All knit, all the time

The holidays are coming, so I am focusing on handknits as gifts. My son and his girl friend each get a pair of socks, my daughter and granddaughter will be receiving slouchy hats, and I hope to have my SO's replacement scarf finished by then. Meanwhile, everything else will sit on the back burner.

Crochet: The second Emotional Support Chicken is done except for the piecing. In search of an easy pattern my granddaughter could work on independently, I started a double crochet cowl as an experiment; it looks like a contender.

Knitting: Bigfoot's socks are done but for the weaving of the ends. Slouchy hat number one is underway.

Last week I forgot to mention some sock yarn I purchased at Three Moons Fiberworks in Chesterton. It's ice dyed, a process that separates the individual colors that make up acid dye. I'm hoping it looks nice knitted up, not like camo.

And at the owl expo, I bought this Japanese knot bag from a vendor. By placing yarn inside and slipping one handle into the other, a knitter can be mobile while knitting. This would be useful when I am knitting in public but don't want to put my tote bag on the floor. It's also handy for car knitting.


I'm taking it (relatively) easy on Thanksgiving: pot roast (with potatoes, carrots, onions) and crescent rolls. My SO is baking a pumpkin pie. It will be a quiet day. Hope you enjoy yours.

Out and about

This past weekend, we had a family gathering in Michigan City (where my son lives), as we do every year around this time of year. Usually, we bring bad weather with us, but this time it wasn't too bad. We hike a bit and sightsee a bit and eat a lot. We do this instead of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

My SO and I visited the Lubeznik Center for the Arts. One of the current exhibits is called "Healers and Dreamers". Savneet K. Talwar is (among other things) a fiber artist and art therapist. These two pieces (one a smaller study of the other) are about the partitioning of Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan in 1947 after the British left. The red line represents the Radcliff Line, an arbitrary border between the emerging states. The top piece was woven on a Jacquard loom.

One of the interactive elements of the exhibit was created by Rita Grendze. During the pandemic, she sifted through her recently deceased mother's yarn stash and unfinished objects. She created Collective Comfort from these materials.

When I hugged the piece below, I choked up, overcome with emotion. Whether they were internal feelings brought to the surface or the traumas absorbed by the piece itself, I don't know. I just found it a very moving experience.

We also visited the La Porte County Historical Society Museum. Like most local museums, there is a treasure trove of memorabilia, some of it nostalgic for my SO and me.

From farther into the past were uses for human hair.

It used to be nothing went to waste.

Crochet: While the knit version of the Emotional Support Chicken has yet to be assembled, I started on a crochet version.
Knitting: I was hoping to get some knitting done on our trip, but we were rather busy (and I drove). I'm on the toes of Big Foot's socks.

Every holiday season, my daughter requests more slouchy hats. I've noticed that the previous ones have pilled a lot, so I decided to knit some this year from Jamieson and Smith Shetland wool. Shetland wool has many qualities: it doesn't irritate because the fiber lacks guard hairs; it wears well; and it doesn't pill like so many other fibers (merino, I'm looking at you!) A good source for this wool is The Woolly Thistle. Requested colors were "neutral", so I purchased 'Flugga White', 'Shetland Light Grey', and 'Shetland Black'.

The program at last week's spinning guild meeting was about Tunisian crochet. It produces a lovely fabric. This book was the recommended one.

Per usual, I got a little excited about taking on yet another fiber craft. I've calmed down a bit now, but will probably check the book out from the local library to see just what it's all about.

Am I a fiber snob?

I have about ten pairs of black pants in my closet, of various sizes and weights, none of which I wear on a regular basis (like not at all). They are "just in case" I need to wear something besides jeans. Most are polyester, not very warm in the winter.

Once upon a time, one could purchase a pair of wool slacks at a department store. That is what I would like, but finding something that is 100% wool and affordable is nearly impossible. I'm tempted to try sewing a pair... but they would probably hang unworn in the closet with the rest of my "dressy" pants. I'm open to suggestions.

Knitting: Cora the ESC is almost done - just need to put the pieces together and stuff her. Bigfoot's socks are a few rounds from the toes.

And that is about all the fibering I have done this past week. We drove to the Honeywell Center in Wabash to take in an exhibit by one of my fiber friends, and per usual, now I don't feel well. It seems every time we go somewhere, I pick up some fresh germs that leave me feeling low for a day or two. I need a nap.

Road trip to Cranbrook

This past week, my SO and I drove up to Cranbrook Art Museum to see an exhibit by Toshiko Takaezu. The artist is known for her ceramics, but she also was a painter and a WEAVER. In fact, she was besties with Lenore Tawney (who has a cameo piece in the exhibit). We came for the ceramics (which were amazing), but the weaving was icing on the cake.

"Ne (Roots)"
Wool, cotton, linen, silk, and rayon (plain weave, knotted pile, wrapping)

Shades of Sheila Hicks

Lenore Tawney amongst the closed forms (moons)

Crochet: My granddaughter came over for a lesson today, but her attention kept wandering, so I went ahead and worked up most of the body of the jellyfish I am crocheting in parallel.

Knitting: I'm approaching the toes of Bigfoot's socks. Lately, several of my fiber friends have been knitting Emotional Support Chickens, so I started one, using naturally dyed yarn.

Spinning: The Tasman comeback is plied but not yet skeined. I started spinning some Wenslydale Longwool top, but I'm not enjoying it very much.

It is finally getting cool enough for wool socks and sweaters and wraps. (I'm wearing this wrap right now.) I bought several ribbed 100% cotton long-sleeved tops from JCP just for wearing under sweaters. Toasty!