I hardly ever knit pullovers; cardigans and jackets are my thing. I like their versatility, and they're often more flattering. So, I thought I'd explain how I sew on buttons. I don't think anyone actually likes sewing on buttons, but I have a way to make it easier. You probably already do this, but for the record here's what I do. I use ONE long length of yarn. In the case of Murney, which I knitted out of a chunky weight yarn, I used a length of Kauni doubled in a co-ordinating colour. (The Kathmandu Chunky felted easily and wasn't up to the wear and tear of holding on buttons.) Leaving an end to weave in, I sewed the first button on through its shank a few times, then pulled the sewing yarn to the wrong side and made a stitch through the spot on the back where the button was attached to anchor it in place. Then I slid the needle through the knitted fabric to the spot where the next button was supposed to be and repeated everything until done. Finally, I wove the beginning and ending yarn ends in. Much nicer to have only two ends in total to deal with, and since each button is secured at the back with an anchor stitch, even if one works its way loose in future, the others will remain secure.
With Murney done, apart from the writing up, I'm already moving on. Deb Gemmel of
Cabin Fever, sent me some Belfast, a linen, cotton, acrylic, silk blend last week. I'm in the mood for something summery, so I'm working up an idea I had a few months ago.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the knitting world right now in Gansey patterns, probably because they don't typically involve any waist shaping. Nonetheless, I think they're wonderfully suited to summer yarns--maybe it's the nautical connection. My current fave book for swatching is this one by Sabine Domnick.
On the spinning front, the DSK project continues, with a second 50g skein plyed and wound, ready for action. Here's my giant plying spindle attached to a centre-pull double-stranded ball in the process of being plyed.
And here's a little bit of fun from yesterday-- a test run to see if I could spin some laceweight in merino/silk blend. It's "Glacial Green" (doesn't that sound nice and cool on this hot, hot day) from Louet.
It worked! It seems that my spinning skills continue to improve.
