Last Week

Last week was fairly productive, despite the kids being home from school for 3.5 days. Winter has finally arrived in northern Indiana, and decided to arrive with all the usual baggage. We had sub-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures, with wind chill reaching down to -30 at least one day. Snow, sleet and freezing rain -- and that was just yesterday!

I turned in three magazine proposals, finished a pair of mittens, wrote two patterns, and have been working through three more patterns with my tech editor and graphic designer -- both fabulous ladies. Today is a two hour delay for schools, again, but I've already been up, worked out, and gotten ready for the day. On today's schedule: one more magazine proposal to work on and turn in, and two patterns in the writing stage to finish the fiddly stuff on and three patterns in the editing stage to tidy up. Oh, and photography. I need to take splendid photos of at least four projects. Weather, could you please cooperate? I'd like to use natural light.

Sigh. All this technical stuff is NOT why I started writing patterns. But, I sure have learned a lot this past year! Looking forward to learning even more in 2015.

Sunday afternoon, I attended a Twelfth Night Spin in at MoonTree Studios, just opposite Ancilla College in Donaldson, Indiana. The nuns of the Poor Handmaidens of Jesus Christ have several outreaches in the community. One is a fabulous food education program called Earthworks. And, then, a few years ago, they had the MoonTree Studios built as a venue to explore creativity and spirituality. They have the incredible motto: Fearlessly Creating.

Sister Edith and some yarn that another nun spun. We discussed what she should make with it.

Ancilla is way in the country, not on the way to anywhere, but a destination in itself. I can't say I've been by more than twice the past year, and I'm embarrassed to say, I have never been inside MoonTree Studios before. But, that will change. What an amazing place! It is built with sustainability in mind, is surrounded by native gardens, and inside is a lovely workshop area with a weaving studio, art studio, and open areas for creating and visiting. The wooden floors have radiant heat (lovely with sock or bare feet while treading a spinning wheel).

I got to meet and chat with several active and retired nuns who were in charge of the event, or came to participate from the retirement home and nursing home facilities across the street. I took my friend Lori Cress who is an amazing craftswoman: spinner, knitter, potter, weaver. I learn every time I'm with her! And, my crafty pal, Anna, drove over from Warsaw to share in the time as well. Super fun to get my hands spinning again in expectation of a spinning retreat I am attending in two weeks. We spun; we talked; we ate. We commandeered a crock pot and created our own stone(ware) soup. We wassailed and sang to the apple trees. We carried torches and lit things on fire: a very satisfying afternoon.

How to make Stone(ware) soup: grasp the stoneware in your hand...

And, simply insert it amongst the vegetables. Cook and serve!

Anna wassailing

Lovely surprise

What a lovely surprise to get not one, but two knitting related emails last week which had my work in them! The first was Needlework Traditions email, a service of Interweave Press. In it was highlighted the new Jan/Feb 2015 "Historical Knitting" Piecework magazine.

Jan/Feb "Historical Knitting" Piecework magazine, put out by Interweave Press / F + W

I clearly remember traveling somewhere and seeing the cover for the historical knitting edition for the first time. It must have been 6 or so years ago. It had an Alice Starmore baby bonnet with beautiful, blue-based, fairisle patterning. I stopped in my tracks and bought it! I think this cover is just gorgeous as well. My friend, Carol Huebscher Rhoades wrote the pattern for these eye-catching Finnish delft blue wrist warmers and the accompanying article about the sweater tradition in Finland.

What an honor to be included in this edition! My article is the one with the large red-lettered headline: "A 3-Year-Old Crown Prince & His Knitted Sweater (and His Harrowing Escape from the Nazis)." Certainly sounds like a knitting action movie! I'm horribly embarrassed that it is over Nancy Bush's article headline. Nancy Bush is an incredible knitter historian I was privileged to meet when she lectured at the Nordic Knitting conference in 2010. Her work was my inspiration as I set into trying to research and understand a distant culture's knitting tradition. 

In fact, she will be teaching at the Trading Post in Pendleton, Indiana the weekend of March 27, 28 and 29. She will be teaching both spinning and knitting a specialized Estonian item, both of which she and Kate Larson, spinner extraordinaire, excel at. Call Susan at (765)778-3331 or email tradingpostfiber@aol.com for more information.

The second email was from Patternfish, a knitwear pattern sales company in Canada. They started carrying my patterns just over a month ago, and they featured one of my patterns on their email blast. What fun! To find my patterns there, go to the main page, click "browse our…patterns," and type "Laura Ricketts," or "Laura Ricketts Designs" into the search engine.

I'll close with the second photo from the Needlework Traditions email, which had my project photo in it. Toodles, all!

Three projects from the Jan/Feb 2015 Piecework. My sweater is the red one on the right.

A little hat surgery

It has been great to get back to work the last two days. I have completed a baby sweater, fixed a scarf, put in a submission to a magazine and finished a hat!

The hat required surgery. When I initially made it, the ribbing was entirely too floppy. But, I didn't know it until the darn thing was done and on my head. The inner dialogue begins: "Do I pull out the whole thing?" "Nah. It'll be fine." "It's not fine. I'll never wear it this way." "Do I find a big-headed friend?" I ended up doing none of those things. Instead, I did a little happy steeking.

Steeking is the art of cutting one's knit work, for the betterment of the piece. Usually, it is seen in knitting fabric in a tube and cutting it up the front to make a cardigan, or cutting slits to put in armholes. The raw edges are secured by sewing (or crocheting), and then covering them with ribbon or more knit work. In this instance, I picked up the stitches just above the ribbing and cut the old ribbing off. Then, with a smaller needle, I knit down a smaller, tighter ribbing.

It's a wee little slit

half gone

The finished product: Anna!

Beautiful Smocked Christmas ornaments

Christmas and New Years have come and gone, and we all had a delightful time at the Ricketts' household. Today, all three kiddos are back at work, and I'm back to the drawing board. Literally. I emailed in a magazine proposal, and will be working on a couple more after lunch.

In the meantime, I wanted to share these snaps with you that I took at the Minneapolis Weavers' Guild library in November. What a wonderful resource for weavers, knitters and any textile artist! They are located in a large building and have a full shop, workshop, and library. Workshop space is available for rent, and the library is an actual lending library for members. It is the largest textile lending library in the States! I was able to do some research there for a couple articles.

In the corner was a wonderfully decorated tree. I took these photos of individual ornaments, as I had just recently interviewed a smocker, several quilters, and even a button crafter on my cable TV show In the Loop with Laura.

a crazy quilted ornament with twined piping and tassel

smocked ball in red hearts and green motifs on all-white fabric

smocked ball on gingham fabric

smocked sideways hearts on white fabric

simple smocked gathers

blue and red smocked zigzags

"package" with smocked holly

smocked tree of gathered trim and blue gingham ball

smocked wreath

Button wreath