OceanKnitter

Edging Forever

2009-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

Edging mania. Edging everywhere. I'm in edging hell (or heaven, depending on how you think about it), and it's not going to end any time soon.

This is the edging and start of the border for the Shetland Lace Shawl by Hazel Carter. The pattern is in A Gathering of Lace. My lace knitting pals and I decided to knit this pattern as a group project, and I've mustered quite a bit of enthusiasm for myself to keep this one moving.

So far, I'm pleased with my yarn choice: Yarn Place's Heaven, in the color Glorious Blue -- a tencel and merino blend in deep turquoise that is truly glorious. This cobweb yarn has a bit of shine, good stitch definition, and will make a feather-light Shetland shawl.

Since the shawl will be knit in the traditional Shetland style favored by Hazel Carter, I'll be finishing this border, then knitting the center, then knitting three more edging+border combos to graft onto the center square. Like I said, edging forever.

Since I've been stalled on The Princess Shawl edging, I've been knitting other diversions, like the Figure 8 Fantasy Shawl, by Kristin Omdahl, which has now turned into something a little different.

I've knitted four figure eights, and am crocheting them together, with the desire to make a more rectangular stole. Knitting those figure eights is a bit addictive, I must say. I probably could have knit four more.

The yarn is Malabrigo SuperSock in the color Stonechat -- a very interesting mix of red, burgundy and a sandy stone color.

This crochet edging is my own, and I'm winging it to get to that elusive rectangular shape. I'm a bit fascinated by freeform crochet, so depending on the outcome of this experiment, I may do more.

The sad truth about Spring Blossoms: it's still unfinished. This one has been lingering in my knitting basket for many moons, unfinished because ... I underestimated the yarn needed to complete the wide edging.

It's truly lovely, and I will finish it, but I need to decide how to complete the last corner. It will either be with a flashy motif in a different yarn, or maybe a similar yarn. I refuse to rip out all of that gorgeous eding. I found a slighter duller color that I may be able to finesse into something, but it remains an idea at the moment.

There you have it. Four projects with entirely too much edging for one person to complete swiftly. I shall persist.

One more time ... San Mateo County Fair 2009

2009-08-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. Let's get straight to the knitting.

I entered my Paño de Portada (lace cover cloth) from the book Muestras y Motivos, Tricot Hogar No. 1, in the San Mateo County Fair this year.

This pattern is in Spanish, so my friend Laritza provided help with the translation. The "big doily" as my husband likes to call it, was knit from a no-name laceweight yarn, 70% merino and 30% silk, that was given to me by my friend Bill. I knit it fast -- it took about six weeks -- with the express intent of entering it in the Fair.

The pattern is not so much complex as it is tedious in some places. It was knit on size 0 needles. Some of the repetition tripped me up on occasion. You know, when you knit the same repeat 10 or 20 times, you start to lose track of where you are.

If I were to do this again, I'd switch to larger needles around Row 50 and again at Row 87, to get a better, more open effect after blocking. Importantly, there is an error in the pattern. I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else. The pattern indicates the first double decrease on Rows 199 and 205 are knit using the last stitch of the previous row and the first two stitches of the current row. The row numbers are wrong. They should be: Rows 183 and 189.

When all is said and done, even with my complaints about the pattern, I'm happy with the final piece. And I won Best of Show in the Textiles Division!

The exhibits area was much, MUCH better than last year. In 2008, the space was cramped, and mainly taken by the quilters who have a great deal of support at the Fair each year. The knitting, crocheting and other needlework was all crammed together. The lighting in the big tent was dim, and it was difficult to see everything.

This year, the Home Arts took over one side of the Expo Hall. Quilts were hung on bars from the high ceiling. More glass display cases were added. The lighting was perfect. Home Arts shared the hall with Fine Arts on the opposite side.

A super, moving chandelier hung over some of the paintings that caused us to stare up at it for about five minutes. It was made of cardboard tubes covered in silver reflective paper and string, with a mechanism that made the tubes rise and fall in a sort of merry-go-round pattern. They even stationed a bench right under it, just for the gawkers to sit and marvel at it. Straight down the middle of the hall was the Green Expo, showcasing vendors mostly selling home improvement items, but also selling the usual Fair tchotchkes and food, including aloe vera miracle cream, fudge, cheap jewelry, etc.

I was surprised and excited to see my "big doily" in its own display case. This year I ♥ the Fair. Next year, maybe the State Fair in Sacramento?

Yes, I do knit

2009-06-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't posted any knitting in a while. I swear I have been knitting daily. Really. I'm not kidding you.

Posting here -- well, that's another thing. I've got a few baby gifts in the works that I can't show just yet because they are gifts.

Then there's the hanky I posted last week. That's for a wedding coming up, but it's not really a surprise.

Then there's the sweater I made for Teva Durham's next book. That's a secret project I cannot share; but it's lacy. That's all I can tell you!

However, I have no excuse for not posting about this shawl sooner. My knitting pal Bill was going to visit his daughter. He's a great costumer and knows quite a bit about knitting, but he didn't think he would be able to complete this shawl in time to bring it as a gift for her birthday.

At first I was a little hesitant about the woolly yarn, but Bill loved the color and thought it would be perfect for his daughter. Also, he thought she would appreciate a warmer shawl.

He was right. It just goes to show, a good design is a good design. The Paisley Long Shawl looks great in laceweight linen or in heavier wool. It's a winner, either way, in my book.

It took me a little over a month complete it.

More Hanky Panky

2009-06-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

I finished this hanky for my friend's daughter who is getting married in a few weeks. The edging is in natural silk to match the silk shawl she will wear.

The hanky blank is hemstitched: it has holes stitched all around the hem, making it easy to add edging.

The pattern is from an old crochet book. It was designed as a fancy doily edging, but my friend wanted something dramatic, scalloped and elegant, and this fit the criteria.

I had to do a little calculating to make the edging fit this smaller square piece.

I used a size 6 steel crochet needle and the fine Henry's Attic undyed two-ply silk. The silk is fine enough to use with this hanky. However, even finer cotton cordonnet (size 30 or finer) would be a more traditional medium.

For blocking, I washed the hanky in cool water with a drop of soap and then rinsed. I anchored each hanky corner in place on my blocking board with pins and pinned out every single little picot point.

After letting it dry completely overnight, I unpinned it, gave it a light spray starch and steam ironed it gently. I also steamed in the quarter folds to make it lay nicely.

Before storing, it's a good idea to repeat the blocking process but omit the starch, as it would cause yellowing with age.

I was certainly channeling my great grandmother while I was making this!

Extreme Sheep

2009-03-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

If you love sheep, dogs, fast-motion video, LED's, and/or the Welsh countryside, this video is especially for you. (Thanks, Judith!)

Stitches West 2009

2009-03-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

Stitches West 2009 was held at the Santa Clara Convention Center last week, so I made a trip there on Friday, February 27. Last year, on three trains (BART and CalTrain and light rail), I knitted the whole way, making the journey enjoyable. This year, I decided to drive. I didn't have much time to shop, so I wanted to make it there quickly.

When I arrived at the Santa Clara Convention Center, I made a right turn into the parking garage. A flagman waved me around a corner, then another flagman, then another, until I was outside the structure facing Great America Parkway where I had entered. No flagman. I looked around and didn't see any signs or directions, so I zipped around back into the garage, and drove through the little maze again, waved through by several people dressed in yellow. I got to the last flagman, who again pointed toward the street exit.

"Has no one left?" I asked.

"No, they're going to be here all day," he said.

"So, where do I park?"

"Go across the street, " he mumbled, "someone will show you."

I zigzagged out to the curb and, again, found no one to direct me. I was about to circle around again, when I looked a half block down and across the street and saw many cars parked in a dirt lot. I had come too late in the day, and now I would have to park the Mini in the dirt. (Muffled expletive.) I drove across all the lanes of traffic over to the left turn lane and went into the overflow parking lot. I told the guard that no one was outside of the garage at the curb to direct me across the street. He smiled and said he'd get someone out there by the street. I felt somewhat satisfied. Later on, I didn't see anyone out there. Hm. I had the typical thought that if only I could run the world, things would work properly.

At least my preprinted ticket worked like a charm -- no waiting in line. My secret was to use the $2 off coupon I found and print the ticket online before I left the house.

The market seemed a little bit smaller this year, maybe just a tad more condensed than last year. Fewer vendors? Maybe so. I didn't count them. But it felt just as crowded as last year. I bumped at least as many elbows and skirted the same number of aisle collisions as last year.

Red Fish Dye Works made the list of hot stops on my Stitches yarn tour. They have an online presence, but trust me, the elation of being in the presence of all that color must be experienced firsthand. Red Fish is a small dye shop in Acton, CA. They attend Stitches every year. This year, I indulged my desire for color with a capital "C" and bought some deliciously dyed silks in the superfine cobweb weight of 2/60. I know, I know -- I must be crazy. Crazy in love with beautiful silk yarn! I couldn't help myself. I've long been a fan of knitting lace with silk yarn. I made the Swallowtail Shawl with Kaalund Silk and the Gracie Shawl with Schaefer's Andrea.

I dropped by Galina Khmeleva's booth, Skaska Designs, and picked up her Design Collection of Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit. She was signing books at the time, so I asked her to sign mine, and she did so in Russian. Afterwards, she kissed the man sitting behind the table taking credit cards.

I said, "That's good pay!"

He laughed and said, "That's about all I get!"

Galina's designs preserve the Orenburg tradition, and this book includes three patterns with charted and written instructions.

I was happy to see many of the vendors I saw before, and a few new ones. I popped in to the KnitWhits booth to see Tina and her mom, and I picked up a kit for making these adorable Elfin booties. The kit comes with the non-skid sole fabric to cut and sew in place. Nice detail! Of course, Tina's patterns and kits are wonderful. I've made some of her socks and hats as store samples, so I'm a bit biased. However, I can tell you that working on her patterns is always fun. The techniques are explained well, and you don't feel like you're out in the woods without a flashlight. Plus, Tina is very accessible to answer questions.

I also stopped by Carolina Homespun and found Morgaine and Jane hard at work. I didn't see Nina, who was out for lunch. They always have the coolest new gadgets at Carolina; whether it's a yarn meter, a swift, or wool wash, you can get it from Morgaine. Nice spindles, too! I got my first spindle from Carolina Homespun, a real beauty in exotic wood made by Adam at Mielke's Fiber Arts. Morgaine gave me a quick lesson and put together a nice beginner spinner kit so I was all set.

To be perfectly frank, I was ... excited ... to find this highlighter tape from Chappy's Fiber Arts and Crafts. I got two rolls, one in purple in and one in green. For years, I've been using Post-It notes to mark my place on lace charts. I had heard about the highlighter tape but had never found it in a store or online. Chappy has a website and also sells on eBay.

The great thing about highlighter tape is that it's semi-transparent, so you can place the tape anywhere on your chart and read the previous row as well as the current row. With Post-Its, I was always looking to see what was underneath. Also, Post-Its lose their stickum after moving them over and over again, so you have to keep replacing them. The tape seems to have a longer life.

You should have seen my face when I came across it. It was like I had discovered gold in my backyard.

" ... The tape ... you have THE TAPE!"

"Yes, and we have it in several colors. It's one of my best sellers. What colors would you like?"

" ... I can't believe I'm seeing it ... I've never seen it in person before ... "

"We have it in purple, green, orange, yellow ... "

"You have the TAPE!"

"Yes. I have it. What colors would you like?"

She must have thought I was nuts.

At Discontinued Brand Name Yarns, I picked up a couple of Suri alpaca beauties. These colors are Misty Moor and Old Rose.

I like Suri alpaca yarn for it's shine and strength.

Most alpaca fiber comes from Huacaya alpacas. Huacayas are the soft woolly alpacas that you see most often. The Suris are more rare and have longer locks, which are more shiny and slippery, and slightly curly. Most Suri yarn is blended with another fiber like wool, silk or cotton. This Cherry Tree Hill yarn is 100% Suri.

I was on my way out the door, feeling pretty good about my judicious purchases, when I spotted Yarn Place. I've purchased their yarn Gentle in the past at Lacis in Berkeley. This time I was in Yarn Place heaven, with all their beautiful yarns surrounding me. So what did I buy? Why, Heaven, of course. Heaven is their cobweb weight 45% tencel and 55% merino in hanks of 3100 yards, 120 grams. And the colors are insanely beautiful. This deep teal and rich charcoal were impossible for me to resist.

It may end up becoming this Jojoland swirl shawl that enchanted many knitters and was seen in a few booths around the floor.

Considering the number of people shopping (and buying), the recession did not seem to dominate the minds of this year's Stitches attendees. In fact, at least a couple of vendors I spoke to said this year's Market was a positive and enriching experience, both in sales and in the unwavering exuberance of knitters.

Stitches lives on!

Enjoying the Process

2009-02-22T08:28:00.001-08:00

With Stitches West coming up this week, I'm interested in all things new and yarnie. But right now, I'm working on three projects that are not new, and are taking all of my knitting time. One is secret -- and very pretty. I can't tell you about it, but I can tell you about the other two.

One is a shawl for a friend that is coming along quite nicely. It's the Paisley Long Shawl again, but this time in a warm, fuzzy blue yarn. It's wool and mohair with a bit of a nylon binder.

"What?!" you exclaim. "Moose lace! Make it not so!"

At first, I was averse to knitting a lace shawl with this yarn, but as I've made progress, I've begun to enjoy the interesting texture of this garter lace. After all, it's Filatura Di Crosa Cambridge -- who can say no to Italian yarn? It's an experiment in lace for me. Because of the mohair, it is difficult to rip, so I'm knitting carefully.

The third project is the Princess Shawl. My main objective after the above two projects are completed will be moving this one ahead. The yarn from Colourmart is lovely, and I have a ton of it. I ordered six cones -- 7,500 yards each of two colors: deep teal and claret. The Princess is my deep teal beauty that calls to me every day when I sit down to knit. I so wish I could spend every knitting moment with it!

Certainly, I'm a process knitter, since the act of knitting gives me great pleasure, and I'm usually not in a big hurry to finish. However, I know that when Princess is completed, I will feel a loss, as if a dear friend was moving away. I imagine it is similar to the relief, melancholy and pride one feels when sending a grown child out into the world. Not handling it daily will be a little disconcerting. So why is it that, now, envisioning the magnificent deep teal Princess (MDTP) completed makes me want to press forward? Do I have an approach-avoidance conflict? Those of you with degrees in psychology may wish to provide further analysis.

See you at Stitches West! I'll be wearing a purple BAWDies (Bay Area Wool Divas) ribbon, and ACKD (Adult Children with Knitting Disorders) button and a TKGA pin. Bejeweled I shall be. Look for me fondling lace yarn. What happens at Stitches, stays at Stitches.

Back in the Saddle

2008-12-31T14:16:00.001-08:00

Progress! I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Now, I'm back in the saddle, knitting lace, and ready to face 2009 like a cowboy at the start of a trail ride. I admit it: I've been watching way too many westerns this holiday season.

This year, the holidays have been a little different for me. I've been on vacation -- that's a big difference. Usually, I might take a day or so to recover from all the cooking, shopping and visiting. But I had so much vacation left on the books at work, I took December 20 through January 4 as my own personal holiday. On the other hand, hubby had no time off, working every single weekend and holiday, through New Year's Day. Bah!

So, what did I do? What will I do with the days remaining?

1) Watch movies. We turned in our Netflix at least three times this month. It must be a record. We also watched dozens of holiday movies, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies, and two Viggo Mortenson movies. Movie time is great for knitting. I made some serious progress on a few projects.

2) Make rum balls. These turned out great and will probably be a holiday staple in years to come. While making these does not allow for any knitting to take place, the resulting treat makes knitting (or anything else, except driving or playing paddleball) a pleasure.

3) Drive down to Princeton Yarns. This lovely new store is in a new mall in the harbor town of Princeton, just south of Pacifica, where I live. The owner is a very pleasant and knowledgeable woman. Even though the store has only been open for a couple of weeks, she has a very nice, select inventory. You won't find shelves stocked to the ceiling, but if you're looking for Hiya Hiya needles, she's got a bounty of them, as well as a wide selection of Addi Turbo needles. She only had a few of the Addi lace needles, but she will probably get more in the future. The yarns are beautiful and high quality. The indoor mall is bright with a glass cathedral ceiling through the center. I was surprised at the size of the mall and the adjacent Oceano Hotel and Spa. Princeton has always been a quiet little fishing harbor, with a few good restaurants. Barbara's Fishtrap, the mainstay local fried fish hangout, was buzzing with people. Half Moon Bay Brewing Company was busy, too. With this new mall and resort, the town hopes to attract more visitors.

4) Work on The Princess Shawl edging. If you've heard me talk about this shawl before, you're probably wondering why it took me so long to get started. I've actually had the pattern for a YEAR. This may not surprise you, if you know a lot about this pattern. It's one of the most advanced Shetland lace patterns currently available from Heirloom Knitting. And it will probably take me another year to complete it. Over these past months, I've swatched and debated on what yarn to use for this mother-of-all lace shawls.

I thought about it, researched it, read what yarns others were using, read about the errors in the pattern, and probably made a mountain out of a molehill. For gosh sakes, it's a shawl. It's not like I'm attempting to build the Eiffel Tower out of toothpicks or something. I made a decision to use some terrific Colourmart merino that I had swatched and liked. It's not cobweb, but an extra fine 2-ply laceweight, finer than Jaggerspun Zephyr. I'm going to have a really big shawl, but I don't mind. I like how it looks. See if you like the edging so far in the photo. I'm okay with it. It's going to be beautiful.

5) Make progress on the Hydrangea Scarf. I've had this scarf pattern since Stitches West 2008. It's a beautiful design from Eugen Beugler. One day a few months ago, I started working on it, and it just flowed from my needles. It's one of those addictive patterns that keeps you moving through it, without getting boring. However, when I started adding beads, I slowed down. I guess just the stopping and starting to add the beads was getting to me. At first, I thought I would just bead the hydrangea flowers in the pattern. Then I decided I wanted to mix up the colors of beads in the hydrangeas. It's still a bit nebulous in my mind, but I think I've got it to where I like it now. See if you do, too.

6) Visit with the ACKD (Adult Children with Knitting Disorders) group. This is the group that meets at Starbucks in Bayhill Shopping Center, San Bruno, on Tuesday nights. It's a great, fun knitting group that seems to grow bigger every week. Projects range from basic beginner scarves to the most advanced lace to dolls to sweaters and everything in between. The group is on Yahoo and on Ravelry.

7) Meet with the BAWDies. This is my long-time knitting group in the City. One of the members gave me a nice gift of some melon colored wool and silk. It's gorgeous stuff, and I can't wait to start something with it. The BAWDies meet on Sunday afternoons, from 2-4pm at Arlequin Cafe on Hayes Street in San Francisco. BAWDies group is on Yahoo.

8) Order the book: Shetland Lace, by Gladys Amedro. I was so excited to hear this book had been republished in November 2008! It was out of print for many years, and when copies would turn up on eBay, they invariably sold for very high prices. Now, Unicorn Books has released it again, and I'm getting my copy ASAP. It's a great reference for anyone interested in Shetland Lace knitting. If you just want to try one of her patterns, Jamieson and Smith in the UK sells some individual kits and patterns, like the Gibbie Shawl and the Woman's Own Christening Shawl.

Happy New Year! What's your resolution?

Thanksgiving Leftovers

2008-11-30T09:16:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving ...

New flowers in the windowbox ...

Why I don't use my good lace tablecloths on Thanksgiving ...

Gorgeous tulips! Californians put tulips and tangerines on the table in November ...

A favorite doily on a side table ...

Thanksgiving tradition: a handpainted folk art turkey made of reeds. I've cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the last 18 years for my family, and this turkey has been on the table every year. (A new fixture: Mr. Monk reminds me of my knitting OCD every day ... )

We found this tiny dish among my mother-in-law's china. I didn't quite get it with my limited Italian. The translation: "far from the eyes, far from the heart" -- an Italian version of "out of sight, out of mind." I wish I knew the story behind this little dish. I'll make one up and tell you later.

Like mother, like daughter

2008-10-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

My family is big and prolific. My grandparents' progeny and future descendants alone could populate a small town. Nana was one of seven brothers and sisters, and Tata was one of fifteen. That's just one branch of the family. From all of those great aunts and uncles, cousins galore have been born, been fruitful and multiplied, filling many houses in the Bay Area and beyond.

About 20-something years ago, I knit a sweater in lavender and pink for my cousin Janet's new baby Alexis. The pattern was from a Bernat baby book, and the yarn was a machine-wash acrylic, easy for a new mom to wash and fold with the rest of the baby's laundry.

Alexis is all grown up now. When she announced she was pregnant more than a year ago, I knew a baby shower would be coming up fast. I wanted to make something for the baby that Alexis (and her mom) would like, would be fun to make, and easy to care for.

I rummaged through my patterns and found ... the old Bernat baby book. I looked through it and considered making a lacy cardigan, or maybe some coveralls. But then, I looked at the striped sweater pattern I had made for Alexis more than 20 years ago and thought, why not! I found the same colors of yarn and made a duplicate of the lavender and pink sweater and a matching hat.

Aidan Evelyn has big, beautiful, twinkling eyes and a smile to melt the polar icecap. She's turning one next month. These are photos of Aidan in her lavender and pink sweater, just like mommy wore when she was a baby.

Motoring to the Fair

2008-08-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we planned to visit the San Mateo County Fair. Our idea was to check out the Home Arts exhibit area where my Paisley Long Shawl was entered for judging and then go to the evening concert featuring KC and Sunshine Band and the Village People.

The best laid plans of mice and and men often go awry.

A week ago, I ordered a new car from a Mini dealership. Since that time, we've been hunting around the Internet for information on our new baby, soon to be built at the factory in England. We found a local group that meets once a month for a "Mini run" to various locations in California. On Saturday, they met at Tesla Motors in Menlo Park for a run to Half Moon Bay.

Tesla is the electric car that is making headlines throughout the motoring world. It can do 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, gets 220 mpc (miles per charge), and redlines at 13,000 rpms. (If you think knitters have a lot of abbreviations, just try to understand a few motoring enthusiasts chatting in acronyms.) The Tesla is a beautiful vehicle with a beautiful pricetag: $109,000.

The Minis were lined up outside the Tesla dealership, and we spoke to a few owners to gauge their satisfaction and to learn more about our Mini-to-be. Then, for a lark, we took off on a wild ride to the coast, following along behind a colorful caravan of Mini Coopers.

Instead of taking Highway 92, as we thought they might, they drove over Alpine Road, a winding, narrow, wooded byroad several miles south of 92. Let me tell you, these Mini drivers are escape artists who love fast cornering and zipping over hill and dale with aplomb. We kept pace in our Toyota, but it wasn't easy.

Hairpin turns through densely wooded glens with glimpses of impressive dropoffs -- what a trip! We took a sharp turn onto Pescadero Creek Road, another narrow, twisting path through Loma Mar and Pescadero. Nearing Pescadero, the cooler air signaled the proximity of the ocean, our homeland.

Our route through the trees ended at Pescadero State Beach. We turned right and headed north toward Half Moon Bay.

Not surprisingly, we were a bit tired from our Mini adventure, and we almost nixed the Fair in favor of the Olympics. We watched them a bit, but decided to take a short nap and head to the Fair later on in the evening.

We didn't perk up again until around 7:00 pm. We knew we might miss the beginning of KC or the Village People, but went anyway, speeding south on Highway 280, remarking about how fast those Minis scooted around tight corners.

We got to the Fair and were told that the concert was sold out. What?! No KC? No Sunshine Band? No Village People? The dream of reliving my disco youth, shattered?

I was disappointed, but not for long. We headed toward the Home Arts area to view the textiles and needlearts.

The Home Arts displays were in a big tent, rather than one of the buildings at the Fairgrounds as they were last year. The tent was the same one where I had dropped off my entry a couple of weeks earlier.

Although there was more room than last year, the lighting was rather poor. Still, the works displayed were lovely. I snapped several photos of items made by people I knew from the knitting groups.

And I found my Paisley Long Shawl displayed on a table with a Best of Show rosette!

I spoke a few minutes to Julia Curry, the Home Arts Department Coordinator, and she gave some insight into how the items were judged.

Julie is a quilter. None of her work could be entered under her name, but she had worked on at least 30 quilts in the exhibition. She said that some of the amateurs sent their hand-pieced quilts to her for finishing work.

As for the Paisley Long Shawl, she mentioned that the knitting judges remarked about the difficulty of knitting with linen and how my stitches were consistent and even. Cool!

I asked if she had a few pins to tack the shawl down to the tablecloth. Although chains were around the table, my shawl was just lying on top of a tablecloth. I liked that they chose to display it on a light background, but anyone could pick it up. She was very helpful and said that she appreciated hearing feedback about the displays and how they could be improved.

I walked around looking for some of the items that were entered by people I knew. Some won ribbons and all were beautiful.

Nancy's weaving won a 1st place blue ribbon. Gorgeous colors and inspiring!

Jane had several entries. This rose bag is luscious.

Jeannette's miniature sweaters are just perfect displayed on fingertips.

Patt's color choices are always stunning. This woven scarf is a miracle of color and texture.

Julie's blue scarf won a 3rd place ribbon! Congrats!

Jane's wool dickie won a 1st place ribbon! Way to go!

I'm embarassed to say I don't know whose hat this is, but it is a lovely one.

Another creation from Jane - a darling green child's pullover.

And Jane's afghan won a 1st place blue ribbon! Great color choices and the textures are wonderful!

Matthew's mermaid is a one-of-a-kind whimsical treat to behold.

And I had to photograph this leather tooled saddle that won Best of Show. Isn't it amazing?

Paisley Long Shawl Completed!

2008-07-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is the completed Paisley Long Shawl I knit in Euroflax 100% linen. I finished it shortly before I went on vacation, but just haven't had time to post photos.

The 1/2 lb cone of Euroflax Paris held 1,300 yards. I came perilously close to running out. I even had to unravel about half of my swatch! The pattern said that 1,260 yards would be enough if I omitted the fringe. Of course, this estimate was based on using Jaggerspun Zephyr, the recommended wool/silk blend.

Since I used linen, and my gauge was slightly different, my yardage required was different. Also, I chose to knit an additional repeat of the center boteh pattern to compensate for the smaller gauge.

I used a US4 needle, and my finished size is about 28" x 80" -- whereas the pattern's finished size, not including the extra repeat or optional fringe, was 29" x 77". I think I made the right choice in adding a boteh repeat. If I didn't, the length would have been around 74".

This is true knitted lace, with lace patterning on both sides. There are no "rest" rows (plain rows). For me, the pattern was exciting and fun to knit. I enjoyed seeing the lovely lacy flowers emerge in the shawl, and reading the large, clear charts row by row was a pleasure.

The pattern is a garter lace, so there is no wrong or right side. For this reason, I made sure to use a different colored marker at the beginning of the odd rows, to keep my eyes reading the chart in the right direction. When I saw the colored marker, I knew I had to read the chart from right to left (odd row). When I didn't see the colored marker, I knew I had to read the chart from left to right (even row).

Chart reading for knitted lace is a necessary skill. The charts help you to visualize where the holes should appear on every row. If something isn't lining up, you can frog back (God forbid) and fix it by looking at the chart. To do this with just written instructions can be nightmarish.

I used lifelines about once every other repeat. A lifeline is a contrasting thread sewn into one row by threading it through all the stitches on the needle (not the stitch markers). If I needed to rip back, I could go back to the lifeline and not lose any stitches.

The shawl starts with a provisional cast on in the center. Then I knit all the way to one end and bound off. After that, I picked up stitches from the provisional cast on and knit all the way to the other end.

The border is part of the main pattern, so I didn't have to add one at the end. Shetland lace and many other lace patterns require a knitted-on or sewn-on border, so this border was considerably faster. However, the border pattern does take much concentration, even more than the center pattern. The yarnovers are many!

Dorothy Siemens, the designer, writes her patterns impeccably well, and the charts are large and clear. There are four pages of instructions, four legal-sized chart pages, and two pages of photographs. She gives tips on gauge, sizing, marker placement, joining new balls of yarn, lifelines, fringe and blocking.

This shawl will be my lace entry this year at the San Mateo County Fair. Wish me luck!

Yubina!

2008-06-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

I had read about Yubina on Fleegle's blog. This Mongolian cashmere can be ordered only online. If I hadn't heard of the positive experiences of others, I probably would not have ordered, because there is no address or direct contact information on the website, except for an email address.

But on the plus side, the website offers a variety of weights, colors and blends. So far, the reviews of other bloggers have been great.

I was at work on Wednesday when my hubby called and told me a curious little package had arrived with Chinese stamps on it. He said it looked too small and felt a little too heavy to be yarn. Hmmm ... if they had shipped me a box of rocks, I would be mad, to say the least!

When I got home from work that day, I barely had enough time to scoop up the box and my knitting bag to hurry over to my knitting pal Nina's house for knit night. When she opened the door, I held up the unopened box reverently, and she instantly knew what I had brought for show-and-tell.

I had ordered the yarn on May 26. On May 30, I received an email from Jeremy at Yubina that the yarn had shipped. The package arrived on June 11. That's 16 days -- not bad for going halfway around the world and through customs.

Nina handed me a box knife and I carefully cut open the package. The tension was palpable. Would it be a box of joy or disappointment?

Gasps all around -- joy!

The purple is 50 grams, 500 yds per ball, 100% cashmere. The color is heathery; it looks like dark and light purple mixed together. You can't really tell how heathery from the photos on the Yubina website. It's super soft and squishy, and would make a lovely shawl.

The blue is 45% cashmere and 50% silk. The other 5% I'm assuming is some sort of synthetic binder, but the website does not state. The yarn comes without labels or care instructions directly from the manufacturer.

In some cases, they have stopped shipping 50 gram balls, and instead are shipping the 125 gram cones. I had ordered 100 grams (two balls) of the blue, but got a cone instead -- so I got a little extra for no charge.

On closer inspection, I found that the blue is a three-ply yarn. Two of the plies are a soft baby blue, and one ply is a similar but slightly brighter blue (probably the silk ply). The combination has depth, and I'm extremely pleased with this choice. In fact, I swatched this weekend for the Princess Shawl from Heirloom Knitting. This yarn is definitely a possibility. I like the tight twist and the smoothness. I don't think I want anything too fuzzy or springy for Princess. The silk adds a nice shine and drape. I love this stuff!

One thing I know for sure: I will not use my Inox greys with this yarn. I tried swatching with a 2mm (US 0) needle, and the Inox tips were definitely not sharp enough. The Addi Lace or Hiya Hiya needles are good choices. I have some of each brand, but the Inox was the first one I grabbed.

I knit a swatch from one of the Princess charts, 20 sts by 30 rows. I washed it under cool water in the sink, squeezed it in a towel and pinned it out to dry. As I was pinning, I started thinking about blocking the grand Princess Shawl when it's completed.

First of all, look how many pins! This is just a swatch! I'm going to need a zillion pins when I block the shawl. Of course, I have about a year or so before I have to do that.
I'm going to get some gardening knee pads for that job.

I do have blocking wires (actually welding rods) and a big rolled up piece of berber carpet in the garage that I use just for blocking large pieces of lace, but the Princess may be bigger than that.

Yikes.

Paisley Progress and a Cone Spinner

2008-06-01T09:34:00.001-07:00

I've made some progress on the Paisley Long Shawl. The shawl is knitted from the center provisional cast on toward each end, beginning with the small botehs (flowers), followed by small paisleys, then large paisleys, then hexagons. The paisleys in the photo look upside-down because the provisional cast on is at the bottom. The work is hanging from my circular needle as I progress toward the end of the first half of the shawl.

When I get to the end of the first half, I will pick up stitches from my provisional cast on, and work the second half of the shawl, from the center toward the other end.

The edging on either side is knitted as you progress down the long rectangle. I've put some noticeable stitch markers in between the edging and the main body on either side to alert me.

This design is a pleasure to knit. I can't say enough good things about Fiddlesticks patterns. They are clear and well-written. The pattern changes from row to row, so it never gets tedious for me. I would recommend this pattern to experienced lace knitters. It is true knitted lace (lace patterning on both sides).

As I began to knit this shawl with my Euroflax linen, I struggled a little bit with pulling the yarn from the cone. It wasn't a huge problem, but it didn't flow as smoothly as I would have liked. I started thinking about making a cone spinner. I've knit from cones before, and I knew it was something I would use again and again.

At first, I considered size and portability. I wanted this light enough to bring to my knitting group and small enough to fit into my knitting bag, yet it had to be stable so that yanking on the yarn wouldn't knock it off the table.

The spinner mechanism is simply a small lazy susan about 3" across, purchased from the local hardware store. The wood pieces are two cedar fence post caps that we happened to have in the garage. They are about 4.25" across with beveled edges.

The dowel is another scrap from the garage, about one inch in diameter and five inches long. The pieces were sanded and stained with some leftover redwood stain.

Hubby drilled pilot holes in the center of the dowel and the center of one fence post cap. He screwed the cap to the dowel, countersinking the screw and adding a drop of wood glue between the cap and dowel.

With all the pieces in order, I tested the spinner with my Euroflax cone, and it seemed to work very well. It spun freely and didn't tip over. I tried it with a larger cone, and it still seemed stable and spun freely. More on this when I have more experience using it.

Lace and Linen

2008-05-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

After I made an entire lace sweater in linen, I learned to appreciate the fine attributes of linen. I had been warned over and over that linen is hard on the hands. It has no "give" and is rough on your fingers.

What I found was that my personal style of knitting loosely is right for linen.

Usually, when I swatch for a big lace project (and yes, I always swatch), I find that I have to drop down at least one needle size to get the right gauge.

With linen, knitting loosely has its benefits and drawbacks.

The looseness of the loops on the needles makes them slide easily, and I can maneuver my stitches without much difficulty. However, linen's stiffness carries a sinister warning: pay attention or your needles will slide right out of the stitches!

I invariably use some type of metal needles (Addi lace, Addi turbo or Inox grey) for lace. I love the speed, and I feel quite like a knitting "athlete" when I use them. But like all athletes, I must exert care to avoid a slip-up and downtime.

Linen is super-stiff when you knit it, but you can wash it beforehand if you like. Euroflax is advertised as machine washable and dryable. You can even beat it, wring and squish it into submission. When it dries you will have a much softer, drapier yarn. I actually like knitting with new unwashed linen, so I don't wash it until the blocking stage.

I finally started the Paisley Long Shawl from Fiddlesticks. The photo of the finished shawl is from Fiddlesticks. I hope mine will look as lovely!

YARN: After months of saying, "This is my next big lace project," I leapt into the project using size 3 Addi lace needles and a cone of navy blue Euroflax linen that I've had on hand for months. Louet formerly called this yarn "Paris" and now calls it simply "laceweight" or 14/2 -- 6 stitches per inch and 1300 yards on my half pound cone.

PATTERN: Fiddlesticks' owner Dorothy Siemens writes impeccably and her patterns are a joy to use. The charts are large and easy to read. The instructions are clear and make sense. She is also accessible via email, phone or her Yahoo group.

From the pattern, "Paisley Long Shawl":

The Paisley Long Shawl was inspired by the designs of the beautiful woven paisley shawls of the 19th century. It is an interpretation in lace of a long shawl dating from about 1820, and features original lace motifs of botehs (the small motifs filling the middle ground of the shawl) and larger paisley patterns.

Another Fiddlesticks pattern I knit a few years ago was the Peacock Feathers Shawl. This is probably one of Dorothy's most popular patterns. I love the way the feathers grow from the small ones at the neck to the largest size at the edge.

Spring Blossoms: Border with Double and Triple Joins

2008-04-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is the border I decided to add to the Spring Blossoms Shawl. The pattern is from Fiber Trends, and Eugen Beugler is the designer. The yarn was dyed specially for me by Margaret at Inspirations Yarn, and it's her Espresso laceweight merino. I'm using a size 4 needle.

The pattern recommends a simple crochet edging. I decided to try a knitted border I particularly like from Victorian Lace Today. It's the diamonds and triangles edging on page 150. The border is particularly wide, so it's going to take some time to complete.

So far, I'm completely happy with it. The diamond shapes echo the diamonds in the flower bouquets of the main panel. The lacy zigzag edge is light and gives the shawl a nice drape.

I have to be careful when I get to the corners. In order to get a wide lace border to turn a corner, you have to plan the number of double and triple joins before and after the corner. For this extra wide border (32 sts wide), Jane Sowerby recommends 8 double and 4 to 8 triple joins.

Jane describes Single, Double and Triple joins in her book Victorian Lace Today. To summarize:

Single Join -- Knit one border stitch (WS) to one stitch of center panel by slipping the last border stitch through the back loop together with one main panel stitch and knitting them together.

Double Join -- Two single joins to one center panel stitch. A total of four border rows are attached to one center panel stitch, since you only "join" on the WS rows.

Triple Join -- Three single joins to one center panel stitch. A total of six border rows are attached to one center panel stitch, since you only "join" on the WS rows.

It takes some thought to decide when to start the double and triple joins. For this border, I'm starting the doubles about 24 rows from the corner, putting in the triples at the point of the corner, and finishing up 24 rows after the point on the next contiguous side.

The border is knit onto the center panel perpendicularly, with the live stitches of the center panel still on the circular needle. I put a rubber point protector on one circular needle tip and knit the panel stitches off of the other end of the needle.

I prefer to use a DPN to knit the border. For me, it's faster to flip the work. I don't ever leave a border row on the DPN when I put the work down. I make sure that I end on a RS row so that all the stitches are being held on the circular when I put the knitting back into my bag.

I included a lifeline on the last row of the main center panel before I started the border. I think this is important if you are not sure you are going to like the border you picked. Then, if you have to rip out the border and start again, you can just pick up the stitches held by the lifeline.

Siena Hat: Fair Isle is Fun, I promise

2008-03-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Siena Hat from Knitwhits did not take me a month to do. In fact I finished it in a few hours of knitting time, only to realize that I had missed one line in the instructions and flubbed one of the hat stripes. Duh!

See where the missing stripe should be? Another magenta-green stripe should be in between the two blue-green stripes.

So I took apart the top of the hat, just below the first bluish stripe near the center, picked up all the stone beige stitches beneath it, and added the correct stripe as the pattern so clearly described.

Remember, Fair Isle is Fun, right? I got a another chance to use my two-handed Fair Isle technique -- definitely fun -- which I learned from a Philosopher's Wool video.

I had never learned to knit Fair Isle as a child from my wonderful grandmother who could knit anything without a pattern. No, instead, I learned to change colors by watching her, and I figured out how to knit Fair Isle patterns by reading a book.

I learned to use more than one color, first by trying intarsia patterns (like the Jester hat I posted about last time). Learning Fair Isle became a mission when I turned 18, went to London, and found some amazing hot pink mohair wool that I had never seen in the States.

With passion in my heart, I designed a pullover with a Fair Isle band around the chest, and fuzzy pink mohair trim. I remember finishing the front and thinking, wow, I can really do Fair Isle!

Actually, what I had learned from a book was how NOT to make holes when changing colors. This was accomplished by flipping one yarn over the next, like in intarsia. For Fair Isle, I basically did the same thing, and at the end of every row, I had to detangle the yarns. Inefficient! Time consuming! In fact, the memory of picking up my sweater by the yarn and dangling it out in front of me to spin around, stayed with me for years, dissuading me from ever doing another Fair Isle sweater.

Oh, I did add color to my work and even did the occasional Fair Isle sweater for a baby cousin or two. But I didn't enjoy it. They looked pretty. They didn't pucker. But they weren't fun.

Later in life, I discovered "The Original Philosopher's Two-Handed Fair Isle" video. I have to say that learning how to do Fair Isle with a yarn in each hand felt awkward to me at first. I had always knit American style, with the yarn in my right hand. (I believe my English grandmother called this English style.) I had to become comfortable with a yarn in my LEFT hand, as well as my right, using both with equal dexterity.

With the gentle guidance of Ann Bourgeois in the video, I was able to master the technique. I felt like I had just learned to swim laps after dogpaddling all my knitting life! It made such a difference in my attitude toward knitting Fair Isle, that when I was at Stitches West a few years ago, I made a point of finding Ann at her booth and telling her about my elation when I learned her technique.

I learned something else: if you hate it, you're probably doing it the hard way. Learn to do it the easy way, and you'll be changed for life.

Jester Hat: Fruit of the Bobbins

2008-02-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

Jester is the intarsia hat that I knit as a sample for KnitWhits. The hat will be felted into its final form before it is displayed.

This is a fun hat to make and a good way to practice your intarsia technique.

I used bobbins to keep an ample length of each color dangling as I knit.

It looks confusing at first, but it's actually much easier to detangle than if I had sixteen balls of yarn attached to my work.

To avoid holes when changing colors, I flipped one color over the next, twisting the two strands one time. (Since this hat will eventually be felted, small holes are not a big deal.) The yarn is not carried across the work.

This is different than two-handed fair isle, where each hand is controlling a separate color and both yarns are carried all the way across the work. I'll post another sample hat soon that uses the fair isle technique.

Old World and New World Gifts

2008-02-25T08:27:00.001-08:00

Last week I was visited by several birthday faeries who treated me to some lovely gifts. Not only that, Stitches West, the largest knitting convention of them all, was held this past weekend, and so I was able to use some birthday cash to acquire some fun things.

My husband took the hint and went to Biordi Art Imports in North Beach. And look what he found! I was so impressed that he picked out the perfect olive oil cruet for me, along with a dipping dish. These are handpainted and imported from Italy. I love the colors, and the top of the cruet has an ingenious spout. It is a cork with a hole through the middle. The steel spout is centered through the cork. This way, I can remove the cork to fill it, and use the spout for pouring a fine stream. Very nice!

Some Italian food smells must have been wafting through the air when my friend Marjory thought to give me another piece of Italian art pottery. This cup and saucer are from the same region as the olive oil cruet and dish. I'm a lucky gal! Marjory owns the Tranquilitea Tea Room in Pacifica.

In the cup and next to it are two skeins of delicious 10/2 hand-dyed tencel that I found at Stitches West.

The tencel is from Just Our Yarn, an effort of two women who have built a reputation for the most glorious hand-dyed yarns. Even though the camel and wool and yak and other fibers tempted me, I couldn't put down this silky tencel. It's similar to the white tencel I purchased from Halcyon Yarn, but with fantastic subtly blended colors. I think these two colorways are similar enough to be part of the same garment. I haven't decided what to make of them yet, but don't you think they'll make a lovely lacy something?

Stitches West is held annually at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. My pal Tina of KnitWhits had a booth this year, and I worked all day on Friday. What a wild time!

The Stitches crowds were relentless, partly due to a convention gimmick that brought tons of people into the booth. Attendees had Ravelry "passports" -- little booklets that looked like passports. We were one of the booths that offered passport stamps, so not only were we selling hat, purse, scarf, sock, and Easter Egg kits like crazy, but we were also stamping passports.

Speaking of yak, I bought this terrific yak pin from Gita Maria at her booth. She designs "eclectic and whimsical" jewelry and charms. This one she said she brought to a cattle or yak (?) convention, and all of the cowboys wanted one, but in a smaller size to wear on their hats! I was pleased to have the full-sized version to wear on this lovely alpaca scarf, given to me by my friend Suzy.

Last year, Suzy visited Winters Gone Farm, an alpaca farm in Wiscasset, Maine, and thought this alpaca scarf was perfect for me. I love it! It wraps around and has a few buttons to snuggle it up and keep me warm.

In addition to the yarn and yak pin, I picked up a few more things at Stitches West, including this small African basket and a bunch of really cute glass beads. I may ask my sister to make me some new stitch markers with these.

I also picked up the Hydrangea Scarf pattern, the newest lace pattern from Eugen Buegler. He was there, sitting at the Lacy Knitters booth, with his pal Lew and several others. I asked him if he would honor me by signing his latest work, and he couldn't have been more delightful.

Bobbins of the Past

2008-02-12T22:17:00.000-08:00

I started working on an intarsia hat pattern. Why? Someone would like me to knit it for her. And I like the pattern.

It brings back memories of knitting strange intarsia punk patterns in the early 80's. I remember knitting leg warmers in orange and black; a grey and burgundy hound's-tooth vest; a black stockinette sweater, knit entirely of Bernat Bucilla, with a stark white "A" in the middle of a white circle; and a baby blue, pink and white Fair Isle sweater in acrylic, with bristly hot pink mohair accents. I had gotten the acrylic at the Emporium on Market Street in San Francisco and the hot pink mohair from Marks and Spencer's in London.

Anarchy, man. It was anarchy.

But, I started to think, did I ever use bobbins? Did I? Didn't I just let it all hang out (the ends, mean?) I remembered some bobbins, stowed away with the oldest of the old knitting needles I'd inherited from various relatives and from friends' mothers.

I poked around in the old Castile Soap box from I. Magnin that my great aunt had given me to hold my knitting needles as a child. The corners are taped together now, and I have newer and shinier places to store my knitting supplies, but I can't bear to throw away the old Castile Soap box.

The bobbins were right where I had left them years ago, tucked under old needles and pins and things. I gathered them together and lined them up. They were all of the same genre, mezzo-opaque or mezzo-transparent. How had I acquired them?

Funny how these things never get thrown away. They are passed along from person to person until someone finds a use for them, or like me, someone can't bear to toss them out. And what of the white wool yarn wrapped around a couple of these ancient bobbins? It certainly wasn't a remnant of anything I had knitted. Had my great aunt given me the bobbins with this tightly wound white wool yarn clinging to them? I feel like I should leave the wool on them and keep them like good talismans, warding away evil mojo.

Okay, I had found these ten bobbins, made of tiddlywink material, sort of like bakelite. But I needed 16 bobbins. I probably could have jimmied a few, but I knew I had more somewhere.

And after some rummaging, I found these Jiffy Bobbins stored in the stationery cabinet in the den. Don't ask me why I put them there. I thought I had consolidated all my knitting paraphernalia, but these were strays.

The lid of the box says they are "automatic." This makes them sound somewhat mechanized, but I'll forgive the manufacturer for that. In fact, they are quite usable and ingenious little things.

All is well in Bobbinlandia. I shall persevere at maximum bobbin capacity.

Published!

2008-02-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

I came home from work one day last week to find a corrugated cardboard package had arrived for me. The return address read MBI Publishing, or something like that. I put it aside and made dinner. I had gotten home later than usual and was in a hurry to put something edible on the table. We sat down to eat, and I stopped in mid-chew ...

The book. The book had arrived. What was I thinking! I ripped open the cardboard and found three lovely advance copies of Knitting Through It: Inspiring Stories for Times of Trouble.

Long ago (October 2006), I had submitted a draft of my story "Sofia's Hands" to Lela Nargi who had announced her plans for a new book on Knitter's Review. Lela, a successful editor and writer, had produced Knitting Memories: Reflections on the Knitter's Life and Knitting Lessons: Tales from the Knitting Path, both well-received by the knitting community, and much beloved for their warmth and ingenuity.

The new book was in its formative stages, and she wanted some fresh stories to add to the collection. I was indeed "fresh" and somewhat timid about the entire publishing process, having no real professional writing experience. I had written a few essays published in local mags when I was in my twenties, but since then, my writing had been sequestered to business reports and an occasional blog entry. When Lela asked me to expand my original submission, I was excited and more than thrilled. She offered great suggestions for improving my idea, while still keeping my prose intact. Published friends had told me horror stories of their words slashed to ribbons, but this was not my experience at all. I was relieved and elated.

Upon opening the package, after carefully wiping my hands, I found that the cover was different than the advance cover I had seen on Amazon a couple of months ago. The new design is sweet and tantalizing, and the heart shape formed by a strand of yarn hints of the tender stories inside. (Barnes & Noble has it, too, and you can read the table of contents there.)

The stories come from various sources, including new authors, veteran writers, and the WPA Federal Writers' Project. A number of black-and-white photographs from the Library of Congress and a few patterns are great complements to this volume.

One interesting note: I had included a reference to the Oomingmak cooperative in the first draft of my story. This knitting cooperative I visited in Alaska produces knitted items from the underwool of the musk ox to supplement the income of their subsistence communities. Lela had been looking for stories about native American knitters, and this spurred her to contact Donna Drachunas, who had just published the book Arctic Lace, and had done extensive research on the Oomingmak. Donna contributed a story to this book, and I was pleased that Lela added a reference to Donna's story in "Sofia's Hands."

My story is personal. It relates the trials of dealing with my own mother's illness and caring for my mother-in-law in her last years. Knitting was my solace and a my distraction during that time, and with every fiber of my being, I am grateful to the knitting community for helping me through it.

In the back are "Notes on the Contributors" -- mine is a little frivolous, but I had to say something!

It's not a hat

2008-01-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

For all those people who have seen me knitting lace in the round;

For all those who think knitting on a circular needle is weird;

For all those who have asked me, "Is it a hat?";

For all those who think my pile of lace is a baby blanket;

For all those who have asked, "How long does it take to make that?";

For all those who tell me, "That's beautiful, what is it?" ...

I say to you:

It's knitting, not crochet.
It's about as weird as brushing your teeth.
It's not a hat.
It's not a blanket; it's a shawl.
It takes as long as it takes.
Thank you. I like it, too. It's lace.

Spring Blossoms and Stash

2008-01-11T08:21:00.001-08:00

I must be ready for warmer weather. The Spring Blossoms Shawl by Eugen Buegler has been on my project list since I picked up the pattern at Stitches West last year. That project list never seems to get any shorter.

I dug into my stash and found this gorgeous violet/purple/periwinkle laceweight merino from Inspirations Yarn. Margaret hand-dyed this especially for me in her "Espresso" laceweight. I think the subtly blended colors are just perfect, and they are not so disparate that they detract from the lacework. I hope Mr. Buegler would approve. The yarn is very soft, and the shawl will be amethystly cozy. My birthday is in February, and I've always had a fondness for all things purple. My birthstone is amethyst, and my favorite color is violet.

Since I've started organizing my stash on Ravelry, I've begun to make some real decisions about what yarns to use for projects. Thus far, I've used Ravelry mainly for organization and reading about other knitters and projects. The socializing part of Ravelry is great, but it just adds another "thing to do" to my list of groups and forums.

Digging into my stash was particularly therapeutic and delightful. In recent years, I've earned some yarns by knitting samples for designers, and other yarns I've found by chance while visiting a yarn shop or a knitting show or conference. I gave up the idea of just buying yarn for specific projects long ago.

Now, my stash is my yarn shop. It's not as big as some knitters' stashes, but certainly respectable as far as stashes go. I've already photographed about 40 different yarns for my Stash organization project on Ravelry. This may be about half of my stash, but I won't know until it's all categorized and labeled. Do not judge me, lest ye be judged.

Ravelry's Stash tool allows a member to post a photograph and all the details about the yarn, including quantity, color, content, weight, gauge, etc. You can make notes about a potential project or anything else pertinent. In many cases, the yarn is already listed in Ravelry's database, so entering a yarn description is simple -- just modify the sample information to fit your specifications. If the yarn is not in Ravelry's database, you are given the option to add yours as the first example.

The entire Stash is then downloadable to Excel for data manipulation and sorting by color, fiber content, manufacturer, etc. This is a great tool for planning projects. Sometimes, I remember a color or type of yarn in my stash, but then I don't know how much I have or even where it is located. My overtaxed brain can use all the help it can get.

Ravelry's Stash tool has opened my eyes to my own stash. I have new appreciation for the yarns I've collected, and now I can see them all in one place. (Okay, two places. I did have to upload all the photos to flickr, the prefered photo host for Ravelry.)

Springtime Jacket

2008-01-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

Springtime, you ask? With all of the wild, woolly weather we've been having lately, a little springtime might be in order.

This is the Springtime Jacket by Melissa Leapman (modified with cables and applied I-cord trim). It was a freebie pattern that came in the mail with an advertisement to subscribe to Knit 'N Style magazine. It's also in their April 2007 issue.

I liked the simple lines and that it was all moss stitch. The texture makes it feel a little more substantial than plain stockinette. The longer length and the bell sleeves seemed right for me. I actually started this a few months ago, but other deadlines took precedence, and I just finished it during our most recent wet and stormy weekend when the power was out.

As usual, I decided to modify the design a bit. See that wavy cable? It wasn't in the pattern, and I added it after I made the two fronts and the back. I knit it separately in one long strip, using short rows to turn the corners at the neck, and then I sewed it on with a whip stitch making a slight ridge where it meets up with the body. The wave cable panel is a slightly wider version of Barbara Walker's. I added two sts on each side of the cable, making a nice ridge along the outer edges, for a total width of 12 sts. It goes like this (cn = cable needle):

Multiple of 12 sts
Row 1 (WS and all odd rows) -- p2, k2, p4, k2, p2

Row 2 -- k2, p2, (sl2 to cn, hold to back, k2, k2 from cn), p2, k2

Row 4, 6, 8 -- k2, p2, k4, p2, k2

Row 10 -- k2, p2, (sl2 to cn, hold to front, k2, k2 from cn), p2, k2

Row 12, 14, 16 -- k2, p2, k4, p2, k2

Shortening Sleeves

The yarn is Cascade Dolce, a luscious, soft wool, alpaca and silk blend. It knits up beautifully, with a pretty drape. BUT it doesn't have as much memory as 100% wool, so the sleeves hung a bit too long.

To remedy this, after I blocked the pieces and basted them together, I measured the length of sleeve I wanted and then pinned where I wanted to cut off the cuff. Yes, I said CUT off the cuff. I had done this before in stockinette, but not in moss stitch which is a little bit trickier. This seems like a drastic and scary thing to do, but it's a great way to shorten or lengthen sleeves on a finished garment. I suggest experimenting on a swatch before doing it on your beautiful sweater.

First, I opened the sleeve seam about four inches. Then I counted up 11 rows from the bottom of the cuff to where I was going to cut and marked the row with a safety pin on both the left and right sides of the piece. This has to be precise, or you'll end up cutting threads on two different rows.

Then I snipped the yarn on each end of the row. I gently pulled it apart a couple of stitches at a time, careful not to let the stitches start to ladder. Once I had a good five inches or so of the snipped yarn to hold onto, I wrapped it around my fingers a couple of times and slowly but firmly pulled the snipped yarn (one row) completely out.

This is where it gets tricky in moss stitch. After the row is pulled out and the bottom of the cuff is separated from the sleeve, the live stitches are ready to be picked up. In this case, with moss stitch, the stitches twist every which way making it harder to pick them up in a straight line. With stockinette, this is much easier, as the stitches all stay lined up like little soldiers.

Basically, I just put each live stitch onto a circular needle, making sure not to skip any. I wanted a somewhat firmer edge at the bottom of the sleeve as well as the bottom of the sweater itself. I chose to add an attached I-cord as a finishing touch.

The attached I-cord is easy to do, especially when you have live stitches on a circular needle. For the sleeve, that's just what I had. For the body, I had to pick up stitches all around the bottom.

The other thing to be aware of is the bias stretch. With moss stitch, the knitted fabric will naturally stretch "on the bias" or diagonally. The pieces will look completely misshapen and weird until you block them. The cable trim and the applied I-cord help to keep the jacket in shape.

This was an easy sweater to make. I'd recommend using wool. Alpaca is lovely and soft, but it will droop, especially with the extra weight of bell sleeves. Also, if you make this one, don't forget to check the errata. I sent in a correction to the shoulder shaping, and they posted it on the Knit 'N Style corrections page.

For convenience, here's the edit I sent them:

APRIL 2007, Project 1: KNITTED Springtime Jacket

BACK

Shape Shoulders

BO 4 sts each armhole edge 3 times, then BO 3 (4, 4, 5, 6) sts each neck edge once.

(By the way, does it bug anyone else that the only apostrophe used in "Knit 'N Style" is before the "N"? I mean, if an apostrophe is a substitute for missing letters, shouldn't there be one after the "N," too? I digress ... )

Eastern Lace Sweater

2007-12-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

I've finished the Eastern Lace sweater. This one was so much fun to make! The pattern is from Y2Knit. Two sisters run the business, and they have some lovely, creative patterns, in a wide range of sizes. While at the TKGA conference a few months ago, I ran into Jill at the Y2Knit booth who showed me some of their gorgeous designs. This one is absolutely one of my favorites.

The faux wrap is ingenious. It's knit as a V-neck sweater, with set in sleeves. The "wrap" is a strip of seed stitch picked up and knit from the bottom hem, then at an angle up the front and around the neckline. With a couple of sewn tacks at strategic spots, the wrap looks just like a wrap should, but without the possibility of gapping open. (Busty gals take note.)

The great thing about this Y2Knit pattern is that it is written out line by line. In addition, they provide a schematic with measurements for each size, and a lace chart. What could be sweeter? The designers are very accessible and helpful if you have any questions.

The yarn is 100% linen and has a nice, elegant drape after it's washed. Linen is always a little tough on the hands while knitting, but the finished product is gorgeous. I really like this soft blue, which goes with so many things.

The sleeve has an elegant detail -- a seed stitch vent that lets the sleeves drape open at the wrist. Here's one photo of the sleeve as it was being blocked. (I was playing with the settings on my camera, so the color looks different in each photo. I think the second photo looks the closest to the actual color.)

Next up, my moss stitch cardigan has been waiting for sleeves, and sleeves it shall have! I'm almost done with sleeve #1. Two sweaters completed in a month? Do you think I can do it?