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Episode 325

March 2, 2024March 2, 2024 by Sara

I am so incredibly pleased with this Eun sweater (designed by Ane Fiskum Sunde) and knit with Cascade 220 Sport and Shibui Silk Cloud held together. Details of the modifications are discussed in this episode and they appear on my Ravelry entry for this project.

Here is my completed spin of 1/4 fleece from Lenore of Shepherd’s Hey farm. This fiber was washed and carded, then spun and plied on my Löuet s10 DT. I have 1000+ yards and my plan is to knit Hatsuki, a relaxed pullover with wide rib and lace details, designed by rievive.

Over the next 100 days, I’ll be using meditative time in the morning to spin on my small but cherished collection of suspended spindles. Pictured here is my favorite of the lot, an Aegean spindle from Jenkins Spindles. In my spindle box is one of my favorite Wendell Berry passages, as well as rolags that I’ve created from my fiber stash. One set of three rolags takes about a week to spin — then I’ll post some photos in IG, remove that turtle from my spindle, and choose another spindle for the upcoming week. Look for Sunday posts to my IG stories or seen the accumulating posts HERE.

In addition to signing on to #the100dayproject, as prompted by Beverly Army in her Creative Endeavors newsletter, I also added my name to her list of paper cut postcard recipients and received this striking card in the mail. Seeing the work of other makers accumulate over 100 days is incredibly motivating and serves as a source of inspiration, too.

Since completing the Eun sweater, I have returned to knitting on this sweater with a botanical motif. The yarn is fingering weight yarn dyed by Patricia of Tidal Yarns, and it is an absolute dream. Here I have just completed the colorwork, which is an altered version of the chart for Pusteblumen, truncated to take up 40 columns and about 70 rows. I’m using numbers and directions for the Därta sweater that I knit this fall, with some modifications like a split hem. Thank goodness I kept some very good notes the first time I knit this sweater! Projects like this allow me to exercise my design mind and create the exact garment that I want.

POEM: “Purification” by Wendell Berry, from Teaching with Fire

Orange is a very special space in Delaware Water Gap, PA. Click the link for more information on events and openings at Orange. I am working to develop a series of handwork / slow fashion courses that will take place this summer in this inviting, well-lit, and tranquil space. When courses are available, they will be listed on the EVENTS page.

One thought on “Episode 325”

Nancy says:

March 4, 2024 at 2:06 am

How thrilling to be called an “astute knitter”! Hatsuki is very adaptable. Mine is knit in a very drapey wool yarn spun from mill waste; a friend is using Purl Soho’s Linen Quill. I think your handspun will be fabulous.

And thanks for Wendell Berry’s excellent example!

Arrows and Doorways

The design for this super-cozy cowl was inspired by textiles in a hotel lobby. Concentric geometric shapes kept playing in my mind until finally I was able to chart the pattern and get it onto my needles. The interplay of this chevron-like patterning has a mesmerizing effect–while you’re knitting and when you wear the finished accessory.

Knit up a cowl with yarn from your stash, adding some magical new mini-skeins from your advent calendar, or exchange leftover yarn with a friend. The design invites frequent color changes, and makes an ideal knit for the advent season. It could be just as striking knit with two high-contrast colors.

While most cowls of this type are seamed within a band of a single color, this pattern incorporates a technique called stranded donut grafting, an incredibly clever and completely seamless graft that allows you to maintain colorwork patterning so that your starting and ending rounds are undetectable. Really! With many possibilities for color play and a new technique to add to your skill set, this cowl pattern is really an opportunity for knitters to level-up!

NEW PATTERN DESIGN!

ONE DARK BLUE NIGHT

This hat is the third in a series of patterns inspired by teachings in Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves. This time, I drew inspiration from Estés’ retelling of a Japanese tale, Tsukina Waguma or “The Crescent Moon Bear,” in which a young woman travels to the cave of an incredibly intimidating and ferocious bear. She makes several journeys to the cave, leaving food and quickly retreating, until “one dark blue night,” she musters the courage to stand her ground and ask for what she seeks--one hair from a moon-shaped patch on the bear’s chest--which she is granted. The young woman returns, triumphant, to the old healer who has sent her on this quest. She believes this single hair is the magic ingredient in solving the problem that plagues her. She holds it forth, but the healer tosses the hair into the flames. The young woman is in despair until she realizes the true lesson of her quest: that using her determination, courage, and patience, as she did with the crescent moon bear, will help her to confront the challenge at hand.

The moon phase motif of this colorwork hat is meant to capture the magic of a dark blue night--when the moon shines brightly overhead, the frosty air sparkles with possibility, and we succeed in summoning accumulated wisdom from deep within ourselves so that we can apply it to our own healing. Choose colors to conjure a wintery night sky, or select a palette of your signature colors.

Available on Ravelry December 20th.

Yarns at Yin Hoo

Episode 325

One thought on “Episode 325”

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