This week I turned in a project that will appear in PieceWork magazine next March/April addition. Timothy Roe and I wrote out how to tie Eastern Orthodox Prayer knots in a prayer rope. I was fascinated to see Tim do this on my television show about 3 years ago, and I'm so happy he joined me in writing about it.
We'll have to wait until its release to post photos. So, in the meantime, here's a few photos from our family trip to Europe this summer.
We visited several Reformation sites, since this is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. I also worked in a few textile related stops. In Brugges, Belgium, I visited a lace museum. And, what lace it was!
And, that's just one piece in the museum's collection. It's hard to imagine that all this was handmade. It took years to create such fine lace. Many of the intricacies of its creation were secret.
Upstairs I was able to meet one of the lace professors who teach one form of lace on a regular basis.
Wish I lived closer!
...I finished recently, was my Christmas pair from last year.
In plenty of time for this year, so that's okay. The yarn was lovely -- a store brand from Simply Sock Yarn store, called Jollyville, named for Jollyville, Texas. The heel and cuffs were knit from leftover sock yarn scraps in my stash.
Have you started your Christmas crafting yet, or are you finishing up last year's like me??
I have also been having fun with knitting this summer, of course. I will post some of my finished projects this summer. First is a pair of boot socks inspired by Skolt Saami socks from the Sami Museum Siida in Inari, Finland.
I'm teaching an afternoon class on them at Valparaiso's knit store Sheep's Clothing on Saturday, September 16. They were super fun to knit, and, as always, I love to share the history and culture of the Sami as I teach.
They are knit with Berroco's Ultra Wool, a worsted weight superwash yarn, on size 4 (3.5mm) needles at a gauge of 6 sts to the inch. As a result, they are a quick knit (for socks), but machine washable. A perfect pair for the fall!
Please, consider joining us for a fun afternoon.
What's on your needles?
Also this summer, I took my younger sun to Hopkinsville with a friend and her son to view the total eclipse. This was just after returning from taking my elder son to his first year of university (sob!), so the timing couldn't have been better. The four of us packed up and headed to Hopkinsville, Kentucky to the epicenter of the total eclipse of the sun.
Amazing.
Hopefully this isn't a once-in-a-lifetime event! The horizon turned pink and the quality of light around us was ethereal. The planets shone like stars and the corona around the sun was fantastic.
As Hopkinsville was the epicenter of the eclipse, the eclipse lasted longer there than anywhere else -- 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
Where were you during the eclipse?
