Taking The Long Way Home

In November of 2008, Rick and I went to Africa for three weeks, as volunteers for the Hope Bracelet Project , at  Project Mercy , in Yetebon, Ethiopia. Our main task was to continue the beadmaking education of the young artisans there. While that in itself was a life changing experience for us, there are other memories that surface for me now, and give new value and meaning to our time there. One of the fun things our group of volunteers did was to teach the children who lived in the compound how to knit. We brought needles and yarn to share and to leave there, and sat outside in the soft November sunshine, surrounded by eager little boys and girls who sat as close to us as they could get, and did their best to learn through our clumsy, mimed instructions. A few of the local women also joined us. No one had their own project to work on, and so each of the starter pieces was passed around, so anyone who wanted to knit could take a turn. I had also brought along my own large w...

You meant to make thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list, but somehow the time just flew by, and now it's officially the Last Minute as far as hand-making goes. Oops! Speaking for myself, I'll start earlier next year, like maybe January.  To the rescue, these cute little pouches make a nicer-than-store-bought presentation for a gift card, and later magically transform into biz card holders or handy pocket wallets. Depending on your knitting speed, these take roughly an hour to make (for slow-knitting me), so you should have time to whip out a bunch before gifting day arrives. This is not so much a pattern as a basic guideline to making a little buttoned pouch. Improvise where you need to! Now enough chit chat. Ladies and gentlemen, start your needles! Knitted Gift Card Pouch small amount worsted weight yarn (these bags each weight about 1/3 of an ounce, or 8 grams) size 7 circular needle (8 or 9 inch, or longer for magic loop, or DPNs) button yarn needle an...

Triangular scarves are often called shawls these days. Some can be worn as either one. The Wavelength Scarf, however, is best worn around the neck, because the center pointy part is kind of shallow. This sweeping, asymmetrical triangle is knitted from one side to the other, with increases at one edge, and decreases at the other. This gives it a gentle curve that wraps nicely and drapes in graceful spirals. (Buy this very scarf right off my neck! Link at the bottom of this post!) The yarn I used here is a soft cotton/polyamide "ribbon" type yarn, with a fine metallic thread running through it (details below). It has a subtle gleam with no itchiness at all. I really love it. This scarf is done in garter stitch (you know I like simple knits), in a really easy to remember two-row repeat. Try it! And send me pictures! Wavelength Scarf dimensions: wingspan, about 75" x 16" at the off-center point You'll Need - yarn: 3 balls Louisa Hardin...

As an imperfect vegan, I do my best to knit with non-animal fiber yarns. I'll talk more about that in a future post. For now, I'll just say that sometimes I find myself in a similar situation to my darling husband, Rick, when he becomes "vegan between parties" and plunges face first into the baked brie. My personal downfall is not cheese. It's yarn. If someone gifts me with a ball of handspun wool, or shares some beautiful cashmere or merino they (unfathomably to me) can't use, I happily adopt it and immediately start thinking about what to make with it. It's "rescue yarn," so it's all OK. I will also admit to sometimes being "vegan between yarn stores." When I wander into a soft and fluffy fiber shop, my hands wander the shelves, fondling skeins as if they were puppies. I make little cooing sounds. I rub yarn on my neck to see if it's scarf-worthy. And then... I usually buy something. I can't help it. On a recent trip...