Up to my neck…
Next to alliterations in annoying titles, surely, are puns. But please bear with me. Imagine this is what my Cashmere Vest project is saying to you.
Because, it has indeed reached the point where I will cast off for the neck on the front, with the back already done and if I can actually get my head and neck out of the oceans of work they are currently buried under, I might even finish this project next week. About two hours of concentrated knitting, then finishing.
I have a serious manuscript deadline in about four weeks. Right now I should be thinking only of footnotes and the first and last ten pages of the book that a few people will hopefully read, incidentally the only bits not yet done. But all I can think of is getting back to my Faux Russian Stole and a couple of other serious lace projects. All the words I’ve painstakingly composed over the last few years are swimming in front of my eyes and I am strongly fighting that tired, blah feel. I must revise, revise I must…
Another thing that’s left me quite exhausted is the Knitting Olympics which thousands of knitters have apparently joined., to finish challenging projects in two weeks flat. I find it amazing that some people have been knitting the Frost & Flowers Lace shawl, others have already finished two lace shawls… makes me tired just visiting their blogs and seeing how much they’ve knit in a day. I don’t care either for speed knitting or for the Olympics so I’m out of this race, but it’s still pretty amazing to see the projects progress in leaps and bounds.
Perhaps a knit design for the cover of your book?
[btw, LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!]
Ooh, the vest looks nice and luxurious! I’m trying to get back to the Faux Russian Stole soon as well. Maybe we can pick it back up soon together! (I’m trying to finish my landscape shawl and a present right now, but hopefully both will be done soon.)
You know, I was just thinking. Soon you will not be needing any knitted clothing (at the best, you might want to have only a few of these); on the other hand, soon I WILL need lots. Want to mail them to me instead? They all look fabulous.
Hey Fran! A book, eh? Congrats!
Now a question, which if I don’t find the answer to soon, I will be worse than ‘up to my neck’ in trouble. I bought my daughter an activity kid with a knitting wheel to weave a cap. Well, she’s lost the packaging and the instructions. Luckily we have the contents!! She’s made scarves before with a small wheel that had just 4 pegs. I can figure out how to get her started but I am a bit flummoxed about dropping loops (stitches) or whether I need to at all. Any clues?
Sepoy, yaar, at the rate I’m going, a knit cover is the only thing that will get people to pick it up. But I persevere….
Anjali, what you have said is true. I think I’m going to send you my lace shawl to finish!!
Manisha, unfortunately, I have never used to wheel for weaving, so I’m a little lost about the question, but also very curious. Is it like a spinning wheel? Can you take a picture? Sorry I can’t be of more help!
It looks like this: http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/yhst-73078103945512_1887_90606882
and you start of with simple looping around the pegs. Then in the next round you hold the yarn around the outside of the peg and cast off the existing loop such that the yarn that you held around it becomes the next loop. Yikes – I am not sure if I am explaining it correctly! And the tool you use is a thick 6 inch long wooden needle, quite like a knitting needle (maybe size 13?)
I Googled some more and found instructions for a hat! This site:
http://www.loomroom.com/knittingfreepatterns.html
has pictures of the knitting wheel (they call it the loom) as well as a free pattern for a hat.
The vest looks lovely and luxurious. But, uh, repetitive. I can understand the desire to get to something more complex. Possible even because of all the other stuff to get done.
Meanwhile, my conference paper is due on Thursday, and I haven’t started writing it! I’m like my students! To the point that I just ordered a few prospector books yesterday!
Ugh.
Fran, I’ve put up pictures of our knitting wheel and one of the tubular scarves my daughter weaved on my blog. Take a look.