One of six children, I was raised by a busy mom, who instilled in me a love of fabric. Though I learned to sew and knit at a young age, it was the arrival of my first grandchild that pushed me into action. A long-time knitter, I am now ready to explore all things fiber.
The Big Girl version of my postcard-sized painting of the same scene. It was posted on October 25th.
I used the bigger canvas to add more tones and shades to the water, and to add lots more details.
I like the reference photo because the point of view is so unusual – looking down from above at a boat anchored in quiet waters. The horizon is outside the frame and the foreground of mossy rocks is very close to the viewer.
Fresh off the blocking mat and slipped across my shoulders, here is my version of Kate Oates’ Cardi Vest. Although it’s cold here in Oklahoma, my dear husband agreed to a quick photo shoot in the backyard.
In this image two changes that I made to pattern are visible: the lower body is knit in a baby eyelet rib instead of a twisted rib and I substituted a stranded pattern of my own design on the yoke.
It took some extra time to work out and knit this pattern based on a daisy. Here on the back you can see how many yarn ends resulted from this small square of stranded work – a lot!
Despite the griping I did about picking straw out of this yarn as I worked it, now that it is washed, blocked and dried, the yarn is rather magnificent. The 100% wool in a thick and thin worsted weight made by Ewetopia is every bit as warm as I thought it would be. The fibers bloomed into a nice loft and stitches evened out and locked into place. I must be careful in future launderings about its propensity to felt.
Because I intend to sew in a zipper by hand, I cast off the neckline with the I-cord method. But so far, I haven’t located a separating zipper in the length and color required. Until I do, I’ll wear the vest open.
The hood is a fun feature that took up an entire ball of yarn. I hope that it stays on my head in the Oklahoma wind.
I rate the pattern as suitable for an intermediate knitter. Here is a link to it on Ravelry.
This is a preliminary sketch from a photograph I took of Henry on his birthday in November. Instead of having a cake with candles, he wanted to scatter the candles across the whole table. I managed to catch his face in an expression both solemn and thoughtful.
I hope to develop this sketch further, once in graphite and again in watercolor.
Daily Fiber 