I really loved knitting for my little girl throughout her first year. I thought I'd make her something special for her first birthday. What I thought would be a straightforward project ended up requiring several samplings of mercerized cottons and patterns until I found some Italian yarn and a Japanese pattern that suited me for a birthday sweater. I was working on putting in the last sleeve and making the buttons the morning of her birthday, but all the effort made a beautiful garment for a special girl. The pleasure of making it is particularly in the memories of her grabbing at the ball of yarn whenever she had a chance - she just loved this yarn.
When I arrived back into China from our visit to the USA, I was determined that I needed a creative corner all of my own. A desk and some various things have paid off this week with a second finished page! I sampled Monday and when dinner prep was drawing near, I pushed towards getting all of my samples blocked. They all came out very pretty this morning and mounting and labeling went smoothly this afternoon.
I chose to go with an all white theme but of various fiber types: cotton, wool and silk. It makes a pretty grouping of samples. I read that One over Two bind off works well for traveling cables and open stitching and I found two attractive stitches from Vogue Knitting. Although the samples ended up on the larger side than necessary, I feel I better understand this particular bind off.
After some various delays in May and June, I finally got myself organized (and I was able to buy a most useful tool for mounting samples while a visit to the USA in May -double sided tape.)
My Cast On Samples are all in the same yarn weight so that I could better compare the difference in the cast on techniques. All of the techniques were new to me and I have had many new possibilities to explore in my other recreational knitting. I can't say that I have a favorite - it just depends on the yarn and pattern. Rule of thumb I found so valuable: the less resilient the fiber the more sturdy the cast-on is necessary.
When it came time to pull out my CO samples, I was so grateful that I had pinned little notes on them so I knew what everything was. I also had picked pinheads, subconsciously, that matched the color of the sample. When I blocked the samples, the matching pinheads made it easy to re-collect them back into an orderly and labeled pile again.
It took me some time to come up with a page layout that I liked. I spent most of Zoe's naptime arranging and re-arranging my samples. And since it's my first page, I also took my time with a pencil and ruler to mark out some guidelines for the actual mounting. In the end, not all of the lines that I had planned to be useful were really useful but it's a beginning.
I don't have my finished page yet, BUT I am very excited and happy with some good progress on my first page! All my samples are blocked and labeled, I have a page layout plan, and I had time to mount two samples - I feel that I've made good headway and it will be easy to pick up and finish that page this week! My blocking board isn't the only thing making progress - Spring has arrived and everything is bursting in blossom songs.
Just this week, the city had it's first International Women's Expat Meeting and a bunch of women signed up to learn how to knit as well! Between planning a first project and putting together a Knitting Club Calendar of Events, (which I'm thrilled about by the way!), I have my hands full with teaching knitting!
I have my samples for Casting On ready to be labeled and mounted but I've used them almost every week to show something to beginning knitters. I never thought I'd use them so much for reference already. Pretty much every time I learn a new technique from my Class, I'm sure to use it to answer someone's question on knitting night. It keeps me pretty motivated to keep learning more.
I had some clear goals for my assignments this months but I'm playing catch up a bit this week since Zoe and I got really sick the beginning of the month. But I feel pretty confident that I can get some more assignments done this week! Maybe I can catch up to my goals before the end of the month after all.
We'll see... this upcoming trip to Hong Kong for Zoe might give me another set back. Is the fact that I have a couple of yarn shops scouted out any help?! I'm pretty excited to get a couple of needle supplies for my knitting friends and to browse some of the specialty yarns I can't find locally. Plus, I get to look at pattern books; I'm so excited to browse through English book!
Free Vintage Knitting, http://www.freevintageknitting.com/shawls has some beautiful shawl patterns. They all seem contemporary enough to wear today but they still have some old glamorous appeal. I started this Sonata shawl for a friend a couple of weeks ago. I choose it because of it's lovely open work but simple pattern. It's quick to memorize and is knitting up easily. I think this particular pattern is a clever use of yarn overs and how it pulls the fabric into a lovely hourglass pattern. I'm not a big fringe fan usually, but I really like the fringe on this shawl. On the needles, the shawl looks a little plain but the details of this fringe really make this shawl elegant. The whole thing requires a little effort with a big effect. (At the moment, my camera card is stuck and I can't take any pictures. Hopefully, some pictures to come.)
Silk was invented by the Chinese, some historians date the making of Chinese silk back 2000 years. It was initially used for royalty exclusively but it eventually became available for the rest of the population. Silk became an economic tool and it was regarded so valuable that citizens could be rewarded or paid in lengths of silk. For a long period of history, the Chinese held exclusive trade to silk and silk making but the opening of the Silk Road brought silk into the Middle East and even into parts of Europe. Parts of the Middle East have records of their own silk making traditions, but the story goes that two monks smuggled silkworms in religious scrolls into Europe, giving away the Chinese secret and the Italians began making their own silk. Today, China still plays a major role in the making and exporting of silk to the world.
I thought I'd post a few of my projects I've been working on before I begin my student work. For my birthday a few years ago, I treated myself to a pattern collection, "Romantic Style, Knits and Crochet to Wear or Display" by Jennie Atkinson. There's enough inspiration from the beautiful photography and garments to make everything in the collection, but I started with the Crochet Shawl. Although I had very little background in crocheting, it wasn't too difficult to learn the basic granny square motif. The real treat of the shawl is working with Kidsilk Haze. The silk is like a gossamer thread, delicate and soft, but the wool makes it strong and warm. You cannot afford to make mistakes in your work because once your stitches are in you cannot easily undo them, but the garment is well worth the effort and in all ways luxurious. I choose the shawl for it's color and warmth in the middle of our Wisconsin, very cold and long winter.
Hello Everybody,
Thank you for such a warm welcome. I'm starting the City and Guilds Textile Course this month and I look forward to being a part of the community!
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Recent Comments
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mcknitty said:
Just beautiful - both Zoe & the cardigan. What a lovely picture! read more
on Celebrating with yarn -
Christine said:
what a lovely idea! you've done a beautiful job & it's something you can both keep forever (perhaps dress a... read more
on Celebrating with yarn -
CarolineV said:
Well done Rachel, it's interesting for me, being at roughly the same stage, to see pictures of where you are... read more
on Making Progress -
Rachel said:
That is so encouraging! Thanks for letting me know what you think. I'm glad to know that I'm on the... read more
on Making Progress
These samples look excellent Rachel. I'm pleased to see you are sampling methods that suit different stitch types. L read more
on Cast On Samples Mounted