Steel Toed Boot Socks
I haven't knit these socks yet, but after having the pattern in my hot little hands, you know I will. Lisa of Be Still and Knit sent it to me. I really like the look and format of her pattern. I know I don't love toe up socks, but I think I'm going to make an exception here. Really elegant and easy to read pattern, and just between us---SUCH the bargain. Check it out.
The fair Lisa
A couple of weeks ago I was at a knitting meetup and decided I'd rather ball up some handspun and measure it than actually knit. Low attention span. Again, I was surprised by how much more l liked it balled up. It showed me more of what it will do, knitted. Enough for a shawl.
This is the merino I spun at the Pendleton event, using their merino top. Wow. Really spingy stuff after setting the twist. My irregular spinning was in no doubt because of all the talking I did. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
The rain stopped and the sun came out. I felt kind of sleepy but wanted some pictures. I opened the windows and this is what I saw.
Knitspot owner and designer Anne Hanson, a life-long knitter with a background in the fashion and graphic design fields, began designing knitwear sometime in the 1970s. Anne also teaches and writes about knitting, spinning, and designing at her blog, knitspot.com, and lives in
Anne’s background as a patternmaker/draper, technical designer, and costumer in
Anne’s design work has been included in Knitty, Interweave Knits, and Twist Collective, as well as several upcoming publications. In addition, her designs have been commissioned for several popular sock and lace clubs, including the Rockin’ Sock Club®, the Woolgirl Sock Club, the Yarn4Socks club, the Fearless Fibers “Seven Deadly Sins” sock club, and the Wooly Wonka Seasons of Lace Club.
(Let me to preface this with the comment that I thought that Anne would have an impossible time answering this. I was really having fun with this thought...until this morning when Anne answered it in the most succinct way!)
If you had to choose one element of nature with which to draw your inspiration, what would it be?
Light.
I love to look at light in all its forms and the effect it has on objects and air. I'm fascinated by the negative spaces in nature, the shapes that are created around light, almost anything from a spider web to criss-crossed twigs to flower create spaces between and translucent light effects that interest me. I assume that's why lace and textured fabrics appeal so much to me in my work!
This weekend in Portland at the Home and Garden show at the Expo Center, Pendleton Mills is celebrating their century mark. I was really, really honored to be a part of that celebration yesterday. Last month I was tapped to find some spinners for their "wool story" exhibit.
You can see here some of the fabulous fashions, past and present, on display.
Here you can really see the amazing display of 100 blankets representing 100 years of Pendleton.
And there's my weird little wheel where I was sitting on a platform all day, yesterday. To the left you can see actual 50o lb bales of wool that they purchase for making their wool blankets, etc. Young and old alike were asked to take a bit 'o wool with them. The kids loved it! The orginal plan was to have live sheep there, but then upon the realization that it's lambing season and on top of that folks couldn't touch the sheep (because of hygene reasons) we had a lot of "stuffed" sheep instead. Still went over well...
This is the first in a series where I ask knitwear designers all sorts of probing questions. Since I'm really interested in the way nature "informs and inspires" design, my first interviews will focus on that. So, will a drum roll, I give you....
To test this problem and apparently solve it, I needed to put kittens on my page. Go figure....
I wasn't really thinking so, but perhaps it was my tribute to Valentine's Day. I had several pounds of natural aran weight and have been waiting on doing something with it. I waited no more. I had at it in two kettle batches. It was only as I was about to post this that I realized that in my last yarny post I was working with the same colors, kinda.
Yes, this is the yarn I spun in a previous post that got make into a hat. It did fun color repeat stuff that accentuated the lace pattern. I like when it works in our favor!
As many of you may already know, I've had this blog, "just because", for many years now. I want to formally thank all my new and old faithful readers. You've been great to have along on my ride. Now I'm introducing a new "curve to the ride". I've never had any regular features here but right now, today I am announcing a brand new one:
This is fiber that my dad spun sometime in the 1980's and I just dyed it a month ago. I love the way the dye took. It's rather mottled because he apparently used different fibers carded together but didn't note that at all, so I don't know what kinds of wool he used. My mom made all these little notations on the labels that are very vague and cute though. Like: "thin", "heavier" in her little pencil handwriting.
These are some blocks that he carved for me in 1986 when I was in NYC and had a small business, block printing simple kimonos. I took the designs from a book and he carved them for me. Well used as you can see.
What you see here on the nostepinne above is what was spun below (plus some color correction on the photo) I knew that I was spinning to intentionally create a long color repeat thing goin' on here, I just couldn't see the success until I got it put up in a ball. Cool, huh? Fiber is silk/merino from RedFish, although they don't sell roving online so I got it at a show.
I'm knitting a hat from it right now but would rather blog a picture when it's done tomorrow. I know, deadline knitting but this one's personal.
