Knit and Tink

My knitting skills aren’t great, but they are improving. It appears that I have a lot of patience because I just keep knitting, no matter how much tinking I have to do.

I’m using a gorgeous yarn from Shalimar for this wrap. It’s a merino, cashmere, silk blend and it’s very soft and warm. I love the way it looks, but it’s taking a long time and I’m getting a bit tired of doing the same thing.

My knitty friend said she always has a few projects going so she could choose what she felt like working on. Great idea . . . it’s the way I create artwork, so why not knitting. I jumped on that bandwagon and off I went.

This cowl is a made from Capra DK, from Knit Picks. It’s a beautiful marino and cashmere blend. It’s pretty chilly during my husband’s morning bike ride to work. This cowl will keep him nice and warm and it’ll be easy to store in his bike pack.

Years ago, I collected novelty yarns to use as embellishments in my art quilts. That phase didn’t last long and I barely used the yarn collection. My knitty friend suggested cutting it up and tying it back together to form new art yarn. Wow, that sounded like an interesting idea. I sorted through my bin for yarns that I thought might work together and chose fifteen different yarns. I cut and tied, knitted a sample, deleted several eyelash yarns, and knitted another sample. After a few versions, I think I have a good assortment that will make beautiful art yarn.

 The balls are beautiful!

I need tie enough yarn for a shawl.

Here's a wonderful Della Q circular needle case from Etsy. I love the numbers on the needle slots and it has plenty of space for cables, It also has a zippered pouch on the outside for markers, scissors, etc.

Knitting Projects

Yay! I finished my Russian Wedding Band Cowl, however, mine has two loops instead of three like the pattern suggests. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The loopy yarn adds a lot of interest.

The knitting group I meet with once a month is called "Loose Threads". I really joined the group because I like the women, not because I liked to knit. I used to bring a variety of things to work on, but the last few months I've become addicted on knitting. They are so talented and make such beautiful items . . . I want to make them too. Lucky for me, they are really patient and willing to share.

Katie taught me how to knit short rows so I could make this helix scarf. I tried to flatten the scarf out a bit  to show how it ruffles on each side of the center spine. I'm using a 75% Supersocke 100 wool and #3 needles. It'll probably take me 6 months to finish the scarf but I'm sure I'll love it when it's finished.

Here's a close up showing how the scarf naturally twists. Aren't the colors gorgeous?

Knittin and Stitchin

There's quite a bit happening in my studio, but nothing is completely finished. I've been dyeing a lot of fabric and silk scarves and printing note cards that feature my photography. I'm planning to open an Etsy shop soon, however, it's quite a bit of work to get it all organized and get everything photographed. If any of you have any advice for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

I meet with a group of friends once a month and everyone except Lora and me knit. Well, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and started knitting a Russian Wedding Band Cowl. Normally, it has 3 loops that intertwine, however, I think I'm going to make two loops and keep the yarn the same for both. I consider myself a novice knitter and have to review how to cast on stitches every time I begin a new project. This is the first time I've used circular needles. So far, I think it's going pretty good. What do you think?

 This is a prayer shawl that I've been commissioned to work on. The large cherry tree was designed by the client. The background is lightweight wool and the tree and flowers are silk. I'm using a buttonhole stitch to applique all of the shapes onto the background. It's been a bit tedious, but it's coming out quite nice and I'm almost done.

Can this Scarf Be Saved??

Unfortunately, my opinion is NO. I know, I spent a lot time knitting this much, but I just have to accept the fact that it's a failure, and rip those stitches out.

It's one of those yarns that have six wonderful (so I thought) yarns on one skein. It looked so beautiful, I just had to make a scarf. How can something so pretty turn ugly so fast? The gauge of every yarn is different and the scarf ended up getting fat and skinny with every yarn change. Some of the yarn is fuzzy like mohair, some is metallic and slender, some nubby and it's all different thicknesses. Somebody told me that I could block it, but they said that sight unseen. I stopped at the Ball & Skein yarn shop in Cambria and saw a scarf knitted with similar yarn, and asked them about it. They said to use size 11 needles, but I'm currently using size 10, so I think 13 might be better. I need advice from any knitters out there.

While I was at the yarn shop, I saw this beautiful yarn, and had to buy it. It came with a free lacy pattern and the owner showed me how to do it. Unfortunately, by the time I got home, I forgot how to do it. Yarn over and knit 2 stitches together. Huh? I couldn't get my needles through 2 stitches no matter how hard I tried.

Honestly, I'm really not good a knitting, but for some strange reason, I continue to torture myself by trying to knit. Every time I begin a project, I have to watch videos on the internet to re-learn how to do it. Then, I start knitting and ripping the project apart at least 6 times. Finally, I figured it out, and I LOVE how it looks.

It would have been a lot faster to crochet it. Hmm . . . buying a scarf would have been really easy. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so stubborn!