The Array Cowl is finally done.
The texture produced by the stitches is lovely. Even my boys commented on how nice it looked. The pattern is free at Shibui Knits.
I stayed loyal to my goal of using up my stash. The pink and gray combination of wool, alpaca, cashmere and silk make this cowl soft and warm.
Here my labels are ready to go into my knitting notebook.
Another shot of Bear wearing the cowl.
Now to find another project…
While I didn’t write out any knitting goals for the year, I knew that I should put my ever-growing stash to good use (besides just being beautiful to look at and soft to the touch).
I decided to use this hand spun that I bought at a crafts fair. The combination of Bluefaced Leicester and silk (80/20) felt luscious in my hands.
There were 490 yards of it to play with and the color changes were lovely to look at as they unfolded.
The size is just right to use as a scarf, a shoulder wrap, or to keep Bear warm on chilly nights.
Here are some colorful close-ups.
This was the perfect little gift to me.
Wishing you a happy valentine’s day full of love and yarn.
{source}
After a three-month stint in Beijing, I went home for a month. It’s funny how being away makes you appreciate every little thing. Of course there is family – my husband, sons, my mom, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues. Then there are blue skies, clean air, the sound of quiet, driving my car, air conditioning, clean bathrooms, ice …
A month later, I am back in Beijing. It’s different this time. While it is still a fabulous adventure, it was much tougher leaving home. The first time, there was the mystery of Asia and the challenge of the new business venture. We still have challenging work to do but I miss the rhythms of home.
While here, I continue to explore the city. My first free day, I went to the Summer Palace. It is 20 subway stops from where I stay and took almost an hour to get there.
The property is huge like most everything else here. It covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers (720 acres), most of which are bodies of water. It is kept immaculately groomed and landscaped. I walked for five hours straight that day, up and down steep stairs and around the lake.
I enjoyed …
The walk.
Being out in the fresh air on a cool day.
The rich vegetation of the gardens.
The earthy smell of the pine trees.
Seeing families camping on the grounds, having picnics and taking naps.
Watching ladies dancing under gazebos.
Listening to an old man playing his flute by the lake.
Along the corridor of the Studio of the Jade River (Yuhe Zhai), there was a series of stone carvings. According to the placard, the original scenes were painted on woven silk by the painter Cheng Qi during the Yuan Dynasty (mid-1700s). The scenes portray men farming and women weaving in ancient China. I selected the ones showing women’s work.
The stone carvings were framed and the bright day cast reflections on the glass.
It was a beautiful day but there is still no place like home.
Believe it or not, Spring is almost here. Every March, the Azalea Trail takes Houstonians on a tour of homes whose gardens overflow with pink and white azaleas. Luckily, the former owners of our home planted a few azalea bushes in the backyard.
The sunny weather prompted the husband and I to make a quick trip to Austin, just the two of us. You know it’s love because our first stop was Hill Country Weavers, my favorite Austin yarn shop. The place had expanded since I was last there with an additional two rooms overflowing with yarn. I picked up these lovelies – 300 meters each of 67% silk, 23% kid mohair, 10% nylon yarn by Hand Maiden. It is hand dyed in Canada.
Here’s a glimpse of it catching some rays among the azaleas.
I honed in on this pattern from Malabrigo Book 3. The pattern calls for Malabrigo sock yarn with a gauge of 24 stitches over 4 inches. The gauge for the Hand Maiden yarn is 20 stitches over 4 inches. This should result in a larger shawl which is what I would like. I’ll definitely knit a gauge swatch before casting on.
{Source}
Here is one more view of those colorful azaleas. And there are still buds waiting to bloom.
My wonderful, amazing, sweet, gorgeous husband not only took photos of places that would interest me during his trip, he also brought back a few mementos.
The woven tube contains a sample of raw yellow silk. He picked up this souvenir at the Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT) in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The small woven box contained these small pottery bowls. These came from a ceramics factory in Chiangmai, Thailand.
This yarn is made in Thailand. My husband found a yarn shop in the Farong District, the old part of Bangkok. The original Mandarin Oriental Hotel is located in the Farong District. Around this area are countless craftsmen specializing in silk, silver, gems, antiquities and other items.
This is a beautiful silk scarf from the museum shop at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok.
Even the packaging it came in is beautiful. The paper envelope is imprinted with scenes of the silk-making process.
He picked this up during his visit to Chiangmai in northern Thailand. This silk scarf is from Jolie Femme, a Thai silk factory.
This crumpled silk scarf is from the Old Market in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Finally, he brought these two illustrated books that tell the history of the Thai silk industry. The Thai Silk Sketch Book contains beautiful watercolors depicting the reeling, spinning, dyeing and weaving of silk textiles. The House on the Klong is a lovely picture book about the art collected by Jim Thompson over his lifetime and which is now on display at his home turned museum.
I may not have been there but he made sure to give me a sense of the place through photographs, retelling what he saw, and bringing these lovely things to make me smile.
Agujas 