A Pinafore

It has been a while since I've done any illustrations.  Here's the dress I was toying with in this post.  It's machine knit with a crochet border at the hem, and meant to be worn as a pinafore. 

Secondhand Knitting

This is a secondhand story, told to me by someone we'll call Sara (because that's her name). 

Sara commutes to and from work on a ferry.  Every morning the ferry fills up with familiar faces on their way into the city.  Later in the day, the same weary commuters pile back on to migrate home.  True to human nature, folks tend to sit in the same spots, and as a result, Sara has grown to know and love the folks around her.  She says they're like family to her.  They share news from their family, their workday, their personal lives.

Sara is a knitter.  She uses her ferry time to knit socks mostly, while chatting with her ferry family, or not chatting (because comfortable quiet is important too).  Her knitting helps her to unwind from her workday (if you're a knitter you understand).

One day on the trip home, Sara was not knitting for some reason ... I forget the why, paperwork that needed finishing I think.  One of the members of her ferry family had endured an unusually difficult day.  He stirred in his seat.  He was unsettled, searching.  Exhausted from his bad day, he finally queried,  "Why are you not knitting today?  I really need for you to be knitting today".

It seems knitting is soothing to others.  Secondhand Knitting.

Coming Soon : Fiber College Blog Tour

Searsport Shores Ocean Campground

Would you like to meet a few of the teachers at Fiber College?  Follow along this week on the Fiber College Blog Tour.  There will be giveaways!  Here's the schedule:

Monday July 25 Beth Brown-Reinsel 
http://knittingtraditions.com/blog/

Tuesday July 26 Mary Jane Mucklestone  
http://maryjanemucklestone.com/

Wednesday July 27 Amy Herzog  
http://www.amyherzogdesigns.com/blog/

Thursday July 28 Ellen Mason 
http://odacier.blogspot.com/

Friday July 29 Gale Zucker  
http://ezisus.blogspot.com/

There are tons of fun classes - really hard to choose.  Vendors, too.  And Mary Jane Mucklestone is the artist in residence. Check it out!  I found last year that down-time was just as important as learning time.

I will be teaching an MX dye workshop using reclaimed yarn on Sunday, September 11. 

Self Striping Yarns

Recycled yarn and silk, rebuilt into a favorite vest



This used to be something entirely different



Enjoy the Tour!

Gypsy Knitting

I started a sweater back in August of 2010 while on a road trip - something fun and mindless, and an opportunity to work out some ideas I had in my head. My Ravelry project page is here.  I have since picked it up again (I'm multi - knitting lately, out of character for me).  I'm at the yoke, and it looks like a great opportunity for some colorwork, something I have not done since I was in college (I think I lopied myself out). 

I did some quick dyeing last week, as I knew we would be away in the camper for the weekend.  I wound off some yarn that was around the house, most of it leftovers and hand-me-downs (my guilds are fantastic resources for hand-me-down yarn).  I placed it in Mason jars with some acid dyes and steamed it in my electric turkey cooker, eleven jars at once.  The colors are unmistakably Summer Vacation.

I had the Fair Isle charting all figured out, and then I saw Audrey's version of Kate Davies Paper Dolls sweater.  Suddenly the vine seemed too tame.  Now I need a motif with this clever sense of humor - maybe pickles, maybe peanuts, not sure.

Potential

This is an all cotton sweater I bought at a thrift store for $2.99.  But wait!  Since it was Half Off Wednesday, $1.49!  I liked the condition of the knit, the plain color, and it's smooth hand. 

See how there are two strands of yarn running parallel?  Each is a fine two ply twist.  As I unknit the sweater, I separated the two strands and wound them into hanks on my skein winder.  Have you seen my skein winder?  Here's an old clip of it in action (sorry, the audio of me is not very clear, but you get the idea).

Here's the resulting yarn, which makes me crave Ramen noodles.  It's soft like a pile of milkweed.

Pick a color ... top row is MX (for cellulose), bottom row is acid (for wool).

Dye.  This time in my washtub, but there are tons of ways to dye with MX dyes.  I'm teaching a day-long Fiber Reactive Dye workshop at Fiber College in September - join me!

And swatch.  This was knit on my old Singer 360 knitting machine, which I am trying to relearn.  I believe there's enough yarn to make a dress ... a strappy and lacey tank dress that can be worn over another dress ... maybe some beads or embellishment.  I'll get on a drawing - been a while since I've made a drawing.   But it could also be a lovely lace shawl, or a gossamer tee, ... what do you see?

Progress Report, Summer Session

The Salvation Army in Portland Maine holds an annual sale of donated goods for knitters/sewers/crafters every spring.  This year I picked up a stack of fabric and books, all for about twenty dollars.  I only had one yard of this calico, and I managed to squeeze my favorite pattern onto it by shortening the sleeves and adjusting the placket.  My pattern is an awful lot like Great-Great GrandPa's hammer:  we've replaced the head twice and the handle three times.  I started with Butterick 4064 years ago (which I purchased for 25 cents), but all that remains of that pattern is the bust dart and the armscye. 

Of the six million buttons I own, only these green buttons would do, and they came as a foursome.  I think I'll add more holes and change the buttons - I have a new foot for my machine for securing buttons, I should use it.

McCall's 3341 is a clean and classic A-line skirt that I love.  I've added some pockets on this version, and belt carriers too. I'd show you the back, but somewhere along the line my caboose started looking like a pillowcase full of kittens.  I either need more supportive foundation garments, or more supportive skin. Or a personal trainer.  My head is cropped so that we can all focus on the clothing, not my lack of head maintenance today.  (Don't be fooled, I clean up pretty nice, and this ole body has served me really well).

Here's the best part : my first etsy purchase, a belt and buckle by bmused buckles by Arete.   I've been coveting these buckles for a long time now, and it was high time to pull the trigger.  I am so in love with this.  And it came beautifully packaged, a special gift to me.  Go, get one for yourself!

'Tis the Season

It's that time of year, my unofficial start of the summer, Motorcycle Week.  The drone of hawgs tooling down the highway.  Sun burned two wheeled tourists.  Ice cream on the bay, watching the parade of customized bikes and middle-aged riders pretending they don't have a care in the world.  

Dreaming of our upcoming visit to the track, camping with some of my favorite people.  Saturdays in the stands, eating shelled peanuts, homemade sandwiches, and pickles.  Drinking beer, wearing hats we wouldn't wear anywhere else.  Sundays in the stands are spent remembering we're not as young as we used to be.

Knitting and sewing are compatriots lately.  There's been lots of progress, little documentation.  Photos needed.  I've been inspired by a trip to the Squam Art Fair - met some lovely folks and soaked up some lovely work.

My boys are working hard at the garden center, their boss sending home gorgeous bouquets for me.  My 17 year-old is tending his vegetable garden, and an old pro with his granddad's backhoe. And they're fishing, bringing home delicious dinner (sometimes).

Summer brings our anniversary, and fried clams at Sandy Point.  We've been together longer than apart. 

This summer we'll need passports so we can drive to MacAusland's Woollen Mill on Prince Edward Island to pick up our wool, and visit colleges while we're at it.

And it's the season for everything to break, including my electric dryer.  No matter.