La Sirena

Because I'm sure you were dyeing to know...

the results of my recent experiments in the kitchen (yarn was involved)

I proudly present red cabbage and onion skins (freed at last from the zip-lock bag in the closet):

    

After prolonged simmering and steeping on the stove-top, the dye is ready to meet the yarn.  The yarn leaves the mordant bath and joins the dye bath where it frolics for hours.    

In the end the yarn emerges transformed.  See red cabbage (lower left) and Onion-skin dyed yarn (lower right) shown with Turmeric (upper left) and ... can you guess what produced the creamy golden brown?

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I made you a sweater.  And in the true spirit of hand-crafted mother's day gifts there are a couple of things about it that are a little off.  Here it is:

I know it would be better if it were there, but it will get there eventually. Meanwhile, I'm not sure if it needs some tweaking first.  It was supposed to look like this:

But I thought the ruffles on the sleeve were a little odd and over-the-top. I'm having a little trouble getting the buttons to lie as well and provide as much closure as they do in the picture lying relatively flat.  I know there is a bit of peak-a-boo space in the original as well, but am not sure if the whole double button thing is working.  Maybe I should stick with buttons on one side and have them go all the way down?  I love the lace flowing out of the pockets, and on the back and on down the sleeves. But there is something a little shrunken about the whole thing that worries me a little (even though I knit the size large, but large in L.A. may be a relative term)  This may the sort of cardigan that is mostly worn open.  Or lovingly stored in the closet as a momento of my affection.  That's OK too.  I promise to send the needlework birthing doll (and knit uterus) soon. Much love, Mom Jr.

Preparing to Dye

I've been psyching myself up about dying for some time.  I did a quick first pass last Easter with my attempt to resurrect what was left of the food coloring once it had lived out it's full life as easter egg pigment.  The results were a Care-Bear kind of heaven: bright and cheery bursts of color in soft and comforting clouds of yarn. 

But I really wanted to dye naturally.  I surreptitiously began saving my onion skins.  I bought a mega 14oz bag of turmeric powder at the international grocery store without so much as a curry recipe lingering at the peripheral outer-orbit of my mental to do list.  I cast furtive and thoughtful glances at the beets, red cabbage and raspberries in the produce aisle. 

For Christmas my mother bought me "The Root of Wild Madder" by Brian Murphy, a beautiful and informative book on so many levels about a man's pursuit of the history and mystery of the Persian carpet.  It is beautifully and passionately written; Murphy is unabashedly romantic in his quest but his journalistic background enables him to weave current cultural and political context into his story in way that is neither dull, preachy nor contrived.  His search for wild madder, the natural dye used to produce the carpet's signature shades of red, russet, rust and rose becomes the guiding thread that pulls him (and us) through his journeys in Iran and Afghanistan.

For Christmas I bought myself  "Natural Dyeing" by Jackie Crook, this is probably the closest  a 15 dollar paperback how-to book could possibly get to a coffee table book.  Each page is so beautiful, I was almost content not to bother going to the trouble of doing all the work and just loosing myself in the the glorious shades of color and texture on the page.  On each glossy page you see the original producer of the dye, the finished result, clear how-to instructions with handy tips and a spectrum of the varied results depending on the mordant used.  Most of the dyes are readily found at the supermarket (avocados! who knew?)

And yet, it was George Washington Carver who ultimately did me in. 

More on that in the July issue of Black Purl Magazine.

On Knitting Female Anatomy

There are many reasons people knit (or crochet) female anatomy:

- For educational purposes:

Some midwives use knit and crocheted uteri to demonstrate concepts of dilation etc.  These can be purchased here.  A free pattern is given here.

Breastfeeding organizations find knit breasts helpful in teaching new Moms proper lactation techniques.  There's actually a lot on this on the web, but one such article (with a pattern link) can be found here.

- For charity and comfort during hard times:

This prosthetic breast pattern appeared in the Fall 2005 Issue of Knitty. Designed by a breast-cancer survivor who sells already knit versions here, the pattern has inspired knitters across the country to knit these more fashionable and cozier versions of the standard breast prosthetic for their less fortunate sisters.

- To showcase our (pro)creative powers:

(these activists suggest piling knit uteri on the White house steps)

- To endear us to the beauty and mystery of our anatomy:

Knit Uterus pattern featured in Knitty Winter Issue of 2004.

--Because we can...

This pillow pattern is for sale on anslybleu's etsy shop

My mother, a midwife, who will be lecturing at Yale next week (just had to throw that in) sent me this photo of a soft and voluptuous crocheted birthing doll with newborn attached by the umbilical cord alongside a plastic Barbie doll with baby emerging from her stomach; both visual aids to an interview appearing in Midwifery Today.  My mother's note in the margin read:  "What do you think? a new knitting challenge?"  I can't say that it is particularly new, in fact, crafting likenesses of the female form is certainly one of the oldest of art forms, but am I up to the challenge?  Absolutely.  After all, it is for educational purposes.

Shades of Vermillion

Spring is ablaze in the garden

   

   In the fields

Snail shells cling to bare rushes

against a lush landscape, crowned with flowers, a new dance is born.

More Purple Knitting

The color is bit off in the picture, it is supposed to be:  "dusty lavender", but you get the idea.  I'm on a purple jag.  I was having so much fun knitting the central lace pattern from Sweater babe's Lush and Lacy Cardigan that I  had nearly completed the back by the time I remembered I was supposed to decrease for the armholes a few inches back.  Oops.  Backtrack about 2130 stitches (don't ask me what perverse compulsion led me to calculate this since it took less than 5 minutes to rip and re-insert needles) and knit forward a couple of hours and voila! I now have a back with appropriate armhole shaping. 

Korsnas

I think I could stare at this image all day.  These will definitely be going on my wishlist and once they are finished I will be sure to find an excuse to carry about lots of talavera pottery, (and take pictures to post of course).

The pattern for these stunning fingerless gloves and a wonderful article on Korsnas knitting and crochet work can be found at http://www.black-purl-magazine.com/

Purple Socks

Garter Heel Socks by Susan Lawrence from The Ultimate Sock Book, knit in Knitpicks Essential Tweed Sock Yarn.  This was a most satisfying knit and I could definitely see myself knitting these in other colors, like charcoal gray perhaps.  My yarn overs are slightly more prominent in one sock than the other, looking a little bit like I've got a run in my stocking.  I'll have to see if I can fix that with some blocking. 

My favorite part of these socks?  The garter stitch heel of course!

Quilting

This pattern, in the February 2008 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting, looks like a promising match for my pre-cut squares from the Houston International quilt show.

So my design team and I set about selecting fabrics for what knitters would call a "swatch", the pharmaceutical industry might call "proof of concept study" (that is if I had hundreds of people doing it in a controlled environment) and a quilter might call a "test block" (I made that up, but it sounds plausible).

First there was cutting, (did I say pre-cut?..we still had to deal with the background fabric) which though I had all the right tools, I still managed to find all the wrong ways to do.  Including the one shown: not maintaining even pressure on the rotary cutter all the way to the end of the cut.

Then on to sewing:

There are so many steps in which precision can run awry in quilting and precision and I were never the best of friends. Even if you managed to get the cutting straight, there is still the challenge of sewing straight, and arranging your pieces and faces and seams correctly, in this case in opposite directions for each pieced row.  My husband walked by as I sat at the machine and said, "you know you have to iron the seams before you start sewing if you want everything to align properly." 

But after all, this was only the test, and despite a multitude of subtle and not so subtle flaws, somewhat smoothed over by the iron at the end.  I'm still proud.  I now have the beginnings of a quilt. 

The Joys of Spring

Colorful schoolwork

A new found hobby, courtesy of a Great-(in both senses of the word) grand-mother.  Note that the fearless five year-old did not hesitate to jump into colorwork.  She was very hesitant about the idea of posting a photo of a work in progress, but relented with the condition that she be the photographer.

Remember the smatterings of yarn we dipped in the Easter Egg dye last year?  I didn't really either, but figured it was high time I should.

And last but not least.. a work in progress from the garden