The Sum of its Parts

What could be more fun than working with brilliant artists?  Nothing, that's what. 

Once Upon A Time, Lisa Millman of Dicentra Designs and Sheila Ernst of Glasspens hatched a cunning plan whereby they would combine their dreamy yarn and gorgeous buttons into a knitting kit, with a pattern for a hat.

Excellent notion that it was, neither Sheila nor Lisa ever managed to find the time to design a hat.  Turns out they were both pretty busy making glass and yarn, respectively.  But then they proposed that I join in the fun by creating the hat pattern for them.  Well, if you insist, you fabulous geniuses, you. Ow, Ow; stop twisting my arm.

And that's how our project added up to more than the sum of its parts.  We proudly present: "Embers".

Kits Include

The Yarn: Dicentra Designs "Moonbeam"; a blend of 85% Polwarth wool and 15% Tussah silk.  Delicious much?  You will love it. And by "love", I mean "roll around on the floor with" it.

The Button:  Handmade flameworked glass by the incomparable Sheila Ernst.  It's a whole miniature world inside a perfect glass bubble.  Hold it up to the light and get lost in its depths.

The Pattern:  "Embers", by Yours Truly.  One size, to fit adults.  My idea of the perfectly balanced beret: soft, without being slouchy, tailored, without being severe.  Texture galore, and fun to knit.

Kits will be available on or about February 14th (Romantic!) from both Dicentra and Glasspens, for only $48.  Find both booths at a fiber gathering near you, and visit their websites, too.  This project is so new you may not see it on their websites yet, but you can send an e-mail to either artist to order.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Dominance Issues

I'm still, miraculously, not sick.  Campbell is greatly improved, but Lindsay and Phillip are still on their lips.  While I await the inevitable, I'm knitting swatches for my Madrona steeks students.

I've learned that knitters have a much easier time cutting up knitting that they didn't make themselves, and have no emotional attachment to.  And since their homework is to complete a 6-ft stole in time for class, I figure the least I can do is make some dumb swatches for them. Sure, they're thrill-seekers, but asking them to complete three more little swatches on top of that stole knitting might be just enough to put somebody over the edge.  So I'm making 75 swatches.

Today I thought I'd use one of them to demonstrate something that comes up all the time when I teach stranded colorwork knitting:  Strand Dominance.  Why does it matter which strand is above and which is below?  The answer is that it doesn't.  Unless you change their positions.  A picture tells the whole sordid tale.  Notice anything different between the lower half of this swatch and the upper half?

How about Now?

No?  Don't worry if the whole thing looks the same to you.  The difference is extremely subtle.  Except when it isn't.  How about now?:

Now imagine if the strands were changing position willy-nilly, rather than precisely halfway up the swatch?  That would make for some very uneven knitted fabric, and some pretty wonky colorwork.  Have a piece of stranded knitting hanging around that you don't love?  Take a look at its strand orientation, and see if a light bulb doesn't come on for you. 

Moral?  Make a command decision as to which strand is above, and which strand is below, and stick with it.  Easy as can be, and so simple, once we understand it!  Knowledge is power, Gentle Readers.  Now go forth, and knit like the Rock Stars you are.

Felt Like It

This has been a big week of all things hatty, here in my corner of the living room.  I got a little crazy playing with felt, and decided I'd try doing it by hand, just to say I'd done it once.  First I made some flower parts, after looking at pictures of Japanese Anemones.

I quickly lost patience during my first attempt, with hot water in the bathroom sink.  It didn't seem like I was quite cooking with gas.  So I boiled some water in my tea kettle and rigged up a potato masher/measuring pitcher contraption that really did the deed:
 

I got this pitcher thingy in 1992, and even though I accidentally melted the bottom so it no longer sits level, I can't bring myself to get rid of it.  This is only the latest of many bizarre and useful applications I have found for it.  Tupperware is still making them, so I guess I'm not alone in loving a strange piece of plastic.

And speaking of love, get a load of the finished flower!  Just the thing for the dead of winter.  If this baby doesn't perk you up, check your pulse:

I perched it on a Balmoral Bonnet, which I then perched on a young lady:

It's called "Bonny Wee Bonnet".  I had so much fun making this because it went really fast, and I thought you might like it, too.  CLICK HERE to get the pattern on Ravelry.  Grab some worsted-weight yarn from your stash this weekend and you can have one done in time for Robbie Burns Night (1-25-13).  More delicious than Haggis, and less dangerous than Scotch.  Slainte!