WIPs:
Knitting-group cowl: Before Christmas, DSH came up with this fabulous idea, in which each of us (that wanted to participate in the project) would submit a certain amount of sock yarn. The yarn would be split so each participant would get the same amount of each of the varieties submitted. Then we would use the yarn to make up a project. The suggested project was the Coulis cowl. DSH has already completed and blogged about hers @ La Tejedora Crafts. Now that I have started mine, I don’t want to go back and look at hers, in case I unintentionally imitate her work. She always does such amazing work and it is said to be “the most sincere form of flattery”, it is also kinda weird. DSH’s husband proclaimed this to be like a “yarn potluck”. So, this is how I think of this project… the Yarn Potluck Cowl. 😉
HP Blanket: This project is continuing a fairly steady march to the finish line. To make it into a wall hanging, it needed to be attached to fabric (knitting stretches too much to hang well). Originally I started to hand sew the knit blanket to a thin cotton batting and fabric backing. It kinda bunched up and I wasn’t happy with it. Cutting all the sewing stitches, I needed to make a new plan before starting over. Over these 52 years, I have come to realize that a great deal of my problem solving happens at night while lying awake waiting to fall back asleep.
My solution was to stretch the backing fabric on the quilting frame, smoothing the cotton batting and knit blanket while “quilting” it all together. It seemed to work fairly well. The presser-foot only catching on the knit stitches occasionally. Taking it from the frame to cut all the traveling threads, I was unpleasantly surprised to see puckering on the backing fabric. The frame had stretched the fabric too much.
Carefully cutting out the machine stitches, I went back to hand stitching. Being VERY careful to smooth everything out as I went.
This was looking great from the back! But the point of the backing fabric to provide a stable way to make this into a wall hanging. It wasn’t providing enough stability to the knit fabric. I think that mostly was because the distance between the lines of quilting.
Back to the magical problem solving time (mostly between 4am-5am). My newest solution is to remove all the stitches AND the cotton batting. Being this is a wall hanging it doesn’t need a batting, just the stabilizing backing fabric. I also don’t need to use the quilting to “mirror” the design of knitted project. Using little stitches running parallel to the lines on the backing provides the stability that I am looking for.
Dolly Dearest: No additional knitting to report, see last post.
LB’s birthday gift:
Sometime at the end of November (while in the mad rush to get projects done in time for Christmas), I started poking through my knitting books, looking for a suitable birthday gift to make for LB. Although (to the best of my knowledge) she isn’t a Science Fiction fan, this was the book that I found the perfect project in.
Last time I was visiting her, we talked about not only her favorite color (pink) but also what type of pink (baby soft pink). Having found the perfect pattern and knowing the perfect color I ordered the yarn and beads.
The yarn is much more luminescent in person. Additionally I ordered a Fleegle Extra-long beader set, from The Gossamer Web
, and a Mini Spin & String bead stringing tool from Jasmine Tea Designs,
both Etsy stores. These are nearly magical! The yarn came in hanks, so out came the swift and ball winder.
The mulberry silk yarn (from Knit Picks) is like working with soft spider’s web, except it is slippery and not sticky (unless you count when it sticks to any hangnails or dry cuticles that I may have). The bead tools make the beading process quick, fun and painless. The yarn was working well from the center pull ball, right up until it wasn’t. Eventually it got in a knot that I was unable to pick out, even under magnification. Back to the ball winder. Much picking, untangling, breaking, retying of yarn later… I have a new ball of yarn that I am working from the outside in. Much less opportunity to tangle. :-/
UFOs:
- Dr. Who Towels – Tardis : Having just barely made it back onto the WIP list, it was bumped back down to UFO. But, progress was made! 😀
- Flower of the Month Embroidery – January: Who knows when I will get back to this.
Wow! You have such cool projects. I absolutely LOVE the idea of a yarn potluck, may steal that for my knitting group. And that blanket is such an impressively large project. Seems like you have a little bit of everything to keep you busy.
I can’t take credit for yarn potluck. 😉
I loved the yarn potluck idea as well, so I agreed to send yarn. I still haven’t started my cowl. Lorri, I’m proud of you for getting yours on your needles and making progress.