Georgia on My Mind: Art Yarn Wrap Up and a Quick Knit Scarf

We held the final session of the Art Yarn Spinning class last night.  Everyone brought their yarn and projects, some of which you see here.  Others were too shy/modest to be included, but their work was lovely. (I mean you, Joan.) This is Hilary, who is working on the mittens found in Pluckyfluff's "Intertwined:"

Next up is Sheila, hanging out with us, all the way from Miramichi, New Brunswick.  Sheila recyles old fur coats into wonderful articulated Teddy Bears, one of whom is shown here wearing a hat and scarf from Sheila's yarn:

Jane and Susan are ignoring the camera.  Susan blogged about her yarn here:

Jane hides behind some gorgeous yarns:

Erin made a wonderful garland from her beaded yarn:

Then there is Wendy, who had just finished the beginning spinners' class, bought a wheel and jumped right into art yarn spinning.  Wendy announced that she had purchased a bit of alpaca.  When I say, "a bit of alpaca," I mean that in the way mountaineers speak of Mount Everest as "a bit of a climb."

I had a great time teaching this class, as I do with all my classes.  It's wonderful to hang out with like-minded people, people who understand the wonders of and a passion for string.

I made a few projects as samples for the class.  I knit this scarf from handspun Sweet Georgia fibres, in a merino/silk/bamboo rayon blend, spun and plied to a weight of approximately 5 wpi.  The scarf required 75 metres/100 grams of fibre, spun and plied in a hour.  I knit it in an hour or two.  (There is no pattern for the matching hat.  It's a hybrid, which involved chopping off the ribbing, reknitting and other fixes to make it presentable.)

I share the pattern for the scarf here, although it's so simple that I can hardly call it a pattern, let alone mine.  It's knitted in a Mistake Stitch Rib, balanced so that there is a one row repeat.  It can be knit in any yarn-Noro is a good choice for a commercial yarn-and can be adjusted in multiples of four for width.

Sweet Georgia Scarf

Multiple of 4 plus 2 plus 1 stitch.  (Knit in K2, P2 ribbing, with 2 stitches to balance the pattern and 1 stitch for the mistake.)

8 mm needles, circular or straight.

Gauge:  approximately 3.5 to 3 stitches per inch/ 2.5 cm.

Finished size: 10 cm x 120 cm or 4 inches x 48 inches.

Cast on 15 stitches.

All rows:  *K2, P2* repeat across row, ending in K3.

That's it.  Knit until you are sick of knitting or until you run out of yarn.  Bind off loosely in pattern.  Wash and block the scarf. 

If you have only a little yarn, you can turn this scarf into a cowl.  In all cases, use something soft and pretty.  When others express their amazement at your talent, say, "Thank you."  Do not say a word about how simple this project is to knit. 

Thanks to all class participants.

Namaste.

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Dora Mushka wanted to do a practice run of the class she'll be teaching at Olds College, Alberta during Fibre Week.  Susie, Lindsay, Sara and I packed up wheels, fibre and lunch and headed to Lumsden for a Sunday of spinning.

Dora instructing with Lindsay and Susie in the background

 Along with Cheryl, Marybelle, Meegan and Wendy, we spent the day blending and spinning colour samples and designer/art yarns:

That neon green background really highlights the yarns!

The class is designed for beginning spinners, so I assumed I'd be tagging along for the fun of it.  "Pride goeth before a fall" and all that-I hadn't spun on my Louet Victoria in over a year and had forgotten just how fast that wheel spins.  I spent the morning muttering under my breath as I produced a stack of overtwisted samples so energized that they could run marathons even after a good washing and whacking.

The afternoon went more smoothly.  We moved to textured yarns, practising long draw, chain plying and spinning cables.  We made garnetted, slubbed and wrapped yarns.  I produced a tussah silk/wool/alpaca cabled yarn heavy enough to work as an (elegant) dog leash, a pretty blue wool yarn garnetted with spring colours, a vibrant soysilk/wool chain plied skein and a very loosely spun long draw singles of wool and alpaca:

I came home, tired but happy.  After finishing my samples and leaving them to dry, I fulfilled my wifely duties by watching Survivor Finale and Vancouver in the hockey playoffs.  I also completed this:

I knit the summer scarf from spindle spun wool/silk/alpaca fibres from Fleece Artist.  The freeform crochet trim was worked in hand spun cochineal-dyed silk and hand spun emerald soysilk.  The scarf looked incomplete until I added the trim, which reminded me to keep design in mind, even for such a simple thing.  A bit of thoughtful planning can make the difference between producing a piece of cloth and making a unique accessory.  There is a bit of asymmetry here, in the trim and its placement, just enough to make me smile when I remember the making of this piece:

The scarf and my samples are reminders of sunny, warm pleasant hours of spinning and friendship in the Qu'appelle Valley.  What more could you ask of a day?

Sara, Marybelle and Wendy

Meegan

Sara



Simple Comforts

We returned home after a trip to Kelowna to see our kids.  Matt was heading out to tree plant; there were birthdays to celebrate, so we packed our gear and set out on a two day drive through the Rockies:

Morris did remarkably well, considering this was twice as long as he'd spent on the road in his life.  He slept while we were driving and was (mostly) quiet in the motel.  Once we arrived, he went wild with delight upon seeing his kids.  He immediately chased one of Ali's cats up a walnut tree, much to the dismay of Helena, the cat foster mom next door.

Heidi, the shy one

Chloe, after her tree rescue

Once we sorted out living arrangements-cats upstairs, Morris on the ground floor-things went more smoothly, although Morrie was too excited to be let off leash most of the time, even at the dog park or in the backyard.  He was content to spend his time being adored.

I set up in a small spare bedroom upstairs in the old house.  I had an air mattress with sleeping bag and hand spun, handwoven wool blanket, my suitcase, books, painting gear, fibre projects and a yoga mat.  For nearly two weeks, those few things were all I had to keep me occupied, apart from my family, our walks and the beautiful spring weather.  It was wonderful:

I came to awareness of how much we are tied to material things, our preoccupation with gadgets and goods which keep us busy, but inactive.  I am no different-I love my computer, my mp3 player, my stuff.  When it comes to shopping, I'm in with the best of them, especially if shopping involves fibres, art supplies, bags or shoes.  I did my share of consuming on our holiday, but the best times I've had in years were the moments spent in that tiny room, listening to the hum and buzz of family coming and going, engaging in intense discussions about life with my grown children and Mr. DD and generally, just Being.

The fibre and art work I did while away was simple. Much time was spent frogging planned projects.  What I did finish was nothing remarkable-an easy Moebius cowl in garter and seed stitch, in sky-coloured bamboo ribbon yarns, some meditation spinning and a small scarf whose pattern I've been meaning to write down since I knit it as a sample for Golden Willow a while back.  I took along the original sample, knit in Louisa Harding's Mulberry Silk.  I knit a second sample in a 4 ply cable hand spun bombyx silk yarn, in a vibrant colour I dyed years ago with Lanaset dyes.

Off the body, the scarf doesn't look like much.  It's one long swatch in a variety of patterns moving from easy lace to stockinette to K1 P1 ribbing and back again.  The original piece was designed to demonstrate what beginning knitters could do with one ball of this yarn.

The scarf improves when worn.  The silk is elegant enough to dress up a coat-here's the hand spun version paired up with my dress coat:

It's simple and light enough to tuck under a jacket for extra warmth.  I used it to protect my neck against the warm rays of the Kelowna sun.  The scarf came in handy as a headband when I needed to ward off the chill mountain air.  It reminds me of the easy pleasures I enjoyed on our vacation.  That's pretty fair value for such a little thing.  With this in mind, I present you with:

 Louisa's Simple Comfort Scarf


I used 39 grams of the 50 gram ball of LH Mulberry Silk.  This yarn is 100% silk, 136 yards/124 metres per 50 gram ball.  The recommended needle size is 4 mm for a gauge of 22 stitches per 10 cm.  I used 3 mm needles for a gauge of 7.5 stitches over the stockinette section. The finished scarf is approximately 40 inches/102 cm long. Scarf width varies from 4.5 inches/12 cm to 2.25 inches/6 cm.  Buy enough yarn to complete the project.

The hand spun version used 36 grams of a 4 ply cabled bombyx silk yarn, 16 wraps per inch.  The finished hand spun version was 44 inches/112 cm long.  Width varies from 4 inches/10 cm to 2.25 inches/6 cm.

Loosely cast on 25 sts.  (I used knitted cast on for the Mulberry scarf; crochet cast on for the hand spun.)

Work in garter stitch (knit every row) for 6 rows or 3 ridges.  Begin the Lace Section on a Right Side row:

Lace:  Every row:  K1, *yo, K2tog,* repeat from * to * for 10 to 12 inches (25-30 cm).

Knit 6 rows in garter stitch.  Begin the Stockinette Section: 
Row 1 (RS):  Knit across the row.
Row 2:   K3, Purl 19 sts, K3.

Work in pattern for 3 inches/7.5 cm.  k 6 rows (3 ridges) garter stitch.  Begin the Ribbing Section: 
Row 1:  K1, P1 across the row, end K1.
Row 2:  P1, K1 across the row, end P1.

Work in pattern for 8 inches/20 cm.

Reverse the sections to complete the scarf, ending with 6 rows (3 ridges) of garter stitch.  Bind off loosely.

Darn in ends and hand wash your scarf in a no rinse wool wash product.  Block it by pinning along each section to size.  Let dry completely.