Daily Fiber

Finished by Friday – a Farewell

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Laura Kate

Taking a break from packing boxes this week, I decided to attend Open Studio at my local art association for a class conducted by mentor Cheryl Bryan. This will be my last class with Cheryl before I move away. She sent us this sketch…..

……and told us we would practice painting with only two colors. We were to choose two that, when mixed together, created a neutral black.

I chose to make my own sketch instead of tracing Cheryl’s. I followed her general design but simplified the line work in the lower left area. My chosen pigments were Winsor and Newton’s Ultramarine blue and transparent orange. This is one of my favorites for a good black, as I discovered when painting Winter Chicks in 2023.

The following morning, I cleaned up my edges, adjusted a few values and added tiny and minimal details using Micron pens and a soluble graphite pencil.

This was a fun, easy class that produced a highly-stylized result. I loved every minute. I call this one Dancing with a Seagull. It is 9 by 6 inches on cold press Arches paper

I will sorely miss these Open Studio sessions, the people at the association and especially instructor Cheryl Bryan. It will be hard to find another group like it in my new home. I’ll check in with Cheryl periodically, in the spirit of Apprenticeship.

Travel Shawl Finished

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Laura Kate

This week I cast off this shawl, the last stashbuster of 2024. This shawl started life as a hurry-up project to accompany me on our trip to the Canadian Rocky Mountain coach tour in July of 2024. I found the easiest pattern I could lay my hands on quickly, gathered up a bunch of fingering weight leftovers and hit the road.

She was cast on in the Calgary hotel lobby.

Progress happened throughout the trip. I improvised the color and stitch changes.

In late July, the shawl and I were in Northern Wisconsin for a week at the lake.

With the passing of my father in August, we drove to Ohio, the shawl serving as a comforting activity on the long trip to and from.

In December, I sat with my friend who was dying, slowly knitting and listening as she told me what was in her heart.

In January, the shawl came to Iowa, where we signed the papers to purchase our new home. In March we were back in Iowa to visit with family – a joyous occasion.

I haven’t even worn it, but it is embedded with many memories. Memories of all the places where I have knit it, the people who were present and the emotions I felt. Each color change reminds me of the projects that I have made with that specific yarn, and who received the finished project.

This simple little shawl carries a lot of stuff for me. I guess I will keep it.

Linking up with The Unravelers, courtesy of As Kat Knits.

quilting

Quilt Reveal 2025 SAHRR – Daily Fiber

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Laura Kate

These past few weeks have been tumbling like dominoes for me. It’s the last day for posting my finished round robin quilt, but it is not finished. Not yet.

After Round Six, I still needed several more blocks for the front of my kimono/quilt. In the interest of speed and economy, I chose some of the simpler designs in the Japanese quilt block dictionary. Here they are arranged with the two kite blocks.

The quarter-sized blocks frame what will be the front opening.

My next step was to make the quilt sandwich. I chose to use cotton flannel as a thinner option for the bat. Then I started to search for a backing. Nothing I saw looked right for the job.

As I was beginning to pack my studio, in anticipation of moving house, I came across some red fabric – yards and yards of it, which I had purchased to make some drapes and totally forgot about it. It was polyester woven in the style of raw silk. An unusual choice for a quilt backing/kimono lining, but a beautiful match.

So I got busy cutting, pinning and quilting. By yesterday, I had quilted the shoulder/sleeve section using stitch in the ditch method. My choice allows the block piecing to show to the fullest. At the end of the day, I had sewn the back piece on, but not the front section. I laid it down on the carpet to get photos of front and back.

Quilt back, showing the red lining, which will be turned back to border the sleeves.

Quilt front, laid in position below the shoulder section.

There are some wonderful finished quilts at Quilting Gail’s In Linz party. I will be happy to add my almost-finished one to the parade. To see them all, click.

Here.

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/party/0e4465b5dfa6471681a87b0fd5c4fee5

knitting

Unraveled Wednesday: Autumn Bloom

Posted on March 26, 2025July 23, 2025 by Laura Kate

Dear friends

Thanks for letting me join your monthly Wednesday knitting show and tell. Today I have photos of the pullover finished recently for my daughter. Her friend Krystal kindly snapped some photos.

I was gratified to find that it fit her perfectly. This is a version of Autumn Bloom by Olga Putano Designs available on Ravelry.com. My modification is in the sleeve. Daughter did not want the stranded panel included in the pattern, which mimics the yoke design. Instead I worked the contrasting yarns into the very deep cuffs by knitting them with a corrugated rib stitch.

Using the gold Malabrigo yarn was a little tricky. I had skeins from multiple dye lots, so they didn’t really go together. I blended two different toned skeins by alternating each round. The two strands are twisted together at the center back.

The multi colored yarn in the yoke is Knit Picks Hawthorne dk in colorway Foster Powell. I also used a skein of Swish in colorway moss.

And that will satisfy my desire to knit sweaters for awhile. Projects planned for 2025 completion are mostly accessories and socks. But don’t quote me on this. When I come across an amazing yarn or pattern, I’m not shy about changing my plans.

To see the work of other Ravelers, click here.

painting

Friday Finish: Dash for the Splash

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Laura Kate

A baby sea turtle, hurtling its little body toward the safety of the sea. This watercolor painting was made as a donation to the 2025 6 by 6 art sale for my local art association. The reference image was found on Unsplash – so many years ago that I lost track of the photographer.

Friends, I know that I have been inactive for three weeks. Life has been full of other stuff. But the turtle painting marks the start of what I hope will be a steady flow of new objects on Daily Fiber.

I liberally applied masking fluid with a toothbrush for the wave action, and with a tiny brush for the white shell markings on the turtle. Pigments were yellow ocher, burnt umber, burnt sienna, Winsor Green blue shade, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue and white gouache. A few Micron pens stipples were added to suggest motion.