Spider Mutants and Bye Bye Mountain Pines

If you change a well known, well loved pattern, will you be struck down by the knitting God or Goddess? So Far fleegle is still standing even though she has been plagued by knots in her yarn. She appears to now be past the point in the yarn with all the knots and is hopeful to finish her "Spider King" without further aggravation. I'm going to spend the weekend charting the mitered corner for my version of "Spider Queen" which will now be referred to as "Spider Mutant". Think "Island of Dr. Moreau" only with yarn and spiders. Of course, I hope it will still be pretty, if different, but there is no guarantee in knitting! Forgive me Hazel Carter for I'm about to sin.

OK. I know I said I was going to start keeping my shawls rather than giving them away. Something about a "Legacy" to leave my little nieces who I imagine could care less. But you see, I have this very dear friend Jerry, who moved to Seattle some years ago with his partner, Paul (I have listed his fledgling blog in the side-bar under GPC). He really likes the Mountain Pines Shawl. He is here in the Bay Area and we just had dinner together because he is part of a committee interviewing potential rectors for the church he belongs to. Apparently, there was some conversation last night with some of the others on the committee and they were talking about how nuns in the Catholic Church used to do lace and go blind by age 35 yrs making the stuff. One of the people there asked aloud, "Who spins or makes lace now a days anyway?" Or words to that effect. Heh Heh Heh. Of course my friend had to tell them that I did and that there are lots of other people out there who do as well. He wants bragging rights, wants to show off the shawl, display it in his house for all to see and somehow that just feels "right" compared to being wrapped in tissue in a box on the shelf for the next 10-20 years or so until one of my nieces might take an interest. Besides, did I mention he's very dear to me? So on Wed, before he takes the red-eye flight back home, we will have dinner somewhere nice, talk about everything and nothing like we used to do all the time when he used to live in the Bay Area, and he will go home with a reminder of our friendship that he can show-off to his hearts content. The shawl is special, but then so is he!

Mountain Pines Shawl

You haven't lived until you have crawled around on your hands and knees and blocked a shawl. Anyone seen any good blocking frames for sale? I mean, really. Couldn't they make a nice one out of Lucite? One with multiple rows of holes for different distances between points? One that could be assembled using wing nuts, screws, etc that could be broken down easily like they have with embroidery frames or quilting frames only LIGHT. They could even make one with smaller sides that can be shaped into something like an octagon so even circular shawls could be blocked. But I digress.

Please see above my Mountain Pines Shawl that I have finally finished. Thank God for the wires even though it's a challenge to find the floor space. The yarn was spun at 22-24 WPI on average using my trusty single treadle Schacht wheel. The fiber had been purchased during one of the past Stitches West outings long ago as you can tell from the price on the tag. Fiber content 70/30 Merino Silk, fiber from Widdershin Woolworks (P.O.Box 611 Arroy Hondo, New Mexico 87513) at least that what's on the tag. I'm not sure they are still there or not. You have shots of the yarn, the shawl pre blocking, on the wires and the compleated shawl on my sister and hanging from a blank wall. Yes, it's not exactly square, but I got pretty tired and my knees began to protest. It's "Good Enough" as far as I and Homer Simpson are concerned. Ignore the blue coverlet with red dots on it. Out of all the pictures, the color you see on the wraps gage is the most accurate, at least on my computer screen. Variations of sage green with lovely little highlights in a faint reddish tint, this shawl is actually very pretty in spite of the inconsistency's of my spinning. It's nice that the pattern didn't suffer too much from my lack of spinning expertise! I have to say, now it's done, I'm tempted to do the flip-side pattern. The original booklet came with TWO patterns. The second pattern, "Boundary Waters" shawl and is knit from the center outwards. I happen to have some rather nice hands-spun laceweight yarn that I made from fiber purchased from Carolina Homespun. You know, kind of like a matched set? Too many shawls, not enough time! Still, before I start another project, I really have to think a minute. The Dragone Shawl is something I want to knit but it has lots of stiches I've never done before and I don't want to fry my brain again so soon. If I finish the Flower Basket Lace Shawl and the Fir Cone and Peacock Feathers first, it gives me a clear field.

And that brings up my biggest point. A big thank-you to missalicefaye for knitting the Wedding Ring Shawl. Why thank her you say? Because, she has inspired me to pick-up my own work that was languishing and I have resumed toiling away on my own Wedding Ring Shawl. I'm still slow, but not as slow as before because I'm no longer doing the directional decreases. I'm just doing k2tog and it is indeed easier. I'm not sure the shape of the holes is as nice on certain sections of the pattern and for those sections, I may revert to the directional decreases. But I will not post any pictures of progress until I'm at least half-way done with the center section. Believe me, that will take awhile.

I'm sure you already know, but it's worth saying. I really enjoyed spinning and knitting this shawl in spite of any tedium during the edge portion of the program. Here's to finishing most of what was started in 2006!

Uh-Oh.....

Ever miscalculate your yardage? Ever do it with yarn you spun yourself several years ago? Please see above that I am nearing the end of the third side of my square Mountain Pines Shawl. Thus far, the entire shawl has been knit from one continuous ball of yarn that I spun. See also that I have not enough yarn left on that ball for the end of this side much less the fourth side of the shawl. Never fear! I tell myself. I know I have more of it.....somewhere. Friends, my yarn room looks like a tornado hit it. I had a heck of a time finding that ball of yarn. As you can see, I did eventually find it after I tore the place apart. I also found more of that orignal fiber that I had stored. If worse had come to worse, I would have spun more yarn, but that would have delayed the compleation of this shawl. As it is, it will be a lesson to me to keep all my finished yarn togeather with my projects. Of course, it didn't have to be a lesson from the Marque de Sade of Yarn, but that's a tale for another day.

Whew!

Knit and bake and knit and bake

So I'm still doing the edge for Mountain Pines. I have rounded the corner and I'm working on the second side. I just pinned it out a little to see what it looks like with the edge. I'm also assisting my sister in baking more holiday cookies and quick breads. See "Ginger Cookies" from the "Stars Dessert Cookbook". These are the only ginger cookies I like to eat and they are very addicting! Very buttery, crunchy and chewy. We also baked "Joan's Pumpkin Loaf" from "Maida Heatter's New Book Of Great Desserts". Moist with raisins or dates (Your choice, we use raisins) as well as either walnuts or pecans (We used pecans this year). It only tastes better the longer it sits there so it"s a great make ahead treat. We gave cookies to our co-workers, some of our friends and to our Veterinarian's office. Between baking and knitting, there is also reading my backlog of paperback's. I love paranormal romances and Sci Fi. What can I say. Reality is very harsh sometimes. I appreciate being somewhere else mentally from time to time. Right now I'm reading "Sunshine" by Robin McKinley and it is extraordinarily engaging. The female lead is reluctantly heroic, living in a world where vampires and other creatures are now commonly acknowledged. Soon vampires will outnumber humans in numbers and the balance of power may be shifting. Sunshine can work magic, though she has not been trained in magic due to her mothers divorce from her magically talented father. She is abducted by a gang of vampires, ostensibly to break the will of a vampire prisoner who has chosen not to kill or torture humans while taking the blood he needs. He's old and very powerful, hence his rivals desire to break him. They tether Sunshine and the vampire, Constantine with leg chains and leave them together, hoping he will lose control. Instead, they show one another compassion and form an alliance to escape with Sunshine using powers she never tried to tap before. There is much more to the book and it's an enjoyable read as Sunshine and Constantine find that they now have a bond that goes beyond their initial crisis as they battle the evil vampire who would have them both dead. It's such a good book that I wish there were more than just the one, but Robin McKinley does not really write series, she writes stand-alone novels. I am, however, grateful for the one book. It's a keeper! Well, back to the cookies! Have a nice evening and hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

Endless Edge

During the holidays I've only really been doing a little knitting. I'm almost done with one side of the Mountain Pines edging and I've added a few rows to the Fir Cone Shawl. I'm reading my backlog of books (see sidebar for new element to the old blog) and baking for the holidays. I'm going to have to take pictures of some of these things and post recipe's but I will do that on my other blog, Jane's Reality since it's not lace. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!

Holidays Taking All My Time (very little knitting of lace)

For those wondering if I'm doing any knitting at all, I have to say, not very much. I'm doing the edge for Mountain Pines as you can see. I'm mostly finishing my shopping, starting the baking and packaging book markers that will go to family members and friends as part of the gifts. This is the time to do for others rather than just a focus on my own pleasures. All the scarves for JS are done now, the gift baskets just have to be wrapped in plastic for the adult niece and nephews. There is a little on-line shopping still going on and I've left the dreaded trip to "Toys R Us" for the very last. The nice thing is that Thanksgiving will be at my sister-in-laws, sisters home this year. Millie will cook the turkey and we show up with our knitting along with our contribution to the food. This year my sister and I will bring pumpkin pie, turkey gravy (My sister is known as the 'Gravy Queen') and stuffing consisting of 3 types of bread, sausage, apple, chestnuts, etc. Very tasty and great with the from-scratch gravy my sister makes. It's an all-day affair and we watch video's and knit while the turkey cooks! Our hostess is very gracious and just remodeled her kitchen so it is now the Uber Kitchen for cooking. I can hardly wait to see it. I know it's beautiful because, along with being a highly talented woman, Millie has impeccable taste. I hope to do a lot more of the edging on this day.

I've also been writing a little for NaNoWriMo but it's not even close to 50,000 words which I guess they consider novel length. It's amusing in it's way but War and Peace it's not. I will finish it but not in the month of November! I'm almost done with Chapter 2 and will post that chapter on the link if I get it done in time.

Have a Wonderful Turkey Day!

Nanowrimo and Mountain Pines Shawl (Lace and Writing)

So here it is. The Mountain Pines border. You asked for it, you got it. I wish it was a bit more impressive, but my photography skills don't show the pretty green color of this shawl. I will try to take a good picture once the shawl has been dressed. Things always look better in daylight and shawls never show to advantage until they have been washed/stretched. This is only the second shawl I've completed from yarn that I spun myself. It's not always as consistent as manufactured laceweight yarn, but it has a lot of character. This is not all of the fiber in this color that I have, by the way. I have now decided that I will spin more of this for a future shawl. I have not decided who will get this but I have acid-free paper I got at a quilting shop and I will wrap it up until i decide. The pattern calls for a narrow Vandyke edge (12 row repeat). I was thinking of changing it, but then it might be over-kill at this point. Once this shawl is done, there happens to be a second pattern in the same booklet called "Boundary Waters". It is a square shawl knit in one piece from the center and Is also very pretty. I happen to have some pretty blue yarn that I spun.....Well you get the idea. Since it appears that these patterns are no longer available from "Two Old Bags", (patterns were published under the name 'Wool You Order') I think it would be nice to have both of them. I'll dig up my blue yarn and make a swatch!

On a different note, I have joined National Novel Writing Month. I learned about this from the Akamai Knitter as well as from the blog of an author I like to read, Lilith Saintcrow. You have the opportunity to write a novel in the month of November. I believe the goal is 50,000 words. You can also do this by bloging that number of words I believe (http://www.nanowrimo.org/). I'm going to try to write something though I doubt I will make it to 50,000 words. You can read a preliminary excerpt here.( http://www.nanowrimo.org/userinfo.php?uid=170330). It may be changed as I go along.

Until you are better paid.

Update (just to prove I actually do make some progress)

Yes, I know the shot of Peacock Feathers Shawl is blurry and you can't see what I've done, but I did not feel like taking it off the needles to pin it out. I am done with chart 6 and will begin chart 7. For those in the know, that means that I'm done with the small feathers in this shawl and will be starting the big feathers. Now, this shawl is knit with a yarn other than the one suggested on needles somewhat smaller than used in the original. This means a smaller shawl. Should I just go ahead and let it be smaller, or should I add either more small feathers or an additional row of large feathers? Should I really finish it off with crochet, and in that way learn a new craft since I don't know how to crochet, or should I choose another way to finish it? I kind of have something different in mind to do for the edge other than crochet, but I'm not sure if it will be a good idea or just weird. If I do something strange for the edge, I can always take it off if it really stinks. Anyone want to chime in with an opinion? Remember, I'm not artistic, just lucky when something comes out nice. Oh yeah, Mountain Pines is half-way through the boarder. What I thought was the "trees" was not the tree part. Still have not reached those darn trees but "almost" there. As for the "Fir Cone 3/4 Square Shawl", I've done 5 out of the 13 repeats of the pattern and it's dope-slap easy. A nice change from "agony" knitting. Now what, you ask, is that scarf doing on this "all lace all the time" blog? Let's just say I'm helping out a friend in need. For the details of the interruption in my knitting of lace, you can check my other site "Jane's Reality"(http://craftfreak.blogspot.com/). The closer it gets to the holidays, the more interruptions there will be in lace knitting I fear.

This is not to say that there are not tempting activity's out there on the internet. There is a nice group that is taking it's cue from the book "Twisted Sisters" and they are spinning/dyeing in order to make knitted garments. They call themselves Twisted Knitters (http://zeneedle.typepad.com/twisted_knitters/). It's awfully tempting but I have not sufficient time! I have the dreaded "Commitment-itis", fear of committing to a project for fear of inability to finish in time. Ah well... I'm off to knit on my very loud, very furry scarf.

That's all for now!

3 Day Weekends (where did the time go?)

I didn't really knit that much this weekend in spite of the 3 day holiday. I spent part of it with the family and I just can't knit well when I'm around others. It's too distracting. I've been making an effort to work on the "Mountain Pines" shawl however. I really want to finish it so I can work on "The Spider Queen". I know, I know. The deals knitter/spinners make with themselves are often baroque and without real meaning to anyone but ourselves. I really must finish a shawl so I can start another shawl? What kind of whacked logic is that? Still that's the deal. I can swatch "Spider Queen" but not really knit it until I finish something. The yarn I spun for MP does not show to advantage in these flash shots. When It's done, I'll try to get an outdoors shot that shows the subtle nature of the colors. While I look at this shawl with a critical eye, I can see some parts of the yarn that are thinner than they should be, fatter than they should be in some locations. When I was younger this would have driven me crazy but now that I've exceeded the "half century" mark, I think I can live with the irregularity. I'm up to row 47 of the border (it's 99 rows total, then you knit on an edge) and I'm about to start the "Pine Trees" that are in the border of this pattern. It's silly to get off on that aspect of the knitting I know, but I get a kick out of seeing the motifs take shape.

I'm working on the second repeat of the WRS center panel and it's still something I can knit for only 1-4 rows before having to stop and do something else. It may be the fact that the row of stitches is quite long and each row of pattern itself is also quite long. This pattern differentiates between decreases that are left and right leaning decreases (darned dyslexia) so it takes me more time to read/knit each decrease stitch. In contrast I was swatching "Spider Queen" and it does a standard K2 tog for all decreases. Knitting this is very easy as a result. If anyone is considering making a Shetland Shawl, I'd suggest doing Hazel Carter's patterns first before trying Sharon Millers as a starting point because of this aspect of the knitting. Just my opinion of course! I check in on the Yahoo Group for knitters making Sharon Miller patterns and some of the others on that group suggested I just do K2 tog for all the decreases if it's that big a deal for me. Since the yarn I'm using is so fine, it might not be very noticeable that I'm doing left or right slanting decreases but it's hard to change what I'm doing now that I've started out one way.

Just a mention here about perspective. Once you start knitting with Gossamer weight yarn, all the other laceweight looks and feels like you are knitting with rope. I Swatched Spider Queen with some Zepher I had around the house using a US 3 needle. I just couldn't get into it at that weight. "Spider Queen" implies use of a pretty darned fine yarn. I will go through the stash and examine what I have for candidates.

I'm not always Sisyphus (progress does get made from time to time)

The Circular Shetland Shawl from "A Gathering of Lace" has forced me to become a clone of Sisyphus. I have to re-knit the "Madeira Lace" section over again. Sigh! Still, a lot of my other projects have been coming along better. The Peacock Shawl is up to row 127 but is too crunched up on the needles to take a picture of right now. The Mountain Pines is up to row 35 of the boarder pattern and is looking pretty good. Last, but not least, I have finally completed one full repeat of the WRS! Now to do it 5 more times and then end with rows 1-40 for the center. I've been checking out different sites and there are a number of people working with this pattern. Some of this knitters are really going flat out and knitting up a storm while some others are more my speed. Quite a few are using the Silk which I could not manage to knit well with. I'm not giving up on that silk, just not using it for the WRS. I tested my merino singles that I was spinning to see if they would hold up to knitting by themselves. Nix, Nope, Nein. It's not bad, but not strong enough to knit on it's own. I will end up plying it into a nice lace weight yarn. So will I give it up? Hah! I have been checking out sites to buy shetland wool:)

I did take a break in order to catch up on some reading. I'm savoring the latest book by one of my very favorite authors, Lilith Saintcrow. It's the second book in her urban fantasy series with Necromancer, Dante Valentine, "Dead Man Rising". Dante is not just armed on the cover, she has a whip,gun and a sword and she knows how to use them darn it! Don't piss her off! Just love it! I also picked up a nice new edition of selected poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It's part of the "American Poets Project". I love her work, always have. I even have a few very lovely first editions of her published poetry. This way I feed both my violent and gentle sides!

Have a wonderful evening!

Row 22 of test swatch of The Wedding Ring Shawl

Opthamologist swears that I can do this folks! I had my yearly eye exam and asked if there was some reliable magnifying device I could attach to my coke-bottle-bottom glasses so I could see up-close when I make knitted lace. Practical man that he is, he told me to "Take off your glasses and just hold it up close. it will be OK". I don't take them off, I just peer over the tops of the glasses. If anyone else is doing this shawl, word to the wise. Do not knit it when tired and stupid. It won't work, I tried. See my sample after I had a little rest.

And now to confess that I am a stubborn git! I tried to knit that Silk again. I took an emery board and sanded all my fingertips smooth and tried that swatch again. It was like a bad comedy skit about safe-crackers. The yarn did not stick to me so badly this time but it was still not a pleasure to knit it. And I guess that says a lot about why I knit. It can be a challenge, it can be frustrating, it can take a long time but ultimately, all that still equates to pleasure for me for some odd reason. Knitting the silk was just not satisfying.

You can see above, a picture of the lace in the Shetland cobweb weight yarn ,up to row 22. I have placed the small ball of yarn in a plastic container to avoid snagging and when I'm done, I just snap the lid on and it keeps everything in place. Though I an currently using Susan Bates metal needles, I did pick up some bamboo needles to try out as well. Sharon Miller suggest the use of talcum powder to dust hands/work so it won't stick and will slide on the needles more easily. My sister says there is something bad about inhaling talcum powder however. The advantage of straight needles using this thin yarn, is that there is no "join" for the yarn to get hung up on as with circular needles where the needle meets the plastic cable. It was easier than I thought it would be. Just like riding a bike! In fact, being able to brace the needle while sitting enables better finger manipulation of those tiny stitches so that there is less threat of them falling off the needles while working. See also above my "respite" knitting. The Mountain Pine's shawl. On US 3 it feels like I'm actually knitting sportweight instead of laceweight after using US 0 needles. I will be working on the peacock shawl again and I bet it will be easier now after working even smaller!

Until next we meet!

What to Knit when you need something easier! (Brain Fry)

Whenever I need to knit something that won't fry my brain, I rotate my lace knitting to things much more simple yet not a waste of time. At my age, I don't even buy my banana's green, if you know what I mean! Since I screwed-up the Peacock Shawl again, I have been working on the center of the Mountain Pines shawl. I only have one more course of the pattern and the center will be completed! This is one of those shawls where I have to pick-up all around the square and knit outwards. After trying to knit on US 1, it's a pleasure and very easy to knit this Mountain Pines shawl on US 3. It's hard to see, but there is a flower pattern in the center section. Hard to see due in part to my bad photography and also due to the fact that lace looks awful before it is stretched. See above, balls of "Graceful". I was using the purple for the Peacock shawl but messed up so many times that I have temporarily retired this ball of yarn in favor of the ball in the upper right hand corner of the picture. I'm hoping this will break the curse on this shawl for me. Of course, it may just be rotten attention-span due to my menopause that is causing so much grief and my aging eye-sight. Which brings me to a age related knitting topic. I only learned to knit as an adult. I learned to spin first. I was not taking pictures of my knitted works 20 odd years ago so I have no pictures of the knitted lace shawls I made. Most of the shawls were gifts and many of the people are living far away now. The only shawl I might lay hands on locally is one I made it for my friend, Louise who is older than I am. It is a pattern I obtained from Knitters Magazine knit with 2 ply merino lace weight yarn I spun on my Schacht spinning wheel. It is not the most intricate, but it's not bad for the beginning knitter and spinner that I was. My spinning is better now. More consistent and finer. Still, my friend hauled the shawl out to show-off at her local "Stitch & Bitch" group just for laughs and they were fairly impressed. Guess they haven't seen much knitted lace! If I get it from her, I'll make a picture of it. I've observed that younger knitters have not had as much to do with lace initially. Same with new spinners. However, as I've been surfing the craft boards and blogs, I think there is a change coming and more people are making knitted lace something to try . I take the upsurge in lace patterns available as a sign and more beautiful yarn made for this type of work. Just when my eyes suck too! I'm due for an eye examination in July so maybe I can convince them to make me microscopic eye glasses so I can see the lace better. I have a partially finished circular shawl made of BFL I spun. I had to stop because the "Madeira Lace" pattern in the outer ring was making me grit my teeth. I'm afraid it will sit on the needles awhile longer while I continue with the much more fun Mountain Pines and head-banger Peacock Shawl.

Until later!

Lace (Life-long obsession)

I am creating this site for my lace projects. Something that I can post my progress on. My other site is for other crafts in general, but Lace is something that gets hold of you and won't let go. I'm not even good at it but still I keep at it. There are those who are much much better. Knitterguy for one (http://knitterguy.typepad.com/) . he is making The infamous "Princess" shawl from the Heirloom Knitting site (see side-bar). His second site is devoted to his progress on this lovely shawl (http://wabisabi.typepad.com/the_princess_diaries/) . I have had to re-do my site because my previous site was so messed-up as to be impossible to print on. This is much better. See above, my current project made of a 70/30 merino/silk blend two ply that I hand-spun on my Schacht wheel at 22-24 WPI. The fiber is from Widdershin Woolworks in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico and it spun like a dream. I am also starting, yet again, to knit the "Peacock Shawl" from Fiddlesticks Knitting. This will be the 6th time I had to rip it out. I am stubborn and refuse to use a "Lifeline" so I will take a page out of the Knitterguys attempts and begin to limit how much time I spend knitting on the shawl so not to make undue errors. I need to be a whole lot sharper as I'm not doing it on the recommended size US 3 needles but on US 1. Yeah, I know, just hit me repeatedly over the head with a baseball bat! But if it wasn't a challenge, it wouldn't be fun! I have also decided that the ball of yarn I was using, purple, is cursed.I have started with a different colorway. The name of the yarn is "Graceful" and can be purchased at the Yarn Place (see side-bar for link).

That's it for now!