Stop Me Before I Clap Again

I did not mean to do this. I have been swatching and thinking about a shawl for a close friend. Her office is drafty and she is chilly there just about year round. I made some lace swatches and blocked them, and I even liked one of them. Then I saw the perfect shade of Silk Garden for her. This yarn was made for her more than any other yarn that I have seen. I bought it. I knew exactly what it should be. I cast on last night:

I can just about knit this pattern in my sleep now. My fingers know what to do without looking, kind of like they know certain chord progressions and scales on just about about a molecular level. I have two more increase sections to go.  I would like to finish before I see her next weekend and I hope that I am not jinxing myself by setting a deadline.

In other news, a pair of pileated woodpeckers has been with us for weeks now, pretty much at the same time every morning. Today they were on either side of a suet feeder together and I grabbed my camera about two minutes too late – by the time I got back to the window they were in other positions. I am ready for tomorrow.

 

More like a blankie

Yesterday I cast off the Big Kureyon Clapotis. I needed it today. I had to go to work with a cold and a cough. I wanted to stay at home in my jammies. Since I could not, I was wrapped up in what can only be called a giant Clapotis blankie. Possibly this was an overly dramatic representation of my pitiful condition, but possibly it was also a fashion statement. A little ambiguity is sometimes called for.

When I first started thinking about using Big Kureyon, I inquired in the Clapotis group at Ravelry. One very experienced Clap knitter replied that a Clapotis blanket would be an awesome gift. This yarn is bulky weight, which means that there is nothing scarf-like about the final result.

I did not knit all of the increases or straight sections and it is still 28 inches wide and 80 inches long. I used 4 and a half skeins of Big Kureyon. I stopped the increases when the first skein ran out. I stopped the straight section when I knew that it was already ginormous.

It is warm. It is gray with black, maroon, and some other wacky colors thrown in with that noro-esque flair. A detail from part of my favorite section:

 

Big Kureyon is B I G

Last night I finished up with one skein of Big Kureyon. After knitting 5 full sets of increase rows, my Clapotis measured around 27 inches. I started the straight section. I only have 5 skeins, but I think this is going to give me a nice fluffy and quite-large-enough wrap. I am using US 11 needles for a fairly loose stitch so that I do not lose the drapey effect that makes a Clapotis so appealing.

Inventory of the 2007 knitting:

• 6 pairs of socks
• 18 scarves
• 1 Clapotis, which does not count as a scarf in my humble opinion.
• 1 shawl
• 3 baby sweaters
• 2 washcloths
• 1 sweater for Rich
• 6 sets of fingerless mitts
• all the squares for a blanket – waiting to be stitched together sometime soon.

I am sure I forgot some stuff because I did not photograph everything. This is a satisfying list to me. Most of what I knit was given away – which feels just fine. This year I think I would like to knit for myself a bit more but I am also realistic. Knitting for others feels good and I like it.

 

Happy New Year

My wish for everyone: openness to love in 2008. Love comes to us in so many ways, and we do not always recognize it.

Yesterday I received a holiday letter from my friend and teacher Kathleen. She included a quote from Stephen Levine, who wrote this about service:

Act for the benefit of others
Clear the mind so you can see the way
Remind each other of our true nature
Act with grace for no reason
And stop making excuses
Nothing is random or preset
So respond from true freedom
Don’t let fear or beauty block your way
It takes courage to be moral
To give up the dissatisfaction
Compassion is fearlessness.

************************************

Swatch of Big Kureyon meets Clapotis:

This is knitting at 3 stitches to the inch and is already 15 inches wide with only 2 sets of increase rows finished. It could end up in the frog pond. I am committed to knitting two skeins before I make a final decision.

 

Walnut Dye Results

I couldn’t bring myself to dump out my large pot of walnut-y goodness until I used it all up. On Friday I dyed:

3 skeins of E.Lavold Silky Wool

1 skein of Louet Gems

1 skein of Cascade

I simmered the Cascade for about an hour, and the rest for 90 minutes. I wanted the Cascade to be a medium shade so that I could knit something interesting with all of the worsted weight. I was also hoping to somewhat control my results on the Silky Wool because I have 6 other skeins that I want to work all together.

Except for the baby alpaca, which dried quickly and has already been put away, everything else is here:

and clicking the photo will take you over to my Flickr page, which has notes over the individual skeins.

In answer to a question, my dye recipe is more or less this:

Gather walnuts, hulls and all. The outer hull, which starts out green and eventually turns dark brown, is the important part. Soak these hulls in water at least overnight, but longer is better. The first dyebath that I did with this year’s nuts soaked for a few days. This second batch soaked for 4 weeks. Dump the walnuts and their soaking water into a big pot and boil for an hour. Wait for the pot to cool and strain out the giant mess. I put a large colander in my pot and the walnuts more or less stay put, which makes straining much easier.

Wet out the wool, stick it into the pot, and simmer. Move it about the pot gently from time to time. Because it takes some time for the pot to cool, I usually end up doing the actual dyeing the next day. I don’t want to shock my wool by putting it into a hot dyebath. Sometimes I remove wool from the pot, let it cool, and then rinse. Sometimes I let the entire pot cool off before removing the wool – this results in a deeper shade.  Different types of wool and wool blends take the dye in a range of shades, and the amount of walnut material per weight of goods makes a difference too. No mordant is necessary with walnuts.

I have kept a dye notebook for two decades with fairly detailed notes and samples, but it’s okay to play and not be so obsessed. I have never seen a natural dye bath that was not lovely.  My favorite reference book for natural dyes is A Dyer’s Garden by Rita Buchanan.

Yesterday I cast off on a Clapotis, knit from Silk Garden 252. It’s all soft and drapey and will go to work with me.