Modular Knitting Madness – a new work-in-progress

Time for Art

I love rainbows. It’s as simple as that. Ask me what my favorite color is and I am hard-pressed to commit to just one. So you can imagine how easy it was to fall in love with this cheerful wrist watch in the shop at the Currier. And then someone surprised me with a special gift box the other day — no birthday or holiday required. Just a happy token of affection. I’ve been purring and making frequent checks of the time ever since!

And speaking of a rainbow of colors, what about this piece of Susan Sargent yardage that’s been hiding in my stash basket? I bought two pieces when a local (and beloved) quilt shop was closing its doors, but had long forgotten about it. Then I got inspired to knit the geometric throw on page 62/issue no. 5 in this new magazine. A suitable “social knitting project” — the kind of knitting that you can do when with friends and not have to rip out row after row once you get home again because you were chatting too much and not paying attention to directions.

I went to a lys (local yarn shop) in search of a fiber that would knit with a bit more give than plain cotton. A scratchy wool was out of the question. I was thrilled to discover Elsebeth Lavold’s “Silky Wool.” It has the smell of raw silk (which I love — takes me right back to the weaving studio and dye pots) and the texture is super soft.

If the magic of modular knitting strikes your fancy, too, you might be interested in browsing a group pool on flickr here.

It wasn’t until I went to put my new skeins away that I rediscovered the piece of fabric in the photo above, and realized that the colors I’d chosen for my new project are a very happy match. For now, I like looking at the blanket-in-progress against the background of the Sargent fabric. But I’m not sure where that will take me. Pillows? A quilted throw?