I-Cord Wrist Wraps ~ Free Knitting Pattern

I know it’s hot out now, but it’ll be January before you know it. During the winter months, I set the thermostat at a cool 60degF during the day (saves energy and money). For comfort during those months, I wear long underwear. And I use “wrist wraps” to keep my hands warm when working at the computer or when reading in bed at night.

Last year, in preparation for a workshop that I was teaching on I-cords, I created a pattern for wrist wraps that incorporate I-cords on all edges and 2 different I-cord buttonholes.

I’d like to share that pattern with you. You can go to my website, http://www.stonesockfibers.com/, and download a pdf file of the pattern from the website homepage.

Two wonderful things about this pattern: First, it doesn’t take much yarn, so it’s a nice opportunity to use a nicer (er, more expensive) yarn. Second, this pattern is a terrific opportunity to scrounge through your button stash and find just the right buttons. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got one or two special buttons that have been calling out for the right project. Use them on these wrist wraps!

I’ve knitted four pairs of these things. They’re a great little gift…..even if you’re giving them to yourself! Here’s a picture of the first pair of wrist wraps that I knitted (my friend, Sylvia VM is the model).

Spinning & Weaving Association ~ SWA

I consider myself to be a fiber arts “professional”. Because I respect and value the fiber arts, I see it as my professional responsibility to belong to appropriate professional organizations. That is why I became an Associate Member of the Spinning and Weaving Association in 2005.

My membership has given me the opportunity to network with others in the larger fiber arts community. I worked for a time on the SWA education committee, getting to know (by phone conferences) folks such as Jane Patrick (Schacht Spindle), Irene Schmoller (Cotton Clouds), Liz Gipson (now at Schacht Spindle), Amy Clarke-Moore (Interweave Press), and many others.

Because of my involvement in the education committee, I was asked to become the “administrative coordinator” for SWA. In that capacity, I collect and format information that is then posted on the SWA website. Much of that information is intended to provide the general public with information about spinning and weaving. For example, I maintain and regularly update a list of festivals across the US (and some in Canada). This list includes fiber arts festivals, weaving conferences, and major knitting/crochet events. The events on this list are organized by state, making it easy to find fiber events near you.

The SWA website also contains a list of SWA members who teach spinning and weaving (also organized by state).

You can also find a list of SWA retail members (also organized by state); as well as a list of SWA wholesale members.

So, take a look at the SWA website. Perhaps you will find new and wonderful sources of supplies and fiber events. Perhaps you will be inspired to become a member of SWA. Perhaps you will be prompted to get back to your spinning wheel or your loom or your knitting needles…..

Pile O' Shetland

Last year, I knitted a wall hanging, “Petosegay – Sunbeams of Promise”. It’s based on the structure of the Petoskey stone, the state stone of Michigan (see my website for more details). Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with this stone that is found mostly in northwestern lower Michigan. That’s where I live.

My friend, Judy M. had given me eleven (!) raw shetland fleeces – FREE! My first impression of them was: What wonderful Petoskey stone colors! I spent a couple afternoons picking over the fleeces (removing VM and second cuts). Then I sent the fleeces to Stonehedge Fiber Mill. When I got the fleeces back, I spun one skein of each color. Then I devised a way to knit a Petoskey stone “medallion”. After several medallions, I constructed a wall hanging.

I submitted that wall hanging to “Fiber Celebration 2009”, a fiber arts show in Colorado, sponsored by the Northern Colorado Weavers Guild. The piece won The Knitters Guild Association (TKGA) award. Here’s a picture of the wall hanging.

My intention had always been to create a series of Petoskey stone projects. To increase my shetland stash, I spent much of my time at fiber festivals last summer seeking out more shetland rovings.

Then I spent about 6 months spinning yarns for more Petoskey projects. Last week, I finished the 20th skein (!). This afternoon, I reskeined all the yarns into 2-yard skeins so I can easily measure their length and weight.

Here’s the pile o’ yarn (photo'd on my front porch):


I will spend my summer travel time knitting more Petoskey medallions that will be made into a scarf, an afghan, a purse, and a pillow (and maybe more!)

Slip Stitch Afghan

I am all for knitting techniques that are easy to do but result in something that looks intricate or intriguing. And I love texture. That’s why I’m crazy for slip stitches.

Last weekend I was in Columbus, Ohio to teach some workshops at Knitters Connection. (It was a great knitting conference! There were workshops by many renowned knitting instructors and designers over 4 days; special presentations in the evenings, and a Knitters Market with about 30 wonderful vendors. I do hope to return there next year.)

One of the workshops I taught was on slip stitch knitting. In advance of that trip, I knitted an afghan in a slip stitch called “Speckle Rib” that I found in the Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (the older version, Lyric Books Ltd, 1983; not the newer version published by Interweave Press).

The older Harmony Guides are terrific sources of slip stitch patterns. Over the years, I’ve knitted innumerable swatches and many many slip stitch projects from these books, yet I still find surprises and new knitting delights in these books. The reason for this continuing novelty may be due to the inherent limitation of putting pictures and instruction on paper; I have found that most of the stitch pattern pictures do not do the stitches justice. The textural and 3-dimensional features of the stitches don’t show up well in photographs. You have to touch them (or, even better, knit them) to appreciate their virtues.

So, it’s easy to overlook a stitch pattern because of a bland picture. Such was the case with the “Speckle Rib”. But I’m sure happy that I finally gave it a try. I am delighted with the result of this stitch in this afghan. It was especially effective for combining yarns of various colors. I knitted this afghan from 6 colors of a yummy wool-alpaca yarn, Berroco “Cuzco”, that I bought in Madison, Wisconsin in September 2008 when I was there as a presenter for the Madison Knitters Guild. I got the yarn at a delightful shop, Lakeside Fibers. If you’re ever in Madison, check it out!

Here are two pictures of the afghan.

Cormo, Come Home!

Here’s the back story. At last year’s Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival,

I made a quick perusal of the sheep fleeces that were up for judging. One fleece stood out: an immaculately clean and well sheared Cormo fleece. It had been submitted by Jill Johnson of RiverWinds Farm . At the 2008 WSWF I’d purchased some yummy Cormo top from her, so I already knew her fiber was great.

I wanted that fleece. Not only was it beautiful, but it ended up winning the grand prize in the fleece competition. I really wanted that fleece. But I hesitated…..and someone else got it. D**n!

I thought about that fleece many times over the following months. I regretted my hesitation; I wished I had bought that fleece. I promised myself I would not make that mistake again.

Fast forward eight months. In May 2010, I drove up to Pickford, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula for the Spring Fiber Fling. It was a delightful event. About 100 people attended. There were workshops on Saturday and Sunday. And there were about ten fiber vendors.

One of the vendors, Joanne Dufour from Bark River, MI, I had met the previous October in a workshop I taught in Sault Ste Marie. She’s a delightful lady. We have a dance background in common (she still teaches dance). And she raises alpacas. In October, I’d purchased 4 ounces of some alpaca roving in a lovely pale fawn color (I’ve spun up half of it into a lace-weight yarn plied with silk thread). At the Spring Fiber Fling, she had her rovings and other items for sale. She encouraged me to fondle a particular combed top that was a blend of alpaca and Cormo wool.

Not just any Cormo, mind you!

It turned out that Joanne had purchased that dreamy Cormo fleece that won the grand prize at the 2009 WSWF. I could not believe my luck. After months of wistful reminiscences, I had the chance to own some of that gorgeous Cormo fleece. I bought 4 ounces. I set it aside to spin for myself. And I started that indulgent spinning last night. My goal is a fingering weight, softly spun yarn that I will knit into a lacey shawl. I will treasure each moment of spinning and knitting and wearing this fiber. Mine, all mine!

Here’s a picture of some of the top and the spun reference sample.

Emily's Rolags

I spent April 23 – 25 in Neenah, Wisconsin, at Midwest Masters 2010. This event is a delightful three days of fiber arts workshops fabulously well organized by Barbara Cattani. She owns and runs the shop, Yarns by Design. A half dozen instructors from around the country taught workshops over three days. I taught four spinning workshops and one knitting workshop. And I had fun! The spinners and knitters who participated were friendly, enthusiastic, and open to challenges! And I enjoyed my time meeting some of the other instructors and hearing about their interesting approaches to fiber arts and to life in general.

One of my workshops was “Variations on Long Draw” in which we explored three general categories of long draw as well as techniques for making rolags with hand cards. One workshop participant, Emily S., was especially thrilled with her new found success in carding rolags. Here’s a picture of Emily with two beautiful rolags.

In addition to teaching, I had time to explore Barb’s shop. She has a great selection of knitting yarns, as well as equipment and supplies for spinners and weavers. I came home with a few new circular knitting needles (Can a knitter really have too many needles?), a lovely skein of undyed Wensleydale wool yarn (Wensleydale is a breed of sheep that yields especially lustrous wool of a very long staple length.), and an equally lovely skein of sock yarn that I’d not yet tried.

The sock yarn, “Bambie”, is made by Blue Ridge Yarns. I got a skein of the color way “Spanish Moss” (Color 027). The yarn is a blend of superwash Merino wool and bamboo. There is a pleasant sheen to the yarn, as one would expect from the bamboo. And I was quite intrigued by the color way: a variegated combination of medium grey, golden brown, and golden yellow. I was so excited about this yarn, that I wound it into a ball (by hand, not with a ball winder) before I even got home from the trip. I’m thinking it will work well in some sort of slip stitch pattern. That will be the topic of a future blog entry.

Barter Scarf

It was time for something new. I had lived with my mouse-brown hair for years, but my hair had been golden blond for the first 35 years of my life and I still thought of myself as a blond, despite what I saw in the mirror.

So, I decided to get my hair dyed. I made a deal with my friend, Sharron May, who is a hair stylist (Beyond Salon, in Frankfort, Michigan). She would cut and dye my hair, and I would knit her a scarf. She wanted a scarf that would go with a jeans jacket. I showed her several possible yarns that I had in my stash, and she selected a blue cotton-rayon yarn by Classic Elite, “Imagine” (color # 9277).

She wanted the scarf to have some texture and some drape. I perused my many books of stitch patterns and decided to modify the “faggotted rib” in the Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (Lyric Books Ltd, 1983).

Here's a picture of the scarf, modelled by my friend, Joan D.

Here’s the pattern for the Barter Scarf:

I used size 7 needles. It took 2 skeins of the yarn (about 180 yards total).

Cast on 23 stitches, using a knitted cast on (I like to twist the stitches as I cast them on). I’m using this cast on because it’s very elastic, and this scarf is a lacey pattern.

Knit 4 rows for a hem. Then start the pattern.

Row 1: k2; (k2, yo, ssk, p1) three times, k2, yo, ssk; k2.

Row 2: k2; p2, (yo, p2tog, p3) three times, yo, p2tog; k2.

Repeat these two rows for desired length.

Knit 4 rows for hem.

Bind off. I used a sewn bind off, again for elasticity.

Weave in ends. Block the scarf.

This scarf turned out to be about 5 inches wide and 55 inches long (blocked), and weighs 3.55 ounces.

Oh, and my hair? Platinum!