Burrowing In
I hope you’re warm and cozy. We seem to be on the shorter end of the latest polar vortex, and what a doozy that was. The calendar insists that there are several more weeks of this winter thing, so the current plan is to hunker down and get some serious inside work done.
Mr. Darcy the Sheep approves this plan.
This is a good thing, because Greg and I spent some time over the holiday break planning out goals for the year and the first quarter like many of you also do. It’s going to be full of great stuff.
Beast to Blanket
The biggest for me is the one I’ve been talking about for a while now: Beast to Blanket. As of publication, we’ll be nine days away from the first class date, and I’m SO excited! The lesson plans are made, some of the class samples are ready, most of the supplies have been ordered, and the wool from Mr. Knightley, Emma, and Lizzy has been gathered and brought home. It is so much fun seeing it all finally come together!
The last time I taught the class, I only included knitting as a fabric-making method. As I’ve been developing the course we’re going to offer online, I felt it was just as important to include weaving to help give the students a broader understanding of the historical processes used to make fabric. I don’t have any thought of being exhaustive with my classes, but I do think the addition of weaving will add a lot of interest, insight, and fun.
We’ll be doing several different types of weaving. Here’s my maiden attempt at recreating an image from a photograph using a little 5″ x 5″ loom cut from mat board. I found a favorite photo of my beloved Flint Hills of Kansas and tried to reproduce the idea with some yarn I had on hand. I don’t think I’m ready for The Met yet, but it was a fun exercise!
I’m looking forward to sharing more details about the class in the coming weeks, and about the course we’re planning to have ready to launch near the middle of April. I’ve moved past the thinking and note-scratching and outlining stage and have jumped full on into the writing stage, so it all feels very real now.
Project Round Up
I really enjoyed gifting the ear warmers over the holidays.
It always makes me feel good to give things that I’ve made. Fellow makers usually understand how the combination of specially chosen materials, beautiful patterns, carefully developed skills, and that precious commodity of time produces items that feel especially meaningful to give. I hope the folks who received your handmade gifts appreciated the care and love you put into them as mine did!
This project didn’t get shared much because I was trying to be a little stealthy. I was also a little late. It was an awfully busy holiday season! Greg kindly modeled his Boxing Day Socks for me while we were on the road visiting grandchildren.
Speaking of those grandchildren, I had the opportunity to play Stuffy Doctor and General Blankie Repairwoman again. I have such fond memories of my Grandma visiting and telling my brother and sister and me to gather our stuffed animals with “injuries.” She’d set up Animal Hospital and fix them up. Now it’s my turn. Bacon’s blanket had another legion of holes, so I spent some time with that as well.
He was exhausted when I was done. That blanket is so well loved and appreciated that one day it is simply going to disintegrate. I hope we both survive it.
What are you working on today?
Happy knitting!
Kiersten J
