Month: February 2011

Learning to Weave

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I have eagerly anticipated the commencement of studying the Greeks.  Partly due to the fact that the Greeks are kind of awesome and partly due to the suggestion in our history curriculum to learn how to weave as an enrichment activity.

I ordered a Harrisville Easy Weaver B (18″ wide), which comes pre-warped, for the girls and me to learn the craft upon.

I’ve done most of the weaving, but Bluebird will put in a few rows here and there, and Penguin likes to watch and give the shuttle its last little push to get it through the shed.

If I could do it all over again, I would have ordered the smaller size (10″ wide).  I think the large width of our loom is slightly intimidating to the girls.

Bluebird has done her share of Loopy Loom potholders, so she already knew the technicalities of weaving.  I think, after we finish up this pre-warped project, I’ll let her choose the colors and size of the next project and see how that goes.

Weaving is a lot quicker than knitting, and she’s always worried about how looooong it takes to complete things.  Weaving may be the perfect sort of hobby for her.
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"The Wedding Shawl": A new drama series Part One: Picking the Pattern

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So, my brother got engaged to his girlfriend, Carly.

And I was very happy for the two of them.

But a little sad.

Because I am a bit selfish and wished I could help with the wedding, but I can’t because I don’t live in New Zealand or Canada.  (Boo.)

So I had the brilliant idea of how to weasle my way into the wedding…I would knit.

See, Carly’s planning on wearing a strapless dress, and the knitter in me automatically screamed, “Cold shoulders!”  True, it will be summer, but summer evenings can get a little chilly.  Sometimes.

So I talked to Carly and pathetically grovelled for the honor set forth my intention to knit a shawl for her wedding day.  (I stifled the urge to skip about the room when she enthusiastically accepted my offer.)

I spent a few hours looking up shawl after shawl, and compiled a list of eight different patterns that I thought she’d maybe like:

  1. Swallowtail: http://yulianknits.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/why-a-bunch-of-beads-looks-pretty-but-is-essentially-unuseful-at-least-for-me/
  2. Luna Moth Shawl: http://marinoie.blogspot.com/2010/01/luna-moth-shawl.html
  3. Birch: http://susancrowe.co.uk/2010/04/16/it-made-me-the-ksh-junkie-i-am-today/
  4. Echo Flower Shawl: http://www.pepperknit.com/2010/11/echo-flower-shawl/
  5. Queen Silvia Shawl: http://rogue-knits.blogspot.com/2009/06/queen-silvia.html
  6. Summer Shawl: http://osbornfiber.com/2011/01/07/a-joy-forever/ (detail shots)
    http://deserthomemaker.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-so-excited.html (shape) 
  7. Forest Path Stole: http://thingssoolikes.blogspot.com/2008/02/end-of-path.html
  8. Myrtle Leaf Shawl: http://segasummasuvila.blogspot.com/2008/07/must-ilma-punaseta.html

Then I emailed another two choices a day or two later because they were too pretty to leave off of the list:

  1. Purity:  http://dagi35.blox.pl/2009/06/Plan-wykonany.html
  2. Citron: http://j-essaieonverrabien.over-blog.com/article-citron-au-coeur-d-artichaud-64202817.html

Carly narrowed it down to two designs (Purity and Forest Path Stole), but was having trouble deciding on which one to go with.  Being the inpatient knitter that I can be, I gave her 37 hours to make up her mind.  (Yeah, I really did!  But only after she told me that she was terribly indecisive and needed a “cutt-throat” deadline.)

Thirty seven hours passed…and no email from Carly.

I posted a mocking Facebook status update: “Dost my eyes deceive me? No lace decision? Oh, now I’m sad.”  (Reading that now makes me think I should have used “mine” instead of “my.”)
 
She replied, two hours later, with: “I”M SORRY!!!!!! (If you are talking about me lol) Decision being made NOW!“

I had an email within that hour to tell me that her choice was something completely different from what she had previously narrowed her choices down to.  I laughed out loud.

Michael asked why I was laughing and I told him that Carly chose a pattern that wasn’t one of the two she was previously considering.  Michael laughed too.

The pattern that Carly ended up choosing, drum roll please….is the Echo Flowers Shawl!

Tune in next week for Part Two: “The Yarn” of the Brooketopian drama “The Wedding Shawl.”

Creepy Little Gingerbread Man

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We’re experiencing a bit of the Winter Doldrums around here.  In an attempt to buck the gloominess of one particularly gray day, I spent naptime sewing up a little stuffie friend for Junebug.

Pattern:  Gingerman, designed by Cathy Gaubert, found in Fa La La La Felt by Amanda Carestio

Materials:  Eco-Felt, Embroidery Floss

We didn’t get to do a lot of Christmas crafting around here this past holiday season, so I think we’re making up for it by crafting in January and February and making big plans for this next Christmas.

I originally started this project with the intent of it becoming a little decoration for our home, but Bluebird and Penguin both exclaimed that Junebug would love it, so I figured…”Hey, why not?”  (Her blog codename really should be “Gingerbread Girl,” as she loves anything with a gingerbread person on it.)

When she woke up from her nap I presented her with the doll and the two has been inseparable ever since.  Another crafting success.