2009 Goals - Progress Report #1

Goal: Barack Obama quilt

Here is the beginning of my Obama quilt. I decided to use the McDowell technique to reproduce the picture of the family at Grant Park on election night. I'm hoping to take Ruth McDowell's workshop again this year and want to have the drawing finished so I can get some advice from her before I start the fabric part. There are still a lot more lines to draw and some major finessing to do but I think it's going to work. I'll probably change the color of the clothing - too much red and black. To be honest, I hate that sweet little girl in black and I still haven't figured out Michelle's dress. But I'll call that "artist's prerogative".

Goal: UFO completion - Llama sweater

I was perilously close to finishing the sweater knit from my handspun llama that I started on the Japan trip in October until . . . . I ran out of yarn. Fortunately, there's more llama fiber left so I'm back to the spinning wheel and should have enough yarn by next week to finish it.

If you remember, the pattern called for a sweater knit from 2 strands of different colored yarn. When I knitted the gauge swatch from my handspuns - llama and white merino - it was much too dense and heavy. Handspun has a lot less air in it and so tends to be more dense. So I decided to use just a single strand of the llama and it is a perfect weight. Though it has lost a bit of the drama of the sweater in the picture, I still love it.

I had enough yarn to finish the crocheting at the shoulders and sleeves but ran out on my first round of the rest of the sweater. Once I have some more yarn, it shouldn't take me long to finish.

I think I'll send the finished sweater to the dry cleaner. They do a great job on my sweaters and I think they'll give it a more finished look - tone down the rustic handspun just a tad.