lacefreak

In The Works (Slow Progress)

2011-07-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have only been posting when I finish something but I'm so slow that there are long gaps between posts so, with fleegle's encouragement, I am putting up an "in progress" post of things I'm actively working on. These three projects all use different weights of yarns and different size needles.The variety helps not only with boredom but to ease up on my hands.

At the top you have Wisenflor or "Violettes". This is another Herbert Niebling pattern that has been re-printed in English by Doilyhead I'm knitting on US 3 with "Shimming" 100% Tussah Silk from A Verb For Keeping Warm in the Royale colorway. At 218 rows, it will make a good sized circular shawl though this would not count as one of my "favorite" knits. I'm not crazy about the center of this lace. There is another version of the pattern with a better center out there but I somehow settled on this one. Still, I'm half way through the pattern so I will finish this one eventually. The yarn is great at least.

Next up is Fruhling which is another Niebling pattern. I'm using a silk thread to knit this one which was custom dyed for me by the folks at Verb in the "Tidepools" colorway. Kristine offered to do this for me because I wanted to knit the larger Nieblings without ending up with an Afghan instead of a shawl and most of the yarn at Verb would be too big. Fruhling is a 370 row pattern and I knit the center small leaves using US 0000 and then switched to US 000. I will continue with this size needle for the bulk of the shawl but I may switch to US 00 needles towards the end if it looks like it will not lie flat. I wish the pictures were better because this yarn has subtle color shifts in it. It's fantastic to knit with too:-)

The last picture is of another retirement shawl I'm making. The co-worker asked me to make something that was like "Legends Of The Shetland Seas" so I spun a standard lace weight yarn out of Lisa Souza Cash/Merino roving in the "Mahogany" colorway and I'm knitting Hazel Carters Sampler Shawl again. I knit this once before out of a Yarn Place yarn but my hand spun yarn is heavier and will fluff up a bit because of the Cashmere. I'm using US 0 needles but plan to block it aggressively when I'm done.

That's it for now! Maybe next time I post I will have actually finished something!

Angus' Dream Shawl (Back In The Saddle Again)

2011-06-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since I last posted. I had to take a break from knitting because of pain in my arms. Like many others out there, I've had to work out ways to avoid injury so I now alternate with a non knitting related hobby to give my arms a rest. Now that I can knit lace again, here is a little shawl made from yarn left overs that did not make the cut when I was making Legends of the Shetland Seas.

The pattern is Angus' Dream by Tiziana Sammuri on Ravelry. Knit from the center back of the neck outwards it's a cleaver little shawlette that uses Shetland Lace motifs. It's a great way to use up small amounts of yarn.

The fiber is Lisa Souza BFL and Merino when I spun into lace weight singles then plied. The colorway s Petroglyph. It blocked beautifully and is warmer than you might think!

Until next time!

Retirement Gift (Madli's Shawl)

2011-03-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a good long time since I posted but much of what I've been doing has not been lace related. This however, is the most recently finished project. Madli's Shawl is another Estonian lace project from the Nancy Bush book. Since it was knit for a co-worker who is to retire, she picked the color and shape as well as the fiber content if not the actual pattern. The Madli's Shawl is a simple but pretty knit which can be worn casually if desired.

I had fleegle dye me purple silk yarn in her AK47 base and it knit up beautifully with spectacular drape and softness. It almost feels as if there must be cashmere in it only it's 100% silk. I love silk because it blocks and holds shape so well. It's wonderful for a stole because it's not too warm to wear a stole is easy for people to wear.

Because of the time-frame, I had to put aside any other knitting to finish this one in time. Now that it's finally done, I'm trying to finish up on three shawls before I start anything new so there should be more for me to post soon!

Damson & Squirreling Away For The Future

2010-11-28T20:42:00.001-08:00

Winter slow-down has overtaken me. I'm only knitting short projects that don't make you crazy, mixing cookie dough and planning for next years potential projects. See above a small shawl called "Damson" from the book "Whimsical Little Knits 2" by Ysolda Teague. The yarn is a 2 ply hand spun I made from one of my Verb Fiber Club selections in Targee in the "Sweet Tart" colorway. I would not usually think of knitting this type of shawlette except the hand spun yarn I produced had sections that I knew would end up being stripes once knit. This is an interesting way of using up a small amount of fiber and breaking up the stripes at the same time. The pin is a vintage "faux ivory" (some kind of plastic) carved rose which looks sweet with it. Of course, I'd never wear this thing but it is cute.

Below that is more fiber from A Verb For Keeping Warm for me to spin. The green skeins "Parrotlette" in merino/silk are actually more green, below that is another Fiber Club shipment with Yak, Silk, and Merino "The Best Bite", 3 skeins of Gaia laceweight and some Verb fiber in Orange that I can't remember the name of but just had to have. It's not like I'm going to run out of yarn of fiber in the near future but I just could not help myself! There is more but I will have to put that in another post.

Lastly here are two books. The new lace book by Margarete Stove "Wrapped In Lace", I bought for her amazing knowledge and techniques rather than the patterns. The patterns are nice but as I looked at them I kept thinking there were too many "blank" spaces that I would have to fill with lace motifs. For me, less is not more. Still, I'm never sorry to have one of her books in my knitting library because there is always something interesting in them that helps me down the line.

The second book is an aberration on my part. It's called, "Selbuvotter" . It's not lace and I'm not into mittens or gloves but this is a flat out wonderful book that I had to have. Every once in awhile I have to have something but I don't know why. It may take weeks, months or even years before the reason reveals itself but it always does. So I will drool over this book and some day something may "click" and I will have a new obsession .

I will try to post again before the end of the year if I finish my current lace project.Until then I hope everyone is healthy, happy and with those they love this Holiday season :-)

Vinca Shawl/Helix Scarf (Pre Turkey Easy Knitting)

2010-11-22T13:36:00.001-08:00

The days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas can be stressful. All the shopping, cooking, co-ordinating with family makes the end of the year the perfect time to haul out easy projects and at least one "No Brainer" project. The Vinca Shawl by Miriam Felton is a nice little project that has interesting construction, lovely drape and looks good in many different types of yarn. This pattern can purchased as a single project on Ravelry and is also published along with other patterns in a book called Twist & Knit (also available as a digital publication). While it is not difficult to knit, it looks really unique. Knit on a good sized US 4 needle the knitting goes quickly. I used 2 skeins of Gaia Lace by the Sanguine Gryphon in the "Little Round Top" colorway (420 yds/skein) . It's a soft and warm 40/60 Cashmere/Silk and is more green than my pictures show. While I had heard of the Sanguine Gryphon, I had never seen any in person before. It's not usually a weight of yarn I would consider but when I saw it at Verb I decided to give it a try. This is my second project with the Gaia and I really like how it looks and feels.

Just a mention that the folks at A Verb For Keeping Warm have moved to a wonderful new store space.

A Verb For Keeping Warm
6328 San Pablo Ave x Alcatraz
Oakland, 94608
510.595.VERB

The shop is large, has lots of space for classes or for people to just sit to knit, spin or work on other projects. They now have fabric as well as carrying a few other fiber/yarn lines. They will continue their usual classes in spinning, knitting, dyeing, weaving etc. but will also have classes on Quilting.

The second project is called the Helix Scarf. It's a simple pattern that is a free download off of the Spin-Off Magazine Web site. It's a very simple project that is easy to tote around and the knitting sequence is easy to remember. I used less than half of my ball of hand spun yarn made from the Verb Essential Luxury fiber club selection, "Tour de Fleece 1010 The Pyrenees 50/50 Cashmere /Merino. Two ounces spun into a 2 ply lace weight yarn. I got 818.4 yards from that. I knit the scarf on US 0 needles and I have enough for a second scarf :-) For those who are interested, Spin-Off is asking people to spin/knit the scarf as a project and to submit specs and samples in order for them to include it in a future magazine. I'm not going to do that but others may still be interested.

I'm doing a little spinning now and some other odds and ends of projects as the year comes to a close. I hope everyone out there is healthy, safe and happy! Good Knitting!

Simple Pleasures (Easy Lace Projects)

2010-11-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a break from more involved lace to do a little bit of easy knitting. A while back, I spun a lace weight yarn from Pigeonroof Studio roving in the "Green Ocean" colorway. I bought it at A Verb For Keeping Warm because the colors looked so fantastic. It is a superfine baby alpaca/merino. I have to admit that I did not do a great job spinning it. It sat around in my stash for ages because I had no idea what I could do with it. Then one rainy day I decided to get it out and knit another Miralda Shawl from Nancy Bushes book on Estonian lace. I think it really came out pretty well considering I had no clue how it would look. I actually like it better than the first Miralda shawl I knit in a more semi-solid color. The second shawl is another one of those pretty little Elisa Shawlette's by Tiziana Sammuri on Ravelry in Gaia Lace which is a cashmere silk from the Sanguine Gryphon which I also bought at Verb. Sorry the pictures are not that great but I'm still trying to learn how to use my new camera. It has more talent than I do I'm afraid :-)

I will be doing small projects and spinning during the Winter because that's about all my tiny mind can handle over the Holidays but I hope to post progress as I go along. Good Evening and Good Knitting!

Small Projects (Some are faster than others)

2010-09-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Just a short post so I can show a few shots of Goldregen draped on a form. As you can see, even though there were quite a few rows to this one, it ended up a small scarf because of the needle and thread size. Still, not everyone wants to wear a full shawl and perhaps the small size will make it more tempting to wear. This one took two years to finally complete but not every small lace project I make needs to be so labor intensive.

I have another co-worker leaving but only had a small amount of time to make something for her (promotion rather than retiring). so I knit the Elisa Shawlette by Tiziana Sammuri (her shop name on Ravelry). Knit on US 3 with Suri Elegance yarn in the Misty Morning colorway, it took only 3-4 days of casual knitting to complete and makes a lovely elongated semi-circular scarf that is easy to wear with a suit or casually with jeans wrapped about the shoulders or neck. I have no drape shots of this piece as I have already given it away, but I plan to knit it again so I will get shots then :-)

Goldregen Fini (UFO no more)

2010-08-30T19:03:00.001-07:00

Goldregen by Herbert Niebling. I used Habu indigo dyed silk thread purchased during Stitches West many years ago. US 0000 for the first half, US 000 up until the edge blooms and then US 00 with crochet cast-off. Approx. 36 inches across, it makes for a nice little scarf sized Niebling. This is a two year old UFO that is now done at last.

I was knitting along on this project without a care in the world when I had "needle failure" where the needle and cable parted ways. The repair of all the dropped stitches was so traumatic that I didn't want to even look at this after I fixed it. That's all history now. It's so pretty that I am looking for another good Niebling to knit using this thread. I know it sounds like crazy talk but I have two nieces who are finally interested in having something I knit. I can't make one and then not have one for the other niece so I will search my patterns for something that will be comparable yet different.

In the mean time, I still have other UFO's that I will be looking to finish while I'm knitting more Nieblings. Life is good!

30 More Rows (My Lace Went To Mexico And All I Got Was This Lousy Tee Shirt)

2010-08-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lest you think I never work on my UFO's (some of them so old that I am ashamed to even contemplate it) here are a few pictures of Goldregen. It took a vacation to a resort in Mexico and here are a few pictures to show where we were. Slippery slithery silk. It takes me much longer to knit this because of the utter terror of possibly dropping a stitch. Dropped stitches are bad. Very very bad. No dropping of stitches allowed so it takes FOREVER to go around this sucker one time.

Just 30 more rows.....

Pfingstrose (Something for "E")

2010-08-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Pfingstrose by Herbert Niebling. US 000 in the center and US 00 for the remainder using Filato Di Cantu # 30 thread. The pattern is wonderful to knit and the cloth is restrained yet elegant in my eyes. This is a gift for a co-worker who is known as "E". No first name. Just "E". He is set to retire in October to pursue his passion for writing.

One of the hazards of using "vintage" thread, is the fact that not all skeins match in color. Some are older and have taken on a light and lovely cream color, some remain stark white. Because I knit mostly at night, I could not see the color difference. I also blocked this at night against a black background and still did not catch it. It was not until I saw it in daylight that I could see the difference. The change to a more brilliant white starts just after I've begun the final set of edge leaves. At first I thought to rip it out and re-knit, but I'm going to leave it. I actually like the way it looks and in some lights the whole cloth looks to be a uniform color. If, after he sees it, "E" wants me to re-do the edge, I will do it but until then it's just "one of those odd knitting things" that sometimes happens to me.

Needless to say, I will bring my skeins out into the light to sort them for color before my next project with this thread but even this happenstance is not enough to put me off of using it. Yes, it's that good to work with.

I will be continuing to knit a UFO as well as casting on a few new projects. One of these projects is quite large and will take awhile to finish so I may be posting progress shots of that one. The others are so short that progress shots just don't feel necessary.

For those of you who want a laugh, you might want to go over to The Panopticon

for a little "spirited" humor about Herbert Niebling :-) Until the next post!

Federdolde Blocking (Yeah it's White. Shocking I know!)

2010-06-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

Federdolde, US 00 needles, Filato Di Cantu # 30 thread. Just to show that I can knit on a little smaller needle when I want to! I love knitting with this thread so much that I don't even care that I'm knitting in White! It's very smooth with a nice little shine to it. Blocking went really well and the new camera appears to be working out even though I have to take low resolution pictures of this in order to post on the blog. I will be away for a little while so no dry shots until I get back but I had to post this before I got busy again :-)

Kirschbluten Dry (Isn't It Romantic)

2010-06-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of Kirchbluten now that it's dry. The pictures still don't show the true nature of this green silk yarn. Think dappled sunlight as filtered through the leaves of a tree falling onto a green silk shawl. That is much more what it really looks like. It drapes very nicely and, as expected, is "more than circular". I am waiting for a replacement camera since I have to hit my current camera to make the screen come on. Not a good sign. Maybe the new camera will take better color pictures.

In the "Stash Enhancement" area, I recently went to a Hand Weavers Convention. Aside from fiber (which I will show you in a later post), I also got a few interesting and lovely things.

Below the shawl you see two skeins of a cotton thread. They were tossed into a little basket with other things but I still saw them like someone had lit them up with a beacon. One touch and I had to have them. In fact, "Thread Greed" gripped my soul and I could hear a little voice inside my head saying "Please Sir. Can I have some more?" Just call me Oliver Twist. Lucky for me the vendor had more back at home. I bought all she had in white.

The skeined thread is Filato Di Cantu #30. The thread is Egyptian cotton and is quite literally Heaven to knit with.I think it was mostly used in other types of lace making but I'm here to say it is perfection for lace knitting. I believe it used to be distributed by Coats but Asha at "Dyeing ART" (AKA Pastiche Inc.) picked these up in Italy from a place that was going out of business. Below the skeins are spools of Filato Di Cantuo in # 40 which I am hoarding.

I will only "Knit The Hits" so to speak, with these threads. What does that mean you ask? Herbert Niebling patterns or patterns from the Lacy Knitters Guild would make the cut for the Hit Parade in this case. Anything less would be a waste of this superb product. Besides, once it's gone, it's really all gone for me. It's not easy to come by.

Lastly, I picked up some tiny little shuttles and quills with a tiny little beater. What will I do with them? I have no clue but I had to have them. Below them is a Lucite handled slay hook for my Rigid Heddle loom that my sister bought me which has a nicely made hook. I hope it will make setting up my loom a little easier.

That's it for now! Hope you all are having a great weekend.

Mughetti Dry (Yeah, I forgot to post this one)

2010-06-04T00:13:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I never did post any pictures of this shawl dry. I got back-logged with work and and forgot so here it is. Mughetti remained flat after it was blocked and did not snap back as I had feared. It has a fuzziness to it that you wouldn't expect to have with this fiber. Not the softest shawl in the world since it's in Wensleydale but still very interesting to knit with.

Kirschblüten (AKA "Cherry Blossom" ) Blocking

2010-06-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile but work and life have been way too busy. Short post this time but I promise to do better next time.

This is the circular version of Kirschbluten that you can find in the White Ichida book. I used US 3 needles, 100% silk from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in the "Shimmering" yarn, colorway Chartreuse's Sister. It is actually a lovely green color but I can't get my camera to register the real color. Though pretty, it may end up being a "more than circular" shawl since there are so many repeats of the border flowers that it may end up "ruffling rather than staying flat. I will post when dry. I have some other things I picked up recently that I will post next time but my camera is acting out and I may need to retire it and go get something else. Least you think I will never again knit on smaller needles, my next project is on US 00 needles and I am once again knitting on Goldregen (I will finish that one yet!) on US 000 so it will be a break from all the small shawls I've been knitting :-)

Mughetti (Experiment With Wensleydale)

2010-03-24T21:01:00.001-07:00

"Mughetti" from Lavori Artistici a Calza 7. Another Herbert Niebling pattern knit using hand spun 2 ply Wenslydale lace weight yarn. Fiber purchased at "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in the Vemillion colorway. I knit this shawl on US 3 and I hope it will actually block flat and not retract which is what happened with a sample I knit out of Wensleydale on small needles. This yarn actually fluffs up much more than you might think. The shawl is only 50 inches across and was 152 rows long. I could have gone to an even larger needle now that I look at the thing. I really don't know what will happen when I take the pins out of the one. Maybe I will hit it with steam first and then pray a lot. I will post when dry.

When You Don't Have A Model (You Borrow A Dress Form)

2010-03-09T23:13:00.001-08:00

Just a few more pictures of Copritavolo and Hannelore dry and draped on a dress form. The folks at A Verb For Keeping Warm were nice enough to let me borrow it for a few shots in day light. This way you can see the size of the shawls and how it looks on a bit better. You have to take my word that they look better on the "dummy" than they would on me :-) I'm working on another Niebling but this time using Wensleydale hand spun. That's it for now.

Stitches West 2010 (What I got)

2010-02-28T15:09:00.001-08:00

OK. Here is my haul from Stitches, 2010.

First two pictures are of a small skein of Laqured Silk purchased from John Marshall. He looks for businesses in Japan that are selling close-out stock and then buys up what he is interested in for re-sale. This silk is from the 1970 inventory from Nishijin Mills in Koyoto. "What will you do with it?" Everyone asks me this. My response. "I have no Frickin' idea." Some kind of strange doily I imagine but I just had to have it.

Next two pictures are products from Lisa Souza . Cashmere/Merino Top in "Mahogany" colorway and then a picture of her Wensleydale Top in "Petroglyph". The Spindle is from Carolina Homespun and is purpleheart and redwood burl with a mahogany shaft.

Picture # 5 shows what I got at A Verb For Keeping Warm. 3 skeins of Holding alpaca lace in "Indigo Sky" and 2 skeins of Shimmering Tussah silk in "Thai Iced Tea".

Below that is a picture of the new Verb tote which I just had to have and 3 skeins of Shimmering in "Azure" that I got just before Stitches West at the Verb store because I was too afraid to compete with other shoppers for it at Stitches West. It's always a good idea to secure what I really want at Verb before it disappears.

I also bought a pattern at Windy Valley Musk Ox for the "Gracie" top. I plan to use Golden Crown Suri Alpaca in black for this top. You can also see Brittany double points in US 3 in glove and sock lengths (I have no idea where my other ones went) to fill in the gap in my needle collection as well as a "sheep" nail file from Carolina Homespun.

Last, but not least, my sister got me knitting software. Intwined Pattern Studio by Favor Software. It's a chart design software package under $50 and is supposed to be easy enough for even me to use.

Stitches West 2010 (What My Sister Got)

2010-02-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

You are looking at my sisters efforts at Stash Enhancement from Stitches West. First picture is of her fiber selections. from Left to Right you have Lisa Souza BFL in "Josephs Coat" A Verb For Keeping Warm BFL in "Magic Bean" and then Lisa Souza Cashmere/Merino Top in "Sedona". You then have a picture of a pair of The Oxford Punch Needle which are sitting in a Kritter Craft Case "Hippy the Hippo" which you can also see in the last picture in this set. My sister also purchased a video from Judith Mackenzie "Popular Wheel Mechanics". Since we now own 4 wheels and one Electric Spinner, this sounded like a really good DVD to own. Lastly, she bought an Alexandras Craft Kate.

Copritavolo Blocking (God I Love Silk)

2010-02-27T00:27:00.000-08:00

Ever since I first got my hands on a skein of "Shimmering" in 100% Tussah Silk from A Verb For Keeping Warm, I have been crazy with the need to knit with it. My first project, Hannelore turned out so well that I had to knit another project as soon as I could. On US 3 needles this yarn works really well for those "smaller" Niebling patterns. You end up with a nice little shawl that takes no time at all to knit and the color and drape are just fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I have plans for my smaller gage yarns but those projects are a lot bigger and will take months to knit. This yarn is great for a "quick hit" of lace knitting.

Copritavolo, knit with US 3 needles, 100% Tussah Silk "Shimmering" from A Verb For Keeping Warm in the "Tidepools" colorway. This shawl is about 53 inches across and I ran out of yarn just after finishing row 140. I had to use a different yarn to cast-off (Shimmering in Chocolate Covered Cherries in regular silk). The pattern had a few weird errors in it but it still turned out nicely :-)

Hannelore (Whiz Bang)

2010-02-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

After so many projects that take me months to finish I just wanted one that would be fast. Hannelore is another Herbert Niebling pattern. At 142 rows I had to knit it on US 3 needles to get a shawl of any size. About 40 inches across, 50 inches diagonal, I used 100% Tussah Silk yarn "Shimmering"in the Clafoutis colorway from A Verb For Keeping Warm. It took 10 days to knit and it has none of the "hex mesh" you see in the usual Niebling pattern. The silk gives it terrific drape and I will likely wear this one to Stitches West this year. I actually think I like this pattern better than Lyra. Back to the UFO's :-)

Roswitha (Dry at last)

2010-01-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

Dry at last. It really did come out pretty. It will be hanging out over at the Verb For Keeping Warm shop if anyone is in that direction and wants to see it in person. I will wear my Miralda Shawl to Stitches West so that the folks at Verb can display this if they want to. On to the next project and my pile of UFO's :-)

Roswitha Blocking (AKA Surprise)

2010-01-13T20:42:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to knit something as a surprise to anyone who looks at this blog. I know it takes a long time for me to finish things and you wait and wait and wait for something good to look at. This time I wanted it to be a treat for me and for you. I also wanted it to be something that has not been knit by tons of other knitters though I am by no means the only one to knit this.

Pattern by Herbert Niebling "Roswitha" is 314 rows long. Knit on US O needles using "Holding" baby alpaca lace weight yarn, colorway "Vermillon" from A Verb For Keeping Warm. The shawl took about 3,500 yards of this yarn.

You can't tell from these pictures, but there are 4 different colors of yarn in this shawl. This is because I picked up a skein here, a skein there, and I kept thinking I had enough when I really didn't. Since this is hand dyed yarn using natural dye, you really have some variations unless you picked up all your skeins from the same dye bath which I didn't. Some people might not like that effect, but I really enjoy the fact that chance played a part in how this turned out. It starts out darker in the center, gets lighter and brighter towards the edges until you end up with a pale border. I really like it :-)

This is a pretty big shawl at about 64 inches across. If I want to knit any of the larger patterns by Niebling I'm going to have to go to gossamer weight yarn in the future. Until then, I am very happy with how this came out. I will post again once it is well and truly dry.

Ten More Rows (and I ran out of yarn)

2009-12-23T19:56:00.001-08:00

Just a short post. It has been a long time since I had anything to show. I've been very busy with the holidays so very little knitting had been done.

I had been knitting on my "Surprise" shawl almost to the exclusion of anything else. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel! Turns out it was an on-coming train. I ran out of yarn. It's hand dyed yarn. Each skein is different from the last. The kind folks at A Verb For Keeping Warm are dyeing me up more so I can finally finish. So instead, you get pictures of my "Stash Enhancement" efforts.

At the top, my new Bosworth Moosie spindle which weighs just under an ounce. I waited about a year to get it but it was worth the wait. I'm spinning a little Mohair that I bought from A Verb For Keeping Warm. It is part of their Farm Series and is fro Shaggy Bear Farms.

Below that you have 3 skeins of baby alpaca lace in the"Vamp" colorway from Pigeon Roof Studios and 2 skeins of the "Amazon" colorway.

Next, 3 skeins of alpaca lace from A Verb For Keeping Warm in the "10% Chance Of Rain" colorway and 4 skeins in the "Glenda" colorway.

Below that you have 3 skeins each of Kyoko Pink, Glacier and then Black Plum all in the Phoenix yarn and purchased from fleegle's Etsy store, The Gossamer Web. I also picked up some nifty stitch stoppers from her as well. I think they look like owls.

That's it for now. I hope to post again in the New Year when I have finished Surprise and update you on any other trouble I've gotten myself into :-) Here is wishing everyone a wonderful 2010!

Handmade (Little Grace Special Spinning Wheel)

2009-10-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

I love things that are handmade. I imagine a lot of us do. I have spent thousand of hours knitting lace or spinning lace weight yarn in spite of being asked by non-crafters, "Can't you just buy that in a store?". I don't get mad anymore. Instead, I just show them a finished shawl and assure them they will never see one of these in a store.

That said, I have wanted a Little Grace Special spinning wheel since I first saw one in Spin-Off magazine many years ago. They are made by Mike Keeves of New Zealand as a more portable version of his "Grace" spinning wheel. If you follow the link above, you can see all the different versions of his wheel which he makes by hand out of marine grade plywood for durability.

Though I lusted after this spinning wheel there was no "on-line" store to order one. If you want one, you have to e-mail Mr. Keeves and get on the waiting list. I had also never actually had a chance to spin on one since there are not a lot of them around. I finally decided to "go for it" after giving away my "Little Peggy" spinning wheel earlier this year. She was pretty and vintage but spun too slow. This made room for one more wheel in our small house and I decided I just had to have that Little Grace Special wheel. Of course, I had no idea if he was still making spinning wheels.

I sent an e-mail to Mr. Keeves (mkeeves@clear.net.nz) who is a lovely gracious man. Lucky for me he still makes this wheel though he is in his later years. I asked about the the whorl sizes since spinning thin is a big deal for me and found that this would be no problem so I went on the waiting list with an estimate of 6 months before my wheel would be ready. 6 months later and I got my first picture of the finished wheel sitting on top of Mr. Keeves work bench (the first picture above).

In order to arrange for payment, I had to go to my bank to initiate a money transfer in New Zealand dollars. The nice young man helping me at the bank was great until he asked,

Him- "What are you sending away for?"

Me- Smiling "A spinning wheel!"

Him- Blank stare

Me- Less smiling "You know, to spin wool or other fiber"

Him- Blank stare

Me- Not smiling "You know. Before they started making yarn or thread with large machines you had to make them yourself so you had to spin the fibers of animals or plants using a tool called a spinning wheel"

Him- Blank stare-

I gave up explaining at that point and kept my "eyes on the prize" so to speak and got through the rest of the transaction.

I had asked for a clear finish rather than the dark stain pictured in the brochure and she came packed securely in 2 boxes with excellent and clear assembly instructions. It took less than 25 minutes to assemble and she spins perfectly. I took lots of pictures of the various parts so if anyone in the future is considering getting one of these wheels they will have a better idea of what they would get. It's very cunning in design and can be either assembled for left or right side spinners. It comes with one whorl with many different sized ratios, (smallest is 5/8" diameter for a 22:1 ratio) is a single treadle wheel that utilizes a nylon drive band. The tension on the drive band is adjusted by a "tilt tension" system that can be adjusted easily. The scotch tension is very thin fishing line with a rubber band with a knob in the front. Simple and easy to adjust.

This wheel is virtually silent and has sealed bearings in the wheel and flyer head so it needs oil only on the treadle hings if they are squeaking and in the ball joints of the Pitman arm which connect the wheel to the treadle. The wheel comes with 7 bobbins, an orifice hook, pigtale attachment for plying and a reducing orifice attachment to make the orifice in the flyer smaller. The wheel is approx. 31" tall, 12"x 16.5 inches at the base with a 14" wheel diameter and comes with a lazy kate. It spins well as you can tell from the pictures so I'm very happy :-)

Last but not least, two spindles that were a gift from Wonder Mike who has a new podcast called "Fiber Beat" If you get a chance, check out his podcasts and video casts. The two spindles were made for me by Ed Ligenfelter of Tilt-A-Whorl. Both are about 0.7 ounces and they are great fun to spin with. Both were made with the theme of "lace" since Wonder Mike wanted them to reflect my obsession and Wonder Mike knit the lavender lace that tops one of the spindles which makes it extra special :-) Thank you Mike!

In case you wonder "Where's the lace?" I'm still knitting the "Surprise" as you can see from this crumpled lump. It takes about 45 minutes to go around the shawl one time if it's a pattern row now, 30 minutes if it is a plain knit row. I have also been taking Ukulele lessons and knitting fingerless gloves for my niece who is away at Philadelphia University so not as much progress as I would like. Of course, I never claimed I was a fast knitter :-) Until next time.

Excess? (Some things are too good to pass up!)

2009-09-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

I recently de-stashed a large amount of spinning fiber. It wasn't bad stuff since I don't buy bad stuff. It was just "second string". You know what I mean. You look at your stash of fiber, yarn, whatever, and you reach for the "Really good stuff I want to use before I die you have to take it from my cold dead hands touch it and you will pay with your life" stuff. So the second string fiber just sits there. Unused, unloved and so very very sad. I gave it to someone who will use it well.

As a result, I have "space". Good thing too since fleegle opened an Etsy shop "The Gossamer Web" It started out simply enough. There was a yarn that was no longer being made and fleegle still wanted it and thought others might like some too. Well. I just had to have some since it is a cashmere, silk and merino cobweb weight yarn. I know that 20 skeins at 2,600 meters each might look a little excessive to some but to me it's like storing nuts for the winter. You know. Be the ant, not the grasshopper. Besides, I'm thinking of taking that natural dyeing class at A Verb For Keeping Warm. Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it. For those who don't want to dye their own, you might just mosey on over to The Gossamer Web and look at the beautiful hand dyed roving's, lace weight yarns and the fun "tools". I picked up cashmere roving in the Hydrangea colorway which you can see I'm spinning into a nice single. It's very short staple and I ended up spinning it like you might have to spin cotton. Cashmere does not have a lot of strength as a single so I plan to ply it with a silk single that I also got from fleegle's shop which you can see in the little plastic bag. I believe it's a 30/1 weight single and should give me the strength I need. The little box fleegle gets from Japan is perfect for my various tiny little stitch markers so I don't have to keep hunting through little containers to find what I want. It was great to go to a shop that had lots of what I need rather than having to hunt all over the internet and fleegle is even making me more of that cashmere roving since I want to make a large project from it. You can't ask for more than that :-)

I have been knitting on my "Surprise" project and I'm up to row 213 of a 314 row pattern. Since it's a square, it just feels like "forever" to go around once, but I think it will be worth it. In the mean time, I did pick up a new book on Estonian lace called, "Haapsalu sall " by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi. You can get it at the Apollo book site if you are really interested. I posted a few pictures of some of the shawls on Flicker but I'm sure if you google the title you will find others. The stitch key is in English though the rest of the book is not. If you have knit from the Nancy Bush book then you will already have the basic information you need to use this book. It's a "coffee table" over sized hardcover book with pictures of all the lace designs and charts for the patterns. There are no actual patterns for the lace stoles you see pictured in this book. It has the charts for the centers and the edging but this is a strictly "Make up your own stole" kind of a deal. I plan to use the cashmere I'm spinning now for one of these stoles once I finish "Surprise". Last but not least, I got 4 more spindles from Kevin Rhodes. These are great little spindles at a reasonable price and he is willing to make them to order for you.

Spinning Frenzy and Surprises (What you can and cannot do when you have the flu)

2009-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

It's flu season. How do I know this? I know because I have had the snotting, coughing, wheezing, loss of voice and fatigue associated with the current flu bug for weeks. Did you know you can still spin a fair single while you have the flu? Did you also know you knit lace at your peril if you are doped up to the gills on drugs? I also want to mention that shopping for spindles on the internet is not a problem for me even when I'm sick. I'm better now, thank the Lord, though there is a stubborn cough that just won't go away. Here are a few pictures of what's been going on.

The first two pictures are of a "Surprise" project I'm knitting. The yarn is 100% Baby Alpaca lace weight yarn from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in "Vermillion" (4.0 ounces, 1,000 yards). The next picture is of the actual project. You won't see clear pictures of this baby until it's all done and blocked, hence the surprise factor. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and the pattern is 313 rows long. I'm using Addi Lace needles in US 0. Fleegle might have a good guess as to which pattern it is and there are a few folks at Verb who also know. This is proof that I'm still knitting lace though you wouldn't think it looking at the rest of these pictures. As my concentration improves, I will go back to Goldregen but at US 000 needles, I just couldn't hack knitting on it while I've felt so under the weather.

The next pictures are of singles spun from my Verb fiber club shipment of alpaca fiber in “Bleeding Heart” colorway. It was heaven to spin. I have the bobbin on top of some pigeonroofstudio rovings that I was considering to ply with it. I eventually choose the green roving which is a combination alpaca and merino and I'm still working on that project.

It's no surprise that I got more spindles. I didn't mean to but it's boring being sick.

Butterfly Girl Designs : Hemalyke stone whorl .8 ounce

Golding "Acorns" made of a Danecraft Sterling Silver Inset with a Walnut shaft .89 ounces.

Spindle Bowls from "The Wheel Thing" for me and my sister in Bubinga and Cherry (We took a support spindle class at Verb and I sucked major at it)

Tabacheck Tibetan Spindles from "The Wheel Thing" 2 in walnut, a cherry and one in Honduras Mahogany.

Tom Forrester Russian Spindesl from "The Bellweather"

4 spindles from Kevin Rhoads ( Yew, Red Palm, Monkey Puzzle and Laburnum)

I also bought fiber from Corgi Hill Farm as well and finished spinning and plying my other Verb fiber club shipment "Intergalactic Space Travel" in Cashmere and silk plied with Indigo dyed merino/silk also from Verb.

That's all for now I'm afraid. I hope to be able to post blocked lace next time but the rows for the Surprise project are getting ever longer as the shawl grows. I've finished one ball of yarn and I'm onto the second one. Hope I actually have enough of it!

Mitteldecke (Fast Test Knit)

2009-06-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hand spun 2 ply lace weight yarn made from Wensleydale X fleece purchased from Lowder Colours Farm. Spun on Majacraft Rose on the smallest whorl using the lace flyer and fat core bobbins. Knit on US 1 needles. Pattern from Anna Magazine 1996. Fast, easy and a test to see how this yarn works up. I plan to make a shawl with it. It's still wet so I will have a few shots of it when it is dry. It is a lighter color of grey than this and some sections are lighter than others since I spun worsted from flick carded locks and did not do any sorting for color variations.

Easily Distracted (Oooh! Shiney!)

2009-06-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I've posted and that is primarily because I've been spinning more than knitting. I admit that I can become easily distracted and the spinning took up a lot more time over the last month or so that I had anticipated. The little wheel I got from New Zealand has been given away since it just did not spin fast enough for me. I loved how it looked and if I had been a more patient person I could have just made lace weight singles very very slowly on it. Grass grows faster! So off it went. In the mean time, I picked up some Wensleydale X and Teeswater X fleece from Lowder Colours Farm . The grey fleece is the Wensleydale and the sheep was named Madonna. The White fleece is the Teeswater X and that sheep's name as Tal. I don't know why it matters to me that I know their names but it actually adds a little something to the spinning experience :-) That's not all the fleece I've got lately but I'll show them as I actually get to using them. I used a flick carder on the locks and spun from the tips for a nice two ply lace weight. As an experiment I'm making a doily pattern on US 1 needles and I can already tell that twisted stitches don't stand up with this as they might with thread which is more rigid. The detail on the flowers is lost. If I make a shawl with this yarn I will change the twisted stitches and perhaps replace them with a cable cross so they stand out more. The pattern is from an old Anna magazine from August 1996 and is referred to only as "Mitteldecke" I've also been spinning a nice lace weight from batts of "Goblin Market" that I bought from Enchanted Knowl Farm that has Merino, Angelina, Silk and bits of Sari silk. I have continued to buy spindles at a frightening rate but I just can't help myself. I purchased the first two from Spunky Eclectic. The first is a spindle by True Creations in Chakte-Koh the next a Jenkins Turkish in Ambonya. Next we have two IST spindles. The first is Oak burl with brass shavings in the cracks in the wood and the second is Ambonya, The next three are by Brandywine Woodworking and are labeled. The last one is a Spalted Tamarind Turkish Delight purchased from The Wheel Thing. Whew!

As you may have noticed, I have done a little housekeeping. I have given up on the Princess Shawl for now and also trashed the Dragon of Happiness shawl that I was going to make for my niece. I just could not get interested in either so my niece will be getting a version of Aeolian instead. I'm still working on Goldregen but have a long way to go on those US 000 needles. I'm going to try to force myself to stop with the spinning and weaving so I can get a little more lace done!

Vacation: Part 2 (Some assembly required)

2009-04-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

When I say "Vacation" I don't mean I went anywhere special physically. I was home doing chores that needed to be done which I had no time to do because my sister and I work and commute. I'm not complaining. Things got done so I'm happy. However, I did allow my imagination to go on vacation hence our building materials for raised beds for the garden and my foray into spindle spinning (successful at last). I also looked in on E-Bay at all the spinning wheels. Now I routinely do this but I never buy anything. I mean, I just look. I drool a lot but I never buy. We already have three wheels and a pocket wheel on order for my sister (she's number 36 right now) and we live in a tiny ranch style home so it's not like I need another wheel. The problem is, when I go away somewhere on vacation, I routinely set aside money to buy something nice as a memento of my trip. Just because I didn't go anywhere doesn't mean I didn't give myself permission to buy what I wanted.

See above the wheel I got on E-Bay while I was on vacation. Of course, in the picture on the website it was assembled. I used the "Buy It Now" option because I really don't like to bid for stuff if I don't have to. The wheel is a "Little Peggy" wheel and I purchased it from a seller identified as "pippygirl34" on E-Bay. She was great to buy from and the wheel came very quickly from New Zealand. It came as you see it and it came with written instructions but no pictures for assembly. I put it together and found, you guessed it, left over pieces. A few e-mails later I had it assembled correctly and I have to say she spins very nicely, quietly and is a pleasure to use. It's not as fast as a modern wheel but it does spin a nice lace weight single so far. The wood is really beautiful and I didn't know anything about the wheel or who made it when I was buying it so I went to a nice website called "New Zealand spinning wheels and their makers" and got a little information on the wheel I have. I won't bore you with details but it's about 30 years old and made by John Rappard. The design is based on an old Shetland wheel he was given permission to emulate and is made of a local Beech wood. Mine has a fairly dark stain though it looks lighter in the pictures. I love my "new" old wheel. Any dings or scratches are from "honorable wear" from the elderly gentleman who owned it before me. This wheel can be set up for either double drive or as a single drive with Scotch tension. I have pictures of both types of arrangements. I did replace the fishing line that came on the Scotch Tension with black cord instead and I'm using a cotton drive-band. This wheel actually spins lace weight better with the Scotch tension/single drive configuration so that"s what I settled on. I am currently spinning a little Lisa Souza fiber in colorway "Awwtum". Lastly, I did pick up two more spindles. A Cascade spindle "Rainer" made of Rainer flame wood for the whorl and Walnut for the shaft and weighs about an ounce from Carolina Home Spun as well as a Ken Leadbetter spindle off his site. That spindle has a Walnut & Dichroic glass inlay whorl with a Maple shaft (1.94 ounces). The glass is by Andrea Frost of "Rabbits and Rainbows". Good thing it was only a week long vacation or I could have gotten into much more trouble!

Vacation: Part 1 (Where in I finally "get" using a spindle)

2009-04-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

I recently had a week off from work. This does not sound remarkable except for the fact that I have not had a full week off from work since April of 2008 when my co-worker retired. I didn't know what to do with myself until I remembered that I have a mountain of fiber and yarn in my home. Now I have been spinning on a wheel for donkey years but I have never been able to feel comfortable using a spindle. I had tried on and off again with my sisters many spindles but I just couldn't get it. At least not until this vacation when I finally "got" it. Please see above some of the spindles I bought during my vacation. I started by buying an inexpensive spindle from "A Spinners Lair" on E-Bay that can be used as either a drop or support spindle. She recycles wood for her woodworking so I have spindles in Red oak, Apple, Walnut and Cherry. Some have two sections so you can spin two sets of singles and then ply for lace. These work nicely for spinning while sitting down. They are "center weighted' which means they spin fast but for a short amount of time. I use them primarily as drop spindles. Having admired beautiful spindles all these years but having no reason to buy them, I was now at a point where I could use part of my tax refund to "get a few" for myself. I went surfing the net and I purchased 3 Tom Forrester Spindles for myself from "The Wheel Thing". I have bought products from them before and been very happy with what I received. I have a "Granny" spindle with a Purple Heart whorl and Beech shaft, a "Linium" with a Paduk whorl and Beech Shaft and an "Orchard Pyro" with a Paduk whorl and Rock Maple Shaft. All of these spin a long time but slower than the more center weighted spindles. They are a joy to spin with now that I do more spinning and less dropping! Drunk with power I then surfed over to "The Fold" where I proceeded to drool over the Avi Wasserman spindles. I called Toni Neil and ordered three spindles. She was very kind and made sure I understood that they would spin fast but for a short time which is just what I wanted since I found I like to sit while spinning and I am spinning for lace. Imagine my surprise and gratitude when she asked if I would be interested in having some "cosmetically challenged" Avi spindles. She wanted them to go to someone who would really like to have them. Needless to say I was overwhelmed but accepted her offer. I can honestly say that the few irregularity's I found did not detract from the beauty of these spindles and they spin up a mean lace weight single. Thank you Toni!!! The first one is a 3/4 ounce Ebony whorl and Tulip wood shaft Next is a Rosewood and Ebony whorl with a Maple shaft. This one has a very slight scratch and ding on the whorl but spins like a dream. next is a 2 &1/4 ounce Olive Wood and Ebony with silver Inlay, 1 and 1/4 ounce Blackheart Myrtle and Ebony whorl with a Goncalo Alves shaft, 1 ounce Olive wood and ebony whorl with a Walnut shaft and lastly another 3/4 ounce Olive wood with Ebony and silver inlay with Walnut shaft. Phew! I have a few more things I want/need to get but I'm still working on it :-) I did manage to spin and ply up a few things.The first picture of yarn is the "Faded Flowers 100% African Wool from Black Bunny Fibers that I had stashed. I didn't want to muddy up the colors so I plied with a single of Cashmere from a spare cone of Colourmart I had lying around. The second picture is of a 2 ply 5/50 Yak Silk from A Verb For Keeping Warm in colorway "Magnet". Some of it I randomly spun and plied and some of it I separated into color groups to spin and ply just for laughs. I also have some 80/20 Merino/Tussah Silk also from "Verb" in colorway "Victoria"made up as a two ply lace weight yarn. Aside from spinning, I also worked on a UFO. "Bells Through The Leaves" AKA, "Cloches a travers les feuilles" from that hand spun Madder dyed BFL from Verb I spun so long ago. I finally finished the "Birdseye" section and am into the leaves. As a parting shot ,you can see two Tom Forresters I bought my sister as her birthday is coming up and we are still waiting for her Pocket Wheel to be made. They are a Purple heart "Linium" and a Lace wood "Granny". The remaining spindles my sister purchased for herself at Verb. Two by Lars Larsen (she lost the tags so I don't know the wood) and two from Spindlewood of Leopard wood and Birdseye Maple. There's more but that's for Part 2 :-)

Miralda Shawl (Yakity Yak)

2009-03-25T14:21:00.001-07:00

Finally finished blocking the Miralda Shawl and I have to say that the Yak/Silk blend from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" did fluff up and is very soft with a nice subtle sheen. This is a quick and easy knit with interesting construction. You cast on the edging and then decrease at the center and both sides to make the triangle which ends at the back of your neck on this shawl. I used US 6 needles and the original shawl asks for a a fingering weight yarn though I went a bit thinner. This shawl is maybe 5 ounces of yarn. Every version of this shawl that I have seen is really pretty in its own way. If you want a laugh, look at the Feb 26, 2009 entry for The Yarn Harlot :-) Now to look at my UFO's.

Busy Busy (How many projects does she have?)

2009-03-07T11:59:00.001-08:00

Yes. I have crafting ADD. I went to Stitches West 2009 and have been in a frenzy every since. I have started 2 more projects from the book "Knitting Lace of Estonia" by Nancy bush. Both are using hand spun that I made. First up is Mirlada's Triangular Shawl. I'm using a 50/50 Yak/Silk fiber I purchased from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in colorway "This is a new day". It's now a sturdy 2 ply yarn and I'm using US 6 needles because this is a very small shawl and is supposed to be knit with fingering weight. The second project is the Queen Silvia Shawl which I'm knitting out of a 2 ply made from Pygora, also from Verb, in the "Shaggy Bear" colorway. I'm add a few beads to this one just for laughs. Yes, I know that the shifting colors of cream and grey are not the best pick for this type of pattern but I love how it feels in my hands and just had to knit this one for myself. It will be a "comfort" shawl I can wear around my shoulders when I'm cold.

There is a picture of a circular blocking wire that I bought at Lacis. I'm hoping it will help with blocking those pesky doily's. I also could not resist buying a book on needle Oya (vs crochet Oya) from the bookstore in Japan Town in SF. I'm just fascinated by it. In the area of weaving I'm experimenting using pick-up sticks to make raised areas on the fabric and with making Leno which consists of twisting thread to make open areas on the fabric. Just a little experiment you understand. I'm up to row 133 of Goldregen so no pictures until I get to the edge of this sucker. January and February just flew by and the knitting is keeping me sane. It's really a lifesaver :-)

Stitches West 2009 (Doing our bit for the economy.)

2009-03-06T22:02:00.001-08:00

Just a few pictures of the loot me and my sister got at Stitches West this year. I got fat core bobbins for my Majacraft Rose at Carolina Homespun, a rosewood inch gage at ASCIANO, a nickle shawl pin by Romi, 2 braids of BFL in "Helleborus" from Pigeonroof Studios, a treasure trove of lace weight 70/30 Blue Faced Leicester/Pygora from Toots Le Blanc & Co, 2 skeins each of lace weight baby alpaca and silk in the "Chartreuse's Sister" colorway from A Verb For Keeping Warm, the Ethereal Fichu pattern by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer (revised) and a new pattern by Romi called "Blue Bird". The green skein of lace weight is alpaca from Royale Hare in "Spring Wheat"which I could not resist. Both of us bought some of those square double pointed needles we have heard so much about and I'll let you know how those work out.

My sister picked superwash BFL from Tactile Fiber Arts (2 in wisteria, 1 in heliotrope), 6 Ledrum bobbins from Carolina Homespun, 3 skeins 80/20 Yak/Merino in "Jade" and 4 skeins of "This is a new day" in 50/50 Yak/Merino from A Verb For Keeping Warm. Last but not least, she picked up 3 skeins of sock yarn at Pigeonroof Studios in colorways Morrollo, Olive Leaf and Black Walnut.

Whew! I'm going to be a very busy woman for the rest of the year.

Crown Prince Square Shawl (I didn't go into knitting so I could sew!)

2009-02-22T10:16:00.001-08:00

I don't know about anyone else but I did not go into knitting so I could sew! That said, I did end up sewing the edging onto the center of the Crown Prince Square Shawl. Alpaca is not a very elastic yarn for sewing so I'm not thrilled with how difficult it was to sew up.It was tricky to get the tension right. If I had actually read the pattern before I started knitting it, I might have knit the edge first and then attached the live stitches to the center as I knit it. That might have worked better for me. Still, it is a pretty thing. Sorry for the color shifting in the pictures but I could not really get the color down with flash photography and even the natural light photos at the end don't really show the color of this shawl. If you are going to Stitches West this year, perhaps Kristine (seen wearing the shawl) will have it with her at the shop booth for "A Verb For Keeping Warm" since it now belongs to her :-)

To Recap-

Crown Prince Square Shawl pattern from "Knitted Lace of Estonian Techniques, Patterns, and Traditions" by Nancy Bush. Knit on US 3 needles using 100% alpaca lace weight yarn from " A Verb For Keeping Warm. Yarn is called "Holding" in the "Twilight" colorway. Be sure to check out the errata page at Interweave Press for the corrections to this and other patterns in the book!

Now I'm back to work on Goldregen but have switched to US 000 Addi Lace Needles since I had needle failure on the Hiya Hiya needles in US 0000. I'm a bit more than half-way done with the pattern so the change of needles at this point is OK. I have more stuff to show but I'll post later.

Weaving Stuff (Skip if you only like Lace)

2009-01-29T18:49:00.000-08:00

Just a short post to show some of my stuff for weaving. At the top we have Swedish Weaving Shuttles by Bluster Bay in Curly Maple and Leopard Wood. Very thin and will be able to go through the shed of the Rigid Heddle Loom that I own. I just have to make quills out of paper and I'm in business. Of course, I've never done that before but I don't find that to be a deterrent.
Below that I have boat shuttles by Schacht in Cherry and some sort of combination wood. All of them are "slim" shuttles and can use either quills or plastic bobbins. Because I want to protect my tools, I'm taking placemats or table runners and making padded rolls for my shuttles. The Stick Shuttles were made for me by BrandywineWoodworks and are made of Canary Wood, Walnut, Sheaoak and Bubinga. Below those we have tapestry bobbins made of Goncalo Alves, Red Heart, Mallee Burl, Birdseye Maple and Koa. Not that I'm going to do tapestry work but you can use them for other things besides tapestry work. Of course, with all those shuttles, I needed a Quill Winder which I got on E-Bay from someone who gets used ones and cleans them up. Under that, thanks to Lartiza, I got a battery opperated fringe winder from Lacis. So much better than twisting them by hand that I almost wept for joy. Thank You Laritiza! Below these I have several skeins of fingering weight yarn from A Verb For Keeping Warm. The brown skeins are superwash merino in colorway Kerala and the Red is65/35 wool/tussah silk in "Brick". Not lace weight but can be used for weaving some really nice scarves. I can practice a few techniques with this heavier weight yarn. Last but not least, I continue stash busting. I took left-over cashmere from ColorMartUK and wove it with "Double Kiss" Rayon yarn that I have had FOREVER in my stash from "Wool in the Woods". It makes a nice scarf and I have enough for a second one (good "Mother/Daughter" scarves). I have more yarn for weaving but I don't think you need to be that bored. Did I mention I also have lots of books? I swear the next post will be about lace. I'm almost done with the center of the Crown Prince Shawl and I did fix Goldregen so I can start knitting on that again. With Stitches West coming up, I have to finish at least one of these or hang my head in shame :-)

When Good Needles Go Bad (Mission Control, We Have A Problem)

2009-01-03T15:02:00.001-08:00

So I'm knitting along on Goldregen when I notice something is not quite right. You know, a kind of looseness where there is not supposed to be anything loose. That's when I realize the join where the needle is supposed to meet the cable has separated. Sigh. I really do suck at fixing this type of thing but I'm not looking forward to trying to pick back about 5 rows of work on US 0000 needles. I think I will leave it for awhile and look at it tomorrow. Maybe it will look better in the morning. Sigh. However, I have made a second project on the loom. It only took 2 days and is a scarf for my sister made from Lisa Sousa's Baby Alpaca Lace in colorway "Sun Bleached Mahogany". Finally something my sister is willing to wear! So I guess I have to be satisfied with that success while my lace knitting kicks the crap out of me.
Happy New Year!

Erratta? What Errata? (Wherein we dope-slap ourselves)

2008-12-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

No matter how many times I tell myself not be be a "Beta" tester for new lace knitting books, I find myself getting caught-up in projects only to find that there are corrections. This was the case with the "Crown Prince" shawl from the new Nancy Bush book on Estonian Knitting. I was half way through the center of the shawl when a nice person on Ravelry let me know there was an error in the chart. I thought those center diamonds looked kind of odd. I ripped the whole thing back and started over again after giving myself a mental "dope slap". For those of you who are going to get the book, here is the errata page so far. Be sure to check back from time to time as more are added.

Though it has been awhile since I posted, I have not been idle. After playing with the "Wonder Weave"and making about a dozen woven squares, I realized that what I really wanted was something a little bit bigger to work on. I did, in fact, buy a 25 inch Schacht Rigid Heddle Loom from "Verb" and made a scarf out of hand spun yarn. It's a two ply made with a single spun from a batt of merino/silk noil from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" and plied with a complimentary fiber (the one left over from Mountain Pine) which is also a merino/silk for the weft. I used a smooth version of the yarn for the warp without the noil. It worked up to 20 WPI and I got to use the lovely new inch gage I puchased from Brandywine Woodworking. They are made from Goncalo Alves and are just beautiful. I kept one and the other went to my sister. As for the weaving, I used a 10 dent heddle and warped directly onto the loom rather than using a warping board. The scarf was a 4 day project so this new hobby will be my "Stash Buster" for fibers building up in the house :-) While I can see this fitting into my crafting nicely, I don't see it taking over all my time. My heart still belongs to lace knitting but making a scarf of hand spun yarn is really fun and quick.

The taupe skein of lace weight yarn is more of the CVM I'm spinning up. The singles on the bobbin are Black Bunny Fiber singles in a colorway called "Faded Flowers" I bought more alpaca lace weight from "Verb" in colorway "Green Beans" as well as additional spinning fibers "Victorian" which is a 80/20 merino/tussah silk in pinks and greys and,"This is a new day" in a sort of purple 50/50 yak/silk. The last two braids are Super Wash BFL from Girl On the Rocks that I picked up at Bizarre Bazaar. I could not resist. I will need to be able to weave just to make it through all this fiber!

I will be knitting on the Crown Prince, Goldregen and "Bells Through The Leaves" this weekend. Just so you don't think I'm in hibernation with piles of yarn and fiber around me. I hope to be able to post progress in January 2009!

As this difficult year comes to an end, I'd like to wish everyone out there a Happy Holiday and a hopes for a prosperous and healthy New Year!

Slippery Slope (Getting sucked into the vortex that is weaving)

2008-11-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

Wonder Weave U Tube Video

Just a short post to try to catch up on what I've been up to.

I have been flirting with the idea of another craft. Not like I have time for yet another activity but somehow it just feels like something I might enjoy. I'm thinking of trying a little bit of weaving and I imagine it's not big surprise to those of you who already enjoy weaving and for me, it just another excuse to play with fiber :-) Now I'm not talking about getting a floor loom mind you. Just a simple Rigid Heddle loom. So I've bought a few books on the subject thanks to "Sock Pron" who suggested which books to look at. I got, "Rigid Heddle Weaving" and "Textures and Patterns For The Rigid Heddle Loom" both by Betty Linn Davenport as well as a really old book "The Xenakis Technique For The Construction Of Four Harness Textiles" by Athanasios David Xenakis (this last is very advanced but a nice investment if I really get into weaving). I am waiting for a book on edge finishing for weaving as well. Books are never a waste for me and I like to know what I'm getting into before I commit. I have my eye on the Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom but decided I needed to check out U Tube for any weaving videos just to get a look at people actually weaving. While surfing the tube, I saw this video on the Wonder Weave Loom and just had to give it a try since it mimics the process used in Rigid Heddle weaving. Got one for $2.00 on E-Bay though shipping was $10.00. It's fun and it really is very addicting :-) Silly I know, but I wanted to know if the process of actual weaving was going to put me to sleep or be something I would get caught-up into like spinning. I will let you all know what happens but I am really very tempted!

I have posted a few pictures of some very pretty stitch markers in copper that I got from Spindle Cat Studios. They are very tiny and they fit up to US 3 needles. I really find them charming and I like the little "keepers" that she makes to keep those stitch markers corralled as well. Though I generally use cheap plastic hair ties as markers, these were so attractive and well made that I could not resist. The singles on my wheel are of some of the CVM I prepared with my mini-combs. When plied, it's a light taupe color and makes a bouncy, soft lace weight yarn. I'm still enjoying using my combs and since I have this week off, I can indulge myself as much as I want with my crafts. My version of Heaven! I will be working on all my knitting but wanted to give a few more shots of one of the shawls I'm working on. It's from "Knitted Lace of Estonia. Techniques, Patterns and Traditions" by Nancy Bush and is called "Crown Prince Square Shawl". I'm knitting it using US 3 needles and "Holding" a 100% baby alpaca lace weight yarn from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in colorway "Twilight". I only was able to show the border on my previous post and I'm now working on the center. I love how this alpaca feels in my hands. It has a nice spring to it and the fuzziness fills in those big holes that are made with US 3 needles. The color is subtle but looks very nice in person. I'm half way through the center portion of the "Triinu Scarf" from the same book and have all my other projects to knit on. If I need more to do there is always the reading pile with lovely trash novels along with making stuffing and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Until my next post I hope everyone stays/gets well (Get Well Soon Fleegle!) and that you are all able to have a little fun before the end of the year!

Holiday Slow-Down (And yet I'm still knitting and spinning)

2008-11-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

I now have my voice back and have returned to my spinning and knitting so Thank You to everyone who expressed concern over my condition. As the year comes to a close I may have some difficulty finding time to post as the Holidays will take up a lot of my time but I hope a few pictures of what I'm up to now will help. As you can see from the top shot, I got my copy of "Knitted Lace of Estonia" by Nancy Bush. If you want a look at the inside, here is the link for the preview of the book. It's a very nice book with assorted scarfs and a few shawls as well as good information about the techniques and traditions of this type of lace knitting. The patterns are well within reach of an intermediate lace knitter or an adventurous beginner knitter. Most of the projects use US 2-5 needles though you could go bigger if you wanted and it gave me an opportunity to look at some of the yarns I have that had no particular project in mind when I got them. The first shot is of the Trinnu Scarf that I'm knitting with US 3 needles. The yarn is from "Just Our Yarn" and is 100% Cashmere, 500 yards in "Myne". Though this yarn is very colorful, I think it looks pretty nice and it knits up quickly too. It gave me a chance to practice the 7 yarn over "Nupps" that this scarf requires. Mine are not very "pluffy" but they still look pretty nice. Next up, a few skeins of 100% silk lace weight from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in colorway "Chocolate Cherries." I could not help myself though I have a very large lace weight stash. I have no idea what I will do with it, but that hardly matters at this point now does it. It would appear I have no will power when it comes to lace weight from "Verb" As the next shot is of the border of another shawl from "Knitted Lace of Estonia". It's the Crown Prince Square Shawl which I'm knitting on US 3 (it asks for US 4) using "Holding" from " A Verb For Keeping Warm" 100% Baby Alpaca Lace Weight yarn in colorway "Twilight". Shots of the yarn and skeins follow. It has good body when knit, a lovely subtle color and the alpaca has a nice halo as well. This shawl is on the cover of the book knit in white, but you all know that I was not going there! Next I have a shot of a type of tatting shuttle. I had never tried this type before and got it on E-Bay. It's made of giraffe bone and malachite. It's a little awkward for me to use but I just wanted to try one out in this style. Below that I have some pre-washed Moorit Shetland Fleece that I got on Etsy from skippysmom. She was really accommodating even after the first 2 pounds of fleece she washed for me were found by her chickens and used for nesting material! I don't mind competing with people for my fiber but I refuse to wrestle chickens! She washed me up 2 more pounds and the locks are long and lovely. I will be spending a lot of the winter spinning and I'm still loving my mini combs for fiber prep :-) Lastly, I have been spinning and plying the Rambouillet from Sue Givens at Wind River Woolen and I only have a small handful left. She has a small farm in Wyoming where she raises not only the Rambouillet but Churro as well. This fiber was such a joy to spin that I have bought a white fleece as well which I will be washing up in spite of the cold of Winter when I have a vacation day. Unlike some of my other spinning, I washed this yarn so that the crimpy fibers could show off. I love how this yarn came out and I really have to think what to do with it. It has great body and might look really good with the textured stitches of a Niebling

PROJECT UPDATE- I have to say that I have finally frogged the Shetland Tea Shawl. I started it in 2005 and never finished it. I have given away the yarn since I know I will never knit with it again. I just did not "feel the love" for it and I just couldn't stand having it lay around any longer. That leaves only the Wedding Ring Shawl as a hibernating project. I just can't admit defeat on that on yet. I am on row 121 of Goldregen (it goes to 227) and have bought a new pattern by Sharon Winsauer called "Dragon of Happiness" . My niece has decided she likes this dragon better than the triangular shawl that Sharon designed.I will be casting on with black Cashmere from ColourMartUK since my niece is kid of a "goth light" girl. That's all the news that's fit to print for now. I hope all of you enjoy the end of the last few months of they year and STAY HEALTHY!

Sinusitis = Tedium ( Lose your voice, lose your mind)

2008-10-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

It doesn't happen to me very often, but sometimes my allergies get the better of me and I end up with a sinus infection and loose my voice. To say that I hate this is an understatement. I snot a lot, have to grunt and point at things in response to questions and the codeine in my cough syrup makes me fall asleep over knitting or reading. Still, being home gave me time to work on some things. Since focus is a challenge, I only did a little bit more of Goldregen. The first shots are up to row 109, about half way up the chart. I really enjoy knitting this pattern but I'm going to wait until I feel better and the antibiotics kick in to do more of this. I went on Etsy and bought several sets of Diz and threaders from GVPencheff (curly maple, Corian and Red Oak Diz and threaders of maple, Oak and Corian) I got the Corian set to use with dyed fleece. I spent time processing fleece and using the Diz sets to make rovings off of my mini combs. The CVM lamb fleece is another acquisition from The Fiber Denn as is the blue Cormo below it. The light colored roving is also CVM and the Grey/Brown is Rambouillet. The bobbins show the singles from the Rambouillet that I'm spinning. I also have shots of the 50/50 merino silk lace weight I made from the roving I got from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the "Iris" colorway. as well as the lace weightPolworth locks I purchased from A Verb For Keeping Warm in the "Butterfly Wings" colorway. Lastly, my final shipment of the Team "B" fiber club from Black Bunny Fibers. It s a Border Leicster and Kid Mohair called Red Maple II. I now have so much fiber that I guess it was fortunate I was too sick to go to "Colors, A Fiber Festival" this weekend. No hyperlinks with this post as I'm just too much of a mess to focus. I hope to have more to show for myself once I get over the crud.

Fiber Goodness (Is it Fall yet?)

2008-09-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Now we have finished re-roofing, finished taking down plastic tarp, finished vacuuming etc. I have had time to take a few pictures of what I have been up to. I have tried out my lovely little mini combs that my sister got me from The Wheel Thing and I LOVE them. For those who already know how to use these, just move on to other pictures. My combs come with a stand/carrying case that can hold my combs in place while I work. I use C-clamps to fix the stand to a table and then position a comb with the tines facing UP (a pin holds the comb in place through a hole in the handle). I take washed locks and "lash" them onto the tines. The idea is to pierce the lock towards the base onto the tines so that they sit about an inch above the base of the tines. You continue to put locks on until you have a row of locks that span the width of the comb. I don't put a lot of locks on because once you begin to comb them, they expand taking up a lot of the space on the mini combs. Since I only knit/spin lace weight, I felt these combs would be big enough but anyone who needs to process a lot of fiber might want larger ones. Once you have the locks on what is referred to as the "stationary" comb, you un-pin the handle of the comb, turn it sideways and re-pin it so it stays in place. This comb now stays there while you comb the locks.You take the remaining comb and, swinging downwards, you comb through the very tips of the locks to catch some fiber and pull them loose from the mass. You continue to to comb in the same manner until as much fiber from the stationary comb is on the moving comb as possible. After this is done, you take the comb with all the fiber on it and put the fiber back onto the stationary comb. Take the full comb, tines facing down and catch the fibers tips onto the stationary comb moving from right to left. The stationary comb has not moved. You continue to replace those fibers until as many of the fibers can transfer back onto that comb as possible. If you are satisfied with the effect, you can now form roving by using your hands to pull off the fiber or by using a diz. If you get a lot of static, you can try a little water/oil combination on the fiber or just water, on the tines. My tines are stainless steel so this works out OK as long as you are not soaking the wood. Very pretty smooth fiber :-) I loved it so much I bought more fleece! I picked up some natural colored Rambouillet from Wind River Woolens . The staple length is pretty short compared to the Cormo but it is very soft. I also picked up some CVM in a light morrit from MaiMaiBB which is slightly longer. I washed both these fleeces in the washing machine in nylon bags to see how that would work out. You fill the EMPTY tub of your washing machine with hot water, add Dawn diswashing detergent and then soak the bags of fleece WITHOUT agitation. I let them sit 20 minutes then pulled the bags out of the washing machine, drained the dirty water and repeated the process. Total of 3 washes and 2 rinses with a spin-dry at the end. Worked really well though I would still do the Cormo in the bathtub using the kitty litter trays and boiling hot water due to the huge amount of lanolin in Cormo. As you can see, I got more silk from Habu and had them wind it onto cones for me. Considering the aggravation it saved me, it was worth the price. I've been to Lacis and bought more lace patterns and some small carved objects. I also went to the A Verb For Keeping Warm 1 year anniversary party on Saturday. I don't need more fiber but with Winter coming on, I tend to do less knitting and more spinning. At least, that's what I told myself when I got 8 ounces BFL in "Chance of Rain" colorway as well as 4 ounces of 50/50 Yak/Tussah Silk in "Magnet" and 4 ounces in BFL (to ply). Last but not least, I got an orifice hook at Chiwawa which is small enough to go through the holes for the Majacraft Rose Lace Flyer. Sure beats using a bent paper clip :-) That's it for now. I'm on row 93 of Goldregen. Not enough to bother to take a picture of that.

Until Next time. Happy knitting/spinning/whatever :-)

Goldregen Row 66

2008-09-04T05:40:00.001-07:00

A few pictures of Goldregen now I'm on circular needles. I've had a few problems while knitting with this silk. I lost some stitches when a needle protector popped off. Much swearing ensued while I fixed it and I accidentally snapped a thread while trying to knit 5 stitches together. I did a fix and hid the ends but if you know where to look you can see that I did something a little different to get the stitches to come together as I didn't want to put more strain where the break had been. Still, I enjoy knitting with this silk and I always love knitting a Niebling :-)

Pleasure Principle (Habu, Mini Combs, Cormo and Goldregen)

2008-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm no Spring Chicken. I'm at the point in my life where I want my leisure activity's to be as pleasurable as possible as my "pull date" looms closer. I've found that knitting lace and spinning are wonderful, relaxing and rewarding activity's and I have great fun experimenting with supplies and tools. See above the center for "Goldregen", another Herbert Niebling pattern from Burda E 903. I'm knitting it using Habu orgazine degummed indigo dyed silk (NS-18J, 21d/10x2). A skein contains 1,400 yds for 2 ounces. I'm using US 0000 needles and I'll try to get a better shot once I can get enough stitches to go onto circular needles. The silk is slick, a little crispy in texture and it's best not to drop a stitch as it wants to slither away. Beautiful stuff. However, if you want to get any I suggest you pay the extra money to have it wound onto a cone since it is very difficult to wind into a ball and wants to unwind itself into a tangled mess. Having washed about 2/3 of the Cormo fleece I bought at Dixon, I have a new appreciation for anyone willing to clean it for me, not to mention color it. I purchased the pretty Blue Cormo Lamb fleece from, The Fiber Denn. While the fibers are not as long as the fleece I purchased from Cormo Sheep & Wool Farm they are very soft and should spin up nicely. But first, I have to prep the fiber and that brings me to my new tools. Up until now, I have been using a flick comb to tease a lock at a time to spin from. While it works, it's a little tough on my hands and the amount of fiber I can prepare this way at one sitting is pretty limited. See above the mini combs that my sister bought for me as my birthday is in a few months. Made from Cherry wood(though you can pick whatever wood you like best) , they were made to order from The Wheel Thing and are constructed by a gentleman named Alvin Ramer who lives in Canada. These combs come with a stand that holds the combs safe and secure when not in use. The stand can be clamped to a table and there is a slot where the stationary comb can be inserted, held in place at different angles with a pin so that you can easily comb locks. This set comes with a tool to straighten the tines if one ends up out of alignment and two sea shells with holes drilled into the center to act as a diz. As for how to use these combs, I have looked at a few videos on U Tube which illustrate how to use them. One in particular from Manda Crafts was very instructive though it's on the use of English Wool Combs rather than mini combs. I haven't had time to try out the new toys yet but I'll get a few pictures and let you know how it works out :-)

Salmon Queen (Another UFO Bites The Dust)

2008-08-17T11:14:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to show you pictures of Salmon Queen. This hung around for a long time waiting for me to have time to finish it. I'm really trying to finish off my UFOs so I won't have so much guilt over new projects. The blocking shots look darker because the doily is still wet from washing. As usual, I finished off with steam to set the doily as blocking while wet without use of starch just won't hold the shape. To re-cap. Flora 50 with US 000 needles, Herbert Niebling pattern. The last few shots are of new acquisitions. The roving is a Merino/Alpaca from "Black Bunny Fibers" as part of the "Team B" fiber club, the wooden wrist distaff (by Tom Forrester)and rosewood needle case/inch gage are from "The Wheel Thing"

Washing Cormo (and washing, and washing and...)

2008-08-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of lace knitting going on here but lots of washing of fleece while it's warm enough to dry the stuff. We are having issues with drought and so I was looking for an alternative to using a washing machine to soak/spin my half Cormo fleece. It's been years since I've tried to wash a fleece and I have no experience with Cormo in my past. All the information on the Internet told me that I would have to wash it more than once and with very hot water since Cormo has a heck of a lot of lanolin in it. What I found is a great method for small amounts of fleece on a blog called "The Independent Stitch" that involved using a kitty litter system that has a nesting "sieve". No agitation, just soaking the dirt away. I did a total of three washes with 20 minutes of soaking (you can't let it cool or the lanolin re-deposits back onto the fleece). I used a combination of hot tap water and water I boiled on the stove and Dawn dish washing detergent as the surfactant. Two rinses with hot water and drip/dry using a two tier sweater drying system I got at the local Chinese dollar store for $4.00. I must say that the fleece came out really nicely and it has just enough lanolin left in it so the fiber doesn't feel dry or lifeless. If you don't agitate it, the structure of the locks is maintained and you can then either flick card or possibly use combs. Now I don't happen to own any combs but I had my eye on a set of mini-combs that might be very nice to try out. I'd consider larger combs but let's face it. If all I'm spinning is lace weight yarn, there is not really any reason to buy 4 pitch English Combs which are the "Freddy Krugers" of the spinning world. Only 8 more rows to finish the "Salmon Queen" doily so I hope to show that on the next post. Good evening to you all :-)

International Shawl Fini (Hard to give it away)

2008-07-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are the pictures of the International Shawl now that it's off the blocking pins. To re-cap-

Yarn: Black Bunny Fibers superfine alpaca lace weight yarn custom dyed in a semi-solid teal color. Needles US 0 needles

Center pattern: "Chrysantheme" German Niebling pattern but in a Japanese knitting book, "Knitted Lace Designs OF The ‘Modern’ Mode" Book 2 by Naoko Ichida. (up to row 53)This book comes with a stitch key in English.

Border:I placed stitch markers in the corners and selected one stitch as a center corner stitch. I increased on the plain knit row on either side of this stitch to make the corners. As my stitches in the corners increased, I extended the patterns to fill in those spaces. No system. Just eye-balled it.

First set of leaves in the border : Estonian leaf pattern, page 49, chart # 114 from the book "Pitsilised Koekirjad" by Leili Reimann (as many times as you want to make the border as deep as you want with the understanding that there is one more border pattern to go) Stitch key in English available on the internet.

Second border pattern : Shetland Lace pattern, Madeira and Diamond Chart on page 90 of "Heirloom Knitting" by Sharon Miller (as much as you want until you like how it looks)

Edging: Danish edge pattern from a doily page 74 "Rosa" pattern from "Knitted Lace" by Sonja Esbensen and Anna Rasmussen. Unlike some edges, this one is knit directly on the needles with a crochet cast-off at the end to finish.

Pretty. I'm having a hard time giving it away but it's packed now and I'm off to the post office tomorrow. I have one more skein of this color yarn and I'm going to knit myself something I will keep this time! Just a few shots of what I've been spinning. The brightly colored ball of yarn is the Wensleydale fiber that I got from Black Bunny Fibers in colorway "Waltz". Looks like a Hawaiian snow cone. I'll have to think really hard what to do with this one. Below is the Polworth I got from "A Verb For Keeping Warm" in the colorway "Butterfly Wings". Once again not sure what to do with it but sometimes the best inspiration comes with things you've spun for yourself. Short post. Must Knit!

Half A Fleece Is Better Than None / Blocking The International Shawl

2008-07-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

When my sister humored me in the 80's and we learned how to spin, our instructor had us spinning "in the grease". I swore then I would not ever spin with unprocessed fiber again and have been happy buying clean and lovely batts, roving, sliver. At least I was happy until I went to Lambtown for the first time in 2007. I was conservative, bought only a precious few ounces of baby alpaca which was very clean and still waiting for a special project to be spun. Then the devil dressed up as Lisa Souza walked up to my sister and me at Lambtown 2008 holding half a Cormo fleece with a staple length that had my jaw dropping. She was there as a civilian, just shopping for the best fiber she could find to feed her own addiction. "Where did you buy that!" I cried, lust in my heart. She pointed to "Cormo Sheep & Wool Farm's" booth where Sue Reuser (I think it was Sue) had beautiful fleeces stacked up so they could be seen, felt, coveted. She remarked how surprised she was that exposure on Ravelry had resulted in so many more people coming to the booth to look and to buy from her. If she only knew! I fondled the fleeces and picked up 3.52 lbs (half a fleece) of a Cormo Ewe with the unfortunate name of "Ho". "I just sold the other half of that fleece." she mentioned, writing up my receipt. "Did you sell it to Lisa Souza?" I asked. "Why yes!" she exclaimed. I should have known. Some of the fiber has a little dirt but I took a lock and washed it and the dirt came right out. I will spin this when I have a few days off in a row. I know just the project for it too :-) As usual, we had to stop at "Carolina Homespun" first where I picked up the yellow merino along with the merino/silk roving so I can ply. I also picked up a braid of chasing rainbow dyeworks "Morning Glory" colorway in a 80/20 merino cashmere and the companion silk in the same colorway to ply with. I also picked up an extra fat core bobbin for the Rose as well as a pretty Rosewood crochet hook. Even though I really don't crochet, I could not help myself. It's handmade and has a beautiful finish. I'm sure I can figure out something to do with it. I then made it over to A Verb for Keeping Warm and bought 6 ounces of Polworth locks that had been dyed in a colorway called"Butterfly Wings". Pretty pastels that I will flick card and spin up, more Indigo dyed BFL and two skeins of alpaca lace weight yarn (1,000 yards each) in "Vermillion" colorway. The tote bag was a bonus if you spent more than $50 at the booth. Not a problem. All told, Lambtown was fun even though there was not much lamb at the food concessions. It's a small show with volunteers trying to put it all together so I'm very grateful for all that effort they put into it. It's worth going as long as you keep your expectations reasonable.

Lastly, I have finally finished the International Shawl and here are the blocking shots. I used superfine alpaca lace to make this so I did not try to put it on the shawl frame since I think this yarn is not strong enough for that type of a blocking. I think it's pretty and will get shots to you all when it's dry. The woman who is getting this has already retired but I showed her the pictures of the shawl in progress. She is a gardener so she was really happy with the flowers, leaves etc. in the shawl.

Happy Sister at Lambtown 2008 (Different strokes for different folks)

2008-07-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

I have a sister who taught me to knit. Her name is May. She can knit lace but does not really enjoy it. She can spin on a wheel but prefers spindles most of the time. She likes nice tools and a Happy Sister is a good thing if you live together and are both menopausal. We both went to Lambtown this weekend and made ourselves very very happy! Please see above yarn my sister bought there. The orange skein on the far left is 100% superwas merino from "A Verb for Keeping Warm" and is called "Sticky Monkey Flower". This is to be a baby sweater for one of our nieces who is expecting. The other two skeins are 60% linen and 40% SW merino in Hollyhock and Jade, also from Verb. She is thinking of making market bags. Clearly, no lace involved here but great projects none the less. Below the yarn you have a Kate made by Will Taylor May got at Carolina Homespun. We have a few Lazy Kate's but this one has clean lines, is compact and really appealed to her. Next are three spindles that my sister picked up, again at Carolina Homespun. She has a "thing" for Ken Ledbetter spindles and the first one has a Wengi finial Bubinga whorl, Maple shaft and a vintage button in the center. The second has a Purple heart finial, Maple Whorl, Purple Heart shaft , Mother of Pearl inlay and a vintage button center. Just below those is a Jenkins Turkish spindle of unknown wood type (no tag). What of the last two spindles you ask? These were not obtained at Lambtown. A few years ago my sister bought a Majacraft Rose wheel at the same time I bought a Lendrum. We have discovered over time that I prefer her Rose and she prefers my Lendrum. She swapped wheels with me and I decided to buy her a few spindles as a "Thank You" as her Rose was more costly than the Lendrum. Breaking away from the "Ken Ledbetter Obsession" my sister has, I picked up two Tom Forrester Spindles for her. The one with the trees is referred to as a "Pyro" because he burns the designs into it and is called "Orchard". The Whorl is Black Walnut and the shaft is Santa Maria. The second is a "Dervish" and I can't remember the wood. Both spin great and will keep my sister busy for a long time to come. I will get my own stuff in order and post my haul later :-)

Saigon Scarf (Caw Caw Pretty Pretty!)

2008-07-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted but I have at least finished one project. My inner Crow is happy to have finished "The Saigon Scarf" which is by Badcatdesigns . Very pretty pattern that is free on Ravelry . I used the hand spun 2 ply lace weight yarn I spun out of fiber from Spritely Goods (alpaca, merino, firestar and angelina, colorway Palo Verde) and this is the first time I've added beads with a crochet hook. Please forgive my crappy photos. The yarn is really a very vivid lime green but I just could not get shots that reflect the lovely color or sparkle in this yarn. For anyone looking for a nice lace project that is both interesting and fun, this might just be the one. Think Xmas gift. It's well within the reach of a lace knitter with a few easier projects under their belt and will not take too long to knit since it's a scarf rather than a stole. I love the designs from Badcatdesigns. Her instructions are very clear and the patterns leave lots of room for a knitter to make it their own in terms of yarn choices. There is a lot to be said for clean but flowing lines in a design and there is just enough variation in the patterns to make them interesting. I have also purchased the Hecate Stole and the Corfu Shawl from her and I'm going to go buy Mimosa as soon as I finish this post. I've spun a lot of fiber lately and though it's sometimes a challenge to find projects to use the finished product on, many of these patterns would look good with what I'm making up :-)

Just below the shots of The Saigon Scarf, I have a small amount of "birdseye" lace knit up on US 0. I'm using the 2 ply yarn made from the Madder dyed BFL from "A Verb for Keeping Warm" I am making a stole from a Japanese knitting book "Vintage Knitting in Tradition". There is a picture of it from my May 9th blog posting. It's on page 26 and the caption is "Cloches a travers les feuilles". I don't speak French so I went to Babelfish. What I got is "Bells through the sheets" WTF? My sister speculates it actually is more like "Bells in Layers" or "Layered Bells". Translation is very dicey at best. If anyone out there has a better guess pleases give us a hint :-) Since I'm in "Crow" mode, I went and bought two more shawl pins from Romi (Fascination with bright and shiny objects? Oui!) . The copper heart is a sentimental favorite but the "bobby pin" type shawl pin works really well with light weight lace. For a woman who almost never wears her shawls, I have a lot of pins LOL! Lastly, this is some lovely Wensleydale wool from Black Bunny Fibers . It's the second installment for the Team "B" fiber club members. This colorway is "Waltz". It's shinny and very strong, almost like Mohair with long staple but unlike Mohair, I don't have any allergy reaction to spinning it. Looking at it, I have no idea what to do with it in terms of lace. I could try to spin it and make it into something other than lace (Yeah, right!) or I can just give in and admit that whatever I make with it, that lace will always remind me of a snow cone at the circus. I have only 4 more rows before the crochet cast-off for the International Shawl so I hope to finish it off this week and will post pictures once it's done. For those of you in the Bay Area, this up-coming weekend is Lambtown in Dixon. We plan to go (big surprise) but I really don't need more fiber or yarn....... (to be continued)

Home Stretch

2008-06-23T17:54:00.001-07:00

Just a brief progress report . See above the finished border for the International Shawl. Estonian leaves and then I put Madeira and Diamond lace in next. This was not the agreed on pattern, I just stuck it in because it was the right number of stitches and looked OK to me so don't blame fleegle if you think it looks weird. That completed, I have to finish the edging for the International Shawl with a Danish Edging of leaves and then a crochet cast-off. Did I mention that I had not really looked at the chart for the Danish lace? That I had no idea where it starts for the corners and I'm not familiar with the stitch symbols? The edge now has 1090 stitches to go around it once. Oh well. No rest for the wicked! I finished plying the Peruvian merino wool that was sent to me as part of the Black Bunny Fiber Club. Very pretty and will be made into something for Season of Lace. I have joined for the Summer quarter but must finish the International Shawl before any other projects can be considered. I also have reached the center section of The Saigon Scarf by Badcatdesigns as part of "The One Shawl To Rule Them All" KAL on Ravelry. I love adding beads to it. I can feel my inner crow coming to the surface as I stare at the pretty sparkle of the beads. I will post later when I have a bit more to look at.

Generosity (Thy name is fleegle)

2008-06-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

I took a little side trip to Lacis and Lo and behold! They have a lovely lace exhibit entitled "Lace I Love' A Selection Of Lace Pieces From An Anonymous Collector Donated by Susan Glinert Stevens (AKA fleegle). The lace is really beautiful and for those who can't get out to see it, there are the slides at the Lacis link above. What a wonderful way to preserve this beautiful collection! Bravo fleegle! Since a few people have asked me, I also took a look at the pattern re-prints that recently became available. The first are from KUNSTSTRICK MUSSER. The first is called Martha, then Susanne and Meteor. The next is Dahlie, then Narzisse and then Tausendschon. If you go to the Lacis link and scroll down to the lace, you will see the patterns. They also have the re-print of Beyer "Kunstricken, Beyer-Band 361" which has 30 lace patterns that are also said to be Nieblings. I also have this one but I did not pick it up at Lacis. To top it all off, they have also re-printed "Lyra". That elusive pattern that so many of you have asked about. It's only $7.00 and you will not regret spending that money to knit this beauty. The chart is big and easy to read and the pattern is in English! Lastly, I joined my very first fiber club. Black Bunny Fibers has sent me 8 ounces of beautiful Peruvian merino that I am spinning into thin pretty singles. There you have it. A surfeit of lace!

Gearing Up ( I'm gonna knit me some lace)

2008-06-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

With my friend Louise on the mend, I find I have really been remiss in my lace knitting lately. However, I'm gearing up for the Seasons of Lace knit-a-long. Not that I don't already knit lace all the time but I love that others have the desire to knit it too :-) I've needed to relax so I've been spinning more than knitting, but in the end, that only leaves me with more yarn. So starting at the top, I have started knitting "The Saigon Scarf" which is a beautiful design by badcatdesigns. This is a free pattern on ravelry . I'm using the yarn I spun from the Palo Verde batts I obtained from Spritely Goods and it has the lovely addition of beads in this pattern. It doesn't use all the yarn I spun and leaves enough for an additional project. In order to put the beads on, I needed to add them with a small crochet hook. this required a visit to Lacis since I didn't have one small enough to fit through the hole of a bead. I got an assortment of hooks (.60/.75/1.00) and while I was at it, I picked up some "mini" crochet hooks that can be put on a holder and used when tatting as some shuttles don't have a point to pull thread through picots. My "stimulus package" fast dwindling, I spied another Danish lace book. "Kunststrick II" by Sonja Esbensen which I did not yet own. One must keep up one's library after all or find oneself no longer deserving the sobriquet "lacefreak". Must not have that so home it came. I have to say it was such a pleasure to spin the batts of Palo Verde that I ordered 10.4 ounces of "Bursage" (merino with angelina and firestar for sparkle) from Spritely Goods. It needed no fluffing or pre-drafting and spins perfect straight from the batt. Just pull off a length and off you go. You can't beat that with a stick! Lastly, a picture of my 4 ounces of Madder dyed BFL from A Verb For Keeping Warm. The really nice thing is that I can get more of this fiber after all so I have a particular project in mind for it. That's it for now. I hope the next post will have more actual lace content. Hope you all had a great weekend :-)

Reaching For "Normal" (Life is not for the weak)

2008-05-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hats? What's with the hats? For those of you who kindly expressed concern over my recent stress, I present hats! Not lace, and knit by my sister rather than me, but important because they signal at least a partial reduction of my stress. These hats are for our good friend, Louise who you may have heard me refer to over the years. She has posed several times as a shawl model. Once with a Swallowtail shawl (which she then proceeded to keep) and once with the Hyrna which she decided was not her color so she let me keep that one. She even was nice enough to lend me back the first lace shawl I ever spun (which she owns of course) so I could take a picture of it for this blog (pre blog, pre digital photography). I have known Louise for over 20 years and she has been in the hospital for weeks, hence my stress. The great thing is that she looks like she may be on the mend and needs hats since her hair, alas had to be sacrificed. Thank you to everyone who has been wishing me well. I think the good vibes may have helped us both.

As I try to reach for something like "Normal" I have started back to knitting on the International Shawl and have added the leaf pattern that fleegle found in Pitsilised Koekirjad by Leili Reimann. I have a corner shot of the shawl bit it's getting really crowded on this needle so I'm not sure it's the best shot. I'm not going to make it very deep since I still have to fit in "Something Shetland"after the leaf pattern. The increases in the corners happen every other row and the pattern shaping in the corners are strictly, "By Guess By Golly" if you catch my drift. This is a seat of the pants deal as you can see. The leaf pattern is # 114 for those of you who have the book. Unfortunately, I don't think this book is available right now but there is a new book on Estonian Lace coming out by Nancy Bush called, "Knitted Lace of Estonia: Techniques, Patterns and Traditions" Nothing lowers stress better than retail therapy so I have already placed this book on pre-order at Amazon and I have high hopes it will be a fun one to knit from:-)

Below the shawl I have a shot of my new shawl pin. I got it from Romi and it's beaten copper. Very pretty, about two inches in length, the pin is shaped so it does not slip out so easily from the shawl. She has lots of lovely pins and is well known for her lace patterns including Muir and Ice Queen to name a few. As you can see, I have now spun up two colors of merino/sari silk fiber from Enchanted Knoll Farms . One with more pink/red to it, the other mostly green. It's not a thin yarn by any means so I really have to give this one some thought as to what I will do with it. It's the first "Superwash" wool I've ever spun and I did not really like how it felt or spun very much. Think of hair that has been permed one too many times and now feels kind of dry and lifeless. It's still soft, but I'm used to wool that feels "alive" with the scales still on those hair shafts. I still have some more superwash I can try in a different color but if it continues to feel crappy this may be the last time I buy any since I don't make socks. The bobbin of brown singles is the Madder dyed BFL from "A Verb For Keeping Warm". It actually looks nicer than what shows on the screen but there is still only 4 ounces of it. 4 ounces will only get me a triangle shawl or a good sized scarf. I will have to give this more thought. Maybe I can get more? Ha! Fat chance! Oh Well. That's all that there is for now. I am sending good vibes to everyone out there in knitting land as you did for me while I lived in dread. I hope everyone who has a 3 day holiday coming up enjoys it. Happy And Healthy Knitting to you All!

Playing Catch-Up (Trying to Get Current)

2008-05-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I was last able to post. I've had some unusually stressful things happening lately so I've been spinning more than knitting. Stress was one of the reasons I first learned to spin and the relaxing yet productive nature of this activity never fails me. If I didn't have my crafts to keep me relaxed I'd be a quivering mess of "whips and jingles" as my friend Louise would say. That said, you can see that I did manage to knit a colorful little baby hat out of Lorna's Laces "Angel" in 70/30 Angora and Lambswool, colorway "Lorikeet". One 50 yard ball makes this hat with very little left over. It's for my niece who is expecting.

Since nothing helps me more when I'm stressed than a bout of shopping, I also had to have yet another Japanese knitting book. "Vintage Knitting in Tradition" which I picked up at the Kinokuniya Bookstore in "J" town in SF. Of course, I got it for the lace but it has some very lovely cable sweaters and Fair Isle type sweaters as well. Yeah. I know I have a heck of a lot of books on lace, but I really do think I will get to some of these. In particular I like the simple stole with the "birds eye lace" center and the pretty leaves on the ends. That one looks like it would be relaxing!

The next few pictures are of yarn I bought, put away and proceeded to forget I ever had. The blue Claudia Hand painted lace weight yarn was from Communknity, the cone of Habu 2/48 superfine merino in green and the two cones of Louet Lace Linen 20/2 in Speckled Salmon are from Article Pract. The skein of Whisper (merino wool laceweight) in oranes/greens and yellows was an impulse buy at Imagiknit and the Suri Elegance from the Alpaca Company (colorway Misty Morning) is once again from Article Pract.

I managed to spin up the pretty green batts from Spritely Goods and I'm using part of it for a Knit-A-Long on Ravelry with a group called "One Shawl To Rule Them All". Their group Icon is the Eye Of Sauron. You can't beat that with a stick! They voted on different free patterns to knit or crochet for this group. I am knitting the Woodland Shawl as an Elven pattern. A little on the simple side but hey, it's a knit-a-long so it has to be something most people could actually finish. I think I will have enough yarn left over to make something else. I also bought several batts of fiber from Enchanted Knoll Farm (thank you very much Opal for infecting me) They are black superwash merino with Sari Silk mixed in. The batt with the red and pink silk is called "Raven" and the one with the green is " Araucuna". I have a particular lace project in mind for these if they come out well.

I am going to start back in on the International Shawl and I'm going to "wing it" ie knit whatever I can, however I can do it. I need to do this because I have yet another co-worker who is to retire and I would like this shawl to be for her. So if you see me screaming and ripping out my hair in the future, it will mostly likely be my failure to make this shawl as pretty as I would like it to be. Don't blame fleegle if it sucks since I'm not as elegant as she is with the blending of the lace styles. Hers will be polished. Mine will be...well let's just say it will be finished! We also serve who sing in the chorus :-)

Cashmere and Camel and Lama Oh My! (Color: A Fiber Festival 2008)

2008-04-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not into spinning and fiber, you might just want to pass on this blog posting. The only thing that saved me from utter madness was the fact that I ran out of cash and resisted the urge to break out the credit/debit card. For those of you who are interested, view on :-)

Let's just say that Colour: A Fiber Festival was a lot of fun for me and my sister. Yes indeed! The last three pictures of fiber are my sisters purchases . The orange and orange green roving's were from Girl On The Rocks and I think they are Flame, South African Finn (the orange) and California Poppy also in a Finn (orange/green). The three roving's together are all superwash Merino from Tactile Fiber Arts and the brown/grey roving is polworth from A Verb For Keeping Warm.

At the top of the blog you have a selection of "exotic" fibers that I got to sample/taste which we kept in order with this handy plastic card holder they gave us. You can make notes, keep a sample of the fiber and a sample of the spun yarn. Very neat! Color had classes, some spinning, some knitting and some fiber "tastings" where you could try rare breeds, exotics, etc. Whatever you were interested in. I took the course from Kristine Vejar who was really great. She provided different fibers and we all spun them trying to get yarn to highlight the best characteristics of the fiber. The exotics consisted of cashmere, baby camel and silk tussah, baby alpaca and silk, baby lama and baby alpaca. I did not bring a wheel, I just borrowed a spindle from my sister. Though I have spun all but the cashmere, I did not know that you could get more fluff by spinning from the fold with a larger drafting area to catch the air, that spinning it looser would help maintain the fluff factor and that either long draw or supported long draw would work the best. My singles really came out nicer so I will try to remember this when I go to spin all the stuff I got. It's a small festival that has big potential. there were about 4 vendors. Tactile, Girl, Verb and Pigeonroofstudios. Let me just say, that Pigeonroofstudios sold out of fiber in the first 45 minutes. I was lucky to get anything at all. That said, I did not go begging for fiber!

Now for my haul. The Brown roving is baby alpaca from A Verb for Keeping Warm. The colorful green/pink/yellow stuff is merino from Girl On The Rocks. The two small bundles of roving are two colorways of baby camel and tussah silk from A Verb for Keeping Warm. The "snail" of braided fiber is baby alpaca/merino from pigeonroofstudios. The red/orange roving is Gradient Dyed ie from lighter to darker and is superwash merino from Girl On The Rocks. Below that is BFL that is indigo dyed and then BFL that is Madder Dyed, both from A Verb for Keeping Warm.

Whew!

Knitting Baby Stuff (Lace Down-time)

2008-04-22T05:58:00.001-07:00

I'm afraid no pictures of lace for you. I'm currently knitting Baby Stuff for a niece who is "expecting" so I'm in the middle of"lace down-time" with very little lace being done. I've made three more points on the edge of Princess, plied up the Camel/Silk and bought beautiful fiber batts from "Spritely Goods" after seeing her lovely shawl in Spin-Off Magazine. The batt is made of Merino, Alpaca, Angelina and Firestar in a colorway called Palo Verde. It's the first fiber I've ever spun with sparkle in it. I usually don't go for that type of thing but this is really very subtle so I'm interested to see how it comes out. I also could not resist buying yet another Sharon Miller pattern as you can see, even though I have not yet finished any of those projects I've started with her patterns. I'm beginning to get a complex! Still, I can't resist them. I will be back to knitting lace shortly since I have another co-worker about to retire. It so happens she likes to garden. I imagine you know where the International Shawl is going to end up. Tomorrow it's off to "Color: A Fiber Festival". where I hope I will not just loose my mind and buy more fiber. Faint hope I know but I will try. Until I have something better for you all to see, I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Proto Yarn (Fiber Sins)

2008-04-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

I know this is not lace, but I swear to you it will be in the future! The moment I tried to cut back on buying yarn, my fiber purchases went ballistic! Consider this display my on-line confessional :-) Top of the list, A lovely 50/50 baby camel and tussah silk from Anzula that I purchased at Yarn Place (colorway-Autumn). I'm in the process of plying it. It's only 4 ounces so maybe some kind of scarf or small shawlette. It's not as orange as the fiber suggests but darker than what is on that bobbin. The next three pictures are of some of my sisters Spindles since there was a request to see some of them. She keeps them standing up in a wooden container like some exotic wooden flower arrangement. She really likes to use them to spin. I'd much rather use a wheel :-) The next two pictures are of Black Bunny Fibers that I had to get because I've never tried spinning either of these. The teal is Finn Roving which is very soft and the blue is Falkland which is a little less soft but still really nice in the hands. I'm going to give in and join her fiber club if I get the chance. It will save me from having to haunt her site for updates! The two little bundles of blue fiber are a purchase I made at article pract. They have started carrying fiber from "a verb for keeping warm". These are polworth in their "Garden Series" colorway. Polworth you say? Did I not have a bad time with Polworth before? The spinning of it was lovely, the knitting, not so much. Still, I want to give it another try. Who knew I could be so Masochistic about spinning? And lastly, I had to have this small coil of Cashmere/Silk from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks that I purchased at Purlescence. It's only 2 ounces but I also purchased a 2 ounce hank of silk dyed in the same colorway to use to ply. I'm going to save this fiber to spin when I have been a very very good girl. Now that you know how bad I've been, I feel a lot better! I guess confession really is good for the soul :-) For those of you who live in the Bay Area, there is a small fiber festival that is scheduled for the end of this month "Color: a Fiber Festival" on Saturday, April 26th. There will be classes in spinning, knitting, fiber "tasting" of different types of fiber and vendors as well. I have a feeling my sister and I will be going there with big bags to carry stuff home in.

I am sorry to say I have not done much knitting in the last week because life sometimes cuts into my knitting time (who knew?) but I have actually started back to knitting the Shetland Tea Shawl which had been in hibernation for ages and I have finished the last flower in the center of the International Shawl (Yippee!) Once I get a chance I will post a few pictures of progress on these.

Last, but not least, you might like to have a listen at a podcast called "Yknit" It's nice to hear a podcast by male knitters (WonderMike & Stephen hizKNITS) and they are a nice addition to my listening line-up that includes David Reidy of "Sticks and String" and Guido of "It's A Purl Man" It's really fun to listen while you spin or knit. Hope you all had a great weekend :-)

Laminiaria Done (My. It really is very ORANGE isn't it?"

2008-03-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Just for the record. Mohair does not stretch much and it does not stretch easily. Brute strength is required and very sturdy pins. That said, it came out pretty nicely and will make a terrific shawl for the office. Why the office you ask? We moved our offices and the room I'm in is quite chilly for some reason. They think the air-conditioner is on all the time or something. In any case this shawl took virtually all of the 4 ounces of yarn I spun and I was fortunate I did not end up running out before the end!

To re-cap. The pattern is Laminiaria from the Spring 2008 Knitty on-line magazine. The fiber is from Black Bunny Fibers in a 50/50 Border Leicester/Mohair Top with a little Cream colored Suri Alpaca to lighten it up a little bit. The colorway is "Carnival" and was spun on the Majacraft Rose for a two ply laceweight yarn. Knit on US 6 needles, I followed the instructions for the smaller shawl because I was using such large needles and knew it would end up pretty good sized anyway.

For those not already aware, I have given away Legends of the Shetland Seas to a co-worker who is going to retire soon. The day after I got it back from the folks at Spin-Off, I gave it, and a copy of the magazine to her. It's her colors and now it will be worn and not put away in a box. Being in the magazine was great. Giving away the shawl was better :-) Good evening and good knitting!

Busted! ("Legends" is in the Spring 2008 Spin-Off Magazine)

2008-03-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Badcatsdesigns busted me first. I guess she got her copy of Spin-Off Magazine earlier than I did :-) Last year just before Thanksgiving I got an e-mail from Amy Clarke Moore asking if I would be willing to have the Legends of the Shetland Seas stole in the gallery of the Spring 2008 magazine. She had seen it on Flicker. I was really surprised since I don't think my spinning is all that terrific. There are many spinners with much better technique than I have. I guess what I lack in spinning skills was made up for with the lace knitting . In any case I agreed, vain thing that I am :-) Amy was really very nice and it gave me the incentive to finish up the stole so I could send it to the nice folks at the magazine. I must say, they took better pictures of it than I did. Back to knitting Laminaria!

Laminaria (Star and Blossom charts)

2008-03-24T18:59:00.001-07:00

Just a few pictures of my progress on the Laminaria shawl from Knitty.Com. I'm knitting it on US 6 and there are some very big increases in order to knit the "Blossoms" pattern in this shawl. The first picture is of the "Stars" that happen at the back of the neck of the shawl. I hope the pattern will show once it's blocked because it's very dense in this section. The next few pictures are of the "Blossoms" with a close-up of a single blossom. It looks really different if turn the pictures upside-down which is how you will view them on the finished shawl since the triangle will be pointing down. There was a little learning curve on this type of lace for me and I can't say I enjoy knitting it all that much. It's not holding my attention, truth be told. If I was to knit this again, I would also do a SSSK or mirror image on the Start Chart for the left hand side of the shawl so it would look a little better. The yarn is so busy that I left it alone but if it was a plain yarn I would have made the change. On the plus side, the pattern is well written, clear and I think the designer picked really good combinations for the shawl. I'm just not crazy about having to do all those large increases. As for the other pictures. I know I said I would try to knit from my stash, but I have not been able to resist buying yarn I fear. I guess I will just have to knit a lot faster. Did I mention that I did my taxes and will be getting a refund? And, in all seriousness, I intend to help the economy by spending my share of the stimulus package. That and the fact that, my adult niece is pregnant again and it's time to knit a few baby sweaters. It's a girl this time so a bunch of the Auntie's went yarn shopping on Saturday. I picked up some pretty Claudia Handpaints in fingering weight for the baby sweaters. The tatting shuttle is some kind of Horn and I could not make my hand put it back down once I picked it up. It might even make me do a little bit of tatting :-) The baby sweater yarn is from Commuknittyand the tatting shuttle is from Purlescence Yarns Once I started, I couldn't stop. I picked up several patterns for sweaters and I bought some lace weight yarn as well but will save them for a later post. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that no else one was attacked by squirrels