hand wash

The last two days I've been working on clearing out my giant basket of hand wash. I love the fresh air smell that clothes get from hanging on the line. Hanging hand knits on the line is certainly breaking the rules for blocking but I did do with a few items. I told myself it was okay because it is very hot and dry so the knits will dry super fast and therefore won't stretch out. I know, another rule broken: don't put your hand knits to dry in full sun.
I'm happy to report that everything survived in good form.
This jacket that Felix is helping me to model is the top half of this skirt. After I cut the skirt off I picked up stitches along the front of the jacket and worked asymmetrical flaps in seed stitch. An antique silver pin keeps it closed. I made this at least six years ago when I was going through a Victorian bed jacket phase.


Out of nowhere, Felix says to me, "I'm cold". Mind you, it's about 90 degrees. Quickly, I wrapped him in this candle flame shawl and snapped his picture. He's such a good helper. This is another knit from years ago. I used Brown Sheep bulky and a free pattern off the Internet. And, shocking, I hung this on line too.



Finally, in today's show and tell, one of my favorite sweaters Raspy from Rowan's Denim People.

summer stars

This is a painting I made a few years ago that hangs on the wall facing our front door. Welcome!



Recently, I bought many balls of sparkly yarn (Louisa Harding Coquette). It has multi colored sequins strung all over it that look like tiny summer stars. I felt like whipping up something really simple to wear at night with a t-shirt for our 4th of July holiday.
Here I am standing at the front door modeling the sweater tied at the waist. It’s the only way I can wear it because the fabric slants on the bias.



Here you can see the dramatic bias of this sweater. What is up with that? I knew going in that everything was slanting and that blocking had no effect on the fabric. Why did I continue? I’m stubborn.
Maybe one of you yarn experts can tell me why this happens. I'm assuming that the 100% polyester nature of the yarn is why it absolutely will not block.

Lace Top

Once I decide to knit something I try to make it as fast as possible, otherwise I’m in danger of never finishing it. This top, full of interesting knitterly details (short row shaping, nubs, eyelet cast on, three needle bind offs…) took me two years to complete! I knit the majority of it within a week, put it away for six months to work on my own designs, picked it up between work projects, put it away for another year and finally brought it out of hiding last week and completed the last bits. It’s designed by Mari Lynn Patrick and is in the Holiday 2005 issue of Vogue Knitting magazine.


Maybe, I’ll wear it this weekend to a wedding reception. Knowing myself, I’ll probably wear it everyday, sleep in it, and then put it away for a few months. Will I ever change?
I substituted the yarn for GGH Molina, which seems to have been discontinued. Hmm, oh well. Otherwise, it’s exactly as the pattern is written for size medium. That issue is full of pretty and romantic designs.

Red Link Bracelet

Wooly bracelet from Gooseflesh boutique.
The artist, Helle Jorgensen is hard at work crocheting wonderful sea creatures from plastic bags. She will be showing her work in Los Angeles in 2008 at LACE.

Kusha Kusha felted

This morning, and by morning I mean noon, I soaked the scarf in hot soapy water. After a bit of rubbing and rinsing, I rolled the scarf in a towel and inspected the wad of wet wool. Not a pretty sight. As promised, my fingers pulled on the fabric and after much prodding the lump started looking like a scarf again. It was dry within an hour. And, I love it! What you can’t tell from the last photo was the way the scarf actually draped on me. When I put it around my neck the scarf limply rolled in on itself. Now that it’s been felted it has much more body, lays flatter showing off its wiry nature, and has a kind of deconstructed texture that I love. Also, it shrank about ten inches in length.


Thanks again Janet for such a thoughtful gift.

Kusha Kusha knitted

It's hard to resist playing with this scarf. The fabric is so fun to pull and pinch. My hands are obsessed with stretching the end part made of stainless steel/silk; I hope it's strong enough to stand it. I've decided to go ahead and complete the pattern’s directions and felt the scarf, which just means more play time for me.