I know Grandma’s blanket isn’t done yet, but I had to scratch a brain itch. I have an idea for a brioche knit using vertical stripes of color, and I just had to start a prototype. This is scrap cotton yarn (yup, when I’ve done my experiments, it will go in the washcloth bin).
That the colors match my knitting bag is complete serendipity.
I am calling the center field of Grandma’s blanket done. Now to knit a bit more length on the long side borders.
I have a printed shirt that I like the neckline and bodice, but am not fond of the cap sleeves. I have a black shirt that I love for the sleeves, but the body is lack luster. Time to combine!
I took a seam ripper and removed the cap sleeves, then used fabric from the body of the black shirt to trim out the black sleeves using a backstitch (yes, by hand). A hand sewn backstitch has some flex and stretch, unlike a machine straight stitch. I used a whip stitch to put the new sleeves on, leaving a gap at the shoulder since I also like the “cold shoulder” style shirts.
Now I’m eyeballing the rest of my shirts to see what I can improve.
The hooked bit of wire use to pull fiber through the flyer assembly on a spinning wheel is called an orifice hook. On my vintage Befra Willy wheel there was no hook. I was using a small crochet hook from my Mom’s stash instead. Then I saw a hole in the back of the tension knob on the wheel. It looked like it used to hold a wire hook!
I had some sturdy coated wire in my supplies, so made a new hook. The coating made it a little bigger than the hole, so I stripped the end of the plastic off. Then it was a snug fit!
My cat really likes her basket, too.
I have four borders and most of the center field done of Grandma’s blanket. The side borders are not finished because the plan is to maximize the length of the blanket with the yarn I have remaining. The pattern calls for tassels, but I don’t like tassels (because they become a tangled mess), so I’m going to use the tassel intended yarn to make the blanket longer (we have tall people in our family). The yarn remaining is laid out on the center portion. I will use one skein to make the length, and the other skein for the join technique I want to use. I consider this a calculated risk, not yarn roulette.
Critters and Craft 