Blankets, Babies, and Buttons

A few weeks ago on Ravelry, Mokihana said her east side group needed yarn donations for blankets; they knit for sick children, chemo patients, hospice, etc.   The west side knitters took this as a cue to clear out their stashes.  I also needed some yarn for premie hats so I volunteered to the the "dumping ground" for both charities.  And I do mean "dumping ground"!  Even after consolidating, packing bags and boxes as tight as possible, and pulling out enough yarn for a year (or longer) of premie hats, our car was bursting at the seams!  The back seat was full of 5 large garbage bags and a couple big shopping bags.

And the back was full with a big box and another trash bag or two. 

You know how when you get something that's been vacuum packed and you open the plastic and it expands?  Well, ToolMan and I had squished those bags to fit in our car and it expanded when we took them out!  Mokihana thought I was kidding when I said we had a car full of yarn, but we had no trouble filling the back of her van nearly to the ceiling.  I'm betting there's a good 20 blankets or more in those bags; enough to keep those Damascus knitters busy for quite a while!

In the meantime, I was busy knitting a little blankie myself.  I finished the blankie for Maryanne's new grand baby.  I had intended to do an applied I-cord binding on this, and actually started it.  Then I realized that applied I-cord on a 36-inch square blankie would take approximately forever to finish.  And by the time I got the last strip on this knitted, I was pretty much sick of it.  So, I resorted to . . . . crochet.  I know, I could hardly believe it myself!  But it was so fast that it was satisfying to see it appearing as I worked along.  Just a single row of single crochet and then a row of 5-dc shells with sc in between, fudging a bit to make the corners all come out alike. 

I found out that yet another girlfriend, Carolyn, is having a grand baby, too.  Her daughter is due to deliver on her birthday; how lucky can a grandma get?  That meant another BSJ to be knit.  After doing so many of these, I've almost got the pattern memorized.  I finished the knitting on this, but haven't sewn it up yet.  Rachel has never done one and wanted me to do the sewing up at Westside Wednesday.  I went searching for the perfect buttons today at Joann's and found these.  I searched through the package and found a 1, 2, and 3 that looked good, so I'll use those. 

Our neighbors are also expecting a baby this summer, in August.  I must have been a cold winter as we seem to have a pretty good batch of July and August babies coming.  ;)   I've talked our neighbors and found out what colors they're painting the nursery and that her mother is knitting sweaters and booties and hats already.  I dove into the stash and pulled out some odd balls for another Moderne Baby Blanket.  And I'll do the applied I-cord on it.  Promise! 

But before I do that, I've got some hat knitting to do.  My younger brother Joe (that's him facing the camera), has been diagnosed with Chronic Lymphoma Leukemia and just started a 6-month course of chemo.  He's going to lose his hair so I'm working on some knitted caps for him. 

Toolmans' been busy as well.  Karen found a small plank of black walnut at Rocker a couple weeks ago.  She gave it to ToolMan and said she'd like a couple of shawl pins out of it and he could have the rest.  Needless to say, he jumped at the offer and has been working on her pieces all week.   

These are Karen's; he'll give them to her at Westside Wednesday.  I think she'll like them.  And if she doesn't, then I'll just have to add them to my collection!

Little of this and a little of that

I haven't touched my spinning wheel since New Year's Day. I've been dealing with a shoulder problem, which my doctors tell me is an overused rotator cuff. I'm on my second round of physical therapy and pain meds; the first time only lasted a couple months before I was back where I started. This time, I got a cortisone shot to relieve the immediate pain, stronger meds, and a return to therapy with lighter weights but for a longer term.

Today, I did no knitting. That's right, none. My shoulder can only tolerate knitting for short periods of time each day. Today, I decided to forgo knitting to see how well, or not, I could tolerate spinning. Here's the result:



This is a sample from Abstract Fiber. The sample didn't have any info on the tag, I don't know what the fiber is but I suspect by the way it drafted and spun that it's BFL. By looking at the website, I think the colorway is "Deep Lake"; lovely blues, greens, and turquoises.

Of course, I had my able spinning assistant nearby for support. I only spun for about an hour but my shoulder was talking to me pretty loudly by the time I was done. I'm going to let the singles rest on the bobbin for a few days before I ply it. I'm going to try this technique from Sarah Anderson; maybe it won't be so hard on my poor right shoulder.

Westside Wednesday had to say goodbye to Noriko this week. She joined us a couple years ago as a knitter, then moved from a drop spindle to a wheel, and has now written a pattern (scroll down to post 4). Now, she's done with school and internship, and will soon be off to do her optometry residency turns in Bellevue, WA; Wenzou, China; and Okinawa, Japan. We're sad to loose her, but she'll be back to do her final residency her. And besides, the world is getting a great new doctor!

Noriko sent these little tiny hedgies to come live with me. She's been clearing out and getting all her things packed up, but I'm pretty sure she could have found room in a box for these:

Look how tiny they are! The tiny one on the right isn't marked but it seems to be made of the same material as one that ToolMan bought for me several years ago; horn or antler.

They're both much heavier than you think they'd be, given their small size. And both have incredible detail; especially the little one from Noriko, which even has eyelids!

The one from ToolMan, though, is actually a little box with a surprise inside. ToolMan said the inside was what he wished he could give me:

The moon and the stars. All together now: "Awwwwww!" (I know that head sitting there is a little weird; I just didn't realize how creepy it was until I posted it in here.)

But as little as this guy is, he's not the tiniest hedgie in my collection.

That distinction goes to the other hedgie from Noriko. Or should I say "family of hedgies". These are wood and the largest has a sticker on the outside "Made in Russia". I have to admit that I've never seen another set of hedgie matryoshka dolls.

How in the world did they turn these out of wood on a lathe? And I whoever painted the face on the smallest one must have incredible eyesight or a really good magnifying glass! The middle one is about the same height as the dime and the smallest one is about the size of a dried pea. Absolutely adorable!

Lastly, I got the baby sweaters delivered to my girlfriend, Maryanne, this week. I'm working on a little blankie for the stroller or carseat and hope to have it done before she goes to see her sons in mid-June.

A Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting. Except I didn't follow the pattern, because come on, what's the fun in that? This turned out to be quite a stash buster of baby pompadour. I used up all the leftovers from baby knitting over the last few years. This pink is the last strip, I think. It could be a little bigger, but frankly I'm just about sick of garter stitch; I mean, really, there are MILES of garter in this thing and it's only about 36 inches square. Besides, I'm going to do a white, 4-stitch I-cord edge on it which I'm estimating will take approximately FOREVER to finish. And as much fun as this was to knit, I really want to get it done; because I really, really need something more challenging on the needles next.

Chugging Along

I'm chugging along on the queue, having finished the BSJ for Maryanne's grandbaby. It's been soaked and blocked and both sweaters are folded in a pretty spring green bag ready for delivery to Maryanne, to be included in the next box to be sent across the pond.


I'm working on another set of the !@ #*% Golf Club Covers for niece Jane, in eggplant and cream. I've four of them done, except for embroidering the symbols which I'll probably do at Westside Wednesday. And I'm waiting to hear whether she wants pompoms on them or connecting them with an I-cord.

I did a little cooking this weekend, too. Doesn't that just look yummy?


It's the peels of 20 avocados, six pennies, lots of water, a glug or two (that's a highly technical term) of vinegar, and some sea salt. No; it's not for eating; it's for dying wool, silly! I found a couple of forums on Ravelry devoted to natural dyeing. I don't think I'd ever go into dyeing as much as knitting or spinning, but we do eat a LOT of avocados and when I saw that they produce a warm pink/peach dye, it seemed a shame to keep throwing them out.

I had to wait for the pits to thaw before I could chop them up for adding to the pot. You think those things are hard when they're fresh? Frozen, they're like giant marbles; and just as hard to hang onto. A kitchen accident waiting to happen if ever there was one!


I wish I could describe how this smells; I think it smells like a woodpile in the late fall, right after it rains but the weather hasn't really turned cold yet. OK, maybe you had to have grown up in the country to know that smell. Anyway, it's earthy and woodsy but not really heavy or offensive. Although ToolMan claimed it stunk so badly that he could smell it downstairs in the garage when it was simmering, so he made me put it out on the deck when I wasn't simmering it.
It's amazing how much color came out so quickly. I simmered the pot, drained off the liquid, and repeated with fresh water three times and each pot is still as dark as the first one. I've been simmering it down to concentrate the color, mainly because I don't have enough large pans. I'm using two big stainless steel pasta pots; one with the peels/pits and one with the reduced liquid.

I picked up some cream of tartar and alum to mordant the yarn, which I'll have to do in my big water bath canner. I pulled out a few skeins of reclaimed yarn from my stash; a couple of off white lambswool and a skein of wool/nylon blend which is a khaki/off white marl.

I'm toying with the idea of doing an after bath of ammonia on one of the off white skeins to see how, or if, it changes the color. Stay tuned for the second act next weekend!

Actual Knitting Content

Yes, actual knitting content! On this blog! Can you believe it? Knitting that I can actually blog about!

First up - my "commuting, take to work and knit night because I don't have to think about it" project: a Baktus scarf. I don't know what this yarn is; it's from the bottom of the stash and didn't have a label. I did a swatch, threw it in with the laundry a couple weeks ago and it came out just fine so it's something machine washable and dryable; a burn test proved it to be synthetic, so I'm guessing some acrylic/nylon/polyester blend but it's very soft. It's fairly splitty so I'm using blunt US 10s in plain garter stitch. I like the faded denim-y look of this but I really don't need another blue scarf so it'll probably go in the gift box. It's always good to be ahead of the curve on Christmas presents.



And on to the "stay at home, pay attention to this" project: The carrot I was dangling in front of myself to finish the secret knitting, the reward for good behavior, the mate to the long suffering One Red Sock.

I cast on Friday night and have made it all the to the short-row heel, thanks to Tiger Woods back playing in the Masters. ToolMan was glued to it for all four days, and I joined him on Saturday and Sunday. I like watching golf (and yes, I know some of you will find that boring), but I particularly love watching Tiger play because he's so damned good.

And frankly, I'm tired of hearing the media make such a big deal out of the the mistresses/girlfriends/bimbos. Fer cryin' out loud, people, you didn't make this much of a ruckus over the affairs of elected officials and religious leaders! Bill Clinton, Ted Haggard, John Edwards, and all the Kennedy's weren't under this kind of scrutiny. The golf commentators even mused about why he was wearing sunglasses on the course and whether it was because he didn't want people to look in his eyes. Gimme a break, fer cris' sakes, and move along already!

The knitting queue is lengthening: One of my friends, Maryanne, is expecting her first grand baby in May. The little pink bundle will be arriving in England, so she'll need at least one summer sweater and maybe one a little larger for early fall. Then next up are the neighbors who are expecting a bouncing baby girl in August; the expectant daddy has already requested something in Ohio's scarlet and gray. Niece Jane has been a tad vocal about an undying desire for a set of #@!*% Golf Club Covers in dark purple, please. And my brother will need a hat when he starts chemo in May. I threw away another pair of my socks because the bottom was beyond darning again, so I need to replenish the supply; and ToolMan has asked for another pair of bamboo socks. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me.

A good friend is like a quilt wrapped around your heart.

It has been far too long since I had seen my girlfriend, Maryanne. I've tried to lure her into Westside Wednesday, but she keeps insisting on bringing quilt blocks and refusing to hold yarn.
It was very fortunate that I ran across an ad for a quilt show put on by Northwest Quilters Guild at Multnomah University; it was the perfect opportunity for us to get together! She picked me up bright and early Saturday morning, and after an obligatory stop at Starbucks for coffee, we hit the road.

After winding our way across town and paying our entry fees, this masterpiece was the first thing you laid eyes on. This entire quilt is made up of tiny square that are reverse appliqued.














Not regular applique, mind you, but reverse applique! Now, in regular applique, the blue design is cut out and applied to the top of the background fabric. This is reversed, so the blue fabric is behind the background, and then the background is cut away to reveal the blue. Click to make it bigger and see for yourself.


















Then the squares were put together to make the top, the border applied using the same reverse applique technique, and then it was quilted together with the batting and the backing. The real killer here is that this was all done by one person by hand. As in no sewing machine. No wonder it was front and center, showing off its blue ribbon!

And in case blue wasn't your color, there was a similar one in red!


















Not all the quilts were traditional; some were very modern. This one is a technique, which Maryanne informs me, is bargello. Maryanne says the fabric is cut into strip and sewn into panels, which are then cut crosswise into varying widths and shifted up and down to make these patterns that appear three-dimensional.


















This one stopped Maryanne dead in her tracks. She loves deep, rich, jewel-tone colors; I think it was the deep blue and purple that reached out and grabbed her.


















Some of the quilts looked like they started out all traditional and well-behaved, then took a left turn and went all contemporary at the last minute. Like this one.


















There were also some antique quilts being shown. Like this Hawaiian one from 1932. The two-color Hawaiian quilts always remind me of papercutting designs common in so many parts of the world.


















Looking at this one up close, the close pattern of quilting reminded me of a labyrinth. Can you just imagine how long it took to quilt this by hand?














Some quilts looks more like paintings. This one was made up of thin strips pieced together horizontally.


















This one looked very Asian at first glance.


















But none of the fabrics were an Asian print. There were musical notes, starfish, polka dots, batiks, stripes, even cow print! But no Asian prints!














This one was a ribbon winner, too. The information label on this one said she had designed this quilt in honor of her 40th wedding anniversary. All the squares, except for two, were traditional patterns which held special meaning for her and her husband. The other two had silhouettes of their children and the date of their marriage. Oh, and the label also said she finished it just in time for their 50th anniversary!


















And there were other quilts made to honor someone. Like this little one for Frank Lloyd Wright. I'm thinking this one could be done in knitting; stockinette blocks bordered with black and joined as they're worked. Maybe a project for next winter. . . .


















And this one was labeled "Happy Birthday, Charlie" in honor of Charles Darwin. You can't see it very well in the photo, but there are things hidden in the quilting: snails, tadpoles, ferns, peoples faces, etc.


















The one that took my breath away was this one. Maryanne asked what it was that I found so stunning, and I'm not sure I can describe it. It's the rich, saturated colors; the random/not random piecing; the curves that cut through, yet join all the blocks; the way it has a border on two sides and not the others. It's the balance and total of it all. It reminds me of Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, and Gee's Bend.















It almost makes me want to start quilting. Almost.