Ready for My Closeup Now

Here's the formal portrait of the first soysilk scarf:



and a detail:



I've got several other fiber things I'm thinking about, none of which is going very far.

1. Wool shawl using my space dyed mohair loop.



I've been looking for coordinating yarns for the warp and weft to go with this yarn, and I've gotta say, it's been a long time since I've seriously shopped for weaving wool, and product has really gotten scarce! I'm going to have to make some decisions already pretty soon, or start dyeing some superwash. (I want to try dyeing wool with my fiber reactive dyes, so maybe that's the direction I will go. Stay tuned.)

2. Soysilk scarf #2. I started weaving the second soysilk scarf on my table loom last night. The first one was done with a very light beat, but for this one I'm beating it more firmly. The hand on #1 is just fine, if a big gauzey. #2 will be a firmer fabric, but I hope still drapey.

3. Knitting a shrug. I got hooked on the Anthropologie Inspired Capelet knitting pattern last summer. I used Yummy Malabrigo in color Lettuce and this was my project for the 2008 Ravelympics. It turned out great, but a bit on the small side for me, so i gave it to daughter Mel. This one is for me and I adjusted the size of the cast on to actually fit my measurements. I'm just about to start putting the sleeves on holding string and knitting the continuation of the body. I'm planning to make it a bit longer than the first one. Such a pleasure. And so cute!

4. Chenille! This is the line up for my next four scarf warps:

Not So Warm Coat - All done

Not So Warm Coat
Originally uploaded by sapoague

So here is my first adult sweater in my knitting career. It is very cozy on this cold and windy Iowa fall day, I must say. I got some buttons sewn on and my husband took this snap so I could put it up on Flickr. I'm pleased, and already thinking bout all the next things I want to knit. What fun!

Finishing Up and Making Plans

This weekend I'm working on finishing two projects. One is the first soysilk scarf. It is now off the loom, and I've got to twist the fringes, and then wash and press it. Then it will be ready for it's closeup ; ).

Also, I've been knitting a sweater from Sally Melville's first book in her series, The Knit Stitch. It's the "Not So Warm Sweater", a smaller version of the Einstein coat, and I made it in a shorter version, the one she offers in a chenille yarn, but I am using yummy Malabrigo worsted instead. (You can't just say "Malabrigo", by the way. It has to be "Yummy Malabrigo", or "Mmmmmmm Malabrigo.") I've been working on this sweater since the end of August. It's very easy to knit, but it just goes on and on and on. Plus, I've had so many other projects hanging fire.... Anyway, it's a multi-color extravaganza, and it's so soft and warm. I sewed up the sleeves this afternoon and after supper. Then I took some photos in the time honored Ravelry classic pose, modeling in the bathroom mirror:






Next I'll do a Eucalan soak, and block it. Then, I'll have to find some buttons for it. I decided to just put buttons on the top section, and not all the way down.

Other projects that I will be starting soon: A knitted shrug for daughter Amy, a knitted shrug for moi, and a weaving project for the floor loom that doesn't involve chenille for a change. I'm thinking a wool and mohair shawl or two. A few months ago I bought some loopy mohair yarn from Colourmart. It's a very interesting color blend of soft brown, vanilla, and pale blue. I'd like to use it as part of the weft (I like mixing yarns, rotating shuttles) with a mixed colors wool or mohair or cashmere warp. Colourmart has lots of beautiful mill yarns on cones, merinos, cashmeres, mohairs for good prices and in interesting colors, and I must go back to their eBay store and take a look.

The Chenille Stash

This is the crop of chenille all squeezed into the viewfinder of my camera before being boxed up and shipped off to the Iowa Artisans Gallery in Iowa City. If the angle doesn't make you queasy, you can see they are lined up on top of my loom, and off in the distance is my spinning wheel.

I spent part of the weekend working on my soysilk scarf project. I rather like how slow it's going. It's very meditative. Often I listen to podcasts while I work. My favorites are Cast-On, Weavecast, and This American Life.

I've got about 42" woven on the first scarf. When I get to 60" I'll cut it off and do the finishing before starting the next one. I want some feedback in the form of knowing how it's going to turn out before I embark on the second scarf. I already know I have some needle weaving to do on this first one. I had a mis-threading which I thought I had fixed with a repair heddle, but boy was I wrong. I ended up having to tie a string heddle in there, which was quite a production, but now we're moving along very well.