Aran washcloths

I thought a good way to learn Aran knitting would be to knit swatches... right all you knitting mavens out there? Swatches. Swatch is the word, is the word that you heard, it's got groove, it's got meaning! Anyway, I"m making a cable washcloth. Learning and getting something useful out of it. I am using the Vogue book of cable stitches. This one is called Zig Zag. I chose this one because it reminded me of  a bag pattern I saw on Interweave that I'd like to buy, but I'm sort of waiting for it go on sale
<"  cheap, cheap! I copied the pattern on an index card, because I hate trying to balance a big book while knitting.

This pattern is originally worked in multiples of 14. After studying the chart I realized that I didn't want all those purl stitches to the left, so I re-wrote it starting with 2 purl stitches, pattern stitches, 4 purl stitches, pattern stitches, and 2 purl stitches. Cast on 28 stitches. So it should look like the photo sample in the book, minus the four purl stitches on the left. Using Lily Sugar n Cream.

Now moving onto the extremely ambitious project. I want to make this for my DH. I found the pattern in Alice Starmore's book and thought it would be one of the easier sweaters to knit. I already know how to knit the middle cables and the smaller ones on either side. I'll have to learn the honeycomb and whatever else. I let him pick his own pattern, like in other words, I held up the book turned to this page and said, "you like this one, right?" I'm going to knit this with my friend Kathleen, who is a very good knitter, so I will have guidance. She is knitting a cable vest.

Things are moving slowly on the weaving front. The rug I'm working on is pretty wide and I found I was not happy with the tension, even after using the click trick. So I decided to untie each bundle and tie them on with house hold twine. I don't know what I'd do with out house hold twine... that and roach clips have gotten me through in life. Ok, I haven't gotten very far in life, but whatever. Then of course I hurt my shoulder somehow or my spine has just deteriorated some more, who knows. So I'm having to wait till it feels a bit better. I did get the heading started at least.

This Christmas cactus was almost dead, and I mean shriveled and gross looking. I found this big new pot at Home Goods. Made in Mexico and just gorgeous. I put the shriveled up little thing in the new pot with some lovely dark soil and here she is, happy and growing! She even has one flower and one little bud.

In the garden, our bromeliads are putting out these weird yet beautiful flowers.

Honeysuckle

Aran knitting and dino spines

I got the gist of the Baltic weave so now am going to put the inkle away until the rug is finished. I've decided that trying to run more than one loom at a time is too much for me now-a-days.

And as for rug status... I am almost done with the threading. Just a couple more bundles to thread and I'll be ready to wind the warp on. I can usually go faster with the warping process but I've been figuring stuff out on the Harrisville model that I didn't have on the Kessy. Like the nifty little heddles and bars that are pretty easy to change and other little things. I'll have to get some paper for the wind on as I'm used to a sectional beam. I'm guessing brown wrapping paper will do fine.

And looky who I found! It's Miss Ivy. Her baby girl has gone off to the Twitter Art Exhibit in Orlando. I thought I'd lost Miss Ivy but found her while rearranging the studio. I'll start to paint her tomorrow.

The continuing saga of the chunky teal yarn... I've decided to do a small lap blanket. I cast on 120 and will do a combination of Trinity stitch and chunky double cable. I know you're supposed to put the cable in a field of purl stitches, but I want to try to put it in a field of the Trinity, think maybe it might look cooler somehow. I tried to draw what it might look like but I think my drawing looks like a dinosaur's spinal column. Oh well, you get the idea.

I have been checking out the YouTube for Aran knitting and sweaters. I came across this video and was really intrigued. I'd like to make a sweater for my husband since he doesn't have one, but will start with the small blanket first.

Looms Ahoy!

The new loom is home. Thank you Cindy of Delighted Hands ... I love the loom! And the tour of your super awesome home :)

And I was right... this loom is so much easier to work with than the big mama, Kessy. Very good loom for a poor little cripple like me... I feel like the China Girl of Oz ...

...except no where near as cute ;-(  ... just delicate and breakable.

Anywho, I realized that this loom also takes up practically no space at all, and further realized I have a big bare space on my studio floor which needs, you guessed it, a hand woven rug!

So I got out the design book and started planning. I'm partial to krokbragd so thought I'd go with that. I also thought I'd use up some of my stash wool, so am using black and hand dyed blue I already had with some red that I bought just for this project. Have already started measuring the warp. Can't wait to be weaving again.

Last post I had mentioned that I was planning to use this yarn for a rigid heddle piece. But something kept bothering me about it. I kept going back and looking at the design in my book, and just wasn't liking it. Something was wrong. Then while in St. Augustine week before last, I woke early in our warm hotel room and started thinking how much I liked that Paton's chunky Shetland (I know,... I have a serious fiber problem) and envisioned the yarn as a cable knit throw or pillows or something cable knit. So scratch the weaving plan... I'm knitting that stuff up!

In inkle land... not much happening due to being away and then getting the Harrisville set up, but I have started this Baltic band.