Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Work of Art
All pieces of my cardi are knit, the body is sewn together and just waiting for its set-in sleeves and the last ends to be woven in. I'm very excited, it fits beautifully. Hopefully I don't have to wait until the weekend for photos, but we're about to break a record here in SF for having the most rainy days in March since 1904. I'll leave you with this truly stunning work of art, a woolen coat by Balenciaga. I wish I could see this in person:
Friday, March 17, 2006
Red Sweater Bearing Tree
Wow! Thanks so much for the great compliments on my Mermaid gloves. I'm excited about all the comments and have discovered lots of new (to me) blogs.
While I was working on the gloves my imagination got a little carried away and I thought about a whole knitted skin-tight Pomatomus outfit. For Halloween, of course. Yes this is a crazy idea and I'm not considering it seriously, but it's just a cool thought, just picture it.
Last week one of the blogs I read featured photos of the Redsweaters Project. I had heard about it, but didn't know it was just a few minutes away from my house. Driving up the street all of a sudden a bright red tree pops out from amid the greenery leading up to Bernal hill.
It was a beautiful sight, and at this sunny carefree Sunday it was hard to think of its reason for being. When I went to the website last week, 87 more sweaters were needed. Today it is 93.
Here are a couple of links I wanted to share with you:
Quilter Ian Hundley has currently a show in New York. His quilts are influenced by aerial views and maps. I think I saw a link to another quilt artist who works like this on whip-up the other day. Unfortunately there is only one quilt on his site. I'm particularly fascinated by these types of quilts as they remind me of a childhood thing I used to do on train or car rides. I'd be staring at the side of the road, watching all the shapes and colors meld together and wishing I could make it into fabric. Wouldn't that make some interesting clothing? I'd still love to do this someday.
For my birthday last month I gave myself a subscription to Selvedge, a British magazine featuring all things textile. Purchasing it at my bookstore here has always given me pangs of guilt as it is rather expensive, but a subscription is much cheaper. You save even more if you go for the online version instead of the paper. Maybe you could get your local library to subscribe to it. The last issue had articles on vintage feedsack clothing, the Jaipur Arts festival, silk walls, the Korean craft Poyagi and other textile artists. The photography is beautiful. I always learn something new and it is tempting me to go back to school to get a degree in Textiles.
While I was working on the gloves my imagination got a little carried away and I thought about a whole knitted skin-tight Pomatomus outfit. For Halloween, of course. Yes this is a crazy idea and I'm not considering it seriously, but it's just a cool thought, just picture it.
Last week one of the blogs I read featured photos of the Redsweaters Project. I had heard about it, but didn't know it was just a few minutes away from my house. Driving up the street all of a sudden a bright red tree pops out from amid the greenery leading up to Bernal hill.
It was a beautiful sight, and at this sunny carefree Sunday it was hard to think of its reason for being. When I went to the website last week, 87 more sweaters were needed. Today it is 93.
Here are a couple of links I wanted to share with you:
Quilter Ian Hundley has currently a show in New York. His quilts are influenced by aerial views and maps. I think I saw a link to another quilt artist who works like this on whip-up the other day. Unfortunately there is only one quilt on his site. I'm particularly fascinated by these types of quilts as they remind me of a childhood thing I used to do on train or car rides. I'd be staring at the side of the road, watching all the shapes and colors meld together and wishing I could make it into fabric. Wouldn't that make some interesting clothing? I'd still love to do this someday.
For my birthday last month I gave myself a subscription to Selvedge, a British magazine featuring all things textile. Purchasing it at my bookstore here has always given me pangs of guilt as it is rather expensive, but a subscription is much cheaper. You save even more if you go for the online version instead of the paper. Maybe you could get your local library to subscribe to it. The last issue had articles on vintage feedsack clothing, the Jaipur Arts festival, silk walls, the Korean craft Poyagi and other textile artists. The photography is beautiful. I always learn something new and it is tempting me to go back to school to get a degree in Textiles.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Mermaid Gloves
I've been working on so many projects all at once that I needed a little helper with my Mermaid gloves, aka Pomatomus sock turned fingerless mitts:
"I'm tired, you try kntting with no thumb. Now where's that tuna she promised me?"
I love, love, love this pattern, it's so beautiful. The first glove took me about two weeks because of a broken dpn that needed replacing and because I figured out a neater way of doing the increases after I completed the thumb gusset, which then got ripped.
I was afraid there would be a snafu waiting, some place where the pattern just wouldn't work for a mitt. But it didn't happen, it worked perfectly! Yeah!
I inserted the thumb gusset between a horizontal pattern repeat and made it one vertical pattern repeat high.
After I completed the gusset, I knit one more pattern repeat, followed by a row of k1p1 ribbing before starting the fingers, which allowed the pattern to sort of flow into the fingers.
Can you tell I'm really excited about these? My first FO for myself this year.
Specs:
Yarn: Koigu in a light silvery blue shade, I always lose the ball bands at my LYS when I wind the hanks.
Needles: 2.25mm Crystal Palace Bamboo dpn's for arm and palm; 2.25 Brittany small dpn's for thumb and fingers
Pattern: I figured out the gloves on my own after checking out glove patterns all over the internet. The stitch pattern is from Knitty's Pomatomus socks.
I cast on the same number of stitches which, combined with a smaller needle, makes for a snugly fitting glove. Despite the thin yarn, small needles and lacy pattern, these gloves are very warm and squishy, due to the ribbing I think.
My Kathy cardi is just missing its sleeves. Since there are no cables on the sleeves I'm hoping to complete them this week so I can have a seaming party next weekend and hopefully pictures.
My skirt...ahem. I got another pattern, more swingy and made another muslin. It ended up being so long and full that I just need a matching top to have appropriate attire should I consider becoming a nun. Good thing there is another weekend before the deadline.
"I'm tired, you try kntting with no thumb. Now where's that tuna she promised me?"
I love, love, love this pattern, it's so beautiful. The first glove took me about two weeks because of a broken dpn that needed replacing and because I figured out a neater way of doing the increases after I completed the thumb gusset, which then got ripped.
I was afraid there would be a snafu waiting, some place where the pattern just wouldn't work for a mitt. But it didn't happen, it worked perfectly! Yeah!
I inserted the thumb gusset between a horizontal pattern repeat and made it one vertical pattern repeat high.
After I completed the gusset, I knit one more pattern repeat, followed by a row of k1p1 ribbing before starting the fingers, which allowed the pattern to sort of flow into the fingers.
Can you tell I'm really excited about these? My first FO for myself this year.
Specs:
Yarn: Koigu in a light silvery blue shade, I always lose the ball bands at my LYS when I wind the hanks.
Needles: 2.25mm Crystal Palace Bamboo dpn's for arm and palm; 2.25 Brittany small dpn's for thumb and fingers
Pattern: I figured out the gloves on my own after checking out glove patterns all over the internet. The stitch pattern is from Knitty's Pomatomus socks.
I cast on the same number of stitches which, combined with a smaller needle, makes for a snugly fitting glove. Despite the thin yarn, small needles and lacy pattern, these gloves are very warm and squishy, due to the ribbing I think.
My Kathy cardi is just missing its sleeves. Since there are no cables on the sleeves I'm hoping to complete them this week so I can have a seaming party next weekend and hopefully pictures.
My skirt...ahem. I got another pattern, more swingy and made another muslin. It ended up being so long and full that I just need a matching top to have appropriate attire should I consider becoming a nun. Good thing there is another weekend before the deadline.
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