Anchorage Daily News

The fireweed tells us there will be snowcapped mountains around Anchorage in less than two months. I am feeling a bit of late-summer frenzy, and August has been anything but lazy. I hate to say it, but maybe it's time to begin to think about cool weather, warm wool, knitting needles and hot cups of tea.

Those bigger projects, such as sweaters, still seem to be just a bit much right now, so you might want to ease into your knitting and crocheting. This is still a great time of year to be creative and a bit frivolous, and I have great ideas for you to ponder.

Put a little magic into your stitchery! That's right -- magic. A few years back, I took a class from Valentina Devine, who lives in Los Alamos, N.M., and I learned about the "magic ball." It's a big ball made from odds and ends of knotted fibers that have been sorted together, according to your choice of colorway, and then wound into working "yarn."

Since then, I have created several items that focused around different colorways of magic -- and I love them all.

To begin, you'll need a few gallon-size Ziploc bags to sort your colorways. If you use only fiber leftovers, it will take a few years to make a ball large enough to work with. You may just want to reel off various lengths of yarn, string, ribbon, lace, etc., and make your magic ball happen right now. You can use various lengths of any fiber; the more variety you have, the more interesting it will look. For added interest, keep the various fibers of many lengths rather than all the same measurement.

I sort my fibers into containers by colorway: warm colors (red, orange, yellow), cool colors (green, blue, purple), brown neutrals (white, cream, beige, brown) and grays (white, gray, black). While I am working on a knitting project, I keep leftover lengths of fiber and add them to my collection of odds and ends. Remember, you must tie the fibers together, so you'll need pieces that are at least 12 inches long. Anything less than that will result in a string of knots without spaces between them, and the final product will appear too busy.

Next, you'll sort the colorways into piles by texture and depth of color. I add a dark one here and a lighter one there as I am tying the knots. Keep in mind that you will want the entire ball to represent your color palette, not just one color at the beginning of the ball and another at the end. Tie the fibers together; I like to use a granny knot, as it doesn't come undone easily.

To knit or crochet with the magic ball, you will need to add an unbroken length of yarn for stability. I often use a cotton thread because it is rather thin but offers wonderful strength and is inexpensive. You can also add a strand of embroidery floss, dental floss or serger thread. Try a strand of metallic thread, too.

Knit or crochet holding both the stabilizer yarn and your magic ball yarn together. As you come to a knot, throw the ends to the front of your work and keep going. Voila! You have eyelashes poking out of the knitted fabric. When you are done blocking the garment, give the eyelashes a haircut, trimming them to the same length. If the fibers want to unravel, dab a bit of Fray Check or diluted Elmer's glue on the ends. When dry, it will hold the ends of the fringe and should survive several hand-washings as well.

Try a few little bits of "magic" on a hat, mitten cuffs or even sock tops. It's fun. It's practically free. And it's uniquely yours. Let your creative inspiration be your guide -- and let the magic begin.

Interior designer, artist and professional knitwear designer Catherine Hollingsworth is past president of the Alaska State Yarn Council and Knitters of the North. E-mail her at twosticks@adnmail.com.

LILY CHIN will be the featured knitting and crochet designer at Yarn Expo IV, Sept. 28-30, presented by the Alaska State Yarn Council. Find class registration information online at alaskayarncouncil. org. For more information, call 277-YARN (9276).

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