My Year of Making and Healing: POST 7: AN AFRICAN ADVENTURE AFGHAN

(In case you missed it, I introduce this series here.)

Every once in a while, I find that I have a lot of small bits of yarn in my fiber stash. This pattern was a great way to use up a bunch of those bits. I still had to purchase a few skeins of white wool yarn which I dyed with food coloring to make sure I had lots of contrasting colors. Since it is almost 100% wool, it is heavy—over four pounds.

Because I used yarns of many different sizes, the afghan does not lie flat but is a bit wavy throughout.

The afghan is made up of these hourglass shaped motifs. Once you have knitted a few of them, you have the pattern memorized. (The pattern is free on Ravelry.com—search for “An African Adventure.” However, the instructions on how to piece it together are a bit vague.)

My Year of Making and Healing: POST 6: KNITTED WALL HANGINGS

 (In case you missed it, I introduce this series here.)

Sometimes I want just a little project that I can complete in a week or so. But it is nice if it also presents some challenge or a learning experience. Many years ago, I found a book called “Knitted Tams” by Mary Rowe and I learned quite a few techniques for putting colors together and how to construct a round garment. She suggested that you don’t just have to knit a hat, that the design can just be a beautiful piece of artwork.

I use an Excel spreadsheet to design colorwork and lace patterns.

I kind of “riffed” this design from a picture I found online, but I cannot remember where I found it. I wanted to use up some small bits of handspun yarn. I spun up the pink yarn from some unspun silk that was given to me by the lovely proprietor of Stick n Cups yarn shop in Utrecht, Netherlands back in 2018. She also gave me a little hand spindle.

I used this Excel spreadsheet to create the pattern.

This wall hanging was designed to use up a bunch of laceweight yarns I had left over from other projects. 

Because the yarns were so different, and because I wanted to be sure the colors would work, I made a little sample before embarking on the final version design. Also pictured is the Excel spreadsheet I used to create the pattern.