Posts will be infrequent for a bit. . .

Sing Along

Back in Time - a story prompt

John S. and farm cat
South Dakota
approximately 1934

This photo makes me wonder what happened next - did my oldest brother pet the cat? Did the cat run away or stand its ground? Were there tears?

When I was teaching, I often used photographs as prompts for writing assignments. One observation can ignite a story.

Suminagashi Dyeing - part 2

Sue O. adds dyes to the large tray of water
June 2017

Yesterday, I shared my experience of Suminagashi Dyeing, and today, I will show you how the large panels of fabric were dyed. I did not dye a large square, but Sue did.

once Sue had added all the ink that she wanted, the fabric was
carefully placed on top of the ink-covered water

making sure the fabric is straight and in the tray

allowing the fabric to take up the ink 

revealing the dyed panel
The panel was rinsed in plain water after it was removed from the tray.

It's a fun technique - I would like to try it again.

Important Note: our instructor purchased cotton sheeting for the class and treated it with alum before the class so that it would take up the dye and so that the dye would adhere to the fabric. The fabric MUST be pre-treated.

the ink, purchased on Amazon

Suminagashi Dyeing - part 1

Lorre H. demonstrates the technique of adding
ink to the tray of water
June 2017

Sue and I took advantage of a Suminagashi class (also known as Japanese Marbling) last week at the Lander Art Center. It was a lot of fun and resulted in some interesting results.

adding layers of color on top of the water

The marbling ink is placed on top of the water in layers. The layers can carefully be manipulated to create swirls or pools of color.

ink floating on top of the water

fabric placed on top of the ink-covered water

dyed fabric after rinsing and pressing

The colors were quite vivid when they were wet, but once dried and pressed, they became muted.

my collection of suminagashi dyed fabric squares
June 2017

Others in the class were more artistic with their squares.

rinsed dyed fabric squares 

completed squares

large panel of dyed fabric

Of all the fabric that was dyed that evening, this piece was by far my favorite. More photos tomorrow. . .

Two Step QAL - June Clue

twelve blocks
June 2017

The June clue for the Two-Step QAL was released last Friday, resulting in twelve blocks. All the previously prepared units have been used, and next month will include yet another step with more background yardage and scraps.

twenty-five blocks ready for the final clue
June 2017

Earlier Two-Step Mystery posts:

    April

    March

    February & January

Half Circle Pi Shawl

Half Circle Pi Shawl
June 2017

A work in progress: EZ 100th Anniversary Pi Shawl: Camping (half circler version). I'm currently working on the "Slanting Twigs" section - row 67, with many more rows remaining to knit.

Needles: US size 8

Yarn:  Heritage 150 Sock Yarn (Cascade Yarn)
           Color: 5631

I've always wanted to knit an Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi Shawl, but I'm not keen on full circle shawls, nor do I want to knit one until I'm 80. When I found the Anniversary Shawl patterns on Ravelry, I quickly downloaded the one I like the best: Camping.

Notes from Ravelry: Elizabeth Zimmermann was born on August 9th, 1910 (8/9/10), so this year 2010 is the 100th anniversary of her birth. This shawl is one of a set of SIX shawls designed as a tribute to EZ and a celebration of all she has done for us. They are based on her PI Shawl which can be found in her book Knitter’s Almanac. Three of the EZ 100th Anniversary PI Shawls (Gull Wings, Hearts, and Camping), are full circles; modifications have been applied so that the lace design stitch repeats and the number of rounds are multiples of 8, 9, and 10 (the numbers in her birthday). The other three shawls are half-circle versions of Gull Wings, Hearts, and Camping.

There are 6 different EZ 100th Anniversary shawls (3 full-circle and 3 half-circle). They are:
EZ 100th Anniversary PI Shawl: Gull Wings
EZ 100th Anniversary PI Shawl: Hearts
EZ 100th Anniversary PI Shawl: Camping
EZ 100th Anniversary Camping Half-Circle
EZ 100th Anniversary Gull Wings Half-Circle
EZ 100th Anniversary Hearts Half-Circle

Have you knit an Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi Shawl?