Posted in knitting

Cast-on Monday – Crescent Shawl

My new project is in keeping with my desire to work with my stash. I have been wanting to make a shawl with this purple yarn, called Leticia, by Bremont.

It is a singles yarn (for you non-knitters, that means it’s not plied.) Three fibers are blended together: wool, alpaca and silk. I own three skeins. Over the past few years, I have tried unsuccessfully to pair it with another yarn, so that I could make a two-color shawl.

Last week, while wasting a lot of time viewing yarns on the Jimmy Beans site (https://www.jimmybeanswool.com/ ) I discovered the perfect match from Malabrigo.

I ordered two skeins lickety-split and they arrived post-haste within three days. This yarn, also a singles, combines silk and merino wool about 50/50. It’s hard to describe the silky sheen of this yarn, (I was almost swooning while casting it on and knitting the first few rows.)

For my pattern, I re-visited a Craftsy tutorial by Laura Nelkin, in which she explains how to design 14 different shawl shapes. It’s fantastic, if you don’t mind doing a little math. I chose the crescent shape.

https://www.craftsy.com/class/knit-shawls-14-ways-exploring-shape-design/

My two-color shawl inspiration comes from Helen Kennedy’s Pale Moon pattern on Ravelry.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pale-moon

I love the way the mosaic section bridges the two colors of yarn. But instead of making Pale Moon, I would prefer to use Laura Nelkins’ instructions for the shape and design a mosaic chart of my own.

My first attempt at designing a mosaic pattern, unfortunately, was a failure. Apparently, there are some hard and fast rules about sequencing slipped stitches between the two colors. So back I go to my graph paper for a re-do.

Posted in painting

100 Day Project Day 27

Thought I would make a quick painting of this photograph of a blanket flower.

It turned out to be Not Quick, and a bit of a hot mess. So I went after it with a couple of Micron pens in compatible colors.

I will try a blanket flower again. A few days ago I planted one in the perennial bed. In a few months I will paint it en plein aire.

Posted in painting, quilting

Revisiting a fiber object

Three years ago, I was inspired by this photograph to make a small art quilt.

I had taken this picture while on the drive back home from Wisconsin. The colors and the layers made me think of a strip pieced quilt. In 2020 I used several hand-painted fabrics to create an abstract landscape.

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/157882254/posts/1737

While I no longer have this quilt, (it was gifted to my god-daughter) I still have the photograph. Using it as a reference, I reproduced the lower right section of this quilt in watercolor.

It was a quick and fun exercise. But it got me to thinking about derivative artworks. What else did I make that can inspire a new piece in a different medium?

Posted in knitting

Another Friday Finish – update

After receiving this photograph yesterday, I simply had to update my post.

It has been a delight to make this charming sweater for my grand-daughter. Lu chose her yarn very well. It’s the variegated one spun from merino wool and dyed by an indie dyer. Its quality shines through in the finished garment.

Here is a link to my earlier post where I wrote about the pattern.

https://wordpress.com/post/dailyfiberfun.wordpress.com/6380

It was very well written, no errors found. I made a few adjustments to accommodate a lighter weight yarn and adjust the measurements to fit my giftee. This sweater is sized halfway between the size 4 and 6, per pattern instructions. I also chose to make the neckline and button bands wider. It took just about all of 3 balls of 100 gram dk weight yarn. – I’d guess 650 yards.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with a gradual color change as I knit up the sleeves from the cuff. Once I got a color sequence that pleased me, I repeated it on the sweater body.

Even setting in the sleeves went great. I was telling Bill that this sweater ended up so well I should retire from sweater knitting – like an athlete who desires to quit at the top of her game.

Naw, I’m not gonna do that. It would be a shame to disappoint the fans. ; )