Music credit: ‘Rise’ by Natalie Duque
Back to the Joy of Making
It feels wonderful to be getting back into the rhythm of making again. Even though I haven’t been sharing much about my projects during the latter part of 2025 and the start of 2026, I’ve still been busy creating. Life gets hectic sometimes and can pull me in all sorts of directions, making it easy to lose my footing. I really miss putting my thoughts on paper and connecting over my love for making. So, I’ve decided to jump back in—no guilt, just a fresh commitment to why this blog exists: to feel connected again and see where the journey takes me in the making community.
What Have I Been Up To?
Lately, weaving and spinning have captured my heart, especially working with locally sourced wool. If you’ve followed my earlier posts, you know I’ve been bringing raw fleece to a local fiber mill, Wool 4 Ewe, and getting it processed into roving to spin on my wheel. I spent much of last year and even this year spinning that fleece into yarn for weaving projects. One big goal was to spin enough yarn to use as weft for a couch throw I made for someone. After finishing that project on my larger 45-inch Leclerc Fanny loom, I felt inspired to keep spinning for more throws—and maybe even bigger projects like a twin-size coverlet measuring about 60 by 80 inches.
For my previous project, I used an 8/2 cotton warp set at 16 ends per inch, as recommended in a book about traditional coverlets by Helen Jarvis. The single-ply wool yarn I spun was about DK weight. After wet finishing and drying, the blanket had a scrumptious drape—cozy for chilly nights, and light enough to hang nicely on the couch.
On my smaller antique loom, I’ve been weaving hand towels using Venne organic cotton 8/2 yarn, a new discovery for me. I’ve been mixing purples in a shadow play pattern from a Nov/Dec 2021 Handwoven magazine issue. I often wonder about the difference between regular cotton and organic cotton. Honestly, after washing and drying on low, these towels feel so much softer in hand. I’ll definitely revisit Venne organic 8/2 cotton yarn—it seems worth the extra splurge!
Knitting has been a bit slower lately. I’ve been working on finishing a pair of socks using hand-dyed yarn from a swap partner (who dyed it herself!). I tried using the yarn in different projects, but didn’t love how it looked, so I boldly ripped it out and kept hunting for the right pattern. This lace pattern I’m working with now lets the yarn’s color variation shine without pooling too much in any one spot.
Looking Ahead: Goals for 2026
My main goal for 2026 is more spinning and weaving—no surprise there—especially using natural, locally sourced fleece in new weaving projects.
I also want to get back into knitting sweaters. I’ve spun yarn for sweaters before but sometimes get distracted by quicker projects. Although prepping samples and doing gauge swatches isn’t my favourite, I know it’s important for getting the right fit. Right now, I have some alpaca yarn from a local fiber mill that I hope to use. I have my eye on a few patterns, but I’m not rushing—finding the perfect sweater pattern for that yarn is part of the fun!
I’m sure there will be more projects popping up and joining my to-do list, since I like to keep things flexible and let my creativity lead the way. Until next time, happy crafting—and I’ll be back soon to share more adventures!
Forever in awe of how beautiful your work is and how incredibly creative you are! Love it friend!
Thanks so much Jess! I am so glad I can share it with fellow friends who appreciate handcrafting.