is debatable, when I start a project I feel that finishing is the exciting bit, when I finish something I think starting is the most exciting. In the middle of the project starting something new and finishing both seem more exciting. Odd really, as I think of myself as a process knitter. But starting and finishing are key processes in a project, so maybe the emphasis shifts depending on where I am in the process.
The two scarves, woven from boy-sock remains are done, off the loom, hemstitched washed, and dried. The fringes are trimmed. Overall I had enough for one long scarf and a shorter piece of fabric, or two short scarves. Bear elected for two short scarves, at 132cm not including a fringe these will wrap around a neck and fold over across the chest.
Here are both scarves, one is for bear and one a gift to be put aside for when giving a scarf seems the right thing to do. I followed online advice and used a quilt makers rotary cutter to trim the fringes after washing and drying,
The next scarf is already on the loom, not the floor loom (Lesley) but the wee table loom. I am enrolled in a ten week weaving class on Monday nights. First week we prepared our warp, second week we put our warp on the loom, and threaded heddles, third week is this week we tie onto the front beam and I think begin weaving. The class is with Christine Keller, a local weaver who trained as a professional weaver in Germany. Her methods seem to contain many of the steps shown in books and online, but there are also lots of little special things that I've not seen mentioned before. Like using elastic to tie the warp threads in a bunch to the front beam to make picking them up from the cross on the lease sticks for threading the heddles easier, and putting a whip across the cross against the back beam. I'm not experienced - so these might be usual methods for many - but they were things I missed when I read books and looked online. The yarn is Handspun, I had one skein of chain ply with solid colours, and three skeins of barber pole three ply. The warp has seven one inch stripes, alternating between barberpole and chain ply. I've threaded up for a twill that changes direction with each stripe. As a newbie I think I know what that will give me - but seeing will confirm my thoughts.
Some time ago I knit both boys, bear and elder cub, a Hope they never need this hat, dark grey outside with a safety orange lining. The deal is if they ever got lost outdoors they could reverse the hat and be easier to spot by search parties. Why yes, I am a mother, how could you tell? For little cubs school camp she needed a warm hat, I vetoed taking the cashmere one, the Viking cable one, the Handspun tam, the Shetland tam ....pretty much any pretty hat, they wee either too lacy or too precious. So she borrowed one of the boy bears hats. While she was way I started to knit a girls version. All the safety orange is gone, so I chose bright pink sock yarn and paired it with an over dyed merino possum fingering. I also played with knitting the hat from the top, the previous hats were cast on and knit up, this one I wanted to knit from the top to other top in one go. This means no pesky pick up to do on a cast on edge ....seems to have worked, I will tidy up the chart and post it soon.
Little cub finished her Tardis socks in time for camp, I knit half of each up to the heel and both heels, she knit both legs and all the colour work. I am impressed - at twelve I don't think I was doing that, and especially not on socks at this gauge !
She loved the colour work, and talked about how the chart was only eight rows, and how exciting it was to see the windows and the words appear. We may have a convert to colour work.
During the past few weeks I didn't have much interest in knitting, a paper cut across the ball of one finger made holding needles and knitting weird. So I did other things, finished some long abandoned knit books, drew a little and sewed up the spare fish. The blanket now has 200 fish, and is much bigger. There are only a few fish left loose, and I need to knit another three to have enough to complete a row.
Paper cut is healed now, and I am thinking about knitting more fish. More than that I am thinking a bout the blanket, is it big enough, or shall I continue? At 90 cm square, it is a good lap blanket, not big enough to tuck around a sleeping or resting patient who lies ill on a couch, and not big enough for a cot. I don't know if in a more tepid about knitting more fish, or about weaving in all those ends and picking up and adding a garter broder, which means deciding what colour to knit it in. Being paralyzed about the decision - I declare it not finished and put it back in the work basket,
Somewhere along the line I remembered that I had been knitting a cardigan, it might have been after Shoebox Sally and I decided to knit Enchanted Mesa, by Stephen West as a KAL starting January the first 2015. We are nothing if not practicable about the timeline, that gives me time to finish Slanted Sleeven and find yarn to use and ShoeboxSally time to finish the Firth of fourth and find yarn. The Firth has us in Awe - being as it is pretty much two lace shawls back to back in that it uses lace weight yarn and is knit in lace, and needs two skeins ...the woman is mad in a way only knitters can admire.
That being organized I pulled out my slanted Sleeven, and finished a sleeve, only one more sleeve to go and the buttons to sew on. I have vintage glass buttons, almost beads, that don't quite match the red, reds are so tricky to work with, but are so pretty I have decided they will match. Anyway they are glass so the Sleeven colour will show through their translucency, I'm on leave this week so the sleeve is my travel project, we are away for a few days ....and if I only take Sleeven - then I will - have - to - knit- on - it - won't - I?
And I started my weeks leave by visiting the hard to find book shop ... They have things I must return for after our travel ....
Stella
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