This time of year inspires some to clean, others to plant, and me to finish things. I have a lot of items on needles, wheels, and looms at most times – either due to a short attention span, an over-eager creative spurt, or simple nutty optimism. Once in a while, though, I need to free up those same needles, wheels, and looms for my next efforts. A sudden burst of energy inspired by the burst of spring growth here recently gave me the needed push to follow through on these efforts.
First up: my Paris nights shawl. This project has been on needles for a long time. It is knit in a laceweight yarn with beads. The Celestarium pattern provides a chart of the Northern Hemisphere night sky – with each bead representing a star. It isn’t difficult but it is a long slog as you knit the outer rows. Then I chose a beaded edging to add weight to the edge of the shawl adding another long effort right at the end. I must admit it is a very rewarding knit. And people are impressed even though it doesn’t require advanced skills. I am really happy with the result.
Next up: my handspun just waiting to be made into something. I had spun it in February and it was begging to be something – just what? After discussing it with my fellow spinners at spinning group and my fellow weavers at weaving group (probably often enough to drive them batty), I wound it into a warp chain for a wide scarf. Using an 8-dent reed, a twill threading, and a modified twill treadling, the handspun was transformed into a nice scarf with a light hand. It is fun to follow something from roving to finished object.
Another finishing effort was my Hitofude sweater. The pattern is an elegant but unusual construction that allows you to knit an entire sweater without ever breaking your thread. I knit it in light fingering weight yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn – 995 yards to a skein and only 18″ left at the end. It added a certain amount of tension to my finishing effort – the spice of the project (ha!). The result was really nice and I recommend the pattern if you have an appropriate skein of yarn hanging around your stash. An added side bonus – only 2 ends to weave in.
Of course, all this work means I have to start something or other new, right? Very satisfying to finish things, but it leaves empty spinning wheels, looms, and knitting needles. Knitting a pair of Ruby Slippers? How about spinning some longwool roving? Or maybe a summer trip to the beach with my buddy?
This must feel really good! All these completed projects. I want to see them!