Kokoleka

This post for Kokoleka will be covering the edging and how I got to the design choices I did.

The top needle is a US 00 needle. The nupps are too far apart and the stitches are too open. When I swatched using larger needles and yarn to make the work go faster I really like the way it turned out.

As you can see by the picture with the brown and white, working with the smaller needles and thread I was not getting the same results. Also I'm not really sure what I was thinking because working nupps in darker colors you lose the nupps. When I was working the nupps they were  also time consuming because of the smaller thread and needles. I do like the way they look as singles and will probably put them into the design somewhere else but knew that clustering them as I did in the pink swatch, was not going to work. So back to the drawing board we went.

The new edghing design is completely open and lacy. It goes quick and I really like it. Believe it or not, it takes more thread and than the nupps did. I was able to rip out the work that I had done and didn't like, because it is 100% silk it's slick and it is easy to rip, and when I reknit it, I didn't get as far as I had when I was working the original design.

As I am working on Christmas presents and getting ready for the holidays with children being home, baking, cooking and decorating I have not had any time to work on Kokoleka. Because of that this will be the last update on Kokoleka until February, when I hope to have more work done on it and something to show.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

It's Killin' Time

For each square a minimum of two ends have to be put in and then each one must be "killed" individually.  I can't stack them wet the way Franklin did for his because mine are made out of acrylic they have to be killed.
The process of killing requires a blocking surface, pins and steam, either from a hot steam iron or from a garment steamer.  I prefer the latter as it is easier on the hands to hold for an extended period of time.
First of all pin out the object to be killed.  Dry.  Do NOT soak it or mist it, this process is for synthetic fibers and synthetic blends.  Lightly stretch the piece to the desired size, unless it is lace then go for it.  The squares for Epiphany will be gently blocked to 6" x 6".
I pinned each corner and then the middle of each side. Now steam the piece by holding the steamer just above the surface.  Don't touch the piece as you are melting the fibers and touching the piece will squish it into a mess.  Because the steam melts the fibers don't hover too much in one area, the fibers can completely melt and break apart; ask me how I know.  Let the piece cool completely, about 30 minutes and then unpin.  You are now ready to start whipping.  Franklin showed it the best I've ever seen.
This link also shows his inventive blocking method.
Whip it good!