Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Hat's off!

No, the beret is on.
 The beret was blocked and came out just fine.

How to block a beret? Find a large dinner plate (the same size as the kraft paper pattern used for weaving). Thanks to Elizabeth Zimmerman for this tip in her book Knitting Without Tears.

 Dampen the top of the beret in lukewarm water, squeeze most of the water out, roll in a terry towel to absorb more moisture, and then stretch it over the plate.
 Don't stretch the knitted ribbing.
Let it dry away from heat or sunlight for 24 hours.

This project will be in the next book following Knitter's Weaving Book. The next book will be called Knitters' Weaving Projects.

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Around and around and around

This is fun. I am knitting on a circular needle around my checked beret fabric. After I darned in the outside yarns (picks and warps) of the circular woven piece I picked up the loops around the edge and knitted two rows. (See my last post for a starting picture.) I then did two decreasing rows and went back to plain knitting.

As a quilter I've been using store-bought fabric for years and years. Now I'm weaving my own fabric. I love the way the red and white check came out.

I'm doing the final ribbed band right now. I hope I get it off the needle and block it tonight. Blocking wet wool takes a least a day for drying. Tune in again soon.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Box of books

 It is fun to get a big box of books -- my Knitter's Weaving Book is all printed. Now copies are ready to go out in the world.

My friend Katie and I went to the Lambtown Festival in Dixon 10 days ago. I introduced my KWB to a few yarn vendors. We watched the sheep shearing competition for over two hours.

 There was a Sheep to Shawl competition, too. Three teams of spinners and weavers started at 10 a.m. with a washed sheep fleece and turned it into a 19-inch by 72-inch shawl by 4 p.m. The spinners (two to a team) grabbed rolags of carded fleece from the carders and began to spin yarn. The weaver (1 on each team) waited patiently for the first yards of yarn so she could begin weaving (the looms were already warped). One person on a team was assigned to be an information source and tell the public what was going on. The information person could switch assignments and take a spinner or a the weaver's place, and someone else became the explainer. We checked on the progress on and off throughout the day. One team had to drop out near the end due to a mechanical problem. The first to finish was not necessarily the winner because the teams were judged on the quality of the shawl design. It was fun to watch.
 I'm looking forward to getting my Knitter's Weaving Book on the market. If you know of a good place for me to send a review copy, please tell me. You can buy a copy by going to my Thresh Publications website (or clicking on the graphic below) and using PayPal.
 I am working on a project for the next book, Knitters' Weaving Projects. Right now I'm weaving a checked beret with a knitted headband. I am looking for projects and will be holding a contest to find good ones. Let me know if you are interested.
So far, so good.

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