Spring has sprung finally here in PA. We have had cold and rainy days with a few teasers in between. The teasers have been warm and sunny and makes us yearn for Spring. Spring the rebirth of mother earth with flowers, buds, warm sun rays, and the orchestra of birds to serenade us. Today is a beautiful sunny day. These newly created bright beautiful days energize my need to create something also. Lets celebrate life.
Happiness in a pot
During the week I crocheted these cute little yellow slippers for Maria. I had to alter the pattern quite a bit because her feet are quite small. Amanda found the pattern (she will be unhappy Maria got a pair before her but I will make it up to her) from a great blog at GoodKnits. This website if great check it out.
Yellow Mary Jane Slippers for Maria
This week I finished swatch 4, 5, and 6. As I work on my Master Knitter Program I do all aspects of finishing a swatch before I move on. Prior to knitting any swatches I set up the notebook with its sections, Put a sleeve for each swatch in the notebook and made all the tags for every swatch. I knit and block the swatches. I then critique the swatches and re-do ones I find unacceptable. After I complete a submittable swatch I weave in the ends, tag it as instructed (top left corner of the swatch), do the swatch sheet and any additional requirements, and insert them in the sleeve. I then answer all questions for that particular swatch. That way when I am done I can put that swatch out of my mind and move on to the next giving each swatch my undivided attention. When I have completed all the knitted requirements, it won’t take long to prepare the notebook for submission. I am pleased within the 1st 4 months of the year I have completed swatch 1-6 successfully (well, successfully for me, we will see what the committee thinks). I believe my goal of completion by the end of 2011 is possible.
I have been able to borrow a book from our local library. The name of it is “The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt. This book is out of print but with much happiness from the knitting community it will be re-printed by the end of this year. You can pre-order it at Amazon.com and after looking at it I have ordered a copy for myself. The book is a must have for a Master Knitter. Ms. Hiatt goes into detail on the mechanics of knitting and stitch construction. This detail helps the knitter understand how the knitting is structured and how the stitch design effects the finished project. She goes over stitches, fabric construction, decorative techniques, what is required to construct a project, how to read patterns and design your own. This book is not to be “read” it is to be studied. Her description of technique requires undivided attention when studying the book but that investment of time is well worth the effort. I am excited to add this book to my library when it is re-printed. I am a Kindle e-book reader but I do not intend to purchase for this book for my kindle. For a reference book like this I prefer the old fashioned printed paper book. The book I borrowed from the library is a hard cover.
So… what are your working on?
Happy knitting to all!
American Fiber Art 