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Above, the front piece of the Chinese pullover…nearing completion of the back piece and waiting for buttons on backorder.
And some news… I’ve been working on a separate home for my weaving work:
It’s just a placeholder for now, but I’m looking forward to the development of this new space.
The room was flooded with light when I took this photo, making the color of the yarn look a bit lighter here.
It’s the start of a new knitting project, the Chinese Style Pullover by Setsuko Torii from Hand-Knit Works (kit-89 from habu). I received my copy a few months ago and was having trouble deciding where to start. All the garments are so gorgeous. I was inspired to get kit-89 after seeing beautiful versions here and here. Last weekend I was in the back room at habu, standing in front of the colors and trying to decide what two strands would look good together. I compared huge light hanks of shosenshi paper, finally choosing khaki and gray. I’ve only knit about 5 inches and already I’m in love with the texture created by the linen yarn. The pattern, the sounds of the material as you knit and the surface texture of the garment make for a new and invigorating knitting experience.
A cashmere and silk handwoven shawl created for Blossom as part of our sew :: weave exchange.
Driven by the subtle differences in the habu materials, I used this project to try them out in ways that were new to me. The yarns are all dark but of varying texture. I used silks of two different weights as warp: fine yet slubby token viscose silk and the slightly thicker, even kakishibu tokkenshibu silk.
Using yarns of different weights and textures to create depth. The difference is very subtle – take a closer look.
It’s difficult to make out in the photographs, but it is there. The true test is when you take the shawl in your hands and see how the warp materials make it fold in unexpected ways. I wanted the bulk of the shawl to be plain weave so it would be warm, but also wanted some detail. I decided on a section of textural silk placed off center (gracing one shoulder), a panel with groups of 2/2 leno in a diagonal design. Inspiration came from looking up at the trees during the evening, the setting sun highlighting the tops of the branches. The weft is supremely soft naturally dyed cashmere from habu.
I savored every phase of this project, from warping with different materials to anticipating the moment the cashmere would interact with the warp yarns to the excitement at seeing the original fabric fold and move once off the loom.
tree top shawl handwoven 20 in by 70 in
sew :: The bag and skirt that Blossom created are truly beautiful. Please visit here and here to see more.