A few weeks ago, I signed up to take a sweater class at the local yarn store. At the last minute, I realized that I would have a hard time concentrating in a class while learning a new skill. I emailed the store owner (another woman named Rachel) and explained a little bit about my sensory integration difficulties. I asked whether I could arrange some private lessons with her instead of taking the class. She was happy to do it and said she wouldn’t charge me more than I’d already paid in advance.
So I chose a sweater pattern from a book I have at home and went to the store to buy some yarn. I ended up with eight skeins of a beautiful rust-colored Malabrigo yarn from Uruguay. Not only did I get the yarn, but Rachel also sat me down, unwound three of the skeins for me, and helped me get started on the sweater itself.
I would like to say that the sweater is done, but I’ve gone off in several different directions since I got the yarn. I’ve started the sweater, but I’ve also made two more scarves, a hat, and my very first pair of mittens.
Using more of the yarn that my husband spun from the fleece of our late sheep Sophie, I made myself a simple scarf to go with my first color stranding hat:
I then took the wool from an old hat that I’d made a couple of years back and turned it into a torquoise scarf to go with my two teal and purple hats:
I hadn’t made a hat for awhile, so I decided to reaquaint myself with circular needles. I ended up making a chenille hat from some scraps of yarn I got at a local thrift store. Here’s the hat, along with a scarf that I made a couple of years ago:
After I’d finished the scarves and the hat, my daughter asked me to make her a pair of mittens. I was going to ask Rachel to teach me, but I decided to try a pattern I have at home and see whether I could figure it out. Lo and behold, I did!
These are the first knitted items I’ve ever made entirely on double-pointed needles. I used some specialty yarn I’d picked up at the store where I volunteer. It was very fuzzy, which made it difficult to work with. If I dropped a stitch, for example, it was very hard to see where it had gone, so I had to improvise. On the positive side, the yarn was so fuzzy that most of my mistakes blended right in.
So much for my latest creations! Since I lost my original quilt photos when I ported to the new template, I thought I’d post pictures of the two quilts I’ve made. With all the snow on the ground, it’s been very nice to have them in the house.
I’ll post a photo of the sweater when it’s done. Hopefully, I’ll have the sweater finished before spring!
© 2009 by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
Those are great! As bitterly cold as it has been lately, all of the cozy things look even more appealing. I have a sensory thing for blankets, particularly the patchwork variety, so I’m especially impressed with those. I’ve learned to crochet, thanks to my patient mother-in-law, but now I have difficulty finding the time for it.
Beautiful stuff! Maybe you can sell some of it on ebay, or something. Have you ever considered a tapestry or wall hanging? You could show that in a gallery.
Those quilts are really beautiful! I wish I could sew, because I really love quilts. (I have a binocular vision problem that makes near-field tasks very difficult — threading a needle is a nearly-impossible task for me.) I do think I’ll give knitting a try, though. I need to find someone to teach me.
Thanks, everyone!
Not only is this great art, it’s high in fiber too! (With zero transfats).
LOL! That was excellent.
Do you have a fascination with color? Does it have to be vivid?
My husband, an aspie, is obsessed with color. My home is painted in saturated, vivid colors which calms him. Just curious. Your work is beautiful.
Yes, I have a fascination with and an absolute need for color, especially in the winter, when the colors outside are mostly white, grey, brown, and black. In our last house, we painted many of the rooms in different colors, and I loved it. It was both calming and enlivening at the same time.
In our current house, we’ve been staying with the Navajo white that was already on the walls, because it brings a lot of brightness into the house, but I’m always putting up colorful pictures or embroideries.
Love your fiber work! So happy to have found your site. I can relate, as a child in the 60s with a Latino family I had to learn coping skills on my own. Now at 49 I celebrate being an Aspie and all it holds, especially my art. Finally being eccentric is ok! I added your blog link to my blog to help spread the word, hope thats ok.
Gracias,
Chicana Creating Art through Chaos
Hi Sabrina! So good to see you here. Thanks for adding my blog to your list. Your fiber art is BEAUTIFUL!