Repurposing

I've been playing with string.  Today I'm turning the yarn I have into the yarn I want.  The Oregon knitting teachers and I are beginning our very first knitalong (Join us, Do!) We decided to make adult Tomten jackets, based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's sensational classic. 

What I have in mind is to make my Tomten as a swing coat, with trapezoidal sides.  Naturally, this will require a boatload of aran-weight yarn.  Fortunately for me, I was lucky enough to have been gifted with 4 huge cones of scottish shetland 2-ply:  

Absolute pounds of yarn, with the only trouble being that it's much too lightweight for what I propose.  My new pal Shelia January wisely counseled me that 2 or 3 strands of this held together would pass nicely for the weight I need.  But of course, simply holding the strands together would be far too simple for someone like me (OCD Much?).  For one thing, these cones are anything but portable, and I winding them into smaller bites is almost the same amount of work as actually plying them into cablespun yarn.  Add to that the fact that I think all this yardage needs washing (lotsa spinning oil from the mill in it), and you can see the direction things took:
 

Shelia pointed out that to cable the strands, I would first need to add a bit of twist, in order to get a balanced yarn.  So through the wheel it goes.  I'm treating the 2-ply finished yarn as if it were singles, adding more twist in the same direction it was plied at the mill, and then re-plying it the opposite direction.  Then a luxurious soak in the sink, and an eternity to dry.  Who knew?  Turns out 6 plies of shetland can really hold onto moisture!

Presto!  Fluffy, balanced cablespun shetland!  And I even like the color.  At least for now - we'll see how I feel about it after preparing the 10 or 12 skeins I estimate needing.  Still, it's totally worth the trouble for a free Tomten.

Join up with us on Ravelry!  There are some DEEPLY talented knitters in this group, who happen to be teachers and designers, as well.  I can't wait to find out what we do!  Also, the pattern/formula is available in several different versions, and suggestions for modifications abound, so the sky's the limit.  See you on the Dark Side.  I'll save you a seat.
 

Boogie Nights

In between spinning jags, I have been working on my sassy rayon disco tank top.  Remember how scared I was to wind the ball?  Fully warranted, as it happens.  Fortunately for me, I had the benefit of others' experience, and knew to tread carefully.  I only had to deal with one gnarly backlash, and then all 500 yards were wound.  Miraculously, there is not one single knot in the whole skein.

Because there is only one yarn ball, I had to come up with a clever plan to work the piece from the top down.  My thinking is that when I run out of yarn, that's when I'll be finished.  What could possibly go wrong?

What I did was this:  I cast on the front, working the hemmed edge first, then increases on either side until it reached my underarms (determined by the scientific method of holding it up to my chest a bunch of times).  Then, because I didn't want to break the yarn and have an end to weave in, I made the back using the opposite end of my yarn ball.  Then I joined front and back together, casting on some extra underarm stitches, and began working down the body.  It didn't take me too long to realize that I needed some means of attaching front to back at the shoulders.  I thought knitted cord would be nice, but how to make sure enough yarn was left for that at the end?  Opposite end of the yarn ball, to the rescue again!  I put the top on, using scrap ribbon and safety pins as "straps" so I could tell how long to make my knitted cords.  Then I knit the straps from the opposite end of the yarn ball and sewed them in place.  While I was at it, I ran some elastic through the top hem to stabilize it.

Things seem to be working okay so far, but I don't love how the back looks (hence my not showing it to you yet).  I'm thinking of a second pair of straps.  Or Something.  Drapey rayon is so weird.  So are sparkles.  So is knitting on "big" size seven needles.  All of which are adding up to a fun, yet surreal knitting experience.  Each time my Weird-O-Meter goes into the red, I stop knitting for a while and spin some more Black Sheep. 

If my sources are correct, the Tour De Fleece begins today, and I have a brand new fleece whose box I haven't even opened yet.  Could I possibly get some phase of its processing finished within the allotted time?  While simultaneously finishing Caora Dubh?  Weigh in, Gentle Readers, and talk me down off the ledge.  I need your encouragement to take up the challenge.  Or your permission to totally flake out.  Whichever.

This Just In

Woman Knits Lace Shawl, Survives to Tell Tale



Dateline Fairview, Oregon:

A woman known locally only as "That Strange Lady With all the Yarn" was found this morning in her suburban home, crumpled in the corner of an upstairs room.  Officials arrived on the scene after an anonymous tip reported muffled sobs coming from inside the house. 

When traditional methods failed to revive the woman, an alert paramedic was able to bring her back to consciousness by holding a skein of cashmere under her nose.

"We see all kinds in this business," noted the hero, "You hate to have to bring out the heavy artillery like that, but it's all worth it when somebody who's helpless can be brought back from the brink." 

Fortunately for the Fairview knitter, the paramedic had recently learned cutting-edge Wool-Coma Revival techniques.  Cashmere administration, in addition to other life-saving skills are taught to EMT personnel in training for the Fiber Intervention Task Force.  It's all in a day's work for the F.I.T.F.  In addition to Wool Coma, the F.I.T.F. routinely intervene in cases such as Mohair Huffing, Alpaca Frenzies, and once stepped in when a fiber fiend was caught trying to mainline Angora yarn.  "You wouldn't believe the tangling," he remembered of the case.

When asked what event had lain her low, the Lady With all the Yarn's only reply was to whimper softly and motion to the other side of the room, where what could only be described as a handkint lace shawl was ritualistically pinned to the floor:

On closer inspection, officials at the scene were able to piece together an all-night knitting/washing/blocking scenario gone terribly wrong.  "We see it all the time," said one officer. "These knitters think they can handle themselves; that they know what they're doing; but in the end something goes wrong and they are in over their heads before they even know it."

"We hate to see this kind of debauchery going on secretly in a community like this," observed an onlooker.  "She didn't seem like the type.  You know; quiet, kept to her herself - not the sort who would be carrying on like that behind closed doors."  
 

Once sufficiently revived, the woman confirmed suspicions of a late night shawl-making marathon that got out of hand.  "I thought I could handle it." stated the woman. "I kept thinking, just one more repeat, and then I can bind it off and block it.  Somewhere around the middle of the night, I guess I just lost my senses.  The last thing I remember was trying to score some blocking wires - you know - you just need one more to get that big Completion Buzz.  It all seemed innocent enough, but I guess was courting disaster."

Officials did not comment on whether charges will be leveled, but the alleged shawl knitter considers herself lucky to have been saved from her coma.  "I'm just so lucky to be here." she said weakly.  "So very, very lucky."

Film at eleven.