The week between Christmas and New Year's day is one of my favorite times of the year. The big holiday is behind me, the fridge is full of holiday leftovers, and I'm off work. Plus it rained buckets last week, which means it was perfect knitting weather.
I decided to gather some compatible bits of yarn and knit a rectangular shawl in linen stitch, based on a patten in Sally Melville's The Knitting Experience Book 3: Color, which has a lot of well-designed classic patterns. I am in love with linen stitch. It produces a fabric that looks woven. I can see many applications for this stitch: it's perfect for using up odds and ends of various yarns.
While I was knitting on a couple of rainy afternoons, I watched the BBC series Victorian Farm on YouTube. In this series, three experts, two archaeologists and a historian, live and work on a Victorian farm in rural England for a year, and we see them doing various routine tasks: cooking, raising sheep, and farming, using the technologies of the time. There's a wonderful scene when Ruth Goodman, the historian, who is an expert on domestic practices, cross stitches a pair of suspenders by lamp light in an unheated room so cold you can see her breath.
What a pleasant way to pass the hours. Unlike poor Ruth, I was nice and toasty, and with a few more good movies, I'll have a nice wrap.
9 comments:
That IS a nice stitch and such pretty color!! Ooooooh...if I only knew how to knit!!!
Thanks for the reminder; I've been meaning to learn that stitch and have that book. Off to find it!
the scarf is looking lovely! I'm working on a sock that has a very similar stitch for the heel -- never knew what it was called, but I really like the texture. It will have to go on my to-do list for a scarf sometime soon.
Oooooo! Very pretty =-) I've always liked the linen stitch a lot. So...how wide (as in top to bottom) are you making it? What do the ends look like (just a regular turn or are there yarn ends hanging like eventual fringe?) I do love these colors and textures! I'm going to be knitting a lot this week as DH is going off on a business trip and the TV is MINE!!! =-) And I'm also watching Larkrise to Candelford on You Tube...I love it...and I heard they are making another season =-)
Gorgeous! I love the combination of yarns you have chosen for this and the fantastic texture.
I love those colors! And I bet the texture is delicious too. I'll have to look up that series; I bet it's fascinating.
Fabulous colors Barbara and a really lovely stitch too. You do such wonderful knitted pieces.
Happy New Year to You and yours.
Regards,
Anna
'what beautiful colors, beautiful photographs and a beautiful stitch. Thank you for reintroducing it to me. I love how the color plays out...are you stranding two colors together? beautiful....
This is one dynamite shawl! I am glad you get this time to do exactly what you want. I'm sure it is needed after all the stress of your job.
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