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No, I opt for the Kaffe method of knitting short strands and pulling the ends from the tangle that always results. But there is one upside: I can use much smaller balls of yarn. I have organized my yarns used thus far into a simple container I found in the fishing supplies at WalMart. This $6 solution comes with 10 plastic dividers so you can configure the box as you like. I made more dividers from plastic milk jugs, using one as a pattern as I need all divisions possible to hold the 34 coat colors. You can see that I need to drink another gallon of milk to finish the box.
This makes a neat 9" x 14" x 4" package and will hold "every crayon in the box." It will be easy to resupply from the larger skeins. Best, it is easy to move from room to room. The small balls can stack two high, so this kit holds enough for a visit to my sister in the midwest as long as I take extra of the two workhorse yarns, D and m.
And I supposed you noticed ... there will be pink in my Long Leaf Coat.
Hi - I'm knitting this beautiful thing as well. To handle my yarn I cut up several two yard lengths (or shorter) per color per leaf number (yes, I numbered my leaves) and put them into 3-ring sheet protectors I had stitched into compartments. Mostly I got 6 compartments/colors per protector but a couple of times only two. So I check ahead and put the pages/leaves I will need for the estimated time I want to knit into a binder, lean back in my recliner and off I go. Works like a charm, too - even better once I figured out I need hellooooo YARN to do the veins. So I have a protector full of leaf vein strands and snippets as well. Then, of course, there are the "other" yarns. Mohair, varigated, Noro, etc. It's so much fun! It is a wrestling match though. I don't think it would work unless you have a recliner, though. Tends to slip a little.
ReplyDeleteOkay, last one. I re-charted this in Excel, and when I did, I noticed that the beiges and other light yarns are used in many more places than any other color. Not more yarn, just in more places. they seem to be used like blending colors.
ReplyDeleteStef, you are right about all the beiges. They probably keep the bright hues from overwhelming the design. And Kaffe said he uses lots of greys, too, in his colorful sweaters to warm the skin tones.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to number the leaves. Each probably deserves a name, too! A rocking chair will have to stand in for a recliner. :-)
Stef, will you PM me at coatproject@gmail.com? I'd like to know more about your project! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've come to love your idea of gently felting instead of weaving in. I think that's a great idea. I'm also going copy you and do the veins in duplicate stitch. They slow my knitting by at least 30%. I'm going to put little sprigs of yarn in the stitch where a vein first appears so I can easily find starting points afterwards.
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA to use sprigs of yarn to mark stem starts! I haven't tried the "felted" ends yet-- I want to make sure that I am not going to frog back any before I permanently felt ends in place!
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