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 :-)

Mughetti (Experiment With Wensleydale)

"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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!