Housekeeping Tip #7

Decluttering is in the air. One can only start so many projects -- too many will surely block progress.

Found in a list of organizing tips:  "Tip #7 = One in, two out." Meaning: For each new item you bring in, you must discard/donate two old items.

Fiberarts version:  Finish two old projects before beginning a new one.

Shown below is recent progress on a sashing element for the mosaic squares blanket. Plus five additional experiments which have lain untouched for some weeks.

Finish all six before conceiving any new inventions? That would definitely usher in a whole new m.o.

Perhaps decluttering articles abound because dreaming up and beginning new adventures is more pleasureable than seeing an existing idea to completion.

The real payoff, though, is in the latter.

Some sashing for mosaic blanket seen in previous posts

A portion of the unfinished projects queue

Warped and Twined

The little knotted pile carpet is off on the first leg of her journey.

Warp threads are counted, wound, and evenly tensioned.

Twining for proper separation and support is complete. Next, there is a header to weave.

Twining yarn attaches to sides of loom and wraps each warp thread, ensuring good spacing.

Warp is 13" wide and has 106 strands, making 49 knots per row, plus 8 strands of argatch

Plotting to Draw With Wool

Update on two projects:

I am ready to warp the loom shown in "Knotting a Carpet" (2/17/12) and "3 Projects, 3 Palettes" (3/1/12). The knotted pile rug will be small -- about 100 warp threads (most likely less than 18 inches wide). For images, I have graphed two designs from tribal rugs I own. Such close examination brings enormous respect for the ladies who wove these rugs. My tiny rug will show only one or two inches-worth of the massive amount of graphical imagery in their several-foot-wide creations!

There is also a complete design concept for another 3-foot knitted blanket. Five squares are already done in "mosaic" knitting, which generates repeating patterns. I will knit the last four squares as fragments of large circles, to contrast with the patterned squares. (See posts of 3/27/12 and 4/5/12.) The knitting technique for drawing a large, singular image is called "intarsia."

Left-hand figure was graphed from a 3" section of a tribal rug woven in knotted pile

Blanket design -- center block will be mosaic square (on right). Adjacent blocks will use intarsia circles

Graph with compressed aspect ratio, circular template (on right), and partially knit block

Crows Berate Cat

This is a progress report on a 13" x 13" pillow cover. Method: Nantucket hooking on burlap using over-dyed, re-spun wool yarn. ("Nantucket" means I used yarn instead of the more traditional strips of reclaimed fabric.) I have opted not to log hours spent on this project, as I'm inexperienced at using wool to make pictures.

The idea for the image came as I watched two crows harassing my neighbor's cat, Goblin. He seemed frozen on the spot as their loud cries filled the air.

13" x 13" pillow cover, about one-third done

Hand-spun yarn and hooking tool

All you need to hook a picture is a variety of yarns, a hook, and a bit of burlap -- what fun!