The Last Knit for 2024

 Sometime ago I purchased some stubby cotton and linen yarns with the intention of knitting a Summer top. I had no idea how much yarn would be needed and consequently purchased way too much.

The finished sweater adapted from my favourite raglan sleeve pattern, Doocot by Kate Davies Designs

Some swatching for gauge and drape, experimenting with different combinations of the yarns.

Close up of the finished knit, one strand of the stubby cotton and one strand of the thicker linen held together. The plan was to include some extra texture and darker tones with some rows of garter stitch knit with three strands of the fine linen.

Detail of the bands, faux cable that I used in a previous knit, the Galanta sweater by Carol Feller / Stolen Stitches. Less repeats used for the neckline and three quarter sleeves but enough of the faux cable to look coordinated.

Blocking the finished sweater. Really an important step for this cotton and linen combination.

Closeup of the neckline, garter stitch and stripe details

Advent Knit Along

 I found this project designed by @knitandspritz on Instagram. The idea was to make eighteen squares, one square per day and then for the last week make up the mystery project .

The mystery project, when finished, became a chunky textural scarf.

The finished 6 inch squares were sewn together, firstly one row of nine and then another row of nine. The two rows were sewn together to form a long rectangle of  12 inches by 54 inches approx. then rib borders added to the long sides and the short sides which also included buttons and buttonholes.

Finished squares measured approximately 6 inches by 6 inches

A selection of the finished blocks, each block different

Squares were wet blocked on the blocking mats, making sure that they were consistent in size and the fabric of the square relaxed.

This was a really fun project. Made from leftover yarn in my stash.

Bere Sweater

The Bere sweater is the garment option from The Celtic Knit Club 2024. As part of the club I could have also knitted other smaller accessories but they are not really garments that I wear. It was such a fun knit, lots of cables for interest and the Deas yarn from Stolen Stitches was great to knit.

A close up of the cables. I changed the neckline to incorporate a regular neckband. The original pattern had an I cord bind off but I found it a little bit low .

The Last Hurrah - Votives

 A few weeks ago I went to the last workshop to be held by Fibre Arts Australia in Ballarat. I have been going to these workshops for many years and have enjoyed them so much. It was full of fun and joy as participants came together to celebrate the end of an era. 

The Banksia Tree, my first project, made with Banksia cones, a rock, rusted wire and some blackbirds cut out ply from a box of offcuts.

The workshop that I attended was Votives with Gordon Bain. We were encouraged to make figurative works and to use recycled material where possible. This piece was a tree made with little crucibles that were thrown away by a school. Each piece was inserted into a hole that was drilled into an old stick. The figure was made with off cuts of ply and painted.

Some more ply figures made with off cuts 

Birds are a favourite subject matter and often appear in my work

It is a tradition of the event for the class to make an artwork for auction on the the final evening. The class project was a vase of flowers made with simple flowers shapes cut from scrap ply, painted and mounted onto springy wire and inserted into the repurposed piece of fence post. Each person made three flowers for the vase.

More ply fun, a vase shaped wall piece with flowers

Participants who had attended ten or more events were encouraged to bring the first thing and the last 

My first class was in 2011, Steampunk Fashion with Kerri Toose. I made several garments, this pinafore was made with recycled men’s suit jackets and incorporated a draped skirt made with Ponti jersey. The book was made in April 2024 in a class with Seth Apter. The white sculpture was made in a class with Jade Peglar in 2012.  

I swapped the tunic for this machine embroidery. 

This was a gift from Glenys Mann, the powerhouse behind Fibre Arts Australia. Whilst it is disappointing that these events have come to an end it is important to celebrate what was and look to the future as Fibre Arts Australia takes a different format and direction.

A Tale of Two Knits

 

It started with this. The Voyage cardigan from Wool & Pine Designs. I was making great progress and had got up to the steeking.

Blocked and ready to steek or cut apart. My first attempt at steeking, surprisingly straightforward 

Cut apart and tried on before knitting the sleeves and neckband.

And then I decided to do a ‘test knit’ for a designer. There was a short turn around time to get the knit finished so I started this one.

A fabulous knit for Winter in Aran weight possum and merino blend. The design is an interesting wrapped stitch that creates A lot of texture in the knit.

Finally, it was back to the colourwork. Great to get it finished.

Found & Gathered, A Workshop with Seth Apter

 It has been a couple of weeks since this workshop but life intervenes and I guess better late than never. Another fabulous workshop as part of the Autumn program at Fibre Arts Australia. I find these week long intensive classes very inspiring and relish the opportunities that the program provides.

Seth is a mixed media artist from New York, here demonstrating. Lots of techniques covered in the class.

The plan was to produce a book, which was actually a collection of smaller books contained within a book. First up was the creation of papers, complex and layered papers utilising a variety of techniques 

My first papers, a definite grunge aesthetic.

Then onto creating pages and books

Once I had several small books made I could assemble my outer book. This was designed to have a found door hinge wired to the spine, an internal wrap to contain the individual books.

Then onto adding to the pages utilising even more layers of collage, stamp, stitch and ephemera

A tradition of the retreat is the creation of a class project that is auctioned for charity. Our project was for each participant to create a page that would be incorporated into a series of book structures. The first image is the collection and the second is mine. I called it Walk Around Lake Wendouree. It is hard to see the reeds that are partly attached and add a dimension to the work.

All to soon it was over and it was time for the group photo.