It’s a wild weather day outside, pouring rain, whipping winds and temperatures……..in the 60s. I spent most of the day in my studio but instead of crouched over one of my worktables, I cozied up on the couch with my knitting and crocheting projects.
I love to use a lot of different colors of yarn but then end up with a gazillion little threads to weave in. There’s something very meditative about the movement of yarn and needles. Click, clack, click. With every stitch made, I send love and warmth into my creation.
The photo above shows an afghan stitch (or Tunisian stitch) with a gorgeous purple, red and orange variegated yarn. You use a special long crochet hook and start off by making a chain of stitches. Then you draw a loop through every chain stitch, leaving the loops on the long crochet hook. Once you’ve drawn a loop through every chain stitch, you place the yarn over the hook, draw through one stitch, place the yarn over the hook, draw through 2 stitches and repeat drawing through 2 stitches across the row. Then you start all over with drawing a loop up through every stitch. So, you’re basically repeating these 2 rows throughout the whole piece.
This is a seed stitch which is a knit one, purl one stitch across your row. Then, on your next row, you do the opposite of the row before. Where there is a knit stitch, you purl. Where there is a purl stitch, you knit. It creates this wonderful bumpy texture. This yarn is a sage green with little flecks of silky blue, tan and green threads.
This is also a knit one, purl one stitch but where it differs from the seed stitch is that you line up all of the knit and purl stitches. So, on your second row, you knit where there is a knit stitch and purl where there is a purl stitch (from the first row). This is called ribbing and is commonly found at the wrists and waist of a sweater. It creates a very elastic texture and the purl stitches recede so that it looks like all knit stitches on both sides of what you’re creating. My yarn is a rich deep wine red with flecks of silky red threads.
I had some very exciting news today. My son, who is in the Air Force, is finally coming home after completing his tech school training in Texas. He’ll be home tomorrow afternoon and will meet his one month old daughter, Ella, for the very first time. My heart swells just thinking about this very special moment.
Art and Tea 
Mazel Tov on your son coming home…and on the new grand!
My mom called the afghan stitch “Idiots delight” because it doesn’t take any thought. I have a king size panel afghan partially done using that stitch and once it is all put together I will cross stitch on it. I think I like YOURS better 🙂
now that cold and fog season has hit here I am drinking way more tea. I can’t find loose tea here in town. any place online you would recommend?
Very lovely! I don’t know how to knit, but wish I did!!
Lovely “action shots” of your knitting. What a wonderful and very blessed reunion this will be for father and daughter.
Thanks Kathi! We’re all so excited here awaiting his arrival! I’ve written you to you privately regarding a tea source.
Thanks Steph! There’s all sorts of beginner’s knitting books out there which you might want to have a look at. Or, perhaps you have a friend who would be willing to teach you. If you lived closer to me, I’d be happy to do that. 🙂
Thanks Acey!
Karen, I didn’t get the email, probably due to the fact that I forgot a letter in my addie on the reply info. can you shoot it to me again?
Kathi
You are certainly multi-talented! And the red and purple blend of stitches is lovely!
Thanks Lynn!
Beautiful work Karen….I don’t knit, but I can appreciate handknitted items. I never learned to knit or crochet, I’m left handed and directions confuse me. I cannot seem to ‘reverse’ from those given to right handers, and give up in frustration!
How wonderful that you will see your son and new grandchild, what a thrill it must be ! You can’t ask for a better Christmas gift, I’m sure !
Hi Karen!
Love the colors on the Tunisian stitch! My background is in textile design (NCSU’s Anni Albers program), but now I’m in the tea industry, too. I look forward to reading more from your blog!
Also, I’m working with a tea client right now (I’m a tea writer/consultant for various tea companies) to send out samples. Would you be interested in receiving one and possibly reviewing it? If so, please email me your address at vee (at) veetea (dot) com and we’ll send one out to you. It looks from your blog like yo prefer high-end black teas and Chinese teas, but if you want to include a note about your preferences, I’m glad to arrange a good fit for your palate with the sample we send.
Best wishes for an incredible 2009!
~Lindsey “Vee” Goodwin
[…] I was happy when I finally finished my blanket but sad to give up the meditative state of the needles so I dug back into my bags to unearth another ball of yarn in a gentle sage green with silky flecks of brown, green and blue. I created a scarf and then when that was done, it was back to my yarn stash. Now a ball of shiny ruby red. Another scarf. Hey, this is as addicting as beading. I wrote about making the blanket and 2 scarves here. […]
how did i miss this post before this morning in january?! i loved reading about your yarn adventures with the blanket. my sister ellen just arrived last night from alabama, and she is going to teach me to crochet while here. xxx
Oh, how wonderful, Nina! Enjoy a cozy visit with your sister and your crochet lessons.