Where does the time go?

Well, hello there. Haven't posted in a while because I have been quite busy. I would like to say that I have been knitting up a storm and show you lots of pretty pictures, but I can't. Life has been pulling me in other directions. However, knitting is (almost) always on my mind and there are tons of projects bouncing around in my head just waiting to come out! Hopefully we'll get to some of those very soon.

In the process of cleaning out my studio-in-a-closet (those felted sweaters take up way too much room) the wee octopi you see below were born. They will make fun gifts for kids. It may be hard to split them up though as they have become fast friends. My husband is rather fond of them too. When he saw them he announced that he'd always wanted an octopus. (I believe he's always wanted at least one of every animal.)

The octopi are simple to make. Let me know if you interested and I'll post some instructions.



Hoping to see you again really soon. I have four knitting projects underway and a web page under construction so there should be lots to share. One of the projects is a beret pattern that I plan to post soon! Check back.

Fog Linen Dresses and Wedding Hairpieces

Have you been privileged to browse the pages of Selvedge mag? I think I ran across it online somewhere and still do not have a prescription, subscription I mean. The dry goods section of the website is my favorite and I always want to buy something, especially from Fog Linen. They make exactly the sort of clothes and linens that I have envisioned for my home. Simple, rustic and natural.

I visited them online again today and it seems that they have updated their website. It's hard for me to tell since I don't read Japanese. Very frustrating. All I want are a couple of simple linen dresses to wear to wedding parties this summer in DC. I don't get crazy about fashion so when I come across something to wear or put in my home that looks like it's been there for a century and could go another, then I get excited. The Fog Linen line meets criteria.

Fog Linen's house linens may be purchased through a few US retailers if you're interested. Maybe a unique gift for newlyweds?

Speaking of weddings... thought I'd share a couple of hair pieces I made last spring. They're made of hand felted merino wool, silk yarn, pearl beads and little flowery wedding doodads. I like the way that the leaves on the larger piece sticks out in crazy directions.

By the way, Happy May Day.

Finished Projects!

It's so great to finish a project. Part of why it's so nice is because then a new one can begin. Even before I'm half-way through my knitting I'm already thinking of what to do next and sometimes just can't wait to start another piece.

Recently I finished my husband's sweater (hence the black photo to the left) and though it is his new favorite I've been planning the next one for sometime. Maybe a vest for the warmer months. Knitting for him would be a little more exciting if he wanted something other than black. Actually, I'm exaggerating just a bit. He has picked up a couple of light colored linen guayabera shirts recently to wear in the summer months.

Sorry the pics aren't so great. I dropped my good camera (sorry Mom) so am having to use my daughter's. Looks like I'll be shopping for a new camera in the near future.


A couple of other small projects include another pillow with gorgeous wooden buttons and a belated gift hat.

I've been trying to work out some details in the pillow patterns so that there are no flipping or rolling edges and no pillow inserts peeking out of the opening.

To the left is a picture of the pillow before the buttons were sewn on.


The hat was a request from a family member. I had made one hat and when a second was requested I decided to play around with a more feminine design. The hat was knit from the bottom up and begun by knitting the lace within reverse stockinette so that when it was flipped up you would be looking at the right side. This also meant that I didn't have to pick-up stitches to create the band (which I avoid whenever possible). I was very pleased with the end result.

It'd be cute without the ear flaps. Maybe this fall. Spring is here however and I can't think of winter hats now.
And...my daughter finished her dad's socks! They look and fit wonderfully. She did a great job (even though the yarn was very rough). Sweet girl, she is now knitting a pair of anklets for me in an 80%cotton/20%wool yarn. Much softer than the last. The heels and gussets are finished and she is knitting away on the feet. The weather has just turned and I should have a new pair of summer socks! What a very good daughter. She continues to amaze me with her array of talents and I'd like to take a few lines here to dote on her if I may. Besides making beautiful handcrafts she also is a gifted musician. Though we recognized this gift early, she only began piano lessons a couple of years ago. She has progressed rather quickly and loves to pick up other instruments. This past Thursday she started fiddle lessons. The group meets at a local Irish pub and after lessons everyone stays to listen to a real session and students can take part as soon as they like. If you've never been to one, find a local pub and go. They're a lot of fun even if you don't play anything!

Comhaltas (promoting Irish music and culture) has a great YouTube page. Here's a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3R3z1gJQkQ

No, I'm not Irish.

Spinning and Plying

It has been a couple of years since I tried to spin. I did pretty well on the spinning wheel at the park district but did not have one at home and found the drop spindle too slow. The drop spindle is not really that slow -it was me being not only slow, but impatient and I happily distracted myself with other fiber adventures.

Above is a pic of my first ball of yarn from a spinning wheel. (Pay no attention to the drop spindle.)

For whatever reason I got the spinning bug again. In looking around for a wheel to possibly rent, I ran across the Windy City Spinning Guild. Probably most people would go about this the other way around (i.e., contact spinners, get info, get a wheel, learn to spin). Not me. Thankfully this is what ended up happening anyway, in spite of me.

While searching for a wheel-for-rent I found myself at the guild's website. I sent them an email and was told that they would be meeting that Tuesday. Great!

I drove the 5 miles or so to the public library location which is the designated meeting place and upon going in asked the young lady at the desk "Could you tell me where the spinning guild meets?".

The reply was, "What is that?" with a look of kind confusion and then, "They're probably upstairs. You can take the elevator." (pointing to it).

"May I take the stairs?"

"Yes."

Up I went. I was actually a little worried about showing up with nothing but my current knitting project. But there was no need to be concerned. Before long I was handed a homemade dropspindle accompanied by a short demonstration and told that when I finished spinning this that she would show me how to ply it. Wow! I get to learn to ply already?

I did finish and was shown how to make a two-ply from my single strand of yarn by using an Andean plying method. There is a very good article on this in the Summer 2007 issue of Spinoff magazine if you're interested in learning. I have to tell you that I am terribly excited about having learned this and hope to accomplish it next time without cutting off circulation to my middle finger.

Here's a nice little illustration of Andean plying:

http://www.mielkesfarm.com/andean.htm

Bumbling Bees has a pretty funny blog entry about Andean plying. Take a look.

http://bumblingbees.blogspot.com/search/label/Spinning

Above and below is my tiny hank of 2-ply yarn from the guild meeting.

I had a great time and all the ladies were very nice and helpful. They even sent me home with more fiber and a dropspindle! Can't wait to go next month! I plan to take them some of our English Angora's fiber to see what they can do with it.

Start Them Early

I usually have small stack of fresh books around for pleasure and inspiration. Recently I checked out Morehouse Farm Merino Knits from our local library's commendable collection of fiber arts books. The author, Margrit Lohre, talks about growing "up in Switzerland where knitting was part of the school curriculum". In our world of mass production we have lost many valuable skills. We can no longer pass them down because we never learned them. Parent's have lost something that greatly affects how they and their children spend time together. This seems a tragedy and I believe that it has had undesirable effects on society. I can't change the world but I can change my world.

Our 14 year old daughter and I have spent the last decade learning some of these 'lost' skills together. She has learned knitting, crocheting (better than me), spinning, weaving, sewing, quilting and many other skills along with me. Actually, she has been knitting longer than I. She can knit a pair of socks and darn them too! I thought I would share her current project with you. She is learning to knit two socks at once on one circular needle using 2-at-a-time socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.

I am working very hard at finishing my husband's sweater, but alas, he also is in desperate need of a new pair of socks. And of course since receiving his first pair of hand knit socks he is loathe to wear a store bought pair. So our industrious daughter graciously offered to knit a pair of socks for her dad as she was anxious to learn this new technique.

Though I prefer to work exclusively with natural fibers, my husband needs a more durable blend so that we're not darning his socks within a month of coming off the needles. I ordered Yarn for Sox from WEBS. Our daughter patiently followed the author's suggestion to knit a mismatched pair of toddler socks while we waited for our sock yarn to arrive. She will need to knit another pair of mismatched socks so that we will have two matching pair.

Our yarn arrived quickly and she started knitting her Dad's socks. Having a preference for finer wools this blend felt rough to her. Hopefully the socks will last a lot longer and be worth the sore fingers in the end.

We have enjoyed the time spent learning these skills and using them together. I know I can trust her with projects that I don't have enough time for or to come up with a quick handmade gift in a pinch. She is learning skills that she will hopefully use for the rest of her life and pass on. Though she is very capable, she shows her excitement and respect for my skills by trying to lay claim to just about everything I make! Knitting has been an invaluable part of our relationship and I hope that it will continue to be.

Teach a young person to knit. A lot more than a pair of socks may come of it!

Knitting as Cognative Excercise

Just ran across an interesting article on how knitting and other activities may delay memory loss. I'm sure that this is common sense for most of us. Exercise your body and it will probably last longer. Exercise your mind and it will probably work better for longer too. Nevertheless I suppose it is good for a doctor to do a study so that those who have not considered this will.

Here's the link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7896441.stm

Interestingly the study suggested to me that if you knit and watch TV at the same time or maybe in somewhat equal amounts, that these activities (one active, one passive) cancel each other out. Maybe.

What could one take away from this? Consider tossing the tube. Our family did this years ago and it has not been missed. I spent more time reading, painting, drawing and eventually took up knitting and hand felting.

I know that most people would probably consider this extreme but consider this. While they are sitting around later in life trying to remember what they're supposed to be doing, I'll be teaching my grandchildren how to knit.