Apr 21 2008
Earthy Projects
The influx of spring is hard not to notice. Warm temperatures and sunny skies all week followed by a weekend of torrential rains and thunderstorms. After months of gray and muted browns, the earth has truly blossomed in the past few weeks. The greens popping up in the grasses and trees seem electric and glowing. It is a great season to celebrate the colors and textures of the earth for Project Spectrum!
…and I have been doing just that with some crafting of my own…
After months of saving wine corks, I finally decided to go ahead and use them. I made this cork trivet using a small 4 x 4 pine frame, with particle board backing (purchased at the craft store) and some wood glue. It took some time to come up with an arrangement that I liked, and that fit well into the frame. Once it was settled, I glued the corks to the particle board backing, and voila! now my hot bowls and pots can rest on the pretty corks on the dinner table.
I have a few dozen more corks in the bucket, so I may have to make some more of these! Simple, easy, and instantly functional. Plus, it is a nice conversation piece - each of the corks reminds us of a wine tasting, a vacation, or a special event. If you have some wine corks saved, you might consider putting them to use with some of the tutorials outlined here. I am still thinking about a large cork board with a more intricate pattern. But we need more corks for that… and that means more wine
We had a wonderful afternoon meetup with the DC Namaste Knitters. While the weather outside was frightful (thunderstorms and lightening galore!) we were indoors practicing yoga, knitting, and telling stories. We even had delightful desserts. We were having so much fun that I forgot to take a photo. Next time! If you are interested in joining our group, we will be meeting again on May 10th. More details to follow in the Ravelry forum.
Once I got home, braving the deluge, I sat down with a nice cup of tea and finished my Inca mitts.
Inca Earth Mitts
Pattern: Classic Elite free pattern
Yarn: Habu Lamb Wool Linen A-175 1/3.3
Needles: Size US 3 and 4 dpns
Source: Habu Textiles Store (NYC)
The pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn, but I wanted to use this earthy palette together, despite being a lighter weight. It is between a fingering and sport weight, so they fit nice and snug over my hands. The pattern was simple, and could be a good introduction for the knitter who wants to try stranded colorwork for the first time. I made a few pattern modifications, other than the yarn substitution. To lengthen the mitt more, I added another repeat of the butter yellow/sage green pattern on both the top and bottom cuff.
The mitts are part of my stashbusting project, spurred on by the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, a little knitalong I am calling Lord Stanley Stashbusting. Watching hockey and knitting are fine companions! “My” team has advanced to the next round, but I am still devotedly watching the other teams and their competitions. This is a good time of year for stashbusting too… I have a trip to NYC coming up this week (NYC = yarn city) and of course, Maryland Sheep and Wool festival is right around the corner. The stash is moving and making room for the new neighbors!
















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