You Must Go Look! (missalicefaye heads for the finish line)

You have to go look at missalicefaye. She is almost done with her Wedding Ring Shawl and it is such an awesome thing to watch as she reaches for the finish line. She just has to graft the lace edging and then she can wash/block. I have a long way to go before I get to that point and a lot of distractions. Check her blog out!

Boundary Waters Shawl (Finally at the Edging!)

I finally finished the border for the Boundary Waters Shawl as you can see above. I have started adding the edging and I think it looks pretty good. My sister-in-laws sister, Millie, has finished a lace shawl (her first) so I will be breaking in the shawl frame by blocking it for her. My sister's wheel, a Majacraft Rose, is a really terrific wheel. Thing is, I hated the "delta" orifice and had to obtain a "lace" flyer assembly with a circular orifice. It spins great now so I'm making more lace singles. If you see this fiber, it's the same one I used for Mountain Pines. Why do more of the same fiber you ask? Because. When I bought the fiber, I was knitting cable sweaters. I bought enough fiber to make an entire sweater. I will be spinning this stuff into lace weight yarn till Hell freezes over. The set comes with bobbins with thicker cores so that the take-up with lace weight singles is much easier and the orifice has a ceramic liner for smooth going. So now I'm spinning both this green fiber as well as the Lisa Souza Petroglyph fiber which I'm spinning on my Schacht wheel. It's really good to have more than one wheel in the house! "Squeee!"

In addition to the spinning and knitting I've also been guilty of shopping for more yarn. I know I don't need it but I still wanted it. I think this is the only time I have ever bid on an item on

E-Bay. I have bought items but not bid on them. I purchased the really lovely suri alpaca and I think it will help me to figure out how to spin the baby suri alpaca fiber that I recently bought at Copper Moose. The suri alpaca has virtually no crimp so I think seeing this yarn will also help me to figure out how to make mine. The color of this yarn is more "peach" than pink but I don't know if it will translate in this blog. On my monitor, the last picture of this yarn looks closer to the actual color. I have an idea of what I will use it for but I will wait until I get a few things done before I start my next projects. Once Boundary Waters is done, I will start the "Heere Be Dragone" shawl for my niece. I'm still knitting on the shop sample for Yarn Place but won't post again until I have one end border done. It still looks very pretty and is fairly easy to knit because it's only a stole. Good Knitting!

Samper Stole (row 55 of border)

Still Knitting on the Sampler Stole. I'm up to row 55 of the border and there are 162 rows in all . I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but I find the odd dropped stitch from time to time even though I tug on my lace periodically as I knit to try to catch them early on. It happened on my WRS center and it happened with this one too. You can see it in the top shot at the bottom of the picture. It's the third diamond counting from left to right. I have picked it up and will just have to"tie" it in place and hide the ends. No way am I going to rip back to that point! Once again, not perfect but not too bad. Does anyone out there have any experience with trying to starch Shetland Lace? Sharon Miller had described doing it but if you store the lace, you have to wash it out and re-block it since you don't want the buggies to be attracted to the starch. As if the wool itself was not already an enticing little snack for moths. A word to the wise. If you Xerox /enlarge a chart from a book like I did, don't forget to check for color-coded changes in the chart symbol instructions. This pattern had several and I didn't transcribe them to my copy so I had to pick back a few rows when I realized that my stitch count was off. I should have looked more closely a the "legend" that explains the stitch symbols. In some rows, the symbol for Sl1,K2tog,psso was supposed to be K2tog at the beginning of the repeat so the stitch count would come out correctly. I guess knitting lace is always a learning experience :-) I added a shot of the un-pinned stole center so you can more easily see the color shifting of the yarn. What exactly is it about variegated yarn that has me hooked so bad? After all. Lace shows to better advantage when your eye is not distracted by shifting colors, or so it is commonly believed. Yet I still like those color changes. Guess only time will tell if I am disappointed in the results. Until then, I'm enjoying the knitting. Good Evening to all!

It's Still Lace (knitting,not)

I was checking out Laritza's blog to find that she has, among her many other talents, the ability to weave and crochet in addition to spinning and knitting lace. Of course, I had to ask if there was anything she could not actually do. I have a feeling when she told me there was a kind of lace with a "funny name" that she could not yet do, that she may have been referring to tatting. If so, here are some of my tatted edges. I don't do large projects in tatting, just edges. I'm too spastic to do large projects with tatting. It's not knitting, but I believe it still qualifies as a type of lace :-)

Sampler Stole and Spinning Lace Weight (Who says they aren't cardiovascular exercise?)

I have decided that, as long as the spinning is to produce lace weight yarn, I am allowed to show it in this blog. See one bobbin that contains 4 ounces of Merino from Lisa Souza. I'm now spinning 4 ounces in the same colorway "Petroglyph" but in BFL and the color is different in this fiber. The BFL is not as soft, but very sturdy. Once I fill another bobbin, I will ply the two into a sample. If I hate it, I will order more merino. If you check out Opals blog you can look at her very pretty and very nicely spun lace weight yarn. I really enjoy knitting with yarn I spun. I can be reasonably sure that I won't see the exact same shawl on anyone else and the lace makes great gifts for family and friends.

I have finished the 7 pattern repeats for the center of the Sampler Shawl (7 repeats & rows 1-12 of a 46 row chart). I'm now working on an end border. It's 162 rows for one end and then I get to go back and do it again for the opposite side. The yarn is pretty if you like variegated yarn. If you hate that kind of yarn, then you will bemoan the color shifting. I think this particular ball of yarn is pretty but I don't take great pictures so the colors are actually a little darker in real-life than what you are seeing. The green ball of yarn that you see was sent to me by Lynn Lam of Yarn Place because I'm making the Sampler Stole for her shop. I thought this was very nice of her since I was not expecting it. I'm happy to make the stole for them since they have stocked so much yarn that I can actually use in one place :-) I just hope I do a good job on it so I won't be embarrassed to see it up in the shop! This yarn is apparently very much like "Lacy Lamb" (I don't have any Lacy Lamb in my stash) for those who are familiar with that yarn. I'm looking at the Victorian Lace book to see if there is something in there that would suite this yarn. Pretty color! Still working on Boundary Waters Shawl but won't post it until I'm done with the border and can start the edging. Good Evening All.

Heaven (How White is White?)

Just for Mozilla. You asked if the Heaven is White or if it is not white enough for wedding or bridal white. I actually think it's pretty white. This was shot when I first bought it and is lying on a piece of muslin which is not a very white color. It's not blindingly white however. Now that I have arrived back home from visiting my brother and sister-in-law (holiday grilling!) I have shot the Heaven next to some Zephyr in white on a piece of white typing paper. The Zephyr is actually more white but still not bridal white. Both the Zephyr and the Heaven have a touch of yellow to them. If you are trying to match the white to a brides gown you will need a swatch of the fabric from that gown to match it to I'm afraid. I've been in a few dress shops that did bride gowns. It's surprising how wide a range of "White" there really is. Good luck with that project.

Gotta Send a Care Package (fleegle in Japan)

Fleegle is in Japan at the moment and is swatching for the Princess Shawl from Sharon Miller's Heirloom Lace site. We are among the many on the waiting list for that pattern which is supposed to come out as a re-issue in Nov. 2007. I check in on her blog a lot and she was really wanting to swatch in some yarns that she does not have with her in Japan at the moment. I will be sending a small care package with some samples of yarn for her to swatch with (gotta go back to Yarn Place, not exactly torture if you know what I mean). In the mean time, here are some of those yarns that I swatched. I steamed-blocked, not washed so the ones from ColourMartUK still have the "manufacturing oil" on them and are not as fluffy as they will be in the end.

At the top you have the gratuitous shot of a dime for scale and strands of the different yarns. Then you have the "Group Photo" of all the swatches I made tonight after reading fleegles post. Then I have pairs of swatches which I will now give information on. All the samples except for the very small swatch at the end were knit on US 0 needles. The smallest was knit on 1.5 mm.The nice green swatch is A ColourMartUK yarn 50/50 cashmere silk, 3/84 NM . The Lavender is "Heaven" from Yarn Place, 45/55 Tencel and Merino Wool (120 grams or 4.2 Oz equals 3,100 yards). The Burgundy swatch is another ColourMartUK yarn 65/35 Cashmere Silk at 2/60 NM, The Pale blue/green is also ColourMartUK and is 100% Cashmere 2/32 NM and I confess, it feels sinfully soft even before washing out the oil, but I don't know if it will do for the Princess Shawl as it is more substantial than other samples I have on this page.

The last two samples look "white" but are really ecru. The top, and larger sample is 65/35 SWT wool and Silk (50g/1,300 yds) and I "think" I got that at Skaska Designs when I went to Stitches West 2007. The smallest sample is silk yarn I also bought at Skaska Designs (100 gms/6040 yds 120/2)

Now for the knitting.

Casting On- Much suckage to cast on with all but the pale green/blue 100% Cashmere. That first row is a doozy but I hope Princess does not need a lot of that. The worst was, of course, the silk

Casting off- Worst one was the 100% Silk. So tiny, so slippery, so annoying. All the others were OK.

Shine- Almost all the color yarns have nice shine except for the 100% Cashmere in green/blue but that yarn has it's own virtues to make up for the lack of shine.

Of the ecru yarns the silk really has shine, the SWT/Silk, not so much

Softness- the SWT/Silk is "OK" but not a treat to hold. The Cashmere is drool worthy for softness, the other ColourMartUK yarns also fairly nice and soft. The silk is "crispy" rather than soft with that characteristic kind of "sticky" feel or "drag" to the yarn. The Tencel/Merino is almost a little "slick" but very pleasant.

Definition- Good stitch definition on all but the 100% Cashmere. Crisp, it is not.

Splitting- I only had problems with the 100% pale green/blue Cashmere splitting a little.

Though I will have to decide what to use for my own Princess Shawl, I already know I have to make it in White. WRS is for Jessica, the Princess is for Shelby. Sisters. So, both in White. Less chance of "unrest" if you catch my drift. Check out fleegle's blog to see what she has already swatched in Japan.

Enjoy guys! I got to go finish my book!

But I Digress... (Sampler Stole by Hazel Cater in"Graceful")

The ladies at Yarn Place asked if I would knit them something for the shop so I pulled out a ball of "Graceful" (color F03623 Summer) and I'm doing a relatively quick knit of Hazel Carters Sampler Stole from "A Gathering of Lace" using 2.5 mm Inox. Never fear however. I am also knitting on Boundary Waters because it's the closest to being finished so I can try out the shawl/lace blocking frame my brother made for me. I stretched this rather hard for these shots so I doubt it will actually block to this look unless I decide to try a "steam" block. Another variegated yarn, but the color changes are gradual and this colorway does not have radical shifts in color so it's quite pretty. I knocked off a row of WRS and was overcome by just how much smaller that yarn is than the Graceful. I have got to be insane.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there for responding to my anxiety over trying to alter the border for Spider Mutant. Somehow my brain went on vacation and I could not figure out how to proceed. No doubt guilt for having altered the pattern at all, classic that it is. I think I have a pattern for the border worked out and will take some quiet time to double check my stitch counts before starting. I will post and I will want everyone to be honest and let me know if this turns out to be a "reeker" as my friend Louise puts it. IE a really bad border. I hope not but sometimes things don't go as planned. Thanks again for the help!

I must go and read a book now because my hands want a rest. Good Evening and Good Knitting to everyone.

Spider Mutant

I am in charting hell.

If I get a "shout-out" I am using it now.

If you are taking a chart that was written for flat knitting, do you have to do anything weird to it to knit with it in the round? I'm trying to take a chart from a christening gown and use it as the border for Spider Mutant knitting from the center outwards. ie, knitting in the round. I thought that I would do row one reading from right to left, then knit row two reading from left to right. Am I right or is there something else I have to do? I am not doing right or left leaning decreases. Just doing K2tog. I just know fleegle and missalicefaye know the answer to this.

Help!

Lace Blocking Frame (AKA Shawl Frame from Knit Picks Instructions)

For those of you who were wondering if the instructions for making a Lace Blocking Frame AKA Shawl Frame, that were published by Knit Picks would really work. Here it is. My very talented brother, Herman, made one for me. I am so thrilled! I'm not handy that way and I figure if my brother can build a Shelby Cobra from a kit, he could build this frame. I love being right, I love my brother Herman and I love my frame!!! (P.S. Thank You Shelby for helping to make the frame and giving your father the idea for the nail jig!)

These are the observations my brother hand while building the frame.

I'll have to burn a cd with all the pictures so you can choose which ones you want.

Some mental notes you could use in your blog:

Nail-Depth Jig:
"Having done a lot of wood working around the house, I noted in many of the woodworking magazines the constant use of jigs that many people have created to work around either a redundant and laborious task or something that needed a certain amount of accuracy. The nail depth jig came about for this reason and stemmed mostly from my daughter wanting to help hammer in the nails. However, at 9 years old, she doesn't quite grasp the concept of hammering a nail to only 1/2" depth so my sister can congratulate her niece for helping me come up with the jig."

Triangles:
" While the triangles I cut work, there was something in the back of my mind about people who are reading these instructions and do not have the resources for making such a cut from a 2'x2' board. I do not own a table saw so this makes this task a bit more difficult. However, working with a thin piece enabled me to use an old technique: you take a box cutter and score both sides of the board long the lines that are measured (the "X"). This may take a bit of time and you only need to go about 1/32"-1/16" deep. After that, you simply break the board across your knee or a solid table . Now there will be a lot of jagged edges but you can use some coarse sand paper or simply scrape down the edges with the box cutter.
However, the 2nd alternative may be more appealing. When you buy the board, simply have the store cut it into quarters. Remember, the whole Idea is to have 2 sides of the board at 90 deg. so you can square up the frame relatively accurate without the use of a framing square as I had done. It won't look as pretty but it WILL do the job."

Qwik-Clamps for holding the frame to the base:
" The optional pieces (screws, washers, wing-nuts) probably add up to maybe $1.00 for the L-bracket base. But in the picture you will note the use of some "Qwik-Clamps". These were bought for $4 ea. It adds to the total cost but I looked at it as having 4 less pieces to worry about unlikely to lose. They can also help assist in storage of the 6' and 7' pieces of the frame by clamping 2 of the sides together. And they could be used for other things around the house if so desired."

Build Time:
" Off the top of my head, I probably spent a total of 5 hours on the project including the purchase of the materials. The longest being the cutting of the triangles along with the nailing. "

Herman