Knitting the Temperatures....June 2019

June 1st was 30 degrees Celsius (Red), and June 30th was 27 C ( red-orange). In between we had a low of 13C (yellow) on June 20 but the first day of summer was a pleasant 24 C (orange).

June 2019

May and June 2019

Knitting the Temperatures...May 2019

We've had a couple of hot spells...so hot that I had to start using red-orange (25-29 C) and red (30-34 C)

Knitting the Temperatures...April

This is
January to April!

Knitting the Daily Temperatures...March 2019 Finally!

I am keeping up with the daily knitting practice even if I'm not posting here in a timely manner.
Here's the March segment:

As you can see, we suddenly experienced high temperatures well above freezing, and into the double digits.  April is proving to be just as beautiful.

Knitting the Daily Temperatures--February 2019

As per the long range forecast, we have had an extraordinarily cold month, and I got to use some blues and blue-violets!  Yay!

February 2019

February's record of high temps for Vernon, BC

The colour chart with corresponding temps.  I developed this back in January and didn't consider how unlikely it will be to use violet!  Even if we have lows below -15 C (and we did this month), the daytime highs are above that.

The blanket schematic showing January and February completed.

Completed January and February

Knitting the Daily Temperatures: January 2019

Sometime in December I started noticing knitted and crocheted scarves and blankets worked according to the daily temperatures in a year. A colour scale is developed and every day a row or two are worked in the colour related to that day's high temperature. One of the most notable is the The Tempestry Project, "visualizing climate data in a way that is accurate, personal, tangible, and beautiful." While intrigued, particularly with the underlying purpose to demonstrate climate change, I chose not to participate in this particular project mainly because of having to purchase yarn. (I have an enormous stash and my ulterior motive is to make a dent in it!) The Tempestry scarves are worked using the same yarn and the same scale so that they can be compared at some point. There are people using historical weather data and knitting several scarves so as to create a very tangible comparison.

I also decided that to make a serious impact on my stash I would make a blanket of mitred modules, approximately 3" square. After playing around with some sketches on graph paper, I settled on an arrangement like a calendar.

This will eventually create a blanket about 54" x 63", probably more with a border.

Selection of yarns from my stash

Temperature scale and the module for January 1st.

January 1 and 2

First week of January

 And the rest of the month, extraordinarily mild, hence all the green (1-5 degrees C) and yellow-green (6-10 C) with a little blue-green (-4 to 0 C).

The month of January

I was quite excited late last week to see the extended forecast called for high temps of -14 C. Yay! I would get to use blues (-9 to -5 C) and blue-violet (-14 to -10 C). Here is an image of the work so far which includes the first five days of February.

These past three days have been our coldest yet this year.

Rob's stole...finished and shipped!

A Stole for Rob

A new stole is taking shape...  The request is for a blue stole, but not just any blue.  It has to be Carolina blue, the colours of the University of North Carolina.  The client, Rob, is officiating at a wedding in August, and the groom has requested he wear a stole in the colours of his alma mater.  Rob will also be able to wear this stole for Advent.

I have pulled the appropriate blues from my box--fortunately Rob sent me a card with paint swatches so that I could attempt to get the right blue.

The design possibilities...

Rob is partial to the flow of line in #2, on the right.

The ties cut into strips and waiting to be piecing...

And the first piecing....

I am going to have to look for more light blues!

The Lenten Stole has been received

What a relief to hear that Jann received her stole today and is excited about it as I am.  Here in part is her e-mail... "it is even more beautiful than I imagined!  Strange to say I can't wait until Lent.  Your work is so creative and so spiritual...it just feels sacred.  I thank you so much and I will treasure this for the rest of my life, remembering the beginning of my ordained ministry."

And now, here are images of the finished stole...

The lower edges with the Celtic cross on the front

The two halves at about hip level

The lining with labels

The tri-spiral over the shoulder

Full view, front

Full view, side

Continuing to stitch by machine and hand

Jann suggested a tri spiral at the shoulder, a nod to her Irish heritage. My source of inspiration was the very famous entrance stone at the neolithic site New Grange that Lloyd and I visited in 2012, and where Jann has spent a lot of time.
I decided the best way to create this spiral would be covered cord, and found the perfect grey Thai silk necktie in my collection.

.

The easiest way to attach cording is by hand.

Stitching is complete and pressed.

Jann also suggested a Celtic cross on the lower front.

The next task is to line the stole and then it will be ready to ship!

A Deacon Stole is Taking Shape

I am thrilled to be back in my studio creating a Deacon stole for Lent.
At the end of November I was contacted by Jann Brooks, asking if I made Deacon stoles. Here is her inquiry in part:

"Hi Janet!  I saw your work on line and had tears in my eyes I loved it so much!

I am to be ordained a Permanent Deacon into the Anglican Church of Canada (Diocese of Niagara) on Jan. 29.  I too love fibre--I love to spin my own yarn from fleece and then MUST spend at least an hour knitting per day or I get the shakes!"

In a subsequent email, Jann told me a little more about herself, namely that her ministry is to The Mission to Seafarers in Southern Ontario, and she is Chaplain to the port of Hamilton.  She goes onto the big ships in the harbour, and that her work clothes include a pink hard hat and pink work boots! 

So, we're off to a good start.   Not only do I get to work in my favourite colours (purples) but I am creating this for a fellow fibre enthusiast.

I pulled out my purple boxes...

And selected some likely candidates...

The ties at upper right are potential piping materials.

Then created a couple of designs...

Jann chose the more dramatic version on the right.  I started work yesterday, cutting the strips in preparation for piecing...

Then started piecing....

Today, I finished the piecing, and will soon trim the edges, and sew the shoulder seam.

Playing catch-up! Images of the finished stole

I finished Jodi's stole several weeks ago, and mailed it off.  Here are images of the completed piece!

A joyous Jodi on her ordination day 

Continuing to stitch...

Jodi's stole is coming together nicely.  After deciding on the general flow of line, the first strip was laid down on the foundation fabric.  I chose to start with one of the gold ties.

Next step was to stitch down the subsequent strips of ties...

And to continue stitching with the variety of reds...

And at this point, I considered the front to be almost completely pieced.  Here are some detail views showing how I managed to incorporate some interesting motifs from a couple ties, notably one of school kids and their teacher, and another of nutcrackers...

...and a tie with a motif of candles and another of tonic bottles...

At this point, I left the piece on the table while I pondered how to approach the centre back design.  I knew I wanted to incorporate the candle motifs, and the technical challenge was how to integrate the back with the fronts.  I am on the way to resolving this technical issue, and today worked out the centre back design.  I was pleased to incorporate a very tricky fabric, Jodi's grandfather's tie which is falling apart.  I covered it with a fine netting and used it to frame the candle motif at centre back.

Look at the edges of the striped tie that is framing the motif to see the netting covering the damage.

The piece for the two fronts is now cut in half, ready to work on the next challenge of completing the piecing.