Gold, which I previously used for my Abalonia's Apple Tree cross stitch project. For the thread, I used DMC colours as called for in the pattern.
This project originally started out as an autumnal project, but after finishing Frederick the Literate, I decided to work my way through some of my unfinished projects. Cozy Nest was the closest to completion, so it seemed like the perfect one to tackle next. It didn't take long to finish the bottom half of the design, along with the surrounding candles and picture frame.
And now that it's finished, I really love the adorable little raven knitting their socks while wearing a knitted hat, tucked away in a cosy corner of their home.
The Cozy Nest pattern is very well done and easy to follow, with some lovely little details—especially the colourful balls of yarn.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my finished Cozy Nest project by Nathnolu. There are several other adorable animals in this series of cross stitch patterns, so I'm already planning my next order.
The only thing left to do with my Cozy Nest cross stitch project is get it framed, but for now it has to join the growing pile of four other finished cross stitch projects that are still waiting for their frame too...
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
If you'd like to continue the conversation, you can find me on Instagram, Mastodon, Bluesky, and Facebook.
Tour de Fleece 2026: Rediscovering My Fibre Stash
Hello friends,
And welcome back to my blog after a couple of weeks away. It was lovely to have a chance to rest and recharge while on holiday, but with July comes the start of another Tour de Fleece, and the opportunity to spend some time rediscovering my fibre stash, and enjoying some cosy spinning time while the weather is cold outside.
Now, I don't know about you, but I have quite a large fibre stash. Over the years since learning to spin, I've picked up fibre and fleeces from online shopping, in-person stores, craft events, and even from friends who kindly bring treasures home for me from fibre festivals. Somehow, fibre always seems to find its way into my stash, and despite my best efforts, it seems to accumulate much faster than I can spin it into yarn.
With all this in mind, I decided that this year I wasn't going to buy any more fibre for Tour de Fleece 2026, but instead shop my stash. I opened the wardrobe in my craft room and began pulling out boxes and containers until I found one filled with fibre, ready to be rediscovered.
After spending some time sorting through the box, and exploring the fibre within, I finally settled on a plan for Tour de Fleece 2026. These are the fibres I've chosen to spin during this year's Tour.
This first project is 300 g of natural brown Romney lambswool from Duncraig. I originally bought it as an unwashed fleece, and at some point over the years I washed it and carded it into batts on my Ashford wide drum carder. It's been sitting patiently in my stash for a couple of years, and Tour de Fleece seems like the perfect opportunity to finally spin it into yarn.
Next up are two batts from Dark Harbour Yarn in the colourways Big-Eared Woolly and Wrinkle-Lipped Free-Tailed. These batts are made up of Corriedale, Merino, silk noil, and Tencel, and I couldn't resist bringing them home with me from Unwind 2026 back in March.
Also making an appearance this year is a Corriedale batt called Tequila Sunrise from Deep Creek Woolworks. I picked this batt up at Unwind 2026 in March as well, and its warm, vibrant colours were simply too beautiful to leave sitting in the stash any longer.
Tucked away at the bottom of the box was an unknown amount of a 50/50 Merino and alpaca blend left over from a previous project. Back when I lived in Wellington, one of my husband's workmates gave me some raw alpaca fleece. After washing the fleece, I blended it with 50% Merino fibre and carded it together on my drum carder. I then dyed the fibre in aurora-inspired colours and handspun it into yarn for a Southern Skies shawl. This small amount of fibre is what remained after the project was finished.
And finally, I unearthed various odds and ends of Merino fibre in shades of purple that I dyed many years ago, along with a bag of silver Angelina sparkle fibre. Thinking the two might work well together, I pulled out my drum carder and blended them into a sparkly purple batt. I have no idea what this fibre will eventually become, but I suspect it will be something fun.
I dusted off my camera and filmed the process of blending this sparkly purple batt together. There's something rather satisfying about watching colourful fibres transform into a finished batt, so if you'd like to see the process, you can watch the short video below.
So, with my Tour de Fleece fibre choices finally made, all that remains is to sit down at the spinning wheel and begin. There is something rather satisfying about rediscovering forgotten treasures hidden away in my stash, and giving them their turn to become yarn.
I'm looking forward to many cosy hours of spinning over the coming weeks, and I'm excited to see what these fibres become along the way. Whether I manage to spin everything or not, I know I'll enjoy the journey.
Have a wonderful day,
Julie-Ann
If you'd like to continue the conversation, you can find me on Instagram, Mastodon, Bluesky, and Facebook.
I'd love to hear what you're spinning, making, or creating this winter.
Dimensions Gold Aurora Cabin Cross Stitch Kit Finish
Hello friends,
Recently I finished cross stitching the Dimensions Aurora Cabin Cross Stitch kit. I bought this kit back in autumn of 2022, and have slowly been working on it every winter since then as a seasonal project.
Last year due to me having two cataract surgeries over winter, I was unable to work on it, so in spring last year I decided to finish cross stitching the project out of season.
Unfortunately due to it having a lot of back stitching, which I hate doing, it went on the back burner once I had finished cross stitching the project. But hubby came to my rescue and back stitched the project for me this past summer.
All that was left to do was all the many french knots for the stars, and I hate stitching those too. After some pondering about how to overcome this problem, this autumn I went along to my local Spotlight store and bought some small shiny beads that could replace the french knots. It didn't take very long at all to sew on all the beads, and after a couple of days working on it, my Dimensions Gold Aurora Cabin Cross Stitch kit was finished.
It looks so good all finished, and I can't wait to get a chance to frame it and put it up in our stairway wall. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing the end result of all your hard work.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky, and now also Facebook.
Gimli Fibre Spinning Project
Hello friends,
Over the summer I spun up some 100% Corriedale combed top in the colourway Gimli from Dye Happy Yarn. My friend Karyn picked it up for me at a fibre festival last year, and I chose this colourway to spin because it reminds me of autumnal shades, which I love.
Not wanting to think too hard about the process, I split the combed top in half, and spun up two singles on my spinning wheel using my default drafting method.
The 2 plied yarn ended up being approximately fingering weight width, and a total 215 metres long.
The washed and dried yarn is now in storage, along with many other handspun project yarns, ready for me to eventually decide what to do with them all.
I find spinning to be one of my favorite crafts, as I find the whole process very relaxing, but deciding what to do with the yarn afterward, and getting a chance to actually knit or weave with it, never usually happens. Maybe one day I may decide to sell some of my excess spinning projects to make space for more fiber projects in my life, but at the moment I'm just happy to squish the yarn whenever I walk past it.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky, and now also Facebook.
Social Media
Archives