July 24, 2007 at 10:30 am · Filed under musing, felting
I’m ready to get serious about felting. I’ve done two felted projects before. The first was a sling bag from Cat Bordhi’s second Moebius book. I totally overfelted it, producing an unlovely object. Actually, I had put two half turns in the strap - instead of one - so it wasn’t even a real Moebius. I think I will cut off the strap, sew a zipper in the top, and it will turn out to be a Useful Bag to Put Things In.
My second completed felted project was slipper-socks for my dad. I hovered over the washing machine, checking every few minutes. Fortunately my dad was nearby and he could try them on repeatedly until they had shrunk the perfect amount. Success at last!
That was last summer, and I have since then knitted another Moebius bag (see here), a hat from a Fiber Trends pattern (thanks to friend Judy for lending me the pattern), and a gigantic shoulder sling bag from a Two Old Bags pattern. BUT……I haven’t felted any of them yet.
At first, I didn’t really understand the appeal of felting. I don’t much care for knitting miles of plain stockinette stitch, so I thought I would be bored by the knitting part. But after seeing friends’ felted bags, and reading about felted slippers, bowls, baskets, hats, and even cat beds, for gosh sakes, I was intrigued and soon determined to join the happy felting throngs.
I plan to felt all three unfelted objects in the next two weeks. I’ll post the results.
July 14, 2007 at 8:07 am · Filed under musing, socks
Here is a pair of socks that I think of as the companion to Mrs. Montague’s. They are knit in Wildfoote Forest Fog, with Pine Tree heels, toes, and cuffs. The pattern is Ladder Lace Rib from Barbara Walker’s second treasury.
Ladder Lace Rib appears to be more or less lacy, depending on whether you’re looking at it straight or at an angle. I wore them to a prairie restoration work day and got a couple of snags, so I’ve learned to wear them only for tame situations.
I’ve been a knitter for several decades, and in most of that time only made a few pairs of socks. My recent burst of sock knitting has been due to the fortuitous coming together of a group of factors: first, I absolutely fell in love with Priscilla Gibson-Roberts’s book Simple Socks. Once I read it I just had to try out the technique. Then, I came across a lovely display of that new-fangled self-striping sock yarn and decided to use that for my first pair of Simple Socks. I used a set of OO dpns, hoping to get a good sock yarn gauge, but was totally frustrated when the needles fell out every time I picked up my knitting. Arrrgh. Then, I remembered the idea of knitting a small tube on two circular needles. Fortunately I already owned two 16 inch size O needles, so I switched over to those.
Success! My gauge was fine, and I loved the way the first pair of socks turned out. I realized that sock knitting would be a perfect avenue for indulging my love of the Barbara Walker knitting pattern treasuries, and I have had such fun exploring the stitches. There is no end in sight, as I have lots of ideas.
