Many things were accomplished this weekend. Amazing what constant rain can propel you to do.
First off, Technical Support came through in a big way. The cabin loom appears to be back in fighting trim. And it's now decked out in festive orange!
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| Here we see the old system on the left and the new, hopefully more sturdy system on the right. |
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| Another view. Is the orange lurid or funky? Depends on my mood I think. |
In celebration of a new working loom, I wound a new warp. I'm going to do the same pattern I did with the alpaca scarf, only using the fiber that's called for in the pattern. If all goes according to plan it'll look remarkably different.
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| This is a warp using some of the sixteen tons of chenille that came with the loom. |
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| I'm not exaggerating by much here. If anyone has a genius idea for using up multiple pounds of chenille, I'm all ears. |
I also started a new sock! I'm pretty excited about this one ... it has cables. AND I read ahead in the pattern (which you should always do to avoid unhappy surprises) and discovered that this sock will have a pattern that continues into the heel. Every other sock I've ever made has had a plain heel, so this will be a new and probably unnerving experience. So far I'm really digging the pattern, which is repeated over 25 stitches. A full pattern repeat is 28 rows...I'm only halfway through the first of two repeats. It's not boring, that's for sure.
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| Not bad for a day and half of work. I think the yarn I'm using is a little big, and this sock is one size fits all ... it might end up being too big even for my giant man-feet. |
And I've done scary things with this sock! For example, "pass third stitch on left needle over first two stitches and off needle, knit 1, yarn over, knit 1." There are some instructions coming that are causing me some anxiety, but I'll figure it out. I hope.
Finally, I got some new crochet thread in the mail! I ordered some size 20 and size 30 thread. Size 30 is about as small as you can get. I'm going to attempt my first pineapple doily. I'm stupidly excited at the prospect of working with thread again because I'm a bit of a Thread Addict.
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| Woo! |
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| And even though it was late and I was tired, I couldn't resist getting started. Here are the first four rounds. |
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| For comparison purposes. It's pretty tiny thread, and a pretty tiny hook (size 10 steel). Here's hoping my old eyes can cope! |
3 comments:
I know you will enjoy working with the smaller thread again. I've gone as low as sewing thread for one doily...
You are so brave with that sock! I finished my two pairs (yay!) of simple socks and want to tackle something more intricate, but I'm not so brave as you!
That doily will be gorgeous! I am not a huge fan of thread, but I loved crocheting the doily pattern I love with sock yarn! Stretchy and odd, probably, but so pretty and fun!
Oooh, sewing thread! I have a vague idea of trying to crochet a scarf, making tiny motifs out of 10/2 tencel and joining as I go. It's still just a glimmer of an idea.
And as for sock bravery, I figure if it's truly horrible I can rip it out and start again. Not as easy in knit as crochet, of course, but still.
My next goal is to teach myself to knit Continental style. I hate the clumsy, inelegant way that I knit, and I feel like doing the work with my left hand would feel more natural.
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