There are so many reasons why we knit; so many reasons why we start and then continue but it is the meditative aspect of knitting which I find most compelling:  it seems to me to be the vaulting canopy that covers us all. People come to knitting for different reasons — because they are makers,  or because they have to do something with their hands, or perhaps to make a gift, or to join their friends who like to knit — but I think that people STAY with knitting because knitting is so utterly transformative.

Beyond the obvious (miraculous!) thing of taking a string and giving it a shape and a form which then gives us warmth and beauty, knitting transforms pain, fear, anger, and impatience into something else. I don’t think I have ever seen a piece of finished knitting that divulged the emotional state in which it was knit (oh yes, I have seen abandoned knitting and the knitting that went fine for awhile and then this terrible thing happened, but there are still all those rows and stitches which follow one another so peacefully, so rhythmically and purposefully.) My theory is that knitting absorbs our emotions as it quietly changes them, elevating them into something purposeful, useful, and beautiful.  And as the knitting changes our emotions, it changes us, the knitter. The change is temporary of course: we have to return to our knitting!

The more people knit, the more they knit with peace and love and joy; the more often we pick up our knitting, the faster, each time, our knitting moves us from discomfort to comfort. Knitting saved my life and I know I am not alone.

So we continue to knit, and we knit ourselves from one category to another, but without the Meditation, most of us would not knit at all.

After Marin left, I went outside and in my preferred medium made this colorway.
I love it — for what we all are, for what we once were, and for how we keep those pieces connected.

Marin’s Pencils, BFL

Let me give a short, easy answer. Real roving — carded wool — looks fluffy, puffy, and wooly. Combed top, which is now often referred to as roving is sleek, perfect, and uniform.

Roving

Merino Combed Top

Brushed Mohair Shawl with Tassels

Approximate size: 54 inches wide, 38 inches long at longest point (measurements do not include tassel)

2 skeins of Three Waters Farm Brushed Mohair yarn, 250 skeins each.

Size 11 needle

CO 4 stitches.

Row 1: Knit 2, yarn over, knit to end of row.

Row 2: Knit 2, yarn over, knit to end of row.

Continue in this manner until you have knit one skein. Before beginning second skein, make 3 tassels and set aside. Attach new leader, and continue knitting as before, knitting until shawl is approximately 54 inches wide.

Bind off loosely. (It is helpful to bind off with a larger needle to keep it loose. We used a size 15 needle.)

Enjoy!

Brushed Mohair Boucle Shawl/Scarf

Approximately 14 inches wide and 70 inches long

One skein Three Waters Farm Brushed Mohair Boucle, 250 yards
One skein Three Waters Farm Brushed Mohair, 250 yards

Size 11 needle

CO 34 stitches with the Brushed Mohair Boucle.
Knit 2 rows.
Switch to Brushed Mohair yarn.

*Knit 1 row, double wrapping each stitch
Knit 1 row, knitting into one wrap and letting the other wrap drop.

Switch back to Brushed Mohair Boucle yarn.
Knit 2 rows.*

Repeat from * to * until shawl/scarf is your desired length.

Knit two rows Boucle; bind off in Boucle

Behold!

Every row is a knit row.  (Garter stitch)

Loosely CO 100 stitches with the worsted weight yarn or the Thick n’ Thin yarn. Knit one row. At beginning of next row, cut the old yarn, leaving an 8 inch tail.  Tie new yarn (whichever color/type you prefer) to old yarn and snug the knot.  Knit one row.

Use yarns interchangeably until you reach your desired size, keeping in mind that, due to the difference in yardage between the yarns, you will need to use some yarns more sparingly than others.

Continue in this way, changing yarn every row until the scarf/wrap is the width you want. Bind off loosely. Behold!

BRUSHED MOHAIR RUFFLE SHAWL

3 SKEINS THREE WATERS FARM BRUSHED MOHAIR

SIZE 10 needles

Final size: Center panel without ruffles, 54 inches long, 21 inches wide. Ruffles are 4” wide.

kfb = increase by knitting in the front and the back of the stitch.

C/O 72 sts on size 10 needles.  Work in stockinette for 266 rows.  Put sts on holder.

With right side facing, pick up & knit 233 sts along one long side (7 sts for every 8 rows).

Row 1 and all odd rows: purl.

Row 2: k2, *kfb, k6, repeat from * to end.

Row 4: k2, *kfb, k7, repeat from * to end.

Row 6: k2, *kfb, k8, repeat from * to end.

Row 8: k2, *kfb, k9, repeat from * to end.

Row 10: k2, *kfb, k10, repeat from * to end.

Row 12: k2, *kfb, k11, repeat from * to end.

Row 14: k2, *kfb, k12, repeat from * to end.

Row 16: k2, *kfb, k13, repeat from * to end.

Row 18: k2, *kfb, k14, repeat from * to end.

Row 20: Bind off.

Repeat for other long side.

Return sts from holder to needle, and with right side facing knit 1 row.  Work Rows 1-20 as above.

On other short end, with right side facing, pick up & knit 72 sts.  Work Rows 1-20 as above.

Sew edges of ruffles together at corners.  Weave in ends.

Enjoy!

Bradford Pear

I am partial to the Deciduous Magnolia, from its compelling pussy-willow like buds to its stately rose and pink blossoms. It typically demonstrates more prudence than the Bradford Pear. I like that, being in want of a little more prudence myself.  I noticed a few timid buds opening this week, but the effect was more bashful-child-peering-through-the-fence-at-the-party than Baby-I’ve-got-something-outrageous-to-show-you. But with things in the neighborhood heating up the way they are, the Deciduous Magnolia decided to join in.

Deciduous Magnolia

Our young Keifer pear trees are showing some adolescent derring-do, but I am hoping that they reconsider. After all, if we get a freeze hard enough to shut down the whole blooming party, the Keifer’s will lose more than just their blossoms, they will lose their fruit.