Twisp of Fate

I have had many things going at once lately, but it feels good to be moving projects forward and also spending time with friends.  I love the idiomatic phrase, as defined on Wiktionary:

Weaving

Several weeks ago I put a warp on my “Baby Mac” portable workshop loom to try out an idea for placemats.

The draft is based on Bronson lace, believe it or not, and came out of an older issue of Handwoven magazine.  I used 8/4 cotton carpet warp for the warp, and also for the hems and the tabby weft between shots of fabric strips.  The fun came with trying out a variety of fabrics to see what worked and what was less successful.  Also, I finished my placemat for our guild’s challenge project, which is due in April – we exchanged mugs or tea cups, and the challenge was to weave a placemat or set of coasters inspired by the mug you drew (which will then be given to the owner of the mug).

Here are some of the finished mats – they shrank up to 20% in length after washing and drying!

cotton quilting fabric in 1″ strips

heavy cotton drapery fabric in 1″ strips – hard to fold!

heavy fabric, may have been tencel not cotton – a pain to work with

an old cotton sheet in 3/4″ strips, good thickness and pattern

I will be doing more of these but may move the project onto my full size loom at the guild meeting room.

Knitting

I needed a simple carry-around or car knitting project, and settled on the Shawl Collared Cowl by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.  Actually I have knit two of these now.  The first is softer and more comfortable and my favorite – I can wear it over a long sleeve T like a scarf – but the Icelandic one would be great on a cold winter day tucked inside the neck of a coat.

using Ella Rae “Kamelsoft” 75% merino/25% camel

using Tongue River Farm Icelandic from very old stash!

Also finished a sweater I have had underway for a couple of months:  Bedford by Michelle Wang (also found in Brooklyn Tweed Fall 2011 collection). I used Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton “Heaven’s Hand Wool Classic” in the dark cherry colorway.  I love, love, love this sweater, it is so comfortable and “just right”.

Socializing

We had out of town guests for 4 nights last weekend, and as they are very self-sufficient (having lived in the valley previously) it was an enjoyable and relaxing time.  The weather was mixed – cold and foggy some days, gloriously sunny others – and we got out for some nice walks.  Spring is definitely around the corner, although there is still plenty of snow on the ground here.

Last week there was the monthly Methow Conservancy First Tuesday program at the Twisp River Pub.  The place was packed, maybe 200 people!  And they were serving a buffet dinner beforehand- it was kind of a mad house.  Anyway we lucked out and found a place to sit with friends, and had a great time.  The speaker was David Moskowitz, who has just come out with a new book called Wolves in the Land of Salmon (the land of salmon being the greater Pacific Northwest).  Fabulous photography.

Other People’s Knitting Dept

One of the women who took my beaded cuff class has really taken off with it.  Mostly, she is coming up with her own pattern charts now.  Thought I would share some pictures of her cuffs, as seen at our weekly Thursday evening knitting get-together:

with a thumbhole!