I know, I know. I said I was going to try to knit from my stash. I really had decided not to buy more yarn. I have started to actually list all my lace weight yarn and it's a daunting amount. But I have been going to Lacis in Berkeley for years and years. Sometimes for tatting supplies, sometimes for knitting supplies, sometimes for Silk Ribbon Embroidery or Beaded Purse supplies. You name it, they usually have it. I went only to order a book, a very very nice lace knitting book that is in Japanese but has a legend in English for the chart symbols. It will be coming in next week and they will mail it to me. While there, I couldn't help but notice that the shop is now stocking more lace weight yarns and I found a lace book I don't already have and some quite lovely variegated lace weight wool yarn that I am not familiar with. It's called "Harmony" from a manufacturer named Jojoland (880 yds/50g ball) and according to the label is made in China.I know I'm weak but as vices go this one is pretty harmless:-) I bought enough for a shawl and will put it with all the other yarn while I try to finish something. The book is one with knitted lace doilies in it and I think some of the patterns can be adjusted to make shawls rather than doilies. I've started the opposite border for the Shetland Sampler Stole and will post pictures once I have something more to look at. I am also posting a picture of the "Legends" shawl so you can see the color shift in the work. If you look at my ball of yarn, you will see that I have replaced the toilet paper core with an empty pill bottle which works very well so far. I also wanted to put in a good word for a product my sister bought recently. I'd read about it in other blogs but never considered getting any. It's called "Highlighter Tape" and my sister bought it at "Knit Foundry". You can see it on one of the charts I've enlarged and I really like it because you can see to the row below the one you are working on if you are wondering if there was an error in the previous row. Many times an error such as a missed yarn over, can just be corrected by picking up a strand from the row below. It beats the heck out of peeling a post-it note up to look underneath! Short post tonight. Tomorrow is July 4th and I will be off to see my brother Herman and his family. Happy 4th!
14 comments:
I envy your trip to Lacis. I was there about 25 years ago and it was astounding then. I wish I could make a visit...someday.
I am surprised you never heard of Jojoland. I bought some yarn from them last year. I thought the lace was was a bit scratchy, but I never swatched it. The colors are lovely. They have a web site:
http://www.jojoland.com/
and a big presence on eBay.
I have that lace book---too lazy to figure out how to make a shawl out of a doily. Let me know if you are more ambitious :)
The highlighter tape is far cheaper from pilot web sites. They use the stuff to mark maps. Buy a whole set here:
http://www.avidaviator.com/tape.html
And finally (I think this comment is becoming longer than your post) the Sampler Stole. Hmm. I want to see it blocked...I am not sure about the variagation. The knitting, of course, is exquisite, as usual!
Oh I saw the yarn while there lovely stuff but restrained from getting any. The book I have. There are general directions on how to make a shawl from a doily pattern in the Gathering of lace book. Whom ever the author is says to use a doily that has at least 75 rows....I forget the rest but it is in there along with a small shawl in yellowish yarn. Too lazy to go look for the book.
Beaded purses? what kind? I am gathering up materials to crochet one, pattern, thread are inline just have to make up my mind on the colors of the beads. Have pictures?
Dear fleegle,
I really love Lacis. I can always rely on them to have what I need and the "back room" has some lovely vintage pieces of lacework. As for the jojoland yarn. I may have seen it on E-Bay and just ignored it. What caught me this time was the colors which are very pretty. When it comes to varigated yarns I should just have the word "Sucker" tatooed on my forehead. It's not as soft as other yarns since it appears to be made of a generic "wool". Not even merino. Still, I figure I can try it once and see how I like it. Still working on the Sampler Stole. I will also be interested as to how it looks once blocked. Since it is to go to Yarn Place, they will have to decide if their own product looks good this way or not LOL. Have a great 4th of July.
Dear laritza,
I've made shawls from doilys before using Gloria Pennings doily patterns. You just keep using bigger and bigger needles to get the size you want. Still, I might add pattern rows. We shall see. As for the beaded purses, I got a pattern from Swallow Hill Creations. Sorry I have no pictures of the two finished purses I knit and gave to my neices. I will try to get a shot when I get to my brothers house today if they can dig them up.Happy 4th!
What gorgeous stash additions! I can see why you couldn't resist.
And I live and die by my highlighter tape. I just can't live without it!
Dear Opal,
Yes, I am a yarn whore, no doubt about it. Maybe I'll have a tee shirt made with that printed on it. I love highlighter tape too and it comes in really great colors. Happy 4th of July!
Oh my, ANOTHER stunning post!! Your lace is absolutely exquisite. You are NOT a good influence on me. LOL!!
I've been drooling over that Jojoland yarn ever since I saw one of Katherine Misegades' socks done out of it. Hadn't thought about the lace weight stuff though. :-)
Dear kat,
I guess I've been living in the Twilite Zone because I don't recall seeing this brand of yarn before. If I did, it was not in person where I could see/touch it. Fleegle is correct that it is not the softest, but I think it will be acceptable and the color is really pretty. I do not mean to be a poor influence on you but I have a hard time turning away from pretty yarn. I started knitting when there was not such a variety of yarns to choose from. I'm afraid I'm like a druken sailor if I'm set loose where there is lace yarn :-) Happy 4th of July!
I've just finished using the same yarn but bought from the Yarn Treehouse off Ebay, only it's called Bloom there but it is the same, just labelled up differently. I used mine double to make Hanami... I found it lovely to use but not plucked up the courage to use it single yet!!!
Sigh. Someday I will make it to Lacis.... In the meantime, I've been poring over the slideshow Laritza just posted of their knitted lace exhibit: http://www.lacismuseum.org/exhibit/knittedlace/index.php?picture=1&sec=8&as=true
So inspiring!
Dear littleberry,
I'm glad to hear from you about that yarn. I want to try to use in a shawl but I'm not sure which one. Variated yarn for lace can sometimes turn out poorly yet I'm always drawn to it. If it turns out well I will have to check out E-Bay.
Dear missalicefaye,
I also went to go look at the slide-show and it's awesome. The examples of lace are everywhere in the shop, even up high on the walls for display. So much vintage lace. It brings tears to the eyes to see so much beauty in one place. Lacis is cramed full of useful and unique things for anyone who is into hand craft. It is well worth a visit.
I haven't been to Lacis since Kaethe passed away. They never used to sell yarn. Do they have a big collection at all? (I'm about 70 min away.)
Dear alisonh,
They do not have a large enough collection of lace yarn to warrent driving the 70 miles. Not just for yarn. However, if you want to see their beautiful exhibit of vintage lace you might go. They have a copy of your book in one of the display windows:-) They do have a new two ply cobweb weight yarn and I bought a ball of it to swatch. They have Zepher, Jojoland etc.
Post a Comment