Monday, November 14, 2011

Twill Thrills

I've been itching to weave twills. I tried to figure out how to do them on a Rigid Heddle loom (it's not impossible, but I didn't really feel like working quite that hard at it). I bought the four-shaft loom this summer, meaning twills were within my reach. I even checked out Twill Thrills from our local Weaver's Guild and then subsequently found a reasonably priced used copy on Amazon and snatched that right up.

So after all that, I thought you all might like to see. I'm taking these...

8/2 cotton by Project Pictures 8/2 cotton

And making these...

Twill progress Twill towel 2

Towel #3 Twill Towel #4

Twill Towel #5

I am using the 4-shaft LeClerc Medico table loom with a point-twill tie up and drafts of my own devising using the PixeLoom program.

It's pretty fun!

Excuse me. I have to get back to work!

Friday, November 11, 2011

An incredible gift

Baby Sweater by Project Pictures
Baby Sweater, a photo by Project Pictures on Flickr.
I want to share with you all something that I find incredibly moving. I've had a hard time sitting down and putting it to writing, because I can't seem to convey how honored and amazed I am to be a part of this story.

Last month, I finished a baby sweater.

It came to me from a friend.

This sweater was started by her aunt. Her aunt had knit seventy-two sweaters in her lifetime. Fifty-five of those sweaters were knit for foster children in her care. This sweater was #73.

It came to me nearly complete. The back, sides and arms had all been knit to the yoke. In fact, they had already been joined on a long, circular needle, with two rows knit. It wasn't much work to read through the pattern, understand what had already been done, and complete this woman's life's work. I tightened up a couple of rows where the gauge had slipped quite a bit, and carefully seamed up the completed sweater. There were even buttons included in the bag of tools, yarn and notions that was given into my keeping.

I'm told the aunt passed away this year. She left behind four completed sweaters, this unfinished sweater, and five grandchildren.

The five sweaters will be passed on to her grandchildren, part of the story of an amazing knitter's life.

I'm so incredibly moved to be a part of this legacy to her family.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

October Overview

I wish I had a bunch of great pictures to show you for my work in October. But I haven't taken any!

You will just have to believe me that this luscious Merino/yak/silk is almost finished yarn:

Christmas 2010 by Project Pictures

And this gorgeous green Malabrigo is very nearly a completed pair of socks (which I have knit almost twice over with everything I needed to figure out) and in fact will be a completed pattern some time very soon!

Malabrigo Sock - Lettuce

And you'll have to take my word for it that while I didn't weave a thing in October, I did enough thinking for two months worth of weaving to happen very soon, now.

Happily, I know you all believe me. Don't you?