Clay threads

I have had a busy June working in clay.  The closest I got to yarn was spindle spinning some wool for this piece titled Spinning Tales. 

At first I intended a porcelain skirt on this piece with a string coming out of the mouth.  The loose, slubby wool look more ethereal and natural.  I also wanted the tight twists with little loops.  I  soaked the wool yarn and let it dry all curly and lumpy.  It was perfect for this piece.

 

Now that the pieces for the exhibit is done, I will do some knitting.  I still have lots of yarn to get through and lot more tales to spin.

duckling feet with a secret splash of knitted color

Pink Surprise Sock

 

 

 

Just finished Plan As You Go Socks with leftover Koigu KPPM/Regia Sock Yarn (Brown)

Lately I have been working in the clay studio all day long.  By the time I clean up and cook dinner, I'm too tired to think about complicated lace patterns.  I do love to knit in the evening while watching old reruns on the tv.  No chart, no instructions, no reading.  So that leaves plain old socks.  I have duckling feet.  Short, but wide.  The advantage of this is it doesn't take long to knit a pair of socks and not as much yardage.  I love knitting with Koigu and Shibui yarns.  I still need two skeins of these yarns to make a pair, but I end up with enough to knit up toes and heels and mixed with just one new skein I have another pair of socks.  The possibilities are endless.  With a basic toe up sock pattern and a stripey pattern, I can knit away.  I actually find the stockinette stitch very soothing.  I love the idea of having only a neutral color showing, but when I take off my shoes there's a shocking shade of pink. Or this subtle shade of turquoise, stippled as if a painting.  I paddle about on my duckling feet comforted by this little secret splash of color about my toes.

 

 

Turquoise Sky Socks

Toe up ending  with simple double eyelet rib

 

 

For my simple Turquoise Sky Socks I started with a basic toe up pattern.  I had a full skein of the flax in Patons Kroy Socks and a bit of Patons Kroy Socks FX in Camo.  I used only the blue to gray part for the toes.  Once I had done all the increases I needed (for me, 60 stitches total) I started with the flax and went on up ending with 24 rows of double eyelet rib.  This yarn washes up to a soft bloom.  I love these socks.  It reminds me of our summer days of gray fog in the morning and just a peek of turquoise sky in the afternoon.

Spring Rains Hat

All done! And it's beautiful outside. We had some rain and rain and rain.  I finished this hat just as the last raindrop fell.  The colors remind me of our rolling hills in the spring with velvet green grass, bright poppies and pale blue skies.  Here's to spring.....welcome!

Slipping away the yarn

Here's my reasoning concerning the baskets of yarn I own (hoard).  Most of it is a combination of leftovers from other projects or testing skeins.  Hmmm.  Okay.  I can work with that for a while.  In any case, I am still trying to use up all the bits and "had to have a least one skein." Sometimes I have something in mind, but don't have a pattern.  So I get an extra skein.  You know what I am saying.  You know you do.

The above hat (or it may turn into a bowl) uses up leftover:

Color A:  Debbie Bliss Cashmerino 503 green.
Color B:  Nashua Julia (Honey Gold)
Color C:  Berroco Ultra Alpaca Steel Blue


This is a small hat with a 20" circumference.  A hat about 21" is in parentheses.

Gauge:  4.5 stitches per inch
Needles:  Size 6 - 16" circulars

CO 96 stitches. Connect placing marker to mark start of row.

Rib K2.P2 for 5 rows in color A (green).

Row 1 Color B Knit.
Row 2 Color B Knit.
Row 3 Color C Knit 1.  *slip  1 purlwise, yb, k1.* repeat until last stitch. K1.
Row 4 Color C Purl 1.  *yf, slip 1 purlwise, purl 1.* repeat until last stitch. P1
Row 5 Color A Knit.
Row 6 Color A Knit.

Row 7 Color B Purl 2.  *slip  1 purlwise, yb, k1.* repeat until last stitch. K1.
Row 8 Color B Purl 2.  *yf, slip 1 purlwise,  p 1.* repeat until last stitch. P1.

Repeat  beginning with Color C.  Do this for about 6" ending at row 8.

Decrease to get star pattern decrease.  Since I had  96 stitches= 12x8.  Knit 12, pm. Repeat to end. PM.

Knit 11, ktog, pm.  Do this all around.  Do not forget last marker.

Knit around slipping markers.

Follow pattern until last two stitches before marker.  Knit together.  Continue.

Continue in this fashion following pattern repeat once.

Begin decreasing every row until 8 stitches left. Fasten off in usual fashion. 

Knitting like crazy

Knitting like crazy and loving it except I made an error on the link for PupTent Hat yesterday.  I corrected it.  It's from the blog-Caterpillar Green.  The knitter's name I got right.  I am also doing a hat by Woolly Wormhead call Meret. My brain has become a big ball of yarn and got a little tangled. My Meret was a little small so I will frog it.  I will try again and this time

check

  my gauge 

!

 

Pup Tent by Catherine Gamroth

Still yarn stash busting.  This charming slouchy hat is done in Berocco Vintage Chunky in a moss green.  It is firm enough to hold up the stitches yet soft against the skin.  I had little less than a full skein.  The model is Porcelain Hands by me.  It had come back from a gallery exhibit and the gallery had tossed its box. It came home in the back of a pickup truck with blankets and crossed fingers.  My crossed fingers.  It graces my living area until I can make a new box for it.  In the meanwhile it is perfect for modeling hats. 

Old layette sweater

Spring cleaning linen closet

found crumbled in back

husband's old layette sweater

--momo

Look what I found.  For some reason my mother-in-law gave me Herr Reinhart's baby sweater years ago.  His grandmother made these sweaters for all the babies.  I am going to copy it.  It is crocheted in one piece with a seam up the each side and sleeve.  I know how to crochet, but I would love to knit something like this, too. 

It's funny to think that Herr Reinhart was once that little and wore that sweet sweater.  As he was the second son, I think there was some hope for a girl. It was worn and washed many times from the look of it.  When I figure it all out I will post directions and photos.