Frühling (AKA Spring) Dry at last!

 Just a few pictures of Fruhling now that it's dry. I'm knitting on 3 smaller Nieblings now. One older one that never got finished and two more recent. I hope they go faster so you will get to see them sooner.  I have a Shetland Lace stole I was working on but I think that the yarn I spun is not really that spectacular. I may have to start all over again on that one, sigh!  Until later!

Frühling. This took for freaking ever to finish!

I have not really had time to post anything for quite some time. The only thing I've been knitting on is this project which I am very happy to say is now done.

Herbert Nieblings Frühling. 60 inches in diameter using US 0000 needles for the very center leaves and US 000 needles for the rest. I used naturally dyed silk thread from “ A Verb For Keeping Warm” in the Tidepools colorway. This was a custom order done as a favor for me because I wanted to do a larger project but needed something fairly thin to work with. There are a few errors but nothing major.  

I tried to get this sucker done in time for Stitches West 2012 but it was taking over an hour to go around the work for one row and I just ran out of time.  Though I love how it came out, I just want to knit smaller projects for awhile before I tackle anything this large again.  Of course, I have a stash of really nice threads to pick from and a pile of patterns to choose from so you just never know :-) Until next time.....  

In The Works (Slow Progress)

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!

Small Projects (Some are faster than others)

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)

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)

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")

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!)

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)

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)

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

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 :-)