More leafcloths

I've knit up all the green and greenish dishcloth cotton, now it's on to exotic leaves and radiccio leaves. Cristina's lettuce comment inspired me to use bits of white or light green to get lettuce veins. My short rows are getting neater. I think some felted wool leaf coasters are next. This Missoni mohair lace dress in the NYT Magazine is so beautiful - as a curtain or a string bag. Why not knit one tunic length? We're headed out for the last two weeks of Summer. I hope you are enjoying yours! See you in September.

Leafcloths

We've been weaving potholders which naturally leads to knitting dishcloths which has lead to leafcloths. They look so pretty scattered on the counter, left in the sink, drying on the faucet. They can easily be pressed into service as coasters or set under flowerpots. The slip stitch dishrags are actually swatches for a rug.

Stripey sweater stash buster

I am fiddling with swatches for a Kaffe Fassett stripey sweater sport weight stash buster.

Ideas for rugs

On the left is a Vanessa Bell painting adapted for needlepoint in Melinda Coss's Bloomsbury Needlepoint and on the right is a rug designed by Duncan Grant. I think both would make wonderful hooked rugs - even a single panel of Grant's rug would be a wonderful runner. Ann Wiseman's book has lots of wonderful advice on hooked rugs including a section on inspiration: "adapt from the masters, beg from the innocent, borrow from the past, steal shadows". I especially love the designs inspired by enlarged coin rubbings and old playing cards.

My Mr Boy

This is my Mr Boy by Cristina Shiffman from the Summer Twist Collective. After knitting a denim version for my nephew, I pulled out some stash and began this version in a plain 3x3 rib with a crew neck. The sleeves will be three-quarter length when I finish. 

Can you imagine the Jane Austen version with a square neckline and smocking to give it an empire waist and a white linen blouse puffing out from the 3/4 sleeves? I would also like a high neck tweed version with a bronze zipper. A teen size would be cute with contrasting sleeves, or sleeves and top one color, a thin stripe, and then the bottom another color. You could also substitute a Cat Bordhi moebius collar, try it on and then pick up stitches for the saddles, front, and back from the edges, kind of a movie star walking the dog sweater, knit a little longer with pockets.

Kiki Mariko at rest

As I bound off the great tube I was not excited. I felt that by sticking to my stash I had compromised the color options. As I hoisted it from the washer I was even less excited. The various stash yarns had all felted differently. But I remembered Kay's post and I kept driving. Now I adore our new rug. I could never have planned the colors this way. It looks like a watercolor to me. It feels wonderful. I am planning another, larger version.

Bug in a rug

I'm at 50 inches of Kiki Mariko stash buster! It's been hard using only stash. I can't wait to do another with oranges and yellows and reds! In time management/project planner news, I did receive my telegram from two weeks ago about buying more nectarines!

Apron strings

While cleaning a cabinet I found two quarter yards of material meant to be aprons. I traced around a vintage apron I have and sewed on a little bias tape. They just need some ribbon for the strings. 

Time to cook!

I've been reading books about time. Michael Pollan's New York Times Magazine article this Sunday fits well with Stefan Klein's The Secret Pulse of Time. How do you spend your time?

The stash buster to rule them all

I am bent on clearing out my "leftovers" stash and the Kiki Mariko rug from the second Mason-Dixon Knitting is gobbling all the feltable wool.