The Other 2019 Projects — FLORA & FIBER

A common occurence at this time of year is for bloggers to review or highlight posts from the past 12 months. I thought I’d do my own spin (pun intended) on this practice and write about projects that I completed, but never posted.

Many times the colors, technique, or overall idea of another sparks me to try something new and different. I share these works as sources for inspiration. I hope you’ll find something that tickles you.

Here are a few of this year’s weaving projects that I haven’t shared.

In January, I completed the final project for my book. It is a krokbragd variant, Double-Faced Double-Woven which produces two completely different combinations of motifs and colors on either side. The warp is 8/2 wetspun linen (sett 8 epi) and the weft is 4 colors of Rowan Worsted wool. This was a relatively complex endeavor woven on a 4 shaft loom with a floating warp. It produced a thick fabric which I use as a pad on my weaving bench.

I had some remaining linen warp from the previous project, so I rethreaded the heddles and changed the sett to 12 epi. Using the same 8/2 linen as weft, I wove a Swedish Lace table runner. It’s a smaller runner, perfect for my kitchen table.

The linen makes for a rustic look that fits well with our farmhouse kitchen.

This is another table runner I wove as an engagement gift for my niece and her fiancé. The project was from Nancy Dunlap’s ‘A Job Made Easier Runner’ found in the March/April 2019 issue of Handwoven. It is an overshot pattern based on ‘Kay’s Design’ from Marguerite Porter Davison’s A Handweaver’s Pattern Book. I used black and two shades of grey 8/2 cotton for the warp and the pattern weft and natural 8/4 cotton for the tabby weft. The finished runner measures 15.5” x 65”.

I rarely show my knitting ventures, so here’s a glimpse at those.

First up are the Sundance Fingerless Mitts. I love these! They are knit from Hikoo SimpliCria 100% baby alpaca. This makes the most incredibly soft mitts EVER!!! If you are looking for super soft, try this yarn! Pure luxury!

I knit two pair of socks, both toe-up (for non-knitters that means you start at the toe and knit your way up rather than starting at the cuff and working your way down). The pink ones are Knit Picks Felici (75% merino/25% wool, fingering weight) that I hand-dyed in a colorway I call Summer Sunrise (see below). They have a moccasin toe, afterthought heel, 2X2 ribbing for the cuff and cocoon stitch for pattern. The green socks also have an afterthought heel and waffle stitch on the legs. These were knit with Lion Brand Sock-Ease yarn (75% wool/25% nylon) using Susan B. Anderson’s My First Toe-Up Socks pattern.

I knit a fun hat for Pete to wear around the farm. This was a kit from Sun Dragon Art & Fiber in Brevard, NC. The original pattern is Squirrels by Signe Strømgaard published in Knitty, First Fall 2013 issue. Sun Dragon adapted the pattern to pay homage to the white squirrels in Brevard. It’s a toasty head warmer knit in stranded colorwork with 100% wool sport weight yarn.

I got a work out on cable knitting with the Celtic Myths shawl by Asita Krebs. The yarn is a lovely tweed The Fibre Co. Arranmore Light DK (80% Merino, 10% Cashmere goat, 10% Silk) in the colorway Cronan (all so Celtic sounding). I enjoyed knitting this pattern and love the finished shawl.

And then there were the softies . . .

It started with Susan B. Anderson’s Not-So-Itty-Bitty-Giraffe, who I’ve affectionaly named Gerome. He sits on his own and measures 14 inches tall. Susan teaches a class on Bluprint (see below) that walks you through each step in the process of completing this fun guy from his pom pom horns to his spotted rump!

So now I’m hooked on softies, the next being a gnome.

This was a mystery knit-a-long from the queen of gnomes Sarah Schira. The pattern clues were released over a series of weeks and had a lot of extras to add to the excitement of the knit! I wrote a little ditty to go with my sweet little gnome.

There once was a gnome named Gnasturtium
Who wondered where her family came from.
She took a good look
In her gardening book
And found she was genus Tropaeloum.

Later in the year Sarah had another mystery knit-a-long, this one called Oh, Gnome, You Didn’t. So now Gnasturtium has a buddy.

I decided to learn how to crochet. These are the six squares that have been released so far as part of an ongoing Wrapped in Jamie Crochet-A-Long. Each square takes inspiration from the story line of Outlander and will eventually be joined together for a shawl.

Finally, a lot of how I learn, especially knitting and crocheting, is via Bluprint, formerly Craftsy. I have an annual subscription that gives me unlimited access to all types of craft tutorials, patterns, and projects (knitting, crochet, embroidery, spinning, baking, photography, jewelry making, fitness to name just a few). I’m including a list of the classes that I’ve resourced for the projects in this post.

The (Not So) Itty-Bitty Giraffe - Susan B Anderson
Knit Original Toe-Up Socks - Donna Druchunas
Modern Stranded Knitting Techniques - Mary Jane Mucklestone
My First Toe-up Socks - Susan B Anderson
Knit Smarter with Magic Loop - Lorilee Beltman
Explorations in Cables - Patty Lyons
Celtic Cables - Carol Feller
Start Up Library: Crochet - Salena Baca

If you are interested in learning more about Bluprint, they currently have an offer for unlimited access for $4/month (expires 1-31-2020). I am an affiliate and if you decide to take advantage of this offer, I would greatly appreciate if you would use this link Bluprint Unlimited Access. I will get a small commission and you will get a great deal!