norahsknits

Pics of some items being blocked. I used to do full-blown pinned wet blocking, but have simplified my process recently.

Earlier this month, Franklin Habit taught three days of workshops for the Weavers Guild of St. Louis . The first day's subject was Mosaic Knitting.  After the workshop, I knit a small project using the technique. The yarn used is  Queensland Collection Brisbane - pure Australian superwash wool, 144 yds per ball, "5" weight (bulky or chunky weight). I purchased 2 balls at Knitorious recently - black and a black and white gradient. The yarn has a nice, squishy squeezability to it. The pattern is a modified version of the first Mosaic Knitting pattern in this Vogue Knitting magazine from 2014 (Winter 2014/15), which I happened to be paging through after the workshop.  (I also noticed a fair number of MK patterns in my back issues of Rowan magazine, although the technique is not labeled (never noticed before that the technique being used is never labeled in the Rowan magazines).)  I'm planning another project using the technique from the knitting plaid workshop t...

I had a lot of scrap yarn and odds and ends saved up, so decided to use it for a really big bag. I used a big crochet hook and multiple strands of yarn. I'm planning to line this bag with the intact sections of old blue jeans. The last photo shows the inside pockets, one on each side. The plan is to attach the handles before inserting the lining.

I recently visited Purl Soho in NYC with my sister. She purchased a skein of Purl's silk yarn, which I agreed to knit up for her. We were actually in Little Italy/Chinatown, and realized that we were also close to 459 Broome St., so we walked over. I'm using a new-to-me lace pattern called Ostrich Plumes, which I saw in a recent knitting magazine. (Actually, I've seen it before but never tried it.) The pattern is a variation on the Old Shale pattern, which I use a lot in both knit and crochet. The difference is that the patterning is reversed every 12 rows. I will be edging this with crochet when the knitting is finished. Edit: photo of the finished scarf with crocheted edging is at the end of this post.  Also pictured below is a view of a scarf and a shawl in another new pattern, which I found in a Japanese knitting pattern book (recent purchase). Interestingly, this same pattern is shown in patterns in several recent knitting magazines that I have seen, so I'm not...

I'm thinking that I will put some of my hand-crocheted handbags in the Weavers Guild of St. Louis sale this year, in October. The bags are lined and most have magnetic snap closures. These were all made in recent weeks. The dark green button on the blue, turquoise and black bag is a vintage button given to me by someone in a knitting group I used to go to. The dark green, red and black bag is not completely finished yet - I'm waiting for an order of magnetic snaps to come in before sewing in the lining - that's why you can see a speck of lining and can maybe see a pin.

This scarf uses yarn purchased at the Weavers Guild of St. Louis' DeStash event which was held a few weeks ago. The light-colored yarn is all-silk, four strands held together, giving a bulky weight. The black yarn is silk/merino yarn from my stash. While I'm not sure the scarf is suitable for spring/summer, it is really attractive. The bag is lined, with a functional button. It is crocheted, using a reverse single-crochet to finish the edge. The scarf has not been blocked yet - I'm leaving that up to the person I made it for!!

I recently had great fun participating in an Eco-Dyeing workshop, using leaves (and other materials) to dye silk scarves. I'm in the center above, and my two scarves are the third and fourth ones from the left. The workshop was held at Sharon Kilfoyle 's mid-Missouri studio, and all materials were provided. Several of us from the Weavers Guild of St. Louis drove out for the workshop, bringing snacks and a pot-luck lunch with us. More details on my scarves: the pale turquoise one (3rd from left) is raw silk, and takes the dye differently than the silk charmeuse one to the right of it (the one with the bright blues and red on the clothes line in front of me). The leaves I used were ginko leaves and sweetgum leaves.