Letters
The Thrill of a New Project
Dear Ann,
One thing I can’t abide is not having a knitting project on the go. I can’t abide it for even 24 hours. So when I finished all the knitting on my Mood Cardigan, I was in a fix. I had company for the weekend (socially distant, related-to-me company), and I therefore couldn’t sit all by myself in a quiet room getting the cuffs, construction, and neckline details worked out on the Mood. I needed a sit-and-knit project, and I needed it now.
Help soon arrived, in the form of a photograph on Amy Christoffers’s Instagram feed during Family Scroll Time.
I love everything about Amy’s new shawl design, Pressed Flowers, especially the Marimekko/Orla Kiely vibe of stylized flowers against dotted background.
It took me a full 5 minutes of fishing around in the big blue Ikea bag that holds my pandemic stash. I came up with 6 balls of Rowan Felted Tweed, in two colors, Seafarer (dark blue) and Granite (beigey-gray).
Suddenly, my holiday weekend became very fun.
The slip-stitch pattern makes sense from early on, and the piece grows very quickly.
Very quickly.
I love slipped-stitch patterns for many reasons, but I particularly love the flat, almost woven fabric they create. I’ve been having flashbacks to the dearly beloved Linoleum Dishcloth, although I think this square floral is even easier to knit.
Felted Tweed is working out perfectly for this pattern. It’s light and soft, and so well-behaved. Felted Tweed is truly a universal donor of yarns, and it had the distinct advantage of being there in the Ikea bag stash when I needed it.
Love,
Kay
Wow. I totally love this project and the woven-y fabric it creates. Normally I am not a particular fan of blue (I’m a red person) but here I adore it. And the size – something to really wrap yourself up in. This oughta keep you awhile, right?
What a lovely pattern! Great colors on your part, as well. I am a smidge envious that you can come up with enough of those yarns from your stash…
I thought it was a facial mask! I don’t know if it would be 99% safe but it would be better than nothing. Just add loops (for ears) to the ends !
What a coincidence! I fell in love with this picture immediately over the weekend – but had to have new yarn so I’m impatiently waiting to cast on. I have some perfect green now and will pick up some watercolor for the flowers at my LYS.
Love the pattern. I’m not a triangular shawl fan, but might try to modify somehow for a rectangle or something like that.
I’m not a triangular shawl fan either, but my gloss on that rule is that if the triangle is greatly oversized, it’s fine. It’s just when they are of a size that the triangle points to the derriere or the points hang down in front and make me look kind of hunchy that I don’t like them. This one is going to be enormous.
It looks as if it starts from the centre so just cast on in the round and do the chart twice over and you should get a square.
Bandana cowl!
Just finished my first linoleum dishcloth a few weeks ago and purchased this pattern the other day. I have already found some grey and white yarn in my stash, but am thinking I should check out my Felted Tweed. I purchased some from you and some when a LYS was having a going out of business sale. No matter what, I am now even more excited to get started. Keep us posted on your progress.
Re Linoleum Dish cloth: you will never be without something to knit.
Hmmm, I think its Clay not Granite, but definitely gorgeous! (Currently knitting the Rowan Elder blanket and both colours are in it.)
You may be right! The Ikea Bag o’ Tweed doesn’t always have the labels….
Gorgeous!
I bought this pattern the second I saw I, but haven’t gone stash diving yet. We used to call Kidsilk Haze the bacon of yarn, because it makes everything better, but the Universal Donor of yarn, I love it!
As a Blood Bank professional, I appreciate those Universal donors every day. As a knitter, its good to know we can depend on our stash in these uncertain times!!!!
That’s gorgeous! I’ve been eyeing this pattern on and off, but Rowan Felted Tweed never occurred to me! Thanks for that—I’m on it.
This color combo reminds me of old woven coverlets- you’re making me want to knit another
I may have to don”just a swatch” or this. I love this pattern.
Those shoes are on my feet right now – they’re the best, right?
LOVE the shawl pattern! But it will have to wait until I finish putting together my Pandemic Picket Fence. If I start it now those beautiful blanket squares will disappear into the deep recesses of The Cabinet of Unfinished Things.
Wow, Your colour choice really caught my eye when I opened up my email to your site this morning. You have inspired me to do something with a dark background, although I know it can be a bit harder to see the stitches. Love the blue and yellow and I love your website. I make it a regular part of my morning to take a peek at what’s going on in the MDK world. Thanks.
I’d really love to see the other side of the fabric. This is gorgeous.
I’ll be sure to show it next time. And there will be a next time!
What is Family Scroll Time?
In our house it’s when things suddenly go quiet and you notice that every person is on their phone.
Your colors are much better than those in the pattern photo, imo. Classic sashiko vibe going on there.
Physical distancing: good. Related-to-you: irrelevant in terms of safety.
I’m aware.
This is already looking so cool!
Love this and definitely will be trying out some linoleum dish cloths
It looks gorgeous already. I can’t quite work out what’s going on with the straight sticks on the first two pictures, are you using a third to knit the stitches off each one in turn or does it let you straighten it out and knit straight across both sides?
I like the sound of family scroll time :-D.
I was just knitting on the short sticks while the piece was small, and I took the picture halfway through a row so that it would lie nicely.
I love this!
I would just like to tell you Family Scroll Time is BRILLIANT, and you should patent it!! (The project isn’t half bad, either…!)
I wish I were better at limiting Family Scroll Time lol! But it is a nice companionable way to spend time together. Much sharing of animal videos!
Love at first sight!
I loved this one too, as soon as I saw it on Ravelry’s Hot Right Now list. I went stash diving and found some perfect Rowan combos, and I think I have to make two!
Your colors and the pattern have a Japanese ikat feel. 🙂
I like that thought! These were the only two colors I had in sufficient quantity but navy blue is always a go-to.
Very nice, indeed! The pattern, and your yarn combo. Love it!
Love it sooooo much. a dense, functional blanket-y shawl. 2-colour ikat comes to mind
Just curious – why the third color for cast-on?
I love the way I get swept away with a new yarn or pattern or book or your writing. It reminds me of being a teenager and meeting a new boy and falling in love with a fantasy. The difference with your writing is that it opens doors that I had been too lazy to explore. I had never seriously considered felted wool or the shawl pattern of small pressed flowers. A copy of #15 is even on my coffee table but I needed a personal invitation.
Thank you for constantly inviting me to new adventures!
This is exactly why I love my Snippets Saturday morning with my cup of coffee! Well said…I get so much inspiration from MDK, and it pushes me to try new projects I didn’t think I could do.
I’m not typically a big fan of triangular shawls but Felted Tweed is my all-time favorite yarn and I do love Amy Christoffer’s designs. It’s one to think about for fall. Not sure I’ve got enough of any two colors in stash. Something else to think about.
Love it!!
What size needle are you using. I tried the size recommended and it is quite tight. Rowan tweed is a thinner yarn. YOur photos looke like a size 8 or 5mm? I am going to try that and see. This is my first attempt at mosaic. Usually I go down a needle size.