Knitting 11 | Through The Yarny Curtain

Felted

Remember the Begonia Swirl Shawl that I knit last year? Here’s what it looked like when I finished it.

I lent it to a friend to use as a head scarf, and she washed it before returning it to me. She’s not a knitter and didn’t know enough to ask about the fiber content before washing. She tossed it in the washer and dryer. The results were, for knitters, predictable.

I’m not sure that she intentionally put the shawl in the washer and dryer. It might have accidentally snuck into her laundry and she didn’t know until she was folding. We haven’t talked about it. I found the shawl in with some other things. I was heartbroken at first, and couldn’t bring myself to ask. I guess I don’t see the point of having this type of conversation. She didn’t do it on purpose. Hopefully, she’s learned to ask about fiber content before cleaning things. What else is there to say? Any time I start the conversation in my head, it sounds accusatory and guilt-inducing. I see no value coming from that. So I let it go.

My worse case scenario is that I get to knit this shawl again. I don’t have enough of the yarn left to knit it in the exact same yarn, but it’s not like I’m lacking yarn — I have a stash that is 63 miles long and contains many appropriate options for reknitting this shawl. The pattern was fun and not terribly difficult. It took me less than six weeks to knit, even though I had other projects going at the same time.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the felted shawl. For now, I’ve folded it and put it away in the drawer with my other shawls. When I took the pictures for this blog post, the shawl reminded me of a Colonial-era collar, though of course that would have been white and not this bright blue. I’m contemplating felting it a little bit more and drying it flatter or steaming to see if I can even out some of the wrinkles caused by the felting, then figuring out a way of using it as part of a costume. I’ve never made a historical costume, but I have at least two fiber events (a Spin In hosted by the Saint Augustine Spinner’s Guild and a Weavers Guild of Orlando demo as part of a Shakespeare festival at a local high school) coming up where costumes are appropriate or expected. Perhaps I’ll be able to find a way to use this shawl in its felted state!

WIP Wednesday: March 18, 2015

This week, I’ve been focused on only one project. Everything else has been left sitting while I worked on it.

Leafy Dishcloths

Last October, I made a single dishcloth in the shape of a leaf. Apparently, I never blogged about it, so I can’t link you to a previous post, but you can check out my Ravelry project page if you want to see it. That leaf was in stockinette stitch. On the same blog post, the designer had a garter stitch version, so I decided to try it out.

I liked how it looked, so I decided to use this pattern as one of the days of the Dishcloth Advent Calendars. I’m making 18 of those, so I’ve been knitting leaf after leaf.

The 18th one is on the needles now. I just have to finish it, and weave in all the ends!

Master Knitter

A couple weeks ago, I paid for The Knitting Guild Association‘s Master Hand Knitting Level 1 course. I’ve been a dues paying member of The Knitting Guild Association for a year and a half. When I first joined, I did it because I wanted to do the Master Hand Knitting course, but when I read the requirements, it just seemed like too much work to fit into my life at that time. I hadn’t really thought about it since, but I was catching up on podcasts yesterday, including Mastering the Knits (website, Ravelry group, iTunes), a podcast in which the two hosts discuss their progress on the Master Hand Knitting course. The podcast reminded me that I wanted to do this, so I signed up! I now have a year to complete the Level 1 course. Well, technically, I can take as long as I want; if I take longer than a year and the instructions change in the interim, I have to use the updated instructions rather than the set that I currently have.

The Master Hand Knitting program consists of 3 levels. For each level, you prepare a binder of materials and submit it for review. You can not move on to the next level until your binder has been reviewed and approved. The Level 1 binder has 7 sections: Cover Letter, a copy of the instructions, a report on blocking (2 to 4 single-spaced pages), 17 swatches with information sheets, answers to questions about the various techniques used in creating the swatches, a pair of mittens knit to specifications provided in the instructions, and a list of the references used in preparing all the other sections.

In the last couple weeks, I’ve read the entire instruction packet, making notes as I went. I selected the yarn I will be using for the swatches. I did not have appropriate yarn in my stash (light-colored, worsted, 100% wool), so I ordered some from my LYS. I’ve collected several references for the blocking report — I already owned several books with relevant information — and watched the Craftsy class Blocking Handknits with Kate Atherley (Affiliate link), which I purchased specifically so that I could use it as a reference in my report. Today I put together the binder, printed a clean copy of the instructions, and put it in place.

I plan to do the research for the blocking report and write the first part of it by the end of this month. I can’t write the entire blocking report until I finish the swatches, because the report must include a description of my methodology for blocking them. However, I can write the general part of the report, covering the various techniques and purposes of blocking. I’ll start the swatches in April. I’m not sure how long it will take me to work through the entire Level 1 instructions. I already possess all the knitting skills required for Level 1; there’s nothing in here that I have to learn just to do the course. I’d like to move through this level as quickly as possible because of that. I know I don’t currently possess all the knitting skills required in Levels 2 and 3, so expect those to take me longer to complete since I will learn as I go. Level 1 is really just a matter of prioritizing the work. I will, of course, write regular updates regarding my progress and the things I learn along the way! I’ll use the tags Master Knitter and Master Knitter Level 1 on these posts.

WIP Wednesday: March 11, 2015

I have been getting a little crafting done. I’ve been focusing on getting non-crafting projects done, so I haven’t had as much time to play with fiber as I’d like. But I have made progress on several projects!

MAPLE LEAF the Ninth

I’m just about finished with this shawl. I’m on the very last corner, and will probably finish knitting it tonight!

Emergency Scarf

I finished knitting the scarf that I started when I needed something to knit during a midnight visit to the emergency vet with Pepper. I just need to weave in the ends.

Liquid Silver

This shawl was the oldest UFO that I found when I did the UFO Inventory in January. It’s been an UFO since Fall 2010. I was shocked to find that I still had the pattern in my Knit Picks magnetic pattern holder, and the magnet was still on the right row! I’ve started working on it again, and have done 1.5 pattern repeats. This is the project that I’ve been bringing to Wednesday night knitting group for the last couple weeks. The pattern isn’t as difficult as it looks, and I’m less likely to have beads spill all over the place at the yarn shop than at home, where I have 3 furry hazards.

WIP Wednesday: February 18, 2014

I started this week working on some UFOs, but later in the week cast on a couple of new projects!

MAPLE LEAF the Ninth!

Yes, really! It’s been sitting around since December, and I finally picked it up again. I was sick over the weekend and spent two days sitting on the couch watching tv, so I got quite a bit done. I’ve finished the first of the five corners, and should be totally done with knitting this shawl before next Wednesday. I’m not sure if I’ll get it blocked or not. My new-to-me floor loom is currently sitting in the dining room, in front of the table I use for blocking. I’m not sure if I have enough leaves in the table to block a MAPLE LEAF shawl or not. If I don’t, blocking will have to wait until I can move the floor loom into my home office.

Sassy Bee Cotton Candy Corriedale

I finished plying this fiber while at spinning group the first Saturday in February. I have it wound onto the niddy noddy. I just need to tie it and wash it to set the twist, and it will be done.

Narwhal

This is the first new project of the week. This is part of a narwhal-along in Ravenclaw Tower. I cast on last Saturday, and expected to finish it that day. Instead, I went to buy a floor loom. I still have to sew on the flippers. I’m also going to find something different for eyes because I think the beads I used are too small.

Scarf

On Monday evening, our cat Pepper did not look well. She was straining to use the litter box, but nothing was coming out. She would get out of the litter box, rest for a while, then try again. She also tried squatting in inappropriate places, like the cat’s toy basket. I realized I was probably going to have to bring her to the emergency vet, and that I didn’t have any knitting that was mindless enough to work on during a midnight wait at the vet. I quickly cast on this scarf, knit one pattern repeat, and bundled Pepper off for an enema at the vet. I got about 4″ knit while I waited. I knit a little more while waiting for dinner to finish yesterday.

Crochet 365

I finished the star-rating index three weeks ago, but haven’t looked at this project since. This week, I started looking at the 90 one-star patterns, contemplating the order in which I want to crochet them. I made three separate lists: one of patterns that use a solid color, one of patterns that use multiple colors, and one of patterns that the author’s note identifies as a “good beginner square.” Along the way, I made notes on the patterns, identifying stitches used or techniques, and contemplating the end uses of these 365 squares. Some of the squares will definitely be dishcloths. Some of the squares might be afghans or scarves. I need to have some ideas so that I can pick out appropriate yarns. My head was spinning a bit after looking at all the information, but it was a good start at determining the best approach, given my modest crochet skills. I hope to make the final project list this week.