Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: wool

  • Green Man

    Green Man

    I’ve been talking a great deal about the Green Man Shawl, something for a new KAL.

    So what is a Green Man?

    I guess it depends on how you want to research the motif. The Green Man as art is mainly that of a face covered by foliage. It is known as a foliate motif and is found in art across the globe dating back in Europe to at least the 1300’s, and is much older in other cultures. Many art historians think that the motif was from India and then was carried across Europe. It was often seen on churches or in the art of the Celtic monks.

    The motif could also have been brought across the European Continent even earlier. Many ancient Roman sites in Great Britain have contained masks that relate to the Green Man.

    So basically the Motif is old, ancient even, and has meaning throughout many cultures. In folklore the Green Man has many meanings. He symbolizes fertility and harvest, regrowth and change. Peter Pan, Robin Hood were Green Men. They symbolized the need for change. We are in need of change.

    Green Man as a concept has inspired artists and authors alike over the 500 years. And he still inspires today. For many modern pagans, the Green Man is used as a symbol of seasonal renewal and ecological awareness.

    I take a lot of photographs and I am constantly in awe of the beauty of this world. It is all around us and you just have to look. I have been looking.

    I stay pretty close to home. Most of these images are from around Nanaimo or the West Coast. Whistler, Bute Inlet and the west coast of Vancouver Island.

    While I am not a modern pagan, or perhaps I am, (obviously a conversation for another day), I have been inspired by the Green Man images I have seen, in books, on the internet and in conversations about the image.

    To me, Green Man is the modern environmental warrior. A symbol for the modern generation. Of making small and large changes in our lives with the environmental future of our planet in mind. As a long time reader of science fiction and science fact, where the future of our planet has always been up for for speculation, my head is filled with a myriad of ideas. Will we destroy ourselves or will we reinvent ourselves or will we move ourselves outward into the rest of the universe. I think all three.

    Change takes a monumental amount of personal energy, a destruction of current self. I am slowly making my own personal changes and watching the changes happening and also not happening around me. I want to encourage others to think about the changes they can make. They don’t need to be big, small changes, incremental change is the most sustainable and can, when added together create a major shift. Think of water on stone… We are the stone.

    I am an optimist at heart. I really believe there is a future for our world, the only question is, will humanity be a part of that future. Our choice. Our actions will make the decision.

    Google Green Man. The images are amazing, inspiring, beautiful, ugly and all places in between.

    This is my Green Man. My third attempt at capturing the feeling in knit. I am happy with it now. The next step is to incorporate it into my shawl.

    My swatch is knit with Estelle Eco Shetland Worsted

    What do you think? Should I give up my day job? LOL! I am satisfied.

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Summer Days

    Summer Days

    In the Summer I always try to finish up a project for myself. A sweater or vest, something new that I can wear to work.

    This year I have at least two things on the go. A light and airy mohair sweater knit with Amitola Brushed by Louise Harding. This is a heavier mohair and silk blend and I am knitting it quite loosely. I love mohair’s loft when the you let the fuzz fill in the stitches. It makes the garment light but still cozy! This sweater is underway and will be knit from sleeve to sleeve. The Amitola has a long, slow stripe and it is showing beautifully. I am barely through 60 grs of the first ball. I think that I will have plenty of yarn. I am knitting on a 6.0mm US #10 – this sweater is knitting up fast!

    The Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed yarn is going to take much longer to knit. Right now it is going to be a vest. But I am loving it so much and I think I have enough yarn, so it might turn into a full sweater. I am loving the stitch pattern. Time, as always, will make the final decision. And yardage, where is the rest of the yarn? Somewhere in my stash!

    Summer is also when I make tea cozies. They are small and fun and I think I might design a class around a new idea I have.

    Last week I bought a new toy. It is designed to hold my phone as I video myself knitting a new technique. You have already seen it at work as I ripped back my last hat!

    The weather here is back up to being hot again. So I am looking at small projects as well. Beading something, anything, is always good for hot weather knitting.

    beaded butterflyes from Covid be Damned
    beaded bracelet under construction

    I also love to knit shawls in the Summer. Tomorrow I hope to have the Green Man motif ready to show.

    Do you have a “colour” ? Something you know you love to knit with. Something that you “lean” towards. Something you sometimes are unaware of. I do. Apparently I wanted a co-ordinating set. LOL!

    Don’t they look great together? I guess I will have to finish the gloves sooner rather than later!

    Below are some random images of this Summer and Summers past! They are part of my inspiration as I dream up new ideas.

    I hope that you enjoy your long weekend!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • Class Samples

    Class Samples

    I have finished two of the class samples. Still at least three more to go! I am happy with the results so far! They include a thrummed headband and a cabled pillbox style hat. I took the pictures in different lighting conditions, just to see how the colours would change.

    I have no name for the headband pattern, but the pillbox is going to be called Candy Cables – just something about the colour. The white base with the glowing peach mohair looks like candy to me. Check out the mohair halo – so pretty!

    I hope that you have a great day!

    Happy Viewing!

    Lynette

  • Sad Songs say so Much

    Sad Songs say so Much

    I am singing the blues right now. My first attempt at the crown for my new project was a bust. I have gone back to the computer and designed a new crown. I hope it works better than the first!

    sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes the blues get a hold of you…. Carol King, Sweet Seasons

    Turn up the sound for the full story!

    I hope you have a wonderful evening! I know I will! I will be knitting! LOL!

    Lynette

  • Fall Classes – Working on Samples and Dreaming up Ideas!

    Fall Classes – Working on Samples and Dreaming up Ideas!

    First up – Thrumming

    Have you ever made thrummed mittens? Or slippers? Well I am working on a Thrummed Headband. It has an easy shape and will be easy to learn the technique so that you could make mittens or slippers if you wished!

    2) Cables

    A simple cable hat?

    Or maybe a not so simple cable hat?

    How about a reversible cable scarf? As you can see this idea is still in the very early stages!

    3) Maybe something more long term, with once a month meeting/classes.

    I am planning a Knit-a-Long. KAL for short. The Green Man KAL. This will be a lace shawl for the more advanced knitter. It could be knit in a fingering or lace weight yarn, knitters choice and there will be how to video’s attached for those who don’t live in the area and in person classes for those who do. Techniques we will cover include circular cast-ons, adding beads (if desired), three dimensional embellishing, some interesting lace techniques and finishing with knitted on edging. Sample below is knit with Schoppell Zauber Lace 100. Right now I am working on the chart for the the Green Man and will share updates as that comes together.

    4) Of course I will run the Fear of Finishing Workshop – an in depth look at some basic and not so basic finishing techniques. Including the best start to create the best finishes and things the pattern always forget to tell you.

    5) I am thinking of a designing a new tea cozy this fall. Something with birds I think!

    6) A class on mending is in the works as well! Darning socks, fixing holes with some creative mends and swiss darning the old fashioned way!

    I am also looking for new ideas. What do you want to learn? Can I teach it in a class or does it need a workshop? I could teach something in Mosaic Stitch, or maybe Twinned Knitting? Some simple fair-isle mittens or cowl for gifts?

    What style of project would you like to see? A simple shape to show up the new technique, a pillow perhaps, maybe bolster style with knitted on fringe for finishing. Or a new hat, a pillbox or cloche style, something a little different from your basic beanie.

    I am off to dream up and then knit up some new samples. I hope that you have a dreamy week as well!

    Be Well and Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • I-cord Bind-off

    I-cord Bind-off

    Companion video for the Beach Bucket hat pattern.

    An i-cord bind-off creates a very defined edge with almost no give. It is perfect for adding stability any edge that needs a little extra something to keep everything together. It is also a very strong edge and was often used in traditional sweaters, such as Fishermen Ganseys, at shoulder joins to help those seams keep their shape.

    In the Beach Bucket pattern I am using the I-cord bind-off in a contrasting colour to both highlight the edge and define its shape.

    The video will give you an understanding of how to create the I-cord to start the bind-off and the basic steps of the bind-off.

    Happy learning, happy knitting!

    Lynette

  • I DID it!

    I DID it!

    I have cleaned and organized everything. OK – everything might be a bit over the top but I have accomplished a few very necessary jobs!

    I have unearthed my computer desk and my yarn winding station. My stash has been realigned and in some cases reassigned to different locations. I have filed away multiple stacks of papers ie. trashed or recycled them. There is still one stack of papers left to organize into different files. That will wait until next weekend.

    You can see that it is a bit of mess.

    As I dug in, I got a little distracted along the way…. knit a thing…. wound some yarn.

    The little cowl is a test knit of a new yarn that is coming to Mad About Ewe. And I love it! 70% Superfine Merino (non superwash) and 30% Yak, this DK weight yarn is supersoft, bouncy and easy to work with. I think I may need a new sweater. The Funnel Cowl and Mitts are complete. Click here to link to the pattern on Ravelry.

    The yarn being wound is Chantal, a special hand dyed silk from Fleece Artist, Iceberg colourway. It was one of the yarns from their 25th Anniversary celebration in 2013. This huge hank weighs in at 350 grams, 700 yds and should knit to about 18 sts in 4 inches. I am close to half way now and it has no knots so far. Because it is silk and is stretchy it has to be hand-wound and it is a bit of a mess from being in the cupboard for so long. So it may take a couple of days.

    I hung a few pictures that have been gracing the cupboard floors. That felt good. Everyday I have been trying to do one more thing that would get me closer to my goal.

    There have been a few distractions through the week but after each one, I got back on track and kept on working. I started this project last Wednesday and it is still not quite done. It most likely will never be “done”. I really don’t work too well in a tidy space, but now the chaos is a little more tamed and much closer to “done” than it has been in a while.

    My White Lavender it in full bloom.

    I started this post over a month ago. So much has happened creatively in that month. Was it tied in to the cleaning? Maybe, so lets see….

    I have submitted ideas for patterns to three companies – Laine, Birlinn Yarns and Ancient Arts. Laine and Birlinn were not interested in my ideas and I won’t hear from Ancient Arts for a couple of weeks. My “secret” project is complete and gone! As soon as I can I will share – I was very pleased with the results!

    On the up side of submitting ideas to magazines and being rejected, I now have lots of ideas to pull from if and when I am looking for something to knit! I know we can’t like all the things and if my ideas don’t fit their vision they usually work well for mine!

    Fall KAL – The Greenman KAL

    I am working on a new shawl pattern. You may have noticed the two “swirl” centers I have started. They are the center of the Greenman Shawl. I hope to have the idea all pulled together in the next month, so please keep it in mind.

    I am working one in Schoppel Zauber Lace Ball 100 (currently purple, but it is a striping yarn so that will change). It is a lace weight.

    The Green version is knit with Queensland Collection Kathmandu Fingering.

    I am teaching a new technique at work right now. Dip Stitches, as in stitches that are created by dipping down into your knitting and pulling up loops of contrast colour to create almost an embroidery look! Meet Beach Bucket, soon to be released on Ravelry – most likely next weekend! The turquoise version is knit with Noro Kashirukuru and Silk Garden for the detail yarn. The grey version is knit with West Yorkshire Spinners The Croft Shetland Tweed in pink tweed with grey. It is not complete yet. I am using it for demonstrating techniques in the class.

    I have started a couple of sweaters for myself – we will see how those go – they almost never get done as I get too distracted by other knits!

    knit a dress with me – update

    I am planning on picking up the dress again in September. Right now it is too hot to knit with double layer Lopi Einband on my lap! I have been thinking and planning how to proceed. I noticed that a few others look like they are interested! Looking forward to picking it up again.

    I lived in Malaysia when I was much younger and I have many fond memories of the people and the country. One of my favourite memories is the hedges of Hibiscus flowers, such beautiful blooms. So every now and then I try to keep a plant alive with varying levels of success. This is this years attempt!

    I hope that your Summer is going well. Mine is certainly going by very quickly! Lots of ideas and never enough time to knit them all!

    So Be Well and Knit Happy!

    Lynette

  • Beach Bucket – Dip Stitch

    Beach Bucket – Dip Stitch

    Today is the first day of the Beach Bucket class. The focus of the class is the Dip Stitch. A very cool technique of adding extra depth of texture and colour. So yesterday Ray took a little video of how do work the stitch.

    The original sample was knit with Noro yarns. Those bright colours remind me of a tropical beach bucket. This new sample is knit with West Yorkshire Spinners The Croft Shetland Tweed. More a north coast beach bucket! LOL!

    There are a few other interesting techniques used in this pattern; provisional cast-on, knitted in fold, and I-cord bind-off.

    The Beach Bucket pattern will be available around the 20th.

    I hope that you have a great day!

    Lynette

  • On the Mend

    On the Mend

    Nope I haven’t been sick, but I am looking to mend!

    I am going to learn how to mend my clothing. Well, I am teaching myself how to mend my woolens mostly.

    I have been a sewer, (sewist?) all my life. I started with Barbie clothes and I have made my own and my children’s clothing, at various point of my life, with varying levels of success. I have designed and created costumes for live theatre. And I can mend many of of clothes, as in hem, fix seams, adjust fit and play with anything fabric. But I have seldom mended my clothing, as in fixing actual holes in the fabric! That needs to change.

    I also knit. And I have knitted steadily for the last 40+ years. Like most of us knitters I have a stack of woolens to mend. I hate to throw things out, especially now, when we are talking of sustainability and slow clothes and making everything count. So I have been looking at my own pile of clothes that need saving. From woolen undershirts (sorry, they are not pretty enough to be called camisoles) to fine merino sweaters to my handknits – I have things that need mending.

    So, over the last few months I have been collecting books and tools to start teaching myself the basics. Okay, not just the basics, in some cases the more interesting and artistic ways of doing things!

    Not that I will be starting with the fancy patterns, but the possibilities are interesting.

    I am also going to learn how to use a tiny punch needle, really a needle for tambour bead embroidery. Beads as mending! you can see that this is a whole new rabbit hole for me! For mending you are supposed to forgo the beads and just use a fine wool to punch through your knit fabric. And I have just purchased a Speedweve style mending tool. A small one (14 hooks), with a bigger one (21 hooks) on the way.

    Tambour beading is a technique that developed in Europe in the late eighteenth century. A small hook (tambour hook) is used to attach the beads to the ground cloth, rather than a needle. The word tambour is French for ‘drum’ and is named after the drum-shaped tensioning frame that was originally used.

    Plus there are the traditional means of mending as in swiss daring, patching and overdying. Overdying is a great way to recover sweaters that have been stained by life. I have used this method a few times! I would also like to try some leather patching for sweaters, especially hems at neck and sleeves. So, lots of things to explore!

    This is going to be so much fun!

    And then, this fall, there will be a class at Mad About Ewe Fine Yarns in Nanaimo. After all, there are not many things better than sharing an interest!

    Happy Mending

    Lynette

  • Bead Knits

    Bead Knits

    On the subject of beads….

    It can be said with some authority that I am more than a little obsessed with beads and the many possibilities they offer for embellishment on our knits. It is more than a pity that our society really isn’t so much into the glittering styles of the past! I would so rock those days!

    Rhiannon – knit with Buffalo Wool Co Sexy yarn and 20,000 + 24 k gold dipped delicas and crystals.

    Knitting with beads – There are several methods for placing a bead onto knitted fabric: between the stitches, on one arm of the stitch or on both arms of the stitch. Some methods require that the beads be strung on the knitting yarn before knitting. Some are placed on the stitch as it is knit and others are added after the work is finished. The size of bead will determine whether it can be placed on the stitch or whether it needs a separate strand. If you are planning to use thousands of beads on a project, do work a sampler first to determine the most efficient method of working the beads. When stringing beads make sure that there are no knots in the yarn.

    Pre-strung beads used for loops and beads placed between stitches in a garter stitch background.

    Traditional bead knitting -The bead is placed on one arm of the stitch. All beads need to be pre-strung and if using multiple colours they need to be pre-strung in reverse order.

    Bead knit gloves, mitts, gauntlets and jewelery!

    A bead is placed on an arm of each stitch, as you are knitting through the back of the loop. This style of knitting will have a tendency to bias. This is not a problem if the fabric is knit circularly. (Which is the only way I will tackle it!) Most Victorian purses were worked circularly and the biasing was not readily noticeable. The other advantage of working circularly is that you do not need to work a purl stitch through the back (try purling through the back of a loop and placing a bead at the same time!) Bead knitting used to be worked with small (think micro) seed beads and silk or cotton thread and very fine steel needles. There are still knitters who work in this way.

    I work bead knitting with small beads (not micro) and fine yarns – lace or fingering weight yarns (not threads) and small needles, anything from 2.0mm US#0 to 2.75mm US 2. I haven’t done any bead knitting for quite a while. I have taught both styles of bead knitting but always had a hard time convincing others that working traditional bead knitting was worth the effort!

    I still use a lot of beads in my knitting but they are mostly placed with a small crochet hook, and not always pre-strung as in traditional bead knitting.

    So, when I decided to knit a pair of gloves with some beautiful new yarn I also decided to knit myself a beautiful bead knit edge for those new gloves.

    Beautiful Alpaca fingering weight yarn – a soft pinky/lavender grey melange.

    I am seeing a short beaded gauntlet with either short finger gloves or mitts! But maybe I won’t be able to resist the lure of a proper pair of gloves! These gloves are my “swatch” for the yarn. From this I can learn about the yarns strength, how or if it has a “halo”. How much will it stretch (alpaca has no memory – so if it stretches it won’t go back). And I have something useful at the end of the knit. Many of my hats are gauge swatches. A trick that Elizabeth Zimmermann suggests as a means to learn your yarn and create something useful at the same time!

    The yarn is a breeze to knit with. And yes, there is a lovely halo. The yarn is also handling the weight of the beads without too much obvious stretch. So I will continue on, and isn’t it a beautiful colour?

    I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a workshop this summer to learn how to bead knit…. I would love to lead you down the garden path and introduce you to another side of working with beads and knitting!?

    Check out the Orchid! It is still kicking and has opened some new blossoms!

    Happy Knitting!

    Lynette