Knitting Tales

Maggie's Miami Beach Yarn

  Many of our members are acomplished knitters.  Some even spin their own yarn although its unclear whether the knitting grew out of the need to use up hand spun yarn or the spinning grew out of the need for something to knit with.  In extreme cases some members have been known to raise their own sheep or alpacas.  

There are pros and cons to knitting with hand spun yarn.  On the one hand, you can create unique pieces that highlight the unique yarn. You also have first hand knowledge of the fibres that you are knitting with and how they have been processed.  They may be deliberately overspun to create an active yarn that will pucker when washed.  They can also be glorious combinations of colours and fibres that make even the simplest knitted object unique.  The downside is that hand spun yarns will have some element of inconsistency depending on the skill of the spinner.  They may not be a standard grist and you can't buy another skeine if you run out.  That often means adapating patterns to fit the yarn.

Sheila's merino wool vest is made from natural coloured hand-spun yarn.  The yarn was spun over a period of years while attending events.  The pattern stitch is called "Sketch" and is from the "Twisted Stitch Sourcebook" by N. Gaughan.  Sheila had hoped for a sweater with sleeves but had to fit the "cloth" to  the supply of yarn  The antler buttons are a good match.  

Sheila's vest of hand-spun wool

Jetty's shawl & felting

Jetty's shawl is an example of an informal piece made from hand spun wool but you'll note something else in the photo.  Spinners always have bits and bobs of dyed fibre around. Jetty made good use of those bits and bobs to make a felted picture. 

Jane's tank top

There are a multitude of yarns on the market these days.  Some feature interesting fibre blends that have practical applications, think wool/nylon sock yarn.  Some feature complex colour grading for stripes.  Wool/silk blends are one of the most popular for knitted clothing because they combine the warmth of wool with the softness of silk.

Jane's tank top is knitted from Caesura Papersilk.  It is a 50/50 mix of wool and silk in a lovely blue.  The pattern is by Asa Soderman.  It is a seamless knit, in other words it is knitted as a tube.  Note the button detail on the back.  

button detail

Below is an example of a sweater being knitted from the top down to give a seamless finish.

knitting from the top down in progress

Knitted landscape with sheep

The final piece is a preview of our guild challenge for this year.  We were asked to create a piece (in any medium) that was inspired by the landscape.  In this knitted piece Maggie has captured sheep grazing amongst the flowers on a hillside.