the woolly state

There is something going on...life seems to exist in two parallel streams: one involves the rich and often tangled tapestry of life in a family of five growing, thriving, learning and energetic humans...

the other, my world of wool and knitting and making, occasionally also tangled, but also calm, a refuge,   distracting, deeply creative and oh so satisfying.

so: 

I have just finished a delicious cowl (for me!):

I used a deliciously soft yarn hand-dyed in Canada by Tanis Fibre Arts in Orange Label Cashmere/silk Worsted ("Sand" colourway). 

The pattern in the "Dovetail Cowl" by Carina Spencer

Ravelled here

And...I FINALLY finished my dear husband's "smoking jacket" at the end of Winter! I started it in April, and it took so long because I kept putting it down to knit other things! But it's done and he loves it and it looks totally handsome! 

The wool is the now discontinued Rowan Scottish Tweed  Chunky

in Lobster colour!

The pattern is "Smokin" from the book "Son of a Stitch and Bitch" by Jared Flood

The "blanket project" I blogged about in the last post is coming along swimmingly! Take a look at the pile of squares accumulating!

I also have a tapestry picture to finish off for my wonderful Steiner/Waldorf craft curriculum course. The children do this project in Class 4!

The picture is based on the Norse Myth "Iduna and the golden apples"

and here is the tapestry picture I finished last year. It's Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse Mythology.

And finally, what next for the needles? I have this luscious yarn from Quince and Co. waiting to be wound and turned into a light weight Spring cardi!

so that's the woolly state of things around here!!

Norse Myths in Stitches

In Class 4, the children in Steiner schools are immersed in the tales from Norse mythology. God and Giant, ice and snow, golden apples and the deceiving Loki's trickery being the undoing of all! Such contrasts and colour for a child venturing into the world with curiosity and a thirst for challenge and adventure!
In the Craft (Handwork) curriculum, the children make a colourful tapestry, having first drawn a picture inspired by a story from the Norse Myths (check out this book for a great retelling), and then launching freestyle into a the huge array of colours to create their picture.

My tapestry began two years ago at Steiner Teacher Training, and I started using very small stitches to create a picture of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. When I picked up my unfinished tapestry again a few weeks ago, I aimed to do stitching more like what the children would be doing, so went for bigger expressive strokes. The piece ended up quite irregular in shape, which must be one reason why the framing for these is often done using two pieces of (perhaps?) plywood, with the front framing piece carved in an organic shape with curved edges.