Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: knitting with texture

  • Creating Order from Chaos

    Creating Order from Chaos

    Where to go next? My life has pretty much been on hold or in chaos for the last few months. I haven’t had the energy or time to do more than touch at the edges of any of my projects. But I think that is changing…

    I still need to tidy my workroom – the chaos there really does mirror my mind. So today I am going to work around the edges and make a start. I am trying to convince myself that it not really as bad as it looks.

    My main desk – computer and printer and lots of little bits!

    So…. what does your workroom look like? Do you have a workroom? Or a corner on the couch? Do you work best in Chaos? Or are you a neat and tidy person, everything needs to be in place or your mind is distracted?

    I know I work best in chaos! But not this much! Here I don’t know where anything or everything is! So time to fix it all!

    Desk area before
    Desk area – getting there

    So yesterday I made the start. I was wrong, it really is as bad as it looks. Today I worked a little more. In the pictures it really doesn’t look like a lot of improvement. But I can see and feel the difference. Books are on the shelves, samples are separated from stash and I can see what needs to be shifted and maybe even where it may be shifted to!

    By next weekend it will be a new room! I must admit I am cheating a little, some of the stash has found a new location, but most of it is just going back to where it belongs.

    Cupboard area – before
    Cupboard area – getting there.

    I am working on a new stitch pattern. Something a little different, a drawn stitch pattern, one that pulls yarn through stitches already knit to create a new pattern on top of the stockinette stitches. I am calling this stitch “Feathers”. I have seen something like this or maybe even this stitch online. The technique is familiar to me as I have worked drawn stitches before. My patterns Big Leaf Maple and Jacobean are both worked with drawn stitches.

    Drawn stitches are a fabulous way to embellish your knitting. They can be worked on any weight of yarn and use up those bits of left over yarn that we collect as we finish bigger projects. The basic pattern will be written for Fingering weight, Worsted weight and Chunky weight yarns. I am going to create a great basic pattern that will create hats for the whole family!

    Did I mention that beads might be a possibility!?

    I umm, also fell in love with a baby bonnet idea I had and it has sort of high jacked the basic knitting until it is done – but it is going to be OH so cute!

    So Knit Happy – keep chaos at bay!

    Lynette

  • Celebration of Life – Anatomy of Love – Knitting Style

    Celebration of Life – Anatomy of Love – Knitting Style

    Yesterday was my fathers Celebration of Life. A few weeks before that my father passed. Life had suddenly changed, and I have been struggling with what to do with my hands, how to focus on the mundane when a big part of my life was suddenly gone. My Knitting mojo too was gone.

    A week or so ago I started this blog post. I think it still works.

    If you are a knitter (read your favourite craft here) you have most likely made something for someone you love. It is what we do. What can be more personal than a gift made with special someone in mind. Loving thoughts go into every stitch, every small detail and every minute that you spend knitting that gift. Some gifts last longer than others. Some gifts are made better by time.

    Three weeks ago I lost my father. He was ninety. He passed away peacefully in his sleep after four weeks in the hospital. He had lived a good life and had few regrets. We will miss him. We do miss him.

    He had lived with us for the last 6 years of his life and was very much a part of our daily lives. The last 6 months of his life were pretty much lost to dementia as he struggled to find the words to communicate and the everyday actions to look after himself that a few months before had been there. He was stubborn and believed that he did not need the help we wanted to give him.

    I made it to ninety making my own decisions and I will keep on doing so.

    He lived a good life and believed in himself the whole of it.

    Love you Dad.

    We have been cleaning up his space, a suite in the basement, opening drawers, going into the closets and sorting the stuff of dads life that he brought when he moved into the house.

    On a hanger in the back of the closet I found a wool sweater that I had knit for him over 35 years ago. It brought both memories and tears. I didn’t know he still had it. I had not seen him wear it in a long time. He found it too warm. He had never worn it while in the suite.. But he kept it. It was dirty, but intact – no moths.

    When I knit it for him, so long ago – it was quite the job – I had not knit many sweaters yet, certainly not designed any from scratch in this way.

    He was very specific about what he wanted. I think that he was recreating something he had had once. It had to be wool, and not to heavy – no problem – I preferred wool. It had to be red, but just the right shade of red. I went back and forth to the yarn store a few times to find the right “red”! And it had to be wool! It had to be a cardigan, plainly knit – no patterning. (those who know me would know how hard that one detail would be for me) And it had to be wool. Then it had to have pockets and it had to have a V-neck. And it had to be wool. And it had to have silver toned buttons! And it had to be wool. Once I found THE wool, as it had to be wool – not too heavy and just the right shade of red, we struck a bargain.

    I would knit him a Red Wool cardigan with silver toned buttons, pockets and V-neck and it would be plain knit. Except for the button bands and pocket tops, they would have a small pattern. Something that said it was hand-knit just for him by me. And so the bargain was made.

    So I took measurements and went away to knit him his sweater. About 6 months later I gave him his sweater. He was thrilled and put it on right away! It fit! And took it off right away – it was too hot! This was in June! So it was a success, knit with a great deal of love.

    Thirty-five years later I found it in the back of his closet.

    I knew he loved it and I knew he wore it – the food on the sweater said so! But I didn’t know he still had it! That was a gift!

    From me to him and then from him to me.

    So I washed it – soaked it in Eucalan for a number of hours and then rolled it in a towel and reblocked it. So it is now my sweater, a true grandfather sweater!

    I needed to start knitting again. My hands were restless. I had a couple of sweaters on the go for myself, but they weren’t holding me. So I did one of my favourite things. I picked some yarn and found a new stitch to play with and knit a hat, instant gratification and maybe a new pattern. I am going to knit another version and see if it works again.

    The yarn is Mecha by Malabrigo. It is a gorgeous hand dyed Chunky Merino. I chose the Piedras colourway for the background and the Rosalinda colourway for the “feathers”. I think that I will call the pattern Feathers if it works.

    Happy Knitting

    Hug someone you love

    Lynette