Natural knitting

If you have been here before, you'd know that I love natural fibers and textures. My hands can tell the differences, and there is a very close and intimate feeling which had grown from my childhood days.

Therefore it is needless to say how happy I am to see the return of eco-friendly processed yarns and fabrics this year. Most fashion and craft magazines even featured "go green" themes. [Take a look at this and this.] Like other newly developed products, their price tags are generally high, and their color selection, styles and inventories often limited. Nevertheless, the growing market demand should help reducing cost in near future.

Last Saturday I talked about plans to swatch sample skeins from Sarah. The first one I picked up was this naturally processed, coffee-dyed lace linen from Punta del Este Yarns. My hands liked the texture so much that soon a supposed-to-be-simple swatch became this:


The color and strength of the linen allured me into making a crate/box that can stand on its own. I thought, if it wouldn't stand up straight, I could dip it in starch solution to get it right. And since I love lace, a lace panel went in there.


Then it came to the point when the box needed a strong rectangular base. Paper folding helped me get a doable solution. I made a flap from one side, then did some three-needle bind off all around--voila!

I always smile at this shot. Sleeping peacefully is a mini skein of silk.


And that was a warm and lazy April afternoon...