Minky binkie - work in progress

Mixed fibers blanket

Begun in 2019

approximately 60 x 80 inches when completed; mixed fibers

The combination of black, brown and gray give this blanket a look that is like mink fur, thus the name. A wool chenille-like yarn in black and brown forms the most bulky stripes.  Various bulky textures add  interest and add dynamic color changes. It could be used anyplace you might otherwise use a fur throw.

In the Studio News: the "whites" afghan continues!

 

Yes, this work begun 12 years ago is still in progress, but now there is real progress. It's about 40 or so inches and I'm looking for about 72 inches in length to finish. 

Here are two previous posts about this work:

https://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/whites-afghan-is-still-growing.html

http://www.thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-studio-white-afghan.html

 

Silk blend aran woven stitch

Blanket; rayon, silk, cotton, woven or linen stitch, size 8, 40in cable needle

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This yarn feels quite good going through the fingers, so it's a pleasure to knit with it. I stalked it for a couple years just as it was disappearing.  Now I hope I can create a large piece using this method of alternating rows to get subtle color transitions. I like the woven stitch, aka linen stitch, to make these color shifts that obscure the row lines just a little bit by using the slip stitch.

Wool and alpaca binkie

A nice bulky binkie in a very simple stitch.  I tried a complicated stitch pattern and it was lost in the fuzzy yarn. So now it's just a simple seed stitch and the bulky yarn makes it work up very quickly.

The whites afghan is still growing

Afghan, linen stitch or woven stitch,  mixed fibers: cotton, linen, mohair, silk, wool, lurex, alpaca,  acrylic, polyamide; size 9 cable needle, 60 in.

I'm back to working on this lovely afghan again.  I have some days at home, and am getting back into the rhythm of how the yarns are distributed across the fabric.  I was able to do about two inches yesterday, so I'll take that as a benchmark of the rate of progress.  It wasn't the only thing I worked on yesterday, but it was about the length of my patience with working on such a large piece of fabric.  I don't really enjoy holding all the weight and taking such a long time to do a single row for hours on end.

More details in this earlier entry:

http://www.thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-studio-white-afghan.html

In the studio - "red" afghan

I've taken a lot of time for this because trying to select colors that will play well with the red and others is challenging.

In the studio - the afghan grows

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - spring colors

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - natural fibers afghan

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - huge crochet

Afghan, mixed fibers - no synthetics; single crochet, size 5mm aluminum hook, estimated finished size: 6 ft x 8 ft

This is an attempt to get at that lolapalooza effect of the huge folk art afghan.  I have a monster size cone of red hemp and wool, so that ia every other row. All other rows will be any color I intuitively  want at the moment.  I have two large bags of possible ones.

It strongly reminds me of rag rugs.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Back side

This is the back
Woven stitch, size 11 cable needle, 39 in.
Wool, cotton, linen, mohair, hemp, silk, rayon, nylon, lurex, acrylic

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - the yellow afghan continued

It's been awhile since I worked on it, but this piece is still a pleasure.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

In the studio - white afghan

Afghan, linen stitch or woven stitch,  mixed fibers: cotton, linen, mohair, silk, wool, lurex, alpaca,  acrylic, polyamide; size 9 cable needle, 60 in.

I started another afghan because I have all these whites - fat ones, skinny ones, fluffy ones, shiny ones... and so now I have this quite lovely binkie in progress.  About every third row I am using an alpaca boucle, and the texture is all brought together by its softness and drape.

I haven't measured it yet with the tape measure but it's about 65 inches wide. It has both gold and silver  metallic highlights among the yarns, so it has a very elegant look rather than the more bohemian effect that mixing a couple dozen yarns has.  I'm working with a bin of the yarns at the ready.  I seem to able to keep at it for about a week at a time and then I have to put it aside and do something else.

I haven't bothered really to talk about this in the past, however there are very few things I produce by following someone else's pattern.  I don't think about it much.  I design textiles, so the shape happens as a secondary consideration and I'm not interested in complex garment construction. I'm not going to go back and edit all the entries for which this applies.  So from now on I have decided to indicate that each piece is of my design with the term:

Original design

In the studio - the third afghan

An earlier stage of this was documented in March 18, 2008. It's been lower down on the list of things to do, but for the past few weeks I've been picking it up and knitting a row here and there more often. I'm growing quite fond of it. It's about twice as long as it was last year, and I'm eager to put a lot of inches on it. I can't travel with it because of the number of yarns involved, so it's sitting near my couch.

Black afghan

Afghan, mixed fibers: cotton, silk, wool, rayon, nylon, polyester, acrylic, metallic, hemp; rib stitch, size 11 metal cable needle, 36 in.

This big thang is funky. I'm using about 20 different black yarns. The reds pop out a bit more "in person". I'll do probably another 12 inches and then call it quits. I never thought I would like doing afghans, however they are very rewarding.

In the studio

Afghan, mixed fibers, "woven" stitch, size 13 cable needle, 29 in.

This is another update of the Nov. 6, 2006 and Feb 15, 1007 entries. Actually it's the culmination of the work pictured in the very first blog entry in fall of 2004. I've decided to go to bedspread size for this monster. And I've actually done about 12 inches since this photo was taken, so I figure I want to put another 12 or so inches on it and I'm done.

I thought of this afghan originally as a project that would use up vast amounts of yarn and decrease my stash volume. But then I kept buying yarn that I thought would make it even MORE beautiful, and now I still have a very large bin of yarn in these colors. I started to make pillow shams using a more narrow color range. There will be a sham in purples and a sham in teals.

I may have to make another afghan. I already have lots of ideas rolling around in my head for what sort of fabric I want to make. I might try something like this but in a crochet version. Perhaps in a rather outlandish stitch pattern.

In the studio

Afghan, rib stitch, size 13 cable needle, 29 in. mixed fibers: wool, cotton, silk, rayon, lurex, nylon, angora, polyester, acrylic, mohair

I thought I'd post an update on this monster. I'm still in love with it, and I'm sort of hankering to get back to it after starting so many new projects. It takes patience to get out all the yarns and get back into the rhythm of swapping out the colors and so forth.

In the studio

This is just a "progress" photo for this huge thang.

I'm still loving it.

In the studio

Afghan, mixed fibers, "woven" stitch, size 13 cable needle, 29 in.

Still growing! I'm wild about this work. The texture is some of the best work I've done so far in my knitting, and it'll be my largest work, at least until the black afghan gets completed.

As I read other knitting blogs I realize that my blog lacks commentary about my life, feelings and so on, so I'm going to try to add a bit more to my descriptions of my knitting. I'm pouring my soul into this afghan for a few different reasons, and I really do feel as though it's a masterwork of my knitting ouvre. The size means a lot because I have in general stayed with smaller work, feeling that I get the experience of the textile that I'm after without spending months looking at the same fibers. I've afforded myself opportunities to experience many combinations that way.

I also have not been that great a knitter and have struggled to improve my skills. I have had many technical weaknesses that I've worked hard to overcome, and I think this piece demonstrates my level of ability as masterful in the handling of the yarns and fibers and especially the color and texture aspects. It has virtually no technical flaws, and that to me is the mark of a master work. I also think the concept and design have reached the master level as well as the execution. I still have ambitions and there is still work to be done in areas that I believe are critical to the art of knitting, but I think this piece illustrates a mature level of craft.

I know, I know, this is still as dry as dust, but...I'm working on developing a more loose style.

in the studio

Afghan, rib stitch, size 13 cable needle, 29 in. mixed fibers: wool, cotton, silk, rayon, lurex, nylon, angora, polyester, acrylic, mohair

I love this afghan, although it's hard to see the black yarn unless I knit in very bright light. It is going to be fabulously yummy. This is one of two pieces that I'll price for major dollars, in the hundreds, but I think many people will fall in love with it as I have. I'm using a different yarn for each row, so I'm using the ends of each yarn as a fringe, which will be along each side of the horizontal rows. I'm switching the rib pattern every few inches and the mottled colors you see are the occasional reds and whites I'm putting in for interest. wheeee!