Tada! Blocked, sewn and buttons, with a photo shoot planned for Monday, the last stitches of Dovuto have come together. It fits just fine, although remind me to put 5 buttonholes in the pattern if I ever publish it.
I am so ready to knit something different… oh yes, I have commission work waiting in the studio! And there’s the hat pattern, so back to work!
I need no yarn, but you’ll definitely find me at Sit n Knit in Melrose on Sunday afternoon, helping Janet and enjoying the North Shore Yarn Crawl. Janet’s offering 20% discount on yarn and she has a lot of fun giveaways, raffles and goodies, so be sure to stamp your passport there!
On Saturday and Sunday morning, it’s time for the FiberCamp Boston. Can it be? I just watched the video we filmed for the first FiberCamp in 2009.
Really, the fact that there’s only 24 hours in a day is one of the biggest problems with Boston. Will I see you around this weekend?
Drip, drip, drip…
A lifelong avid reader, a doodler and occasional journal writer, my book attraction has broadened over the past few years.
Drip… While working at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, I loved the insights and discoveries of Anne Marie Eze, who at the time was a curatorial fellow (she’s become part of the curatorial staff since then). Mrs. Gardner was a dedicated book connoisseur before she launched into other art forms. Anne Marie brings the cultural background of many books to life as she explores the collection.
Drip… Pam Parmel mentioned the embroidered caskets collection at the Museum of Fine Arts during her talk at the Common Cod Fiber Guild in 2012. As a member of the Textile and Costume Society, I had the chance to observe more of these incredible works, learning that many book binding techniques were used to assemble the pieces.
Drip… Stacie Dolan published Book Art Studio Handbook and I started thinking about all of the opportunities to mix my love of textiles with book binding.
Drip… An email from the Folk Art Museum leads me to a very cool way kit, which I just have to share on Twitter.
: V Cool gift idea: Book binding kit (I know you need a new craft idea) http://t.co/GjhMsJKnEd from @FolkArtMuseum 1:15pm, Dec 13 from HootSuite
FolkArtMuseum: @Tactile_Travel Our staff loves that kit. What sort of book do you think you’d make? 3:09pm, Dec 13 from Web
Peg and Awl lead you through the book binding process with their Anselm kit.
My darling hub gave me the kit for Christmas. As I attempt to stay focused on completing the master knitter portfolio, I can’t dip in just yet (however, I keep a stack of books on the topic near my bedside table!).
Today’s Writer’s Almanac (January 22, 2014) gave me direction on the book inspiration. It is enough by Anne Alexander Bingham. Add this to my collection of cherished poems.
Time to develop my book. I wonder how that paper will handle being stitched….
Fix it. Use it up, Wear it out. Make do. Do without!
This New England proverb chimed repeatedly last week, when I discovered the state of my warmest winter mittens.
It wasn’t just the “Polar Vortex” that made my hands cold last week.
Worn and loved, these mitts are made from Berocco Peruvia yarn and lined with alpaca. Created from Kerry’s Cozy Lined mitten pattern purchased at Dragonfly yarns in Janesville, WI. I knit them in 2008 and reknit the thumbs in 2011 (fyi, I knew that Peruvia was too loosely spun to make long wearing mittens, but the color matched my winter coat). Knitting a new pair isn’t an option now. Buying one? That seems frivolous!
For the time being, I’ll darn the exterior, but I don’t see myself creating a new lining until spring… maybe I’ll just knit a different pattern… so many cool things I could make. Wait! Stay focused, oh pursuer of Master Knitter Level 3.
My family has noted that mending jobs get done promptly, but their mending lingers on hangars at my studio door. Imagine that!
Ok, back to work!
Grapes, leaves and winding tendrils inspired a cable pattern
Drumroll!
After weeks of brainstorming, figuring,swatching and experimenting, I finally began KNITTING my aran sweater design for the Master Knitter Level 3 program.
Inspiration: wrought iron railings in New Orleans.
Ideally, I wanted to create this motif center panel with a V neck. Then, I’d make the body in one piece… a princess line sweater. It would be easy to customize when it came time to size the pattern. Unfortunately, my brain insisted that the cable motif would wrap around the neck and shoulders, which would probably require considerable short rows. Time is of the essence, and I’m much more of a cardi kind of gal anyway.
So the princess line sweater became a high low cardigan. This time.
I’ve grappled with my stubborn non conformity to traditional aran style. It would have been infinitely easier to drop a few stitch patterns into a basic sweater shape with ribbed edges. But I don’t like ribbed edges these days (exception for mittens!). My aran sweater has a stretchy provisional cast on with stockinette stitch hem. I’m using rick rib for the lower edges of the sweater, and I love the lofty light effect that contrasts with the other stitch patterns.
The Master Knitter program requirements are fairly straightforward: cables, bobbles and two other stitch patterns. I’m making this more difficult than need be.
Deadline’s a looming. I spent at least 3 weeks creating the 3 dimensional leaf shapes and the cable pattern with a bunch of grapes (bobbles) tucked inside. My swatch is nearly 2 feet long, complete with V neck shaping (that doesn’t include all of the work frogged!).
The yarn? Woolpak NZ DK weight purchased with my employee discount at Sit n Knit (Thanks, Janet!).
Once I drafted the pattern, work proceeds quite well… until the first leaves. I developed leaf patterns in 7, 9, and 11 st. I chose 7, and now wonder if the 9 wouldn’t fit the overall scale of the sweater better.
first repeat of cable pattern
Any thoughts?
