Life Happens (You change or IT changes you)

Been gone so long that I have a backlog of things I have been working on. Last year I had things to deal with that ate up all my time and attention. I managed to sort of keep up with Ravelry but little else. Since my life has now calmed down to the point where I can see my way to posting on the blog again, these are catch-up pictures of some of the things I got done. I have other things that don't have pictures yet but I will eventually get to those.
The first picture is progress on Herbert Nieblings Morgenrote. I'm using Yarn Place Heaven that I was able to indigo dye at A Verb For Keeping Warm. I am working on chart B and adding circa 1920 Blue Iris AB Carnival beeds (16 beads to the inch). I am using US 000 needles for the body of this lace though I used US 0000 for the center petals. It's slow going but I like the spring in the yarn and the nice definition.
Next up is Morticia which was a MKAL done with the Boo Knits group on Ravelry. I used pigeonroof studio baby alpaca lace in the "Vamp" colorway to make this shawl using US 3,4 and 5 needles. Really beautiful pattern with a fluffy delicate yarn. It was really fun to knit. It's gone off to a new owner already. Those Boo Knits really are in demand with friends and family!
Next, something a little different. This is an adaptation of a circular doily pattern by Herbert Niebling called Fuchsienbluten. After seeing several versions done up as a shawl on Ravelry, I also went ahead and gave it a try using Lichtfaden Baby Camel Silk laceweight yarn in the Cabaret  colorway using US 3&4 needles.Modifications are posted on my project page at Ravelry. This one too has been gifted.
The next one is a really old UFO that I finally finished. The Triinu Scarf in Just Our Yarn Myrn Cashmere Lace. I like how it looks but these simple patterns just don't hold my attention so it was a slog to knit. Gifted and gone thank goodness.
Lastly, I have Resolute Spirit in A Verb For Keeping Warm Baby Alpaca Lace in the Vermillion colorway. It's actually pink rather than vermillion but it was warm, delicate and beaded so I have no complaints. The person who received it was thrilled and looked great in it.
That's it for now. I can't promise to post more frequently since there is no telling when I will find the time but I will at least try to do catch-ups when possible. Happy Knitting!

More Boo Knits (Bring On The Pretty!)

Just a few shots of two Boo Knits shawls that I have made lately. The first was a Mystery KAL on Ravelry that I participated in. The pattern is called "Temptress" and I knit it using Lichtfaden silk baby camel lace yarn that I purchased on Etsy. The Colorway was "A Stormy Sea OOAK" with little  5 mm Czech beads from my stash. It was great fun to participate in this Mystery KAL on the Boo Knits Ravelry board and all the shawls were stunning and very unique to the knitters. The second shawl is also from Boo Knits and was a way to use yarn from my stash. The pattern is "Fragile Heart". I used two different yarns for this project. I only had one skein of Alchemy Haiku in "Tea Cake" which is a variegated yarn. It was not enough yardage for the entire shawl so I ended up pairing it with Shibu Silk Cloud in "Flaxen which is the solid color you see at the back of the neck of the shawl. I think they went well together. I used tiny little grey silver lined beads for accent from my stash and they twinkle nicely in the sunlight.
Both yarns were a pleasure to knit and the patterns make pretty little shawlettes that are easy for people to wear without a lot of fuss.

The last few pictures are my Unis 301 dolls. I like to sew little dresses on my featherweight sewing machines from time to time. It's a nice break from lace knitting. The largest doll is my Bleuette which is around 11 inches. The next size is about 10 inches. My littlest acquisition is only 9 inches high and dates from 1936. This doll was purchased by someone on vacation in Paris and the doll is dressed in a regional outfit from the Province of Alsace Loraine. This outfit was sewn onto her little body and there were even little nails hammered into her body on her waist, legs and feet to hold the clothes in place. Needles to say I took all that off. I will save the pieces of the outfit but I like to think this doll will be thankful to have new outfits to wear :-)

Until Next time!

Missing Mojo (What to knit when you can't concentrate)

What do you knit when your mojo is missing? This is the question I have been asking myself for months since I finished Fruhling. It's like I sprained my mojo and could not concentrate on my favorite Niebling lace. I blamed menopause, I blamed stress from work, I blamed aliens who must have stolen my mojo when I was not looking. Who knows how this works? Anyway, do I lie down and just take it? Heck NO!

While waiting for my mojo to return I have been spinning. See above my version of the Color Affection shawl using Loop bumps in the Raindrop colorway and the coordinating color bump. This is part of the Loop SAL on the Ravelry group and was my first attempt at spinning a gradient. I did a chain ply for this one to maintain the colors and it turned out pretty well though I would rather gnaw off my hands at the wrists than do another project in garter stitch again.

Next I used the 2 ply hand spun gradient lace weight yarn I made using the Fiber Optic Yarns merino/silk roving in the Rouge-Violet-Cerulean Gradient. This was part of TheKnitGirlls SAL The shawl is a mash-up of Laminaria and Echo Flower Shawl The shawl is based on on made by Dobranoc .It doesn't use much of the red section from the gradient but I have saved it in case I want to knit something else from it.

Below that I am blocking a Mystery KAL from Boo Knits. It started on Valentine Day and finished up this last week. The pattern is called "Temptress" and is now available for purchase on Ravelry. It does not show true colors while blocking but I hope to get shots once it's dry.

Finally, I have more fiber from Fiber Optics Yarns. This one has some cashmere in it and will be yummy to spin with. The batt below is from Fleegle's Etsy shop. I am spinning this one right now and it almost spins itself it's THAT GOOD! I can't wait to see what I end up making with it.


I am hoping that my mojo can be found in the next few months. I did lay hands on a hibernating Niebling and did a few rows while waiting for the doors to open at the Market Place at Stitches West 2013. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could concentrate on it for awhile. Cross your fingers :-)

Autumn Estonian Jewel (When yarn and pattern collide)

As promised, here are a few pictures of my shawl now that it's dry. It's the Estonian Jewel pattern by Beatrice Olsson and she is not kidding when she says you have to block it hard sideways so it will hang nicely when it's on. Most of the examples of this shawl are in solid colors on Ravelry but I think it looks pretty nice with the changes in color.  Also I have spun one of my first "gradient" yarns as part of the Knit Girllls SAL  I have spun one other gradient  prior to this out of a  bullseye Loop batt but I'm still knitting on that project. I will post a picture when I'm done with that one (it's not a lace project). This particular yarn is a 2 ply from roving purchased from Fiber Optics Yarns in the Rouge-Violet-Cerulean Gradient.  As usual, I have no clue what I will do with this yarn.  It's so very vivid that I'm not sure what would work the best. 
That's it for now. I have a few other projects that have been just sitting there waiting to be finished. I always slow down in the Winter even though California weather is very mild compared to the rest of the states.  Until later!

Baby It's Cold Outside! (Easy Winter Knits)

As usual I have been remiss in posting anything on the blog. Spending too much time on Ravelry but here are a few pictures of what I've been knitting/spinning. 

At the top are Sabrina Mitts by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. The pattern is available at Ravelry and I used Quince &Co. in the "Tern" colorway for the purple mitts. The pattern asks you to use the lace pattern only on the arms but I extended it all the way up the backs of the hands. After all, that's the fun part for me.  I liked it so well that I made two pairs so that each of my nieces could have a set. Then, when a co-worker suddenly moved back to the East Coast, I decided to make her a pair using my E-Lux 2012 Fiber Club selection from A Verb for Keeping Warm. It's a targhee/silk/merino blend in their "Floof" colorway. Really fun and very warm!

Since I prefer to make easy lace in the winter, I then stole some of my sisters handspun Verb BFL yarn  in "Transnational Fury"colorway and knit "Sweet Dreams" By Boo Knits. I loved it and it only took a few days to knit even with adding the beads to it so I decided to knit a second one once again out of a Verb Yarn that I lost the belly band to. I know it had some Cashmere in it and it's a heavier yarn than I am used to using but it worked really well for this little shawl.

As for spinning, I have been watching a very nice video podcast called The Knit Girllls for awhile now and the owner of Fiber Optics has made a colorway using the hosts favorite colors calling it the "Rouge-Violet=Cerulean Gradient".  I had never spun a Gradient before so I bought two braids and spun them up thin so I can make a 2 ply lace weight yarn.  Of course, there is the question of what to do with it once I've plied it up but that is a problem for another day. Suffice it to say that it spun up nicely and is a 80/20 Merino/Silk . 

Many times, I have spun some lace weight yarn and it just sits in the stash until I find something I want to knit that will work with it.  That was the case with a ball of yarn  I made out of a Tussah/Cashmere fiber from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks in the colorway "Autumn". I finally choose "Estonian Jewel"  by Beatrice Olsson using US 3 needles. Here are a few blocking shots and I will post pictures when it's dry.  There are lots of projects that are on "hold" until I shake off the Winter lethargy but I hope to get back to them once the weather warms up.

That's it for now! I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe holiday season and I look forward to 2013 with much crafting glee!!!!