Friday, June 24, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Lida!
Man, can we talk about how much I love Quince and Co.'s Sparrow yarn? Gorgeous! Luminous! Effortless! I knit three sample garments in it in quick succession earlier this year, and absolutely jumped at the chance to design with it myself. The fruits of that labor appeared today in the Quince newsletter. Introducing: the Lida Shawl!
(photos by the inimitable Carrie Bostick Hoge, and modeled by the lovely and eponymous Lida. Check it out over on Ravelry!)
I will be knitting this for myself as soon as I can. Maybe multiple times. =)
(photos by the inimitable Carrie Bostick Hoge, and modeled by the lovely and eponymous Lida. Check it out over on Ravelry!)
I will be knitting this for myself as soon as I can. Maybe multiple times. =)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Unions and Reunions
I spent this past weekend in one of my favorite places in the entire world, Grinnell College. I spent four incredibly happy years there as an undergrad, and it was a delight to go back and spend time among some of the coolest people ever. I'll spare you most of the reminiscences (both sober and tipsy), but rest assured that it was exactly what I needed.
One of my other reasons for heading back to Iowa was the wedding of two friends, Rachel and Lindsey. I met them while at Grinnell, and in addition to being some of the most amazing people ever, they've been serious advocates for gay marriage rights throughout the states. When Iowa passed legislation legalizing gay marriage, they were the first couple I thought of. And the icing on the cake was getting to attend their beautiful wedding.
But of course you know there has to be a fibery bent to this story! What could it be?!
Yeah, yeah, I wove them a blanket. So far, my marrying friends have been few and far between enough that I can still give them something handmade, but due to the recent spate of engagements going on, this may not last long. . .
You all may have seen hints of this blanket in Aimee and Leah's blog posts about our knitting group's dyeing weekend; it's the turquoise stuff hanging on the fence! While the blanket is all the same base yarn (Jaggerspun's Superlamb 4/8, which takes color well, but was shedding like crazy throughout), the original base colors were wildly different. The warp started out as golden yellow and white, and the weft started as the same bright turquoise seen in the stripes, and white. The yarn was also dyed in two different locations, with two different dye brands. It was a little tricky. =)
The finished blanket measures around 54" by 50", with 8 ends per inch and about 13 picks per inch. This was my first time working with double weave in pattern, but once I wrapped my head around the idea of it, it went pretty smoothly.
It was woven to a background of British period dramas and this year's Eurovision Song Content, which felt appropriate for this couple. Rachel and Lindsey, I hope you cuddle up together under it in cold midwestern nights. Lots of love and mazel tov!
One of my other reasons for heading back to Iowa was the wedding of two friends, Rachel and Lindsey. I met them while at Grinnell, and in addition to being some of the most amazing people ever, they've been serious advocates for gay marriage rights throughout the states. When Iowa passed legislation legalizing gay marriage, they were the first couple I thought of. And the icing on the cake was getting to attend their beautiful wedding.
But of course you know there has to be a fibery bent to this story! What could it be?!
Yeah, yeah, I wove them a blanket. So far, my marrying friends have been few and far between enough that I can still give them something handmade, but due to the recent spate of engagements going on, this may not last long. . .
You all may have seen hints of this blanket in Aimee and Leah's blog posts about our knitting group's dyeing weekend; it's the turquoise stuff hanging on the fence! While the blanket is all the same base yarn (Jaggerspun's Superlamb 4/8, which takes color well, but was shedding like crazy throughout), the original base colors were wildly different. The warp started out as golden yellow and white, and the weft started as the same bright turquoise seen in the stripes, and white. The yarn was also dyed in two different locations, with two different dye brands. It was a little tricky. =)
The finished blanket measures around 54" by 50", with 8 ends per inch and about 13 picks per inch. This was my first time working with double weave in pattern, but once I wrapped my head around the idea of it, it went pretty smoothly.
It was woven to a background of British period dramas and this year's Eurovision Song Content, which felt appropriate for this couple. Rachel and Lindsey, I hope you cuddle up together under it in cold midwestern nights. Lots of love and mazel tov!