ArgoKnot

Author name: ozweaver

>Knitting, Weaving…as the years tick by

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Jan. 10 042

Friday was my birthday, and as a little treat I ordered a kit for the cute lace beret from Sunday Knits. It arrived just in time for a weekend of knitting!

I used one skein of Carol Sunday’s yarn called ‘Angelic,’  a blend of merino and angora (80/20).  It has turned out somewhat large, as you might guess from the tam on the right.  The Fair Isle tam on the right is somewhat small, but at least wearable!  The lace beret really is not wearable.  I’m considering shrinking it…which probably means I’ll be giving it to some little girl for her dollie.  Sigh….

Jan. 10 034

The beginnings of the medieval spinner.  You can see at the bottom that I practiced making eyes and lips.  I figured I’d do this small sample of her face before tackling the entire piece. It seemed to me that her face and hands require the most detail, so if I worked out the sett needed for those I’d be ready to decide on the size for the whole work. At this sett of 10 epi the entire piece will be 24” x 24”.

I also thought I’d submit this small exercise to the ATA small format exhibit, but I think I missed the deadline for the paper work! I guess I was distracted by my birthday, which was lovely!

Toika

The Toika is (mostly) tied up!  I need a second spool of Texsolv for the rest of the treadles, and I need a boatload more stoppers for the cords to the treadles.  The hardest part is done, and I feel like I’ve conquered a huge feat!  I’ve been looking at weave structures for a table cloth.

Alas, no taka dai, but with the loss of my husband’s job, he is way too busy concentrating on what he’ll do next to tackle a woodworking project. 

>New Beginnings

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“A day late and a dollar short”…. okay, maybe two weeks late… an old phrase that always pops into mind when I fall behind on things.

I’ve had computer problems for several weeks now and have finally gotten a temporary solution.  I know I need a new computer, but that is not at the top of my list right now!

Like many I know, I wrote a post about my new year’s resolutions (two of them), and it went out into the ether somewhere.  I picture it as a small piece of cyber trash floating in black space.  Shame on me for polluting the ether!

Do I want to name all the things that have prevented me from being my usual self these past few months?  Maybe.  While I think of this blog as a place where I can write openly about my creative life, lately every time I began a post the worries of my personal life felt like a gag in my mouth and bindings around my wrists.

After six months of uncertainty, worry and stress, my husband lost his job on Jan. 4th.  I can say that the stress of worrying was considerably greater than the reality of being jobless!  He’s been home for two weeks now, and we are doing well!

We have two new babies in our family, and both were high risk pregnancies.  I’m thrilled that all has ended well with healthy baby girls in both cases.  Now I can knit without praying so hard for their safe arrival.  Now begins the typical worry that all parents, relatives and friends feel for their precious young ones, and that is a happy relief from worrying about their arrival!

Back in the studio, I am working on my medieval woman, drawing for exercise and for design possibilities, knitting some fun, frivolous things.  Now that we’ve used my video camera successfully once (the embarrassing sabering moment), I hope to make some knitting videos! 

I will post photos shortly!

>Making a list…

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The winter holidays always bring out the list-making, goal -oriented part of my personality.  Here is this year’s list of goals, all unrealistically slated to be accomplished during the week between Christmas and New Year!

1.  Texsolv tie-ups to be applied to my 60” Toika loom

2.  Choose pattern for napkins which will be woven as test samples for future tablecloth project on the Toika . Warp the loom!

2.  Taka dai to be made by Bob according to Rodrick’s plans.  Naturally I will be turning out my first braid within hours of the taka dai’s completion.

Taka Dai Rodrick

3. Dyeing with my avocado pit brew which has been steeping for almost 3 months now. This means spinning some white wool to dye.

4.  Weave the small test tapestry for the medieval spinner with the wonderful wools that have arrived from Renaissance Dyeing in France.

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Won’t I have a busy week!  And somehow I imagine myself sharing delicious meals with my visiting family, lounging on the sofa reading all the fiber magazines that never got opened during the course of this year, continuing to knit my handspun Fair Isle sweater project, and starting a new baby sweater for the upcoming Feb. birth.  Dec. 2009 006

I need a dose of reality!…but then dreaming is so much more fun!

>Christmas Cheer to all

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…or what happens when the 20-somethings outnumber the 50-somethings at the family Christmas celebration.

>Buy Handmade

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Goodbye funk….

Regretsy advent20

I regret that I am posting this so late in advent.  It’s dangerous to look at too many of these at once because your laughing fit may cause accelerated heart rate, inability to breathe, and severe stomach ache.  You’ve been warned!

www.regretsy.com

 

This is as good as You Knit What? that I’ve sorely missed!
Thank you, Helen Killer!

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