Jan 31, 2016
Corrections to my Master Knitter Level 3 are back.
Wow! I had no idea it would be so quick.
Let’s not talk about that right now.
Carefree rambling from one project to the next is a pleasure. Leading the Knit a Long at Sit and Knit for the Aidez sweater, knitting for a baby, continuing the mittengeddon, and not to mention adventures in wet felting and quilting has made a jovial January.
A dear knitting buddy forwarded the Mason Dixon #bangoutasweater knit a long. The brigade of knitters kicks off tomorrow, knitting Mary Jane Mucklestone’s Stopover.
Stopover by Mary Jane Muckleston (photo by Kathy Cadigan)
So sweet! Such a quick knit!
But I just banged out a super bulky cowl. That will have to do.
I shall live vicariously through others’ Instagram feeds. I will resist!
Jan 24, 2016
One of the InStitches knitters brought Laura Irwin’s Softwaves Magnum to class last week.
Laura Irwin Softwaves Magnum
Simple knitting, large needles, super bulky yarn… what more could you ask for? This was a great mindless knitting project that would result in an interesting addition to my winter wardrobe. And a fun addition to the present shelf, too!
This week, her scarf was knit and it was time to sew it together. While the instructions are clear, it was the Flickr photo stream that finally made the second step of the construction clear.
I am smitten. Having already searched my stash for super bulky yarn and come up empty, I began to consider what makes this cowl work. Of course it’s the weight of the yarn, but equally important is a single ply for the structure. Sticky yarn would be difficult to drop…. unless you didn’t do the drop stitch.
What if I cast on 100 st, worked garter for 3 rows, wrapped one row double then dropped it in the next? Bind off, then sew together?
Oh, I’m ready to buy some super bulky yarn and find out.
Jan 17, 2016
Do you have a present shelf? The spot in the closet dedicated to last minute hostess gifts, birthday presents and things you just can’t justify giving yourself so you buy it to give to others? At my house, the present shelf materialized while living in Italy. During visits to America, I would stock up on English language books and goodies for the girls to give at birthday parties. We’ve grown out of that tradition, but the present shelf continues. Contents range from EVOO available at Giardini di Sole, textiles gathered during travels and of course, hand knitted items.
Hand knitted items on the present shelf headed out to support Jules’ Struck Girl Scout Gold Star Project in October, so the shelf is quite bare. Knit scarves are an ideal present shelf item. With so many knitters obsessed with scarves and shawls and with me hanging out and nurturing knitters eight hours a week, it’s difficult not to catch scarfitis. Mindless scarves, technique building scarves, spring scarves, winter scarves, scarves to layer… you get the picture.
So how will I restock the present shelf?
Icicle by Nancy Marchant
Icicle by Nancy Marchant gives me a chance to begin playing with her two color brioche knitting book and creating a hopefully gender neutral scarf. I picked up some great yarn at Circle of Stitches after visiting the PEM Native Fashion Now exhibit. I chose a deep plum to combine with gold, but have yet to cast on.
Knitting Fresh Brioche: Creating Two Color Twists and Turns uses different vocabulary and could definitely fill my winter with opportunities to swatch. Having received this book for Christmas, I’ll begin with one color swatches, enjoying the process and eventually end up with
BTW, the thought provoking, tactile tempting exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum features great curation and interesting textiles. Highlighting how heritage and global mish mash struggle in a world with boundaries, borders and limitations left me contemplating perspectives of native designers. Hmm… are there any audio books on native american cultural expression in the 21st Century so I could listen as I knit?
Sallah by Bristol Ivy
A survey of my stash yields plenty of options for sock weight yarn scarves. Sallah by Bristol Ivy could be the right choice for many of these skeins. One of the Sit and Knit knitters has this on the needles, so I’ve been living it vicariously through her for the past couple of months. No casting on yet… I’ve still got a zick zack scarf on my needles, so in the mindless category, I’m probably set for a while.
The present shelf doesn’t need to be restocked overnight.
Jan 14, 2016
Blocks of quilting, knitting, mending, drawing and dreaming frame the early days of 2016.
One Sunday afternoon to do list.
Soon I’ll finish the second quilt in the Cowabunga Cat series. This one kind of got away from me. Originally, the second surfing cat quilt would also be a baby blanket. After the first, I felt like the fabric needed more room to breathe. So I unsewed the top and placed the large isosceles triangles in a larger setting…. try queen size. The top is still pretty busy…. but I can definitely see waves of surfing cats moving through the tube.
Although I said I’d never use a Statler Stitcher on my quilts after Karina Kowabunga, Laurena’s Longarm Quilting now has several of the Anita Shackleford Modern packages available for the computer guided quilting machine. “Modern Paisley” seemed the perfect choice for this surfing cat quilt.
Anita Shackleford Modern Paisley Digital Quilting Design
Trimming out portions of the pattern, changing height and other diddly choices means I’ll spend more than 8 hours quilting the 81″ x 90″ top. Over the autumn, I wrote several little haikus about surfing cats, two of which I’m quilting into the top. I’ve got some leftover fabric and a few more haikus… a third quilt in the offing? While these projects weren’t even on my horizon in January 2015, it’s been a fun little hike.
Already the pull of the 2016 quilt diversion dots my day dreams: Quilt du Jour by Marni Buck and Jill Guffy.
Quilts du Jour by Marny Buck & Jill Guffy
Plucked from the library just before Christmas (along with Margaret Radcliffe’s completely approachable and useful Knowledgeable Knitter), the simple blocks have lots of opportunities to play. We could use a few more large quilts at home. I’ve signed up for studio blocks as a subscriber at Laurena’s through the summer. With only two large WIPS destined for machine quilting, I do need to look at stash and play with possibilities.
Ah, how pleasant it is to just jump into whichever craft calls me today! Random craft choice won’t last much more: we’re leading a Knit a Long for the Aidez cardigan at Sit and Knit. Who knows what 2016 will bring?
Dec 28, 2015
“Is there anything fragile, liquid, perishable, or potentially hazardous,” the postal clerk asked before she smoothed the postage sticker onto my Large Priority Mail box.
A few knitting references surround my box of the Master Knitter Level 3 portfolio, ready to post!
“Um, no.”
The corrections to my Master Knitter Level 3 portfolio are headed to my committee chair, ready for weeks of scrutiny. This accomplishment yielded not nearly the relief I expected. Two things I’ve learned in this process:
- I am capable of making copious careless mistakes.
- There are some pretty wonderful knitting resources out there.
Finally it’s time to do things other than peruse knitting books (did you catch Margaret Radcliffe’s The Knowledgeable Knitter)? What a lovely addition to the genre! It’s time to return phone calls, bake, garden, make anything I feel like and read!
Oh, there will now be time to blog, too. So once I wade through the stuff that I’ve ignored for most of the last two months, I’m sure the anticipation, elation and jubilation will rise. Shouldn’t there be a pusheen emoji for this?
That package didn’t have anything fragile, liquid, perishable or potentially hazardous, but it did contain the fruits of many hours of work and timorous hopes of few corrections when the reviewers send the box back to me in a couple of months.
Wish me luck!
