Monday, January 05, 2009
Reviving Ancient Bark
Winter is the perfect time to revive Ancient Bark.
We had a massive snow fall here in Nova Scotia on New Year's Day which caused most of us to stay at home, gather up our knitting, curl up with our favourite hot beverage, and watch the snow fly. The subsequent days have meant cool temperatures. Just the time for neck and shoulder warmers.
And if they can be also pulled up over the head, all the better.
I had forgotten, too, what a difference it is for knitters to be able to see the real thing.
Today, as I went shopping at an LYS--what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?--I had pulled on my Ancient Bark to wear as a cowl under my jacket. At the shop, though, when I took my jacket off, several of the knitters there immediately asked about it and wanted to know how it was made.
It is worked as a rectangle in a reversible knit-and-purl stitch. A sort of Basketweave with Garter Stitch Rows inserted between. It begins with a Provisional Cast-On, so that when the rectangle is completed, all it takes is a single twist to form the Moebius shape. The live stitches are then grafted together.
The yarn is Celestial Merino in a handpainted version (Sugar Maple), paired with a solid colour (Scarlet).
I bet Ancient Bark would look intriguing, too, worked in a self-striping sock yarn. The stripes twisted and going in different directions.
