WIP

An earlier blog I posted about that pretty sock blank

And super free pattern

I found this yarn in my stash and I have plenty!

I jumped at the chance to knit that shawl

This yarn is well aged!  I remember buying from a

Local yarn shop that sold by the bulk--of course, I bought

This at a bargain price. Just one problem--

Don't make any mistakes!  It's a devil

To take out!

Time To Color and Fold!

I love this!  You can print off these interesting holiday paper globes,

cut and fold your way to marvelous decorations!  It's a good way

for the kids.

There are also other super decorations to color and use in your home!

Have fun and check back often to see what else is available.

What about this 3-D trees?!

Impulse Buy

There it was!  This awesome looking sock blank from The Loopy Ewe was staring me in the face--I so love

orange or shades of orange and the blue combined gave this fiber the look

of ME!  So, without hesitation I ordered immediately!  I don't do that

often as I like to use my stash--of which I have plenty!

But, this was right there--right in front of my face!  How could I resist?

It wasn't long before the fiber arrived and my first thoughts were--

what do I do with this?  I don't want socks--no one would see them.

Now, the search was on to find the right pattern--there are so many out there

that use gradient yarn--nothing really caught my eye 

until

this pattern popped up

and it was free!  Oh, how I like free! 

Shells and Tide  would be just perfect!  Alas, there isn't enough yardage to knit this yummy scarf--
oh well, I have the perfect pattern for another yarn.

Veteran's Day!!

Friday, November 11

Veterans Day 2016

Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday, observed annually on November 11, that honors military veterans, that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who died while in military service.^[1]

On November 11, 1919, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued a message to his countrymen on the first Armistice Day in which he expressed what he felt the day meant to Americans:

"ADDRESS TO FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN The White House, November 11, 1919. A year ago today our enemies laid down their arms in accordance with an armistice which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities, and gave to the world an assured opportunity to reconstruct its shattered order and to work out in peace a new and juster set of inter national relations. The soldiers and people of the European Allies had fought and endured for more than four years to uphold the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of armed force. We ourselves had been in the conflict something more than a year and a half. - With splendid forgetfulness of mere personal concerns, we re modeled our industries, concentrated our financial resources, increased our agricultural output, and assembled a great army, so that at the last our power was a decisive factor in the victory. We were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought. Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men. To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with - solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.

En Provence!!

Quiltville, Bonnie Hunter's exciting website, has all the information you need to

join this free quilt mystery.

Every November, around Thanksgiving time, Bonnie hosts a free quilt pattern.

You just need to look for the clues on her website every week.

She has chosen these colors for the palette, but you can substitute your color

choices--just keep track.  

She keeps the clues up for a few weeks.

I don't know if I'll sew along this year--purple is not my thing!

But, I"ll save the clues for future reference or if I sub different fabrics.

Estonian Knitting

Have you ever wondered about Estonian knitting and what makes it different from other country knitting?  Kate Davies Designs has posted a review of the book--Estonian Knitting 1, Traditions & Techniques, Anu Pink, Siiri Reimann, Kristi Jöeste  

Estonian World has some interesting facts as well.

And along comes Elizabeth Ravenwood on Ravelry group A Big Comfy Doghouse forum

with 2017 year of Estonian patterns!  I'm so excited!

If that wasn't exciting enough, Toni L. Lorenz, of Knitting in the Loft forum group

is hosting a different Estonian sampler for 2017--completely different 

patterns!

How much fun is this going to be?!!  Hope I can keep up with this adventure

and learn about Estonian knitting.

Warp Weighted Looms

Sometimes, my brain goes into overload--I love the history of fabric--

how did it happen?  When did it happen?  Who was the person to come

up with the warp and weft of weaving?  Most don't stop to think--

just how did we get from zero to here?

When I do demos on weaving or spinning, I remind folks that

all our fabric came from a single thread!  Yes, a single thread became

a towel, a sheet, a piece of clothing, yes, even your underwear!

But, in ancient times, how were those clothing items woven?

Here is one of the most primitive ways you could make a loom-

a rock weighted loom!  Fascinating isn't it!!?

The Warp-Weighted Loom I Oppstadveven I Kljásteinavefstaður is a new

book written and researched by Hildur Hákonardóttir, Elizabeth Johnston and Marta Kløve Juuhl 

They worked for six years to contribute to this interdisciplinary book about the North Atlantic Cultural Heritage, represented by the Warp-Weighted Loom.  

The result is a story in three parts; the Loom History in Iceland, Shetland and Norway; an exceptional Practical Handbook which also shows the strong connection between science and good practical handicraft, and the textile findings from prehistoric and historic times.

Main text is in English and important recipes also in Icelandic and Norwegian.

Maggie Forest and Silvia Ravinet  wrote an interesting modern day account of their 

research into this weaving technique and maybe one of the first looms used.

Reading their experiment makes me very happy that others have tried this method

and we now have fancy easy to use looms!

The warp-weighted loom is a simple and ancient form of loom in which the warp yarns hang freely from a bar supported by upright poles which can be placed at a convenient slant against a wall. Bundles of warp threads are tied to hanging weights called loom weights which keep the threads taut.^[1] Evidence of the warp-weighted loom appears in the Neolithic period in central Europe. It is depicted in artifacts of Bronze Age Greece and was common throughout Europe, remaining in use in Scandinavia into modern times. Loom weights from the Bronze Age were excavated in Miletos, Greece.^[2]