It was beautiful outside if a bit windy, but Mom and I began to draft our silk from the hankies. The wind would grab our fiber and loft it on high like a kite tail. Quite entertaining!
We drafted and wound on five hankies to have enough yardage to begin our knitting.
The colors really sing on the silk, you can understand the appeal of this long-kept secret fiber!
Mom doesn't love circular knitting-loves the needles but keeps her work flat. I cast on and began knitting in the round and right away had that nagging thought that it wasn't working. Silk is nothing like wool and you can't have the same expectations. I ripped out for two reasons, my needles were too big for the diameter of fiber I had drafted and the circular needles were causing an unsightly gap where the needles change and I knew it wasn't going to get better as I continued. Rip! Mom didn't want to rip out her knitting on #4 needles but saw the wisdom of smaller needles, too, as her wrist warmers were more ankle circumference than wrist! We have been knitting long enough to know that a little ripping out never hurt anyone!
A much better knit and the finished piece is more balanced on the straight needles! The drape and luster is mesmerizing! Going strong now.
Project two on the needles-a mystery knit from Ravelry (mystery 220). Thanks to a blog friend, Lynne, for getting me going from my stalled state in knitting! And blog friend, Kay, has given me a test project to knit as she prepares a project for publishing! Ahhhh, knitting is bursting out all over again thanks to a bit of help from my friends!
Sitting , knitting, talking and anticipating this...............brother, Bob, and wife, Shelly, are here for a few days!!!! (My family tanks are near full!)
The luster of that silk is mesmerizing even in the picture, and we all know pictures don't do justice to the real thing. How pretty! Glad you're revved up on the knitting front again.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time with Uncle Bob and Aunt Shelly!
How many ounces each did you dye of the silk?
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Wait a minite, you mean you can pull the silk straight off the hankies and knit with it - no spinning wheel or spindle needed?
ReplyDeleteI've got some silk around here somwhere - I wonder...
Thanks for sharing!
it always amazes me how much yarn you can get from a few hankies (weighing next to nothing:)) - I haven't knit with them yet, but I love spinning them too. and the colours.... I sometimes dream of going to india to a silk market - just because of the singing colours:)) must be the ideal material for knitting in your warm climate!
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