Greetings all! This is my first diary for What Are You Working On Today and my first diary on DailyKos, any constructive criticism is welcome. First let me introduce myself, my name is Letitia and I am a knitter and a weaver, I also crochet, but only when necessary. I have been knitting for over 20 years and have a fondness for lace. I started weaving about 2 years ago, mainly looking for a way to finish a blanket in less than 3 months and got bitten by the bug. I bought my first floor loom in December. The majority of my knitting and weaving is for charity, hence my moniker, there is usually a purpose to my knitting. So, enough about me, follow me below the fold to see my current projects.
My first project to share is one I finished last week, a comfort scarf. I belong to the yarn ministry at my church and comfort scarves for battered women is an on-going project. A comfort scarf is a fluffy, soft knitted or crocheted scarf that is no more than 5" wide and at least 60" long. Any pattern that catches your fancy, but it must be soft and cuddly. The intent is for women in shelters to derive comfort from the scarves and to know that someone cares. This particular scarf is made of bits of scrap yarn. I cast on 180 stitches on size 13 circular needles. I knit two rows or one garter bump in Elizabeth Zimmerman terms, then I changed to another yarn. If I didn't have enough of a particular yarn for two rows, I simply changed colors by holding the new and old yarn together for 3 or 4 stitches. I left the ends long and when the scarf was the desired width, I cast off, knotted the ends together and fringed. I let the ends mix with the fringe for color. I think it turned out quite nice and will go to a local battered women's shelter or to a homeless shelter (lots of Homeless Moms in need of comfort).
Comfort Scarf from scrap yarn
My second project is a woven blanket. I finished the weaving last weekend and now need to sew the center seam. My loom is actually wide enough to allow me to weave the blanket in one piece, but because I'm a new weaver and still learning my loom I decided to weave two narrow lengths and seam up the middle. The warp on this blanket is rug yarn and rug yarn can be stiff and uncomfortable, so the weft is think bulky yarn to soften the rug yarn in the warp. Almost all of my yarn that I use has been donated to the church. The yarn comes from ladies getting rid of projects they started and never completed, or Grandma went into assisted living and donated her yarn stash or during spring cleaning some found a bag of yarn and has no idea where it came from. The rug yarn came from a local business man who was going to start his son making latch hook rug kits, but that fell through and he was left with a storage container full of rug yarn. He offered the yarn to local charity groups and we got a large amount. It makes wonderful warp, but is not so good for knitting and crocheting. This blanket, once it's seamed will go to a local home for low income seniors. Most of the seniors are living on Social Security and have very little and no family. Many live independently, but rely on the center for their apartments, meals and transportation. I feel good when I make blankets for the seniors knowing it will keep them warm and a friend volunteers at the shelter and she loves giving the blankets to the seniors so it's a win-win.
Woven blanket
Next is a Starbella scarf. Starbella is a brand name for a special ruffle scarf yarn. If you've never seen it, here's a picture:
Starbella yarn
And here's my in-work scarf:
In-work Scarf
I'm indifferent to Starbella, if someone gives me a skein I'll work with it, or if I have a request I'll make one, but I don't run out and buy it. I know several ladies who HATE using it, I've gotten several skeins, including this one from these ladies. This will be a comfort scarf when finished.
My last project to share is a woven scarf from Lion Brand Amazing yarn. This is a 40% wool and 60% acrylic yarn. The scarf was woven on a 16" rigid heddle loom. This scarf will be sent to the foster agency (LOWO) on Pine Ridge Reservation along with other woolen items. The picture doesn't show it, but it's lovely shades of gray and is suitable for a man. It's hard to find interesting yarn suitable for a man.
Woven scarf
Other projects in work include a lovely black lace mantilla for moi, and my Lenten project which is knitting some additional squares and then crochet the squares together. The squares were donated along with the yarn needed to finish. It's a Lenten project because it's something I can do, but don't want to do, but once it's finished it should bring joy to someone.
That's it for me, I'll share other projects in a later diary. What is everyone else working on?