Elmo Gets A Trimmin'

With the duplicate stitch done in Fun Fur, Elmo was looking a bit too furry.



Okay....he was looking a LOT too furry.



So I gave him a trimmin'.



Ahhhhh! Much better!

Elmo Nightmare

Instarsia AND duplicate stitching with "Fun Fur"! What was I thinking?

I was thinking I love my granddaughter very much and she is totally worth the trouble.

Shhhh! Don't tell her. It's a Christmas present.

Amber Revontuli

This was a very different project for me. Oh I've knit lace shawls before. I've even knit them from my own handspun before. The difference with this one though is that I knit the entire thing without a specific recipient in mind.

Admittedly I knit most projects for my own use. After all, I'm the only person who truly understands and appreciates how much work has gone into the creation. This is particularly true when the article was not only hand knit, but also hand spun. The yarn for this particular shawl was all spun on a drop spindle too, which is more labour intensive than spinning it on a spinning wheel.

To add to the labour involved, I beaded a row in each repeat. My oldest daughter patiently sat by my side loading a crochet hook with a bead and handing it to me....every other stitch all across these long rows. Thanks Lisa!

All that work and I did it knowing that this colourway does not suit me at all. I LIKE the colours, in fact my home is decorated in beige and brown, but the shawl is too small to be an afghan.

How odd that I felt so compelled to knit this and worked on it obsessively until it was complete, yet have no recipient in mind for the finished object.

Maybe I will sell it. Maybe I will be inspired to give it away to someone who needs a warm hug. We'll see.

30 Years Later

My mom knit this sweater set for my oldest daughter nearly 30 years ago.

It was worn by each of my 3 children, and is now being worn by my granddaughter!

Revontuli Beginning

First I spindle spun two different, yet related colourways of hand dyed merino/silk (by Fleece Artist). This amber/rust/copper/bronze colourway and a gold/amber one.

Then I plied the two together on my wheel. Turned upside down the glass measuring cups are heavy enough to hold the balls of singles in place and yet the pouring spout is a convenient gap to pull the strands though.

Even though this autumn-like colourway is not at all flattering to my skin tone, I do like it and I couldn't wait to knit something up with it.

I cast on today for the Revontuli Shawl. I'm using one strand of the handspun and one strand of Crystal Palace Kid Merino held together. I may decide to place amber coloured beads in some of the outer rows.