Abby H.

knitting, reading, living

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Completed Cardigan #10 from My Favorite Things in Drops Air

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Full view of the completed Alasuq Polar

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Skipped a few updates, here is the finished Alasuq Polar from Linka Neumann

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Re: Lace/filet crochet/tatted lace

Looking for advice. I have been going through a collection af family heirlooms that are mostly assorted lace pieces dating back to around the 1890s. They have some sentimental value, but that does no good if they are just sitting in storage boxes. I am looking for a good solution for these pieces and thought of donating to a museum, but I am not sure if they are something that a museum or anyone else would be interested in preserving. Any advice would be appreciated!

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A friend stopped by

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@ominous-signs

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Official ominous sign

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I am looking for some advice from other folks that work with natural fibers. A few knitting projects from now I will be knitting a true fisherman's sweater for a brother of mine who sails tall ships in New England. This needs to be a practical and tough sweater that can survive salt and sun bleaching, manual labor, and not being treated very preciously in general. Chosing the right yarn is proving to be a problem because while it would make the most sense to chose a quite rustic fiber, this person finds some wool quite itchy. So I am in search of a yarn that is a happy medium between toughness and comfort. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

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Sweater stack. These are the makes that I have kept for myself

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Well it sat around all summer. But I love it

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Olga Sweater update, we have a collar. In the process I broke one of my needles in my interchangeable set. It was a very cheap set, bought when I decided to try out knitting, so no tears shed here. However, I did have to think about what to replace it with.

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The first shoulder of the Olga Sweater worked up very quickly, and it is finally starting to look like something close to a sweater

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Finished the sweater repair, and set a goal on the Alasuq Polar that I was happy with before casting on the Olga Sweater by Petite Knit. Using Drops Daisy and it is perfectly soft and squishy.

The Alasuq Polar will continue shortly, I have set milestones on each so that both are worked simultaneously and the Alasuq isn't left behind just because I don't want to do the second sleeve😅

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First try at hand dyeing. I was inspired after happening across a few folks online that used black beans to dye cotton and produced some incredible purples, blues and greens.

Merino/alpaca blend aran weight yarn. Used Alum as a mordent, and soaked the beans overnight. Got a little too excited and couldn't stand to wait the recommended 24hrs, so I put the beans in a bag and added them to the soak. That is likely why there are a few splotches of purple and the result is not exactly a solid color.

Top Left: After 10min

Top Right: The next day

Bottom Left: Hanked

Bottom Right: Caked

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Needed to take a break before starting on the other sleeve of the Alasuq Polar for my sanity, so I picked up a project on my to-do list. This is the Eira Sweater by November Knits, the first sweater i actually finished when I learned to knit. It was definitely time to go back and fix a few things, primarily the body length, which turned out quite cropped. The pattern is very "fisherman sweater" to me, and incredibly warm.

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Had to post the completed grey Halibut Sweater. It blocked out so beautifully!

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Absolutely nightmarish sleeve on the Alasuq Polar, only because I cannot find 6.5 mm DPNs anywhere. Now that I am past the first colorwork chart, my life has improved drastically. Just cannot fathom doing this again for the other sleeve.

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Completed the final round of the body chart for the Alasuq Polar Sweater. On to sleeves!

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Beginning the body of the Alasuq Polar by Linka Neumann, the photo doesn't begin to do the colors justice. I am in love with this colorway. Buttttttt, sidenote, knitting with Alafoss Lopi feels like someone sheered wool from a Scotchbrite/Brillo pad sheep. It is so incredibly scratchy right now