Baby Surprise Jacket

Elizabeth Zimmerman was a British lady who, during the 1970's published a number of books and even had her own cable show about knitting. One of the things for which she is best known is a pattern called, the Baby Surprise Jacket. The story goes that one of EZ's children tossed a knitted jacket onto a chair and when she looked at it, she realized that she could knit a sweater without side seams, using increases and decreases to give it shape. I call it the "Origami Sweater" because, when it's finished, it looks nothing at all like a sweater. In fact, when I completed the knitting, I gave the piece to every knitter and sewer I knew--no one could fold the knitted fabric in such a way as to make a sweater shape. It's totally counter-intuitive. Here's a photo of one that is 1/3 complete. It doesn't look anything like a sweater, does it?



Here's the same thing, folded to create sleeves.



Now, here's a completed sweater, sewn at the shoulders and with a collar knitted on.
This one is knitted in two solid colorways to make stripes. The increases and decreases create the pattern.



Now, what small person can I give these sweaters to?

Centreville Happening

Saturday was a big day in Centreville. We had our regular farmers' market



and also a number of other craftsmen and artists, who were taking part in an annual street fair put on by the local arts council. A local rescue group brought several adoptable kittens and a young hound named, Maurice, who almost stole my heart. He had the sweetest "voice."













And, since it was also Worldwide Knit in Public Day, the Wild Woolly Women were there to give a public face to knitting and spinning. Next year, I want a "Queen Bee" chair like Rachel!!

Daddy Makeover

Like father, like daughter. Lilly must like Dad's copycat hairstyle.

My New Favorite Sammie

Here's something that I put together for a quick lunch recently. I took some of those round sandwich breads and toasted them lightly. (Warning: if you separate the halves and toast them individually, they get really crispy--it's like eating a sandwich made of old 45's. Instead, pop both halves into one slot of the toaster and the inside stays nice and soft. I learned this trick from Paul's mom.) Spread each half with a light layer of hummus and a bit of fresh, chopped basil. YUMMO!

Handspun, Handknit Socks

One of my spinning goals--probably the most commonly held goal for beginning spinners--is to be able to spin "skinny" yarn. When you start wheel spinning, the job of coordinating the movements of the hands and feet is so difficult that it's all you can do to even hold on to the wool as it goes through the fingers. The task of controlling the tension on the fiber and adjusting the wheel, takes practice. In my case, it took a lesson at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival with one of the "rock stars" of the spinning world, Judith MacKenzie.

Since then, I have been working with my little Pocket Wheel to perfect this skill and finally, I've produced enough 3 ply yarn (about 400 yards) to knit a pair of simple socks. The yarn is a little thicker than yarn that I usually purchase, so the socks are bulkier than others that I've made. Nevertheless, they will work fine with my stretched out clogs and I'm really pleased with them. Now, all I have to do is to survive another summer in Maryland so that I can wear them!

Annapolis Spins in Public

This month, the Annapolis spinning group spent the day spinning outside on the lawn of the library in Severna Park. The temperature was in the upper 90's with humidity to match, but the trees offered solid shade and an occasional breeze kept us comfortable until mid-afternoon. We spent the day visiting with each other and answering questions from the library patrons as they passed. Most people, unfamiliar with fiberarts, just want to know what we're doing but typically, the men seem interested in how the wheels work and the women want to know what we're going to do with the "string." My favorite was the lady who shared that, as a child she'd wanted a toy spinning wheel but never got it because her parents were afraid that she'd break it. Since then, she has always had a curiousity about spinning but never had an opportunity to try it. We promised that, if she returned for another meeting, we would give her a shot at it.




Here are two photos of a wheel that one of the members has embellished with a woodburned mandala design. It's even more amazing in person.