Studio Notes

Some things are worth struggling with acrylic yarn. These are caps for newborns, my contribution to Knit One Save One.  The deadline has been extended to the end of January, so there’s still plenty of time to knit one.

All the information, including some simple patterns, is available for download. Just click the link above and start knitting!  The hearts of gold cap doesn’t have a pattern.  I made it up as I went along.

Are you knitting for a good cause?  Tell us about it!

The tour of my studio continues with a small collection of tools, all made from tulipwood.

The circle at top left is a diz, used for drawing roving off a hackle or combs. It has a matching threader at top center. At top right is a WPI gauge, used for measuring the size of yarn in wraps per inch.

At bottom left is a small niddy-noddy that makes a 15-inch skein.

All of these were created by Rod Stevens of Woodchuck Products, Taos, NM.

At bottom right is a drop spindle with a tulipwood whorl and ebony shaft. This arrived yesterday, and you can see that I’ve already tested it with some qiviut fiber, and declared it a worthy addition to my collection. It was created by Jonathan and Sheila Bosworth of Journey Wheel, Acton, MA.

I have been busy as an ambassador for spinning and knitting.  I spin and knit on the train and the subway, and find myself explaining what I am doing, and letting people know that there’s a great spinning circle in NYC, called Spin City, and a new knitting circle in New Rochelle, so new that it has no name. 

What do you do to promote the fiber arts?

Other than my Lendrum spinning wheel and some Romney roving, I haven’t had time to use many of my Rhinebeck goodies. I am half a sock away from being able to start a pair of Corbie silk and wool socks, out of the legendary Socks that Rock. I can’t believe I faced the crowds at The Fold, just to snatch up a few gems.

The Corbie is at the bottom of the picture. It’s a difficult color to capture in a photo. The black is nuanced with grey, blue and green. I’ll be making a pair of socks for my friend G. He’s been a good friend through some tough times, and deserves an awesome pair of handknit socks.

After that, the Sauvie Island socks are calling my name. That’s the yarn on the left and the sock on the cover of the book. Actually, I’ve been getting ahead of myself just a little bit, working on these when I can’t stand to wait for their turn. I don’t like to have too many projects going on at once, but these are irresistible.

These socks are so whimsical. I love making bobbles, and am looking forward to lots more fair isling. There is a really good video tutorial by Philosopher’s Wool on the two-handed fair isle technique.

I picked up five more skeins of Socks that Rock, and I have absolutely no idea what I’ll do with them.  Socks, gloves, mittens; the possibilites are limitless.