Saturday, July 16, 2011

Lace Knitting

The middle of May, Gina Mitchell and myself decided to knit the Summer Mystery Shawlette  with other knitters at Wendy Knits.   We received the first clue on May 15th and the last clue on June 2nd.  There were five clues:



All we knew were the dimensions and that it was a shawlette.  What fun we had.  The shawl is so addictive.The last clue became available while we were at the Hoosier Hills Fiber Arts Festival   so we downloaded the Clue to our phones so we could continue knitting.    Gina and I are both knitting a second one.  Sharon Harmon of our knit group has knitted one and several others have started knitting, too. 

The shawl begins by casting on the largest number of stitches you will have to knit and decreases every pattern row provide the shaping of the shawl.  It was advertised as a top down shawl but I think it is better described as an "outside in" shawl.  The last few stitches you bind off actually are the center of the top edge.  

There is an active "thread" on this shawlette at Ravelry

This shawlette has been so motivating and inspirational that Gina is now designing lace shawls.  Can't wait to see what she knits up. 

The Summer Mystery Shawlette designer, Wendy Johnson, has a book "Wendy Knits Lace: Essential Techniques and Patterns for Irresistible Everyday Lace [Paperback], scheduled for release August 23rd. 

I have already pre-ordered my copy.

Upcoming Activities at The Fiber Closet
Dyeing Sock Yarn:   August--Yes, we are going to play with dye. 

Card Weaving:  We have been re-exploring this ancient weaving technique.

Knooking:  We are also having fun with this technique.

Before I stop blogging, I would like all of your to think about the 3/50  project.  Finances are tough for everyone and we all need to support each other. 


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Card Weaving

This week at the Fiber Closet we worked on  some of the basics of the ancient craft of card or tablet weaving.

The bands woven with cards can be used for belts, dog leashes, decorative accents and more.

Card weaving can be incorporated into loom weaving for a beautiful embellishment.

We will be working more with cards in the future.  TZ5RFH5K785H