Six weeks into sailing season and so far, I’ve resisted starting new projects for the boat. Aren’t I diligent? Aren’t I ready for new summer knitting projects? Aren’t I avoiding finishing my Master Knitter Level 3 corrections?
One of the boats in the club had a perfect place to stash the project on board!
From the diligent end, aren’t you proud that either Joji Locatelli’s Windows to my Soul and Umeko by Sarah Hatton dropped into the sailing bag? I’ve been knitting them off and on for a while; both are nearly complete!
Umeko in Cotton Lustre – Yum!
Now it’s time to cast on new traveling projects for the sailing bag as well as other summer adventures on the horizon. An ideal traveling project could be stockinette or garter, but easy to learn and repeatable patterns are more fun. I’d rather not do stranded knitting. A nice portable size is convenient, but I’m happy to do pieces and sew them together. Last year’s Silky Thorn required size 1 needles, which was workable… but not my first choice. And wouldn’t it be nice if it used yarn I already own?
Ravelry now allows you to bundle the projects and patterns that you favorite into Pinterest like collections. I created a “Traveling Knits” bundle, which was a good place to start with summer knitting inspiration. The first Fall edition of Knitty.com is always good for inspiration! And of course, the knitters at Sit and Knit and In Stitches always have great ideas when asked. So here’s
6 Easy Knitting Projects for Summer Travels
Baker Street by Joan of Dark in the
Although thoughts of early fall are truly repulsive, it’s always a good idea to restock the hand knit present shelf. Baker Street by Joan of Dark looks like an entertaining and easy project.
Allongee by Bristol Ivy in Spring KnitScene 2015
Coordinating colors of Louet Sport Weight Linen lurk in my stash. They would look great in this fun Bristol Ivy’s Allongee. I love the way drop stitches make this easy knit a bit more interesting. And in Bristol Ivy style, the construction is also a bit different.
Sallah Cowl by Bristol Ivy
A quick peek around my Neck and Shoulders bundle brought me to another Bristol Ivy pattern, this time from Knitty! Sallah could be a portable project that uses one of those irresistible skeins of fingering weight yarn which I’m prone to procuring on the road.
Christy Kamm’s Zick Zack Scarf
The Zick Zack scarf is easy, appealing and I hear addicting. Sample color ways abound in nearly every shop in New England that carries Berrocco yarn! Any fingering weight yarn with gradations works for this pattern, or solids combined with the gradient, why not?
I especially love the look when the colors of the two balls are harmonious for a demure color wash effect.
Churchmouse Easy Folded Poncho
I will bow to the reality that fall arrives sooner or later by including the Easy Folded poncho from Churchmouse yarns. As the final project is a bit big, it’s most likely I won’t work on this if the weather is too warm.
Sarah Hatton’s Stripey Sailor Girl will hit my needles this weekend, as two lovely baby girls entered my life this spring.
I’d love to build up the traveling knitting project options… what are yours?
As for avoiding the Master Knitter Corrections? Um, yes. I’ve finished my aran sweater pattern (test knitting made this a very humbling experience). There’s still more to do, but I won’t dedicate a 100% of my knitting time to the obligations. Holy Cats, it’s summer!
Jean and Tom Holtey maintain an amazing yarn and thread collection at their Weston, MA store, and online. As they cater to MetroWest knitters, crocheters, embroiderers and needlepoint enthusiasts, I’ve been lucky enough to coach knitters there in the last year. What a scintillating group of adventure seeking stitchers they are! This photograph was one of dozens taken, but I bet that weighty camera captured other fabulous views. Knowing that Jean spoke with Cindy Cantrell for 45 minutes, I found the article’s angle so heartening: the companionship and comfort of stitching.
Little did Cindy realize that so many people still knit. In the last 15 years, dozens of media blips proclaimed that “knitting isn’t just for grannies any more.” More than four million members interact on the “social media for fiber lovers” site called Ravelry (which in 2014 reported that 84 of 10,000 US citizens were members). I was a bit incredulous that there are still so many people behind on their knitting stereotypes.
Time for us to knit in public, my friends! Time to yarn bomb, perform the craft in new settings, to wear amazing finished objects of fabulous fiber content.
The time nudged me into carrying a sketch pad in my purse again. Sue claims that we build muscle memory just through practice, even if you’re swinging between pencil and longarm.
Doodling is a nice, mindful way to spend a couple of minutes. I’m hesitant to spend much time creating many motifs from others, but there are definitely skill sets being built by copying. Ideally, my work will develop its own vocabulary, depending on the piece.
On a bed quilt, these shapes are simply lovely. Sue had some fantastic samples that made me want to buy more thread. However, my ample stash of machine embroidery cotton will do me just fine for now.
Huzzah for the fine board members and volunteers of the Common Cod Fiber Guild! Not only did they hold another fantastic Ignite Craft Boston in January, but their video recordings are up!
Here’s my 5 minutes of quick enlightenment on the different ways to quilt a sandwich.
In celebration of Boston Design Week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Morse Study Room to view selections from the Print and Drawings Collection. Meghan Melvin, Sharf Curator for Design, selected a variety of ephemera that represent the stories and secrets of furniture design, textile and fashion, banking service, graphic art and even interior design for cars. I could have listened to Meghan talk for hours! Hopefully she did not sense my internal pandemonium as I forced myself to leave after the 30 minute tour. Tiny fireworks sparked ideas, evolving into whirling thoughts which eventually I distilled into four categories:
The ephemera of my design process
The challenges of conserving such an enormous range of objects and untangling their mysteries
The opportunities to research new project inspiration in museum collections
How digital design will change future ephemera: Will historians’ and curators’ work become easier or more difficult as our creative process and presentations transfer from physical to digital representation?
Historic New England encourages people to contribute supporting documentation and tools for their collection that reflects New England life. Perhaps the things we create should be documented more clearly? Should cleaning up after a finished design or quilt take on a different meaning?
