Inspiration, A Knitting Meme, and Sam Models a New Hat

ompleted projects, as promised!

Before that though, here's my first ever Fair Isle project, from the Stitch n Bitch Nation book that Helen got me:

Also, I was in Anthropologie the other day and saw this shawl/throw, which I'd like to knit for myself:

And I caught this funny meme on the KnitTraders at Kingston newsletter:

And now, the completed hat. Here's Sam, in my latest knitting bag:

And here he is modelling the last project I finished:

Chillin'

Finally, here's an extra shot of Frodo, because I like to be fair:

Bits n Bobs n Links n Fobs

uthor Jo Bourne talks about knitting in history.

She adds, "I do not imagine I will ever find a use for the willingness of European men to engage in decorative handwork."

I sense a challenge... Whether it's a writing challenge or a knitting challenge remains to be seen.

Came across this article the other day: Joyce Carol Oates on quilting

Where would you like to be? I'd like to spend some time - a lot of time - on Shetland, especially during wool week. A bookstore that sells wool? I could own that!

Okay, I was teasing a bit with the fobs in the title, what I really meant was a garland, of knitted stockings. I might try to make this next month:

Knit Matroyska dolls! Adorable!

Also, for kids, a gorgeous book and a leaf-blanket.

As for real projects, I've finished a hat and am working on a blanket as well. I've also gotten half way on my first ever Fair Isle sweater. Photos coming!

What are you crafting?

Fair Isle and Basketweave

learned something new about Shetland wool today:

"Like most traditional Fair Isle garments produced before the 1940s, the yarn used to knit this cardigan was worsted spun. This process -- in which the raw wool is combed rather than carded, then drawn short, and spun so that the fibres sit parallel to one another -- produces a yarn with a smooth hand, and a very even finish. Many old Fair Isle garments have a slight 'sheen' that is the result of the smooth worsted yarns that have been used to knit them."

I've never made anything with a Fair Isle pattern, mainly because I find charts confusing to follow. I'm not an intuitive knitter - I need to have every step spelled out. But I'd love to try making a Fair Isle garment with this gorgeous wool:

"This is Shetland Heritage yarn. It is the result of an exciting collaboration between the Shetland Museum and Archives, the Shetland Amenity Trust, Curtis Wool Direct, and Jamieson and Smith -- the idea being to produce a modern yarn as close as possible to that which was originally used to hand-knit traditional Fair Isle garments."

Thanks to Kate Davies Designs for all this info!

Meanwhile, here are the promised photos of the basketweave scarf I finished last week:

What have you been working on?

Bombing and Waulking

arn bombing!

I still haven't tried it, but here are a couple of posts with photos of various yarn bombs around Montreal:

Political Yarn Bombs, Solo Yarn Bombs and Les Ville-laines Collective.

Meanwhile, I came across a couple of funny patterns the other day. One was for a Canadian Cloud. I couldn't figure out what it was! A little Googling turned up this explanation: a cloud is a stole.

A Canadian cloud, according to Murray's Magazine in 1888 is explained this way: "Their tuques are smaller and closer, and generally almost concealed by the fleecy folds of a 'cloud'–that peculiarly Canadian wrap which, consisting of a fringed strip of loosely knitted or woven thick soft wool nine feet long and eighteen inches wide, is both comfortable and becoming."

Also, there's this:

Hardly seems worth all the work. Speaking of work, here's something I doubt is done by hand anymore, though I wish I could witness it firsthand:

   

Waulking wool in South Uist, 1970

I can't even use a drop spindle yet! But I have just finished a scarf. Photos coming soon!

It Runs in the Family...

andmade items!

I start a hat...

Finished hat!

Another shot of the hat...

My sister, meanwhile, made an awesome Alphabet Board for my nephew. She drew the background and the items for each letter, then had them laminated. Then she put a magnet on the back of each one:

These are just a few of the items...

The goat's head was covering up the queen...

There she is!

Love this guy!

A Set of Baby Items

nother baby set!

Folded blanket

Pretty colours!

Booties!

Another ruffle hat (I love making these!)

A second set of booties

From above

From the front

Both together

Meanwhile, I got a pile of old knitting magazines from a friend.

The models are cheesy but some of the patterns are quite lovely!

Knitting During the Olympics - Super Secret Project

avelympics - the Ravelry knit-during-the-Olympics fest - end tomorrow, with the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics - and I've completed my project early!

Compared to Vancouver 2010, I chose a much easier project this time around; a repeating pattern that you can memorise is especially helpful when half your eye is on the screen.

Actually, now that I've gone and looked back, it seems I finished my 2010 Olympics project early too - and was blithely talking about starting the kilt hose. Little did I know...

But that's neither here nor there. I've completed the super secret (for the recipient) baby blanket! Made-in-Turkey wool, bought in South Carolina, knit in Canada, for a friend in the UK:

The beginning...

Halfway, at the office...

The finished blanket!

Slightly close-up

Folded up

On a more sour note, I had no idea of the controversy swirling around the Ravelympics. I think the US Olympic committee could have enforced its copyright without resorting to such ridiculous statements as "'We believe using the name 'Ravelympics' for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games,' the USOC wrote in the letter. 'It is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.'"

Yea, because knitting doesn't involve any work. Not to mention that a lot of the proceeds from pattern sales were being donated to the Paralympics.