It seems like it is about time for a knitting update.  Despite my infatuation with weaving right now, I am still knitting,  I realized today that I haven’t shown you any of my knitting projects all year!

I knitted a couple of prayer shawls in the fall using a new (to me) stitch called knit one below.  I tried, many years ago, to learn this stitch by buying the book and couldn’t get it.  It took a couple of tries this time but all of a sudden it clicked and I love this stitch.  It is wonderfully textured and creates a soft, heavy shawl.  You use different colored yarns to get the shadow effect.  My first effort was a white and pale blue shawl that looked great when I finished.

The second one was an effort to use up all the greens and blues when I finished knitting Tempestries for the National Parks.  This shawl is bolder in color and contrast, but didn’t end up being as satisfying as the first one.

My knitting update continues through Christmas.  I made my mom and dad matching Ohio State colored socks.  I got Dad’s done in time for Christmas, but Mom’s were more of a Valentine’s gift.  The picture is of my Mom’s socks.  I always know socks I make for her will fit because our feet are the same size.  Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of both of them wearing their socks.

I planned, once I had Mom’s socks done, to start an Icelandic sweater which I would continue to knit on our cruise and finish in time to wear when we got to Iceland.  Unfortunately the cruise got pushed to next year.  I decided to start the sweater anyway, figuring I could wear it this winter in Ohio.  I started the stupid thing five times and couldn’t get the lacework right at the neck.  Fortunately this is the first part of the sweater, so it’s not like I knitted the whole sweater and then couldn’t get the lacework right.  Although I love the lacework in the pattern picture, I didn’t love it enough to start a sixth time.  I found another pattern and put the thing away for the present.

When we picked out our living history clothing this year, three of the volunteers had socks that wouldn’t stay up.  I knitted some simple garters to hold the socks up and they work great.  I kept one pair to hold my own historical stockings up.  Historical stockings didn’t have ribbing and weren’t as elastic as what we wear today.

I have been spinning but I have been using most of the yarn I finish for weaving.  Here is some of the yarn hanging on the clothesline after washing.  When I get done spinning and plying a yarn, I wash it and then get to set the twist by banging it against a table.  This is great fun and gets rid of any hostilities I might feel.  When I finish, the twist is even throughout the yarn and it looks great.  I always feel this step is like magic.

The final knitting update is a couple of sampler prayer shawls to use up some of the odds and ends of yarn I have leftover.  I save the bits and pieces and put them into a two gallon ziplock bag.  When I have a bag full of yarn, I have enough for a sampler shawl.  I got this idea from Annabelle Moore, so I always think of her when I knit one of these.  These always look like Jacob’s coat of many colors, but I love the ways all the colors work together to create something bright and cheerful.  I will be mailing these two shawls off to Wedgewood for them to use in their prayer shawl ministry.

That’s about it for this knitting update.  Nothing too exciting on the needles but I’m enjoying the little bits of knitting I get to do.  Now that the park is open again, I will probably resume knitting when I am at the information desk.  It’s a good way to occupy my time when we aren’t busy.