Dew Drops Cowl in Orange

March 3, 2013 | Verónica

Ever since the new year, like many of my fellow knitters, I’ve wanted to reduce the size of my stash. I purchased this lovely orange skein at a fiber festival a couple of years ago because I was intrigued by the color. It’s from Brooks Farm Yarn in Lancaster, Texas. “Ellie” was marked down in the widows and orphans bin – the place where leftover skeins go to retire. It’s 4 ounces, 400 yards of a lustrous 50% Fine Wool, 50% Silk Slub.

I used the Dew Drop Cowl pattern which is available as a free Ravelry download. Here it is blocking.

Down here in Texas, it gets cold and occasionally freezes but not for long. I wanted a cowl that would keep me warm without burning me up. This airy pattern was just right. Bear is back to model the cowl for us.

Here is a close-up. I like that the yarn was spun to have thick and thin sections. It gives the cowl an interesting texture.

Bear is keeping watch over my work in progress, a large knit blanket. I keep it tucked away in this large tote from 31 Gifts. The tote bag was only $5 with my other purchases! I love those big grommets. I pull my needles through them to keep my stitches from falling off.

It’s been a bit chilly here in Texas. Perfect weather for my orange cowl. Now, back to that blanket.

Gifts from Southeast Asia

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013 | Verónica

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.

Spinning Silk in Thailand

February 5, 2013May 10, 2016 | Verónica

My husband is traveling in Thailand and sent me these photographs. I think he knew I would like them. This first photograph shows a Thai man spinning silk. Look closely and you will see the delicate silk thread being pulled from several silkworm cocoons.

They were taken at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok. Jim Thompson, as I soon learned, was an American architect who moved to Bangkok after World War II and subsequently established the Thai Silk Company. Look at all those silkworm cocoons!

I love this photograph of a beautiful Thai girl winding the silk thread.

I have high hopes of receiving a hank or two of Thai silk yarn when he returns. (Hint, hint).

Frogging

February 1, 2013 | Verónica

After returning from a trip to Toronto a few years back, my husband presented me with this humongous hank of luscious kid mohair. It’s 450 meters of beautifully soft lime green yarn from Fleece Artist. I wound it into this gigantic ball of fluff.

I started knitting a drop stitch shrug from a pattern book called Parisienne by Colinette. It’s the one called Montmartre.

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I was almost half way done when I put it down … a couple of years ago. Here’s part of the sleeve.

I could not figure out where I left off and the pattern is rather convoluted due to the increases. Plus, from where I stopped, I needed to start decreasing in pattern and completely forgot my sequencing, despite my margin notes.

These two smaller yarn balls are the unravelled evidence of my procrastination.

How I Learned to Knit

January 27, 2013January 27, 2013 | Verónica

When I started knitting, I picked up a pattern book of sampler afghan blocks. I knit 20 different patterns in 12 x 12 inch squares. It was a great way to learn to knit a variety of stitches and I ended up with this soft creamy throw to curl up with on rainy days.