I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can

The Party Has Moved

2007-02-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

I've moved my blog to my own domain. Just click here and join the party.

Quick To Knit Sock Pattern

2007-02-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a new sock pattern on my new site this week. The first "step" has already been posted. So head on over and join the fun.

Moving Day

2007-01-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

My new site is ready for visitors!

Click here to see my new home and find out who won the soap contest.

Milestone And A Contest

2007-01-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Someone mentioned to me the other day that subscriptions to my blog's feed on Bloglines recently reached 1,000. I checked and, sure enough, it's true. Yikes.

I figured I'd better hold a contest to commemorate the occasion before too many of you unsubscribe and I dip below 1,000.

First the prize:

It's a bar of Blessed Juno handmade soap in the "Hand Knit" special edition and a color-coordinated warshcloth knit from Euroflax linen.

Next, the particulars of the contest:

I recently purchased a domain name and hosting services and have been busily preparing to move my blog to its new home. But I could use some help. Here's where you come in.

Leave a comment to this post before next Wednesday with a suggestion on how I could improve the substantive content of my blog, or tell me what you like or dislike about the appearance of the current blog so I can decide how to format the new site.

That's it; not hard at all.

For each comment you leave, your name goes into the virtual "hat" one time. But, to encourage the 999 Bloglines subscribers who lurk to reveal themselves, if you leave a comment and I don't recognize you, your name goes into the "hat" two times!

So, go forth and comment and possibly win a really great bar of soap.

Holiday Headstart

2007-01-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

When I learned last year that Marcia was setting up a Holiday Headstart group, I joined immediately. The basic premise of the group is that you knit at least one holiday gift each month so you avoid last-minute frenzied knitting.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a bit of a planner and I typically have all my holiday gifts knit by the end of the summer. But my daughter . . . well, she's not quite so far-sighted. Each year I swear I won't succumb to her last-minute pleas for hand-knit gifts for her friends, but when actually faced with the alternative--i.e., a trip to the dreaded mall--I usually give in and whip out a scarf or a hat.

So I viewed Marcia's group as an incentive to stock up on teenage-friendly gifts. Yah, I know, teenage girls are fickle and I run the risk my daughter will reject things in December that she approves in May. No matter. Anything she doesn't want next winter can be donated to a shelter or Dulaan.

Surprisingly, however, my first Holiday Headstart project is neither a scarf nor a present for my daughter's friends. It's a hat for my neighbor.

I used this hat design as a guide and a chart from Nanette's excellent booklet for the stranded motif.

My neighbor's wife died last year. Although she was quite possibly the best knitter I ever knew, I swallowed my pride each December and knit something for both her and her husband. She loved felted items and he was usually on the receiving end of a hat or mittens. He’s a very fit octogenarian who walks every day regardless of the weather. Even last week, when the day-time temperatures here barely rose above the single digits, I saw him pounding the pavement early in the morning on my way to work. One day I saw him wearing a hat I gave him a few years ago knit from this pattern. The recent frigid temperatures convinced me it was about time to knit him a new hat--one with even longer ear flaps.

My neighbor is Norwegian, so I thought he'd appreciate the Norwegian star. I had to fudge a little to work the decreases into the pattern but I'm pretty pleased with the finished hat.

It was a fun, fast project; I completed it in just one night and part of the next morning. You gotta love those size 6.5mm needles.

Or not.

Sun, What Sun?

2007-01-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

A nasty funk has settled into the Salt Lake Valley and, dude, I'm sick of it.

Basically, the weather conditions have been perfect for creating a craptastic inversion that has lingered for more than a week. Essentially, cold air and pollution are trapped in the valley, with the warm air above. So if you can escape to a higher altitude, it's actually sunny and warmer than it is in the valley.

Thankfully, there was a small snow storm last night which pushed some of the yucky air away and this morning I woke to see actual, real, live sunshine at my house which is at a higher elevation than most of the valley. But a quick peek out the window revealed that the lower part of the valley is still covered in a layer of gunk. I'm enjoying my sunshine while I can.

Update: Click here for a nice, big photo of what I'm talking about. See the layer of grey crap trapped below my sunny, blue sky. You can barely make out the buildings downtown.

The dreary days had left me with little motivation. Although I did finish the samples for Amy and I mailed them off yesterday:

I also finished my January project for the Holiday Headstart Project but I don't have photos yet. Later this week.

To shake some of the funk, I met up with Teri and Anne yesterday at Three Wishes, a fantastic fiber arts store located miles, and miles, and miles from me in a part of the valley I view as a foreign land. Okay, so maybe it's only ten miles away, but it feels like 100.

I received some of Anne's Vermont Maples roving in a swap and started spinning it up when I got home.

It's amazingly soft and a riot to spin. Added to a little sunshine, and I'm right out of the funk.

Now where's that hand lotion?

Dies Und Jenes

2007-01-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Several people wrote and asked me about the swatches I'm knitting for Amy. The question I got most was about the name of the colorway in the last swatch. Amy tells me the colorway is called "Leaf Peep" and she'll be dyeing more shortly.

I finished that last swatch on Monday and then used the rest of the skein to knit a mini Forest Canopy Shawl (nail polish bottle included for scale).

It might make a cute kerchief for a little girl. Or, am I up in the night.

On Saturday, I got a wild hair and organized a section of my stash room. Don't worry, no UFOs were harmed in the process. This is one of the few times I couldn't bring myself to frog incomplete projects. But I did put each project in its own bag so they'll be easier to pick up and work on if the mood strikes.

Of course, the down side to cleaning up is that I found some long-forgotten yarn and cast on for a bottom-up sweater.

Anyone remember this yarn?? Probably not, since most of you probably weren't born when it was manufactured.

It is, however, wonderfully soft and easy to knit. With any luck, I'll have a cozy, warm sweater just in time for spring.

I also bit the bullet on two skeins of sock yarn and posted them for sale on the DeStash blog.

I feel a little better now that I'm destashing this sock yarn.
With these two gone, I only have 497 skeins of sock yarn left to sort through.

Just Swatch Me

2007-01-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a little break from the Fun Fur hats to help Amy with a few swatches for her booth at SPA. I've spun up plenty of Amy's roving (and bought plenty more) but I'd never tried her yarns until this weekend. Yum!

This first swatch is knit from Amy's Speckles yarn, which is a beautiful, soft merino wool that needs handwashing:

Next up, is her Superwash Sport/DK sock yarn:

Then, there's the superwash wool/nylon blend sock yarn.
For the bottom half of this swatch, I used Amy's Razor's Edge pattern.

Finally, the swatch I have on the needles now is Amy's "Skinny Socks," a machine-washable merino wool. The ribbing portion is done in the Fluted Bannister stitch pattern. I love these colors:

I'm hoping to finish this one up tonight while I watch the next 2 hours of the 24 premier. Did you catch the first two hours last night???

And for all of you who are not knitting from your stash in 2007, you'll be happy to know that Amy's running a yarn sale until Wednesday. So there's no time to lose.

Brrrrrrr

2007-01-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Fun Fur Friday

2007-01-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've been busily knitting up novelty yarn hats for Kate and the kids at Children's Hospital.

Since last Sunday, I've made one from Lion Brand Fun Fur:

one from Patons Cha Cha (which was shockingly easy to knit with):

one from Bernat Frenzy:

and one from a double strand of some furry, uber-soft, 100% nylon yarn I bought at Target a year ago:

That brings my grand total to 7 hats in 7 days. Not bad.

Now that I'm ahead of the game, I hope to complete at least 1 hat each week until the deadline of February 28th. That should deplete my current stash of Fun Fur:

Several people have asked me privately why I seem to possess so much Fun Fur yarn. Most of the skeins were purchased years ago when my daughter and her friends clamored every summer for crocheted flip flops. And I bought several skeins last weekend when Jo-Ann Fabric had them on special for $1.00 a ball.

Can't beat that.

Birthday Gala

2007-01-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Salt Lake Stitch 'n Bitch Anniversary Gala is now just a memory. But what a great memory.

Katherine received my silk yarn bra in the Arrowhead Lace exchange and I was fortunate to receive this fabulous "Espresso Scarf," designed and knit by Cheryl:

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a gorgeous shade of chocolate brown. There was also a coffee cosy/wrist warmer/beer bracelet made from the leftover yarn but I left it at work so there's no photo. Trust me though, it was a very clever use of the Arrowhead Lace theme. Cheryl included her pattern for the scarf and the coffee cosy and promised she'd post both patterns on her blog in the next few days

Laurie came armed with an entire box of soap; enough so each person received a bar.

She's calling the new formula "Hand Knit" since one of the ingredients is lanolin. Other ingredients include French green clay and essential oils of bergamot, lavender, litsea cubeba and lime. Yum! I'm such a sucker for citrus-scented soaps.

Laurie doesn't have any plans to duplicate the special batch she created just for us, but maybe if you go to her online store and send her lots of emails with preorders, she'll consider adding it to her line.

I think every knitter needs a bar of Hand Knit soap, don't you.

Happy Anniversary

2007-01-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night our Stitch 'n Bitch group will celebrate its three-year anniversary. Little did Laurie know when she started the group, that it would grow to be the weekly event we each look forward to.

Last year, to celebrate the anniversary, we had a Yankee swap. This year, we're swapping again but there's a theme--Arrowhead Lace. Each swapper was required to make a knitted item incorporating Arrowhead Lace in the pattern. You could make up your own design or knit from a pattern.

There was a dollar limit of $15.00 so to get the most luxury for my buck I bought one skein of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. That put me right at the spending limit. But, what to make from only 125 meters of yarn? And how to incorporate Arrowhead Lace?

I finished knitting my item last night, right under the wire:

What the hell is it, you might ask. Here's a hint:

A silk yarn bra, of course.

I even covered a piece of foam with some silky fabric and put it in the bottom to help give it a little shape.

Ridiculous? Cute? What do you think?

I filled it with 230 yards of wool yarn, hand-dyed by me.

But best of all, look how little yarn was left:

No kidding.

As for the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk . . . well, it was soft and smooth and nice to knit with. But, as I expected, it is softly spun so it is starting to get fuzzy already. When I bought this skein, one of the employees at the shop tried to talk me into the Debbie Bliss book that supports this yarn. One of the designs in the book is a cabled sweater. I opined that cables knit from softly spun, 100% silk yarn might not stay very crisp and she begged to differ with me. Hmmm . . . I should have put a little money on that one.

Can't Make Just One

2007-01-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

I finished two more Fun Fur hats for Children's Hospital today.

The first was knit from less than one skein of Bernat Boa yarn using 6.5mm needles and 56 stitches:

The second is my favorite so far. It was also knit on 6.5mm needles but I used 60 stitches for this one:

Look at the cute way the yarn created rainbow spirals. There's no way you could do that if you actually tried.

The yarn is called Peacock Multi.

I'm not even sure when or why I bought it. Maybe it was fate.

I Love Fun Fur

2007-01-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

Look into my eyes and repeat after me:

1. I will buy some Fun Fur.

2. I will knit a hat using said Fun Fur.

3. I will email Kate and get her address so I can mail the hat to her for delivery to Children's Hospital.

Got it? Good.

Seriously, check out the post on Kate's blog today and knit up a couple of caps for the kids at Children's Hospital. She has all the information on the blog. This project is dear to my heart because I had a friend who was treated for leukemia at Children's Hospital many years ago.

If I can knit with Fun Fur, you can too.

First FO of 2007

2007-01-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

Not surprisingly, my first FO of 2007 is the last project I cast on in 2006:

Yes, I know it's just one sock, but I made a second just like it a few weeks ago:

That counts as an FO, right?
Work with me here, people.

Next on the sock agenda is this fabulous skein of Regia that Sibylle sent me for Christmas:

But first I intend to complete my contribution to the Arrowhead Lace Swap we're having next Tuesday at Stitch 'n Bitch. After much indecision and gnashing of teeth (not to mention purchasing of materials), I've decided to stick with my original idea which involves this luscious skein of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk:

Tip of the Day: Don't wind this yarn on your skein winder. Use your hands to wind it into an old-fashioned ball. Trust me on this one.

Clean Sweep

2006-12-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's amazing how much you can get accomplished when you neglect the blog for a week.

I'm not much for New Years' resolutions but I had several projects I wanted to finish up by the end of 2006.

First, I had a stack of packages I've been meaning to mail for weeks now. But the post office near my work recently closed and the one near my house is inconveniently open only during the hours I'm at work; Saturday, it's a nightmare. So, I've been putting the painful trip off for too long. Spurred by the realization that the post office will be closed on Tuesday because the current POTUS has declared this a ~~Ford~~ four day weekend, I got my arse in gear and braved the crowds.

Packages mailed. Check.

Next, I recently received some amazing unspun wool yarn from Tine and I've been anxious to spin it up into a two-ply.

Spinning accomplished. Check.

Finally, I had several projects on the needles that needed finishing. One is a simple, roll-brim hat knit from my handspun. The other is a mistake rib scarf (worked over 15 stitches on size 13 needles), knit from two skeins of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn:

And, last but not least, I finished a vest I've been working on sporadically for a few weeks now. There's no pattern yet; I made it up as I went along.

It took less than 3 skeins of Paton's Classic Wool and it's very soft and warm. But the best part is that the only real finishing was the two side seams! Both the armholes and the neckline are self-finished.

Simple knit vest. Check.

Don't get me wrong, I've still got plenty of things on the needles (like a pair of mittens, a new shawl design, and more than one pair of socks) but now I feel ready for the new year. *phew*

Six Weird Things About Me

2006-12-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Lark, who knows full well that I don't follow through with such things, tagged me with this meme which made the rounds last week. But, heck, it's the holidays so here goes.

1. If someone offers me unwrapped food on a plate or from a bowl, I won't eat it unless I'm the first to take a piece or I've actually seen everyone else choose before me.

2. I hate to drive; I'm anxious the entire time I'm in the car behind the wheel.

3. Although I live in Utah, I've never skied.

4. Dogs scare the hell out of me.

5. Nearly all perfume gives me migraines. So when I walk through the fragrance section at Nordstrom or any department store, I have to put my hand over my nose and mouth and walk as fast as I can.

6. I never completely finish a drink, no matter how little is in the glass to begin with. For example, if I pour myself 2 oz of soda, I'll leave just a bit on the bottom of the glass and pour more if I'm still thirsty. Same for coffee; I never finish the last little bit but frequently add more to the mug. I'm not sure why I do this or even how it started. Very weird.

And just to show what a follower I am, I even fooled around with that little fortune cookie thingy:

My Fortune Cookie told me:
On Friday you will be the victim of a bizarre joke, involving a leopard and some mittens.
Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

OK, now that's weird. And I don't even have any mittens on the needles.

Let's Eat

2006-12-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

We're dashing off to a holiday dinner.

My contribution:

Challah. Yum!

and

Pecan turtles, made using the recipe Teri posted last week. Except I used Riesen candies instead of Rolos.

So easy, even I couldn't screw them up.

New Knitter

2006-12-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed all the wonderful comments you left in the post about my new knitting student. He arrived right on time and 30 minutes later he was knitting the first round of a hat. Seriously. I think he's some kind of knitting prodigy or something. He thanked me profusely for teaching him and told me after he finishes this first hat he'd like to learn how to knit Norwegian mittens. Yikes! Can you say "overachiever." Just my kind of knitter.

My son, however, was a bit miffed because he and his friend went to the HS basketball game that night and the needles and yarn accompanied them. Apparently, the knitting attracted the attention of several HS girls (in a good way) so I told my son to just relax and take advantage of the situation.

My holiday knitting is done, over, finis. I finish nearly everything months in advance, but I always seem to eek out one last hat or scarf at the last minute.

Pattern: a variation of pattern in a Sabrina Special booklet sent to me by Tine
Yarn: Knit Picks Suri Dream in the Blueberry colorway
Needle: 7mm Addi Turbo
Finished Size: 8" wide x 62" long (not bad for just one ball of yarn)

I'm hoping it's dry by morning:

Oh, and I have one last fun project I forgot to blog about when I finished it:

How cute is that! The pattern was in a German lace-knitting booklet that Kadri sent me.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and stay safe if you're travelling!

Music To My Ears

2006-12-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last week, one of DS-16's friends came to the house to hang out. He saw me knitting a pair of socks and asked the rhetorical question, "Do you knit?" Um, that would be a "yes."

To make a long story short, I was so enamoured with his seemingly genuine interest in the knitting that I offered to make him a hat in his high school colors. He's a member of the football team and immediately accepted the offer.

Pattern: Live Dangerously, Don't Swatch (96 sts)
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted
Needles: U.S. #8 (5mm)

I worked a tubular cast-off on this hat. Basically I knit the sides until they were just about long enough. Then I worked 4 rnds of 1x1 ribbing but on the last 2 rnds, I knit the knit stitches and just slipped the purl stitches with the yarn held in front. Next, I transferred the knit stitches to one circular needle and the purl stitches to a second circular needle. Then I Kitchenered them together using a very long tail. It makes a stretchy yet firm edge.

Last night, a second of DS's friend (also a football player) came over for latkes and brisket. The hat was perched on the styrofoam head awaiting photographic documentation.

I caught Friend #2 glancing repeatedly at the hat and he finally said, "Is that the hat you made for M? He told me about it."
"Yes," I said, "do you want me to make one for you, too?"
He paused for a minute and then said, "Well, if you teach me how to knit, I can make one for myself."

He's coming over tonight for lesson #1.

Teenage boys! You gotta love 'em!

Down To The Wire

2006-12-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night is the first night of Hanukkah and I'm scrambling to finish up a couple of projects.

The first is a Bejeweled Scarf I'm knitting from the yarn left over from the Sienna Cardigan I made for my daughter.

Next, I've been busily making batch after batch of Peppermint Bark to bring to a party on Saturday night.

This is my favorite holiday treat to make because (1) it's easy, (2) everyone loves it, and (3) I hate both white chocolate and mint in candy so I'm not tempted to eat any myself.

Finally, a sure-fire sign the holidays are closing in . . . I opened my first present--a pair of hand-knit socks sent to me by Tine:

Are they fabulous or what! She dyed the merino yarn herself.
I wore them to work today and they're perfect for the ice box they call my office. Thanks again, Tine! My feet were toasty warm all day.

Blame Marcia

2006-12-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

The clever among you correctly guessed that my new wheel is a Kromski Sonata. Because I already own a perfectly nice wheel, I had no intention of purchasing a second until Marcia put the idea of a folding, travel wheel in my head. Then she had the nerve to entice me with the at-that-time-still-unavailable Sonata. So, I did what any fiber-lovin' soul would do, I ordered one sight unseen. It arrived last week.

I love it.

OK, so it's not quite a nice as my Schacht, but then again it was only half the price.

The best feature, besides the incredibly easy way it folds up, is that it treadles great. You can start the wheel rotating from a complete stop without a bit of effort.

And it seems to spin and ply great. I've managed to spin both a DK weight and, just for grins, a 2-ply that's more like thread than yarn.

No problems at all.

Aaaah, Silk

2006-12-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

What's a new wheel without some new fiber to go along with it.

Click on the photo for a really big close-up.

Mmmmmmm . . . hand-dyed, 100% Tussah silk roving.

But you can stop coveting mine and go buy some for yourself. Spinderella (a/k/a Lynn Snell), fiber artist extraordinare, just updated her online store. And she's selling this gorgeous silk roving at an unbelievably cheap introductory price.

But hurry, because like all one-of-a-kind treasures, when it's gone, it's gone.

Sidetracked

2006-12-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

The arrival of this:

Derailed my plans to make more of these:

But, if you live in Germany, watch your mailbox. It might soon contain a package with some new stitch markers.
I'm just sayin'.

Live Dangerously

2006-12-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Last year, I posted a series of instructions on how to knit a top-down hat and avoid the "dreaded" gauge swatch. I receive several emails a month asking for the pattern, which can be found in the November 2005 archives of my blog. The instructions begin on Nov. 21st and end on Nov. 25th.

For those of you who prefer a more polished, 2-page pattern that you can easily print out, I've created a PDF file with photos and complete instructions. The hat is knit from the top-down, so you can closely control the finished size and tailor it to the size of the recipient's head. The "Directions" section of the pattern describes how to determine the number of stitches for each hat based on the circumference of the recipient's head.

Because you can use any yarn (approx. 140-200 yds) together with the appropriate needles, it's a great pattern for handspun yarn or most single, 100g skeins.

You can purchase the PDF version for $3.00 by clicking on the photo below and using your PayPal account to pay.

The pattern is 2 pages long. Once you have completed the payment process, you will automatically receive an email containing instructions on how to download the pattern. These instructions will be sent to the primary email address tied to your PayPal account so please check that email account. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. If you do not have the reader, you can download it here

Moving Right Along

2006-12-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed the dearth of FOs on this blog recently. Trust me, I've been knitting. It's just not anything I can show right now. But Friday was a watershed for me. I finished the two new sock designs for Knit Picks and mailed them off. Bye bye.

Between those and the two sock designs I did for Vogue and mailed off in November, I'm a little sick of knitting socks. Especially ones I can't keep.

So, this weekend I turned my attention to some of my Lonesome Skeins.

This hat is a Christmas gift for one of DD's friends. The colors are not something I'd wear, but she's convinced her friend will love it. The yarn, BTW, is Cotton Kureyon (70% cotton, 30% wool); long discontinued. I have 8 more skeins in my stash but this was the only one in this colorway. I can't even remember now what possessed me to purchase such a bright, crazy color. I must have intended to use it for some toddler stuff when my kids were little.

The pattern is a slight variation of this Noro hat pattern. I cast on 88 stitches instead of the 99 called for in the pattern and altered the decreases at the top. I made several of these hats last year and it's one of my favorite patterns. With the change I've made to the number of stitches, I can easily make the hat from just one skein of Kureyon or Silk Garden.

I've got two more weekend FOs to show, but I think I'll save them up for the rest of this weeks' posts.

Lather Up

2006-11-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Several people asked for a pattern to make the soap socks I posted about on Sunday. I can't really give you a "pattern" since the size of the soap sock depends entirely on the size of the bar of soap you'd like to cover. But I can tell you generally how to make one.

I used "Golfo" yarn, which is long-ago discontinued, worsted-weight cotton:

This yarn is nearly identical to Tahki Cotton Classic, so that would be a good subsitute.

For needles, I used 4.25mm (U.S. #6) Clover bamboo double-points.

Loosely cast on an even number of stitches and divide them over 3 or 4 dpns. The number of stitches you cast on will, quite obviously, determine the finished size of the soap sock. I suggest starting with anywhere from 24-30 stitches, depending on the size of the bar of soap. The finished soap sock should fit tightly over the soap so keep that in mind. But make sure to use a stretchy cast on or you won't get the soap into the sock. I used a double-start cast on.

Join into the round and don't even think about twisting those stitches.
Purl 1 rnd.
Then work the following two pattern rounds until the sock is about an inch longer than the bar of soap:

Rnd 1: Knit.
Rnd 2: *yo, k2tog; repeat from * to end of rnd.

End by working Rnd 1 (the knit rnd). You want the sock long enough to accomodate the tie but not so long that there's a huge, unattractive blob of knitted fabric at the top. If necessary, err on the side of knitting it too short and just stretching it more when you put the soap inside.

Divide the stitches evenly onto two dpns and Kitchener the bottom closed.
Then make a crochet chain long enough to thread through the eyelets at the top.

Insert the soap and add the tie.
Any questions? Or maybe I shouldn't ask that.

Holiday Knitting

2006-11-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

OK, so raise your hand if you spent the day after Thanksgiving at a Black Friday sale.
Anyone?
Fortunately, I was at work instead of the mall on Friday. And there are no worries here because the bulk of my holiday shopping is finished. Yes, really. That left me some free time to work on my contribution to the prize kitty for the Knit Unto Others effort.

Laurie and I have teamed up this year--she's donating 6 bars of her fabulous handmade soap and I'm making 3 hand-knit soap socks to go with them. See, I have two finished already:

Just think, if you spend your time the next two weeks knitting for others, you have a chance to win a gift all ready to give to a friend or neighbor and Laurie and I have done all the work for you!

So head over to the Knit Unto Others blog and sign up.

If you're looking for a worthy cause to knit for, the Red Scarf Project is one of my favorites.

You can get more information by clicking on the photo above or by visiting the Orphan Foundation of America web site.

And if you really don't have time to knit for others during this hectic month, consider giving up a week of overpriced coffee drinks and using the money you save to make a donation to Heifer International. Wendy has set up a registry again this year and she's offering some wonderful prizes. For every $10.00 you donate to Heifer, you get one "ticket" in Wendy's raffle.I've donated one of my knitting patterns and all the yarn necessary to make the project. That prize will be given away on December 5th. Wendy has donated a Canon Rebel Digital SLR camera.
Now there's an incentive, huh!

Tuesday Prepositions

2006-11-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Around the bobbin:

Some lovely, snow white roving that I bought on Saturday during a quick trip to Three Wishes with Margene. It's a mix of wool, silk, and Angelina. The photo's not great, but I think you can see the sparkle from the Angelina. This stuff has been fun to spin but I'm not sure when I'll get around to plying it.

Margene bought a cute orifice hook and I began to regret passing them up as soon as I got home. So I made my own. A gold star to anyone who can guess what I used:

On the needles:

Another new sock design for Knit Picks. This one combines their Memories sock yarn with their Bare yarn which was formerly called "Dye Your Own." They sent me some Jacquard dye in the Chestnut color to dye the Bare and I was duly impressed with the dye. The color is incredibly even and the dye bath exhausted fully in less than 30 minutes.

Off the needles:

Another Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl.

This one was knit from some ancient novelty yarn I had in my stash--Filatura Di Crosa Annabella. The yarn was a mix of rayon, cotton, and nylon. It was one of those ridiculously overpriced but lovely novelty yarns that calls out to be purchased but then never lends itself to an appropriate project. The whole shawl was knit from only two skeins, which is less than 250 yards. It measured 52 inches across the wingspan and 28 inches down the center back. I used a very large needle; a U.S. #10 (6mm). The inspiration came from Rachel's Forest Canopy shawl which she knit from just one skein of Twizzle.

No Surprise Here

2006-11-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.
The West
The Midland
North Central
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The Inland North
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Twenty Years In The Making

2006-11-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Sienna Cardigan by Ann E. Smith
Pattern Source: Interweave Knits, Fall 06
Yarn: Vintage Schoeller Esslinger "One Day"
Yarn Source: German eBay, many years ago when one dollar was worth more than one Euro
Pattern Adjustments: The pattern had several minor errors which I documented here. There were also several little nits that you will recognize immediately when you come to them. (Added later: I also changed the collar slightly. I'll write out the changes if anyone is interested.)
Recipient: DD-13
Time to Knit: 20 years. Well, not really. But this is the first long-sleeve, adult-size sweater I've completed in about 20 years.
Long time in the making, huh.

A Thousand Words

2006-11-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping for some truth in the cookie:

Approaching The Finish Line

2006-11-09T17:16:00.001-07:00

The second sleeve of the Sienna Cardi was finished in an evening; clearly a more respectable achievement than the week it took to knit the first:

Now comes the least enjoyable part--blocking and seaming.

I'm hoping it's in wearable condition when DD returns from a weekend softball tournament.

Lombard Street

Lorraine sent me a photo of a pair of Lombard Street Socks she knit from Lorna's Laces Shepard sock yarn in the Argyle colorway.

She adjusted the pattern a bit to make them wider.
They're gorgeous, Lorraine. Thanks for sharing!

Forest Canopy

Several people have asked about purchasing copies of the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern by a method other than PayPal. The pattern is now available from Mary Moran at The Knitting Zone. If you can't purchase the pattern directly from me because you don't have a PayPal account, Mary accepts all major credit cards and the pattern can be downloaded right after you pay.

One Down

2006-11-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Despite my best intentions, knitting on the Sienna Cardigan is at a virtual standstill. I did manage to finish one sleeve and cast on for the second.

But one sleeve in one week is not too impressive.

I wrote to Interweave about the errors in the pattern and received a very fast response. Last time I checked, however, the corrections had not been posted to the Interweave site. So, here they are:

Left Front:
Under the section titled "Shape neck and armhole," Row 9 reads: "K2, k2tog, knit to last 4 sts, p1, k1, k2tog, p1, k1"
Obviously, if you knit to the last 4 stitches, there will not be sufficient stitches to work a p1, k1, k2og, p1, k1
Accordingly, that sentence should read: "K2, k2tog, knit to last 4 sts, k2tog, p1, k1"

Right Front:
The decreases at the neck edge for the Right Front are created by working "K1, p1, k2tog." This results in a line of decreases at the neck edge that slants to the right as you look at the RS of the piece. To be a mirror image of the Left Front, however, the decreases for the Right Front neck edge should be worked as SSKs (not k2tog) so they slant to the left. The two sides are noticeably different and, IMHO, this difference significantly detracts from the look of the finished sweater.

Interweave told me they did not believe this was a pattern error because the photographs clearly show that the sample was knit without mirrored decreases on the two fronts. Well, whether it's a design element or not, I think the sweater looks far more polished with mirrored decreases. If you agree, it's up to you to decide whether the decreases should both slant toward the button bands or away. I reknit the left front of my sweater so they slant away from the buttons bands.

November Calendar

Deb is having a contest. All you need to do to enter, is take a photo of your November calendar page, post it on your blog, and then leave Deb a comment on this post with a link to your post.

Here's a photo of the November page of my calendar.

This calendar was gifted to me last year by Jane (who is an amazing photographer) and each month there is a new photograph chosen from among those she posted on her blog last year. This calendar has been an absolute joy to look at every day. How sad that it's almost December.

Sunday Evening Prepositions

2006-11-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

Beneath my foot:

Leaves . . . lots of them. *sigh*

From the wheel:

This is the last of the top that Margene dyed at the GBFAF last September. It's about 120 yards of sport weight. This may be destined for another pair of Fetching gloves. We'll see.

Through the mail, and into my waiting arms:

A skein of lace-weight merino, hand dyed by Lu and available at her Etsy shop. Yum!

On the needles:

A new sock design. I know this sounds obnoxious, but I really like it.

I voted last Thursday because the county clerk had new electronic machines set up last week for anyone who wanted to vote early.
Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Arctic Lace

2006-11-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

As promised, Donna Druchunas is here today, answering your questions about her latest book, Arctic Lace.

Hi Susan, thanks for giving me the opportunity to answer questions for your readers!

From Birdsong:
I have always wanted to know what the advantages are (besides the way the stuff feels), as qiviut is so expensive... also how is it to spin? These are two pretty simple questions, so feel free to spice them up.

Qiviut is usually said to be 8 times warmer than wool, although I was not able to track down any scientific study that determined this. I know from wearing it, however, that it is much warmer than wool and alpaca, so it works up into very lightweight, very warm garments. That, combined with the softness, is the main advantage of the fiber. Of course, there's always the "coolness factor," that leads to trends in fashion and knitting. I haven't spun any nicely prepared qiviut. I did buy some raw qiviut and spun a little bit on a drop spindle. It was time consuming to pick out the guard hair and debris, but the fiber required no other cleaning. It has no grease and I had no trouble spinning it. It reminded me of merino, although it does not have a defined crimp. If you are interested in spinning qiviut, I suggest you look up the articles in these Spin Off back issues:

Spring 1983
Fall 1987
Summer 1993

From Sue Nevling:
I would like to ask Donna how she got interested in knitting with qiviut and interested in Arctic culture and patterns.

I read a couple of articles about the Ooomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative in Piecework (Jan/Feb 1996) and Inuit Art Quarterly (Spring 1996) magazines. As often happens with knitters, I became obsessed with learning more about the women in the co-op and about the qiviut fiber that they knit with. I started reading more and more on the subject, and finally decided I had better write about it or I had no excuse for doing more research. At first, I did not want to write this book. For two main reasons: 1) I am white and 2) I do not live in Alaska. I have seen so many bad reviews of books that white authors have written about Native Americans and that Outsiders have written about Alaska, that I was very nervous about writing the book. I had the privilege of meeting mystery writer Margaret Coel at a writing class, and she told me I should be very careful in my research but that I should not be afraid to write about people who were different than me. Margaret is the author of a very popular mystery series with Navajo characters. So I took her advice, and decided I would write this book. So far, it has been very well received in Alaska by both the knitting and Native Alaskan communities.

From Nancy Griswold:
In May my husband and I took a cruise to Alaska, and I bought 2 skeins of qiviut in a great yarn shop in Ketchican. I haven't knitted it up yet. I'm a little bit afraid to. I would like to make 2 scarves with it, and I'm not sure what pattern(s) would be best. Maybe Donna could suggest what type of lace patterns would be best for qiviut scarves. I would also like to know about general care of qiviut articles. This will be the most expensive, luxurious yarn I have ever bought, and I don't want to screw it up.

My first suggestion is that you swatch first using a heavier yarn and larger needles. I use worsted weight on size 7s or sport weight on size 5s when I am trying to learn a new lace pattern. That will give you experience and confidence before you switch to your expensive yarn. You will also make mistakes on your swatch instead of on your scarf. If you've never knitted with laceweight yarn before, you can also make one scarf first in a less expensive lace weight yarn. There are many mid to low priced laceweight yarns available today. I suggest you take your qiviut to the store with you and look for something that has about the same girth. That way your practice scarf will be very close to your qiviut scarf in gauge and the knitting experience will be similar.

A good size outdoor scarf takes 300-400 yards of yarn. A thinner or shorter indoor scarf can be made with 200-250 yards. If you know how many yards you have, that's one thing. If not, I suggest choosing a lace pattern with a small repeat so you can knit until you are almost out of yarn and then bind off. If you are working with a pattern that has a very large repeat, you may get 2/3 or 3/4 through a repeat and decide that you don't have enough yarn to finish. That would be frustrating!

In general, I like lace patterns with stockinette stitch backgrounds for qiviut. I also like patterns that have some large solid areas. When you wash and block the qiviut, it blooms and the solid areas fill in with a fluffy halo while the yarn overs open up, making the pattern show up much more than it does while you are knitting. The drape of blocked qiviut is very similar to suri merino, but there's nothing that compares to the bloom.

I did make one project with a garter stitch background in Arctic Lace because I wanted to knit a flat piece and twist it into a moebius, so I needed to have a reversible fabric. Overall, however, the types of lace patterns I designed, and the patterns of the Oomingmak Co-op, show up better on a stockinette stitch background.

From Wendy:
I'd be interested in knowing what prompted Donna to undertake the Arctic Lace project -- does she have and roots or connection to Arctic knitting?

No, I have no roots or connection to Alaska. As I mentioned above, I just became obsessed with the subject. I wanted to learn more, and I had to read 100 different books and travel to Alaska to satisfy my own curiosity. So, basically, I wrote the book I wanted to read.

Now that I've been to Alaska twice, however, I feel that I do have roots there. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly! I hope I can continue to go back every year or so to explore more. Alaska, perhaps because of the cold climate, has a huge fiber arts community and you can discover knitting and textiles everywhere you go. When I was at a gas station en route from Anchorage to Fairbanks, I even found a really beautiful and incredibly warm headband knitted out of a blend of wool and dog hair. I found a collection of WHAT BY WHOM in a gift shop at the Hotel Captain Cook. I found Orenburg shawls and Peruvian knitted bolsas (purses) and dolls at a tourist shop on a side street in Anchorage. Alaska, by the way, is the only state to have an official Yarn Council. Started this year, it was the organization that put together the Yarn Expo event I attended in October. You can read more about that on my travel blog and in this article on Knitter's Review.

From Kate in MA:
I L-O-V-E the lace in this book and hope that the patterns become as popular/well-known as Nancy Bush's Estonian lace, Starmore's Aran/Celtic patterns or Galina's Orenberg shawls. Recording the patterns and their history for future generations of knitters is so important because so much gets lost in the mists of time. Knitting designs appear to evolve within different groups into a "language" that can be easily identified to the part of the world from which it came.

Thank you. Yes, it is so interesting to see how the same few stitches can be used to create lace patterns with such different personalities. Once you read about lace patterns from different countries and examine some swatches or photos, you can identify where lace patterns were born.

Because I cannot afford to knit qiviut for family or friends due to its price, I would really like to hear what Donna would suggest for yarn substitutes. Also, does she have any other tips/suggestions that she has learned from the knitters that is not common knowledge in the knitting community? Will she be offering workshops around the country? What did she gain on a spiritual/emotional level from this experience? How has her connection to these people and their traditions affected her life? Will she be doing another book...Arctic Lace part 2?

Right now I have no plans to do an Arctic Lace 2. I may do another lace book and I am also going to be doing some research into Lithuanian knitting next year. I am waiting to receive a package of hand knitted items and photos from Lithuania, and in July, I will be going there for a few weeks for a visit and research. I am Lithuanian so I hope there's enough interesting knitting going on there to write a book about that!

I will be teaching at the Mile High Lace Knitting Conference in Denver next April, and I have been doing some teaching around the country. I'm not a full-time teacher, however. I work full time as a writer and editor, so I can't spend too much time on the road (plus I hate to travel). That said, if there's an event or a shop near you where you'd like to see me teach, let me know and I'll see if I can work it into my schedule next year.

From Betsy Brazy:
Can the Co-op fix natchaqs? I've got a snag & cut in mine. Mine is a star pattern that I got in 2001 -- no longer on the website.

I've forwarded your question on to the co-op (www.qiviut.com) and received this answer:

"Yes, we do repair. It is very time consuming work, and we can only quote a charge after we see the item. The Star Nachaq still exists, but we do not receive enough of them to be able to reliably offer them on the website. So if the person would send us the nachaq in need of repair to Oomingmak, 604 H Street, Anchorage, AK 99501, making sure she includes a name, address and phone number and email address, we will get back to her with an estimate of the cost of repair. The repairs are done in between other duties, and done in the order they are received, so it is hard to estimate how long it would be before the item would be fixed and returned once we are given the ok to go ahead and repair."

The women who work in the shop are also expert knitters. Once in a while an item knit by a co-op member comes in with an error or a dropped stitch, and they fix it before blocking the item. Since they are very familiar with all of the lace patterns, this makes repair easier than working on a new, unfamiliar pattern.

From Charity:
Looking forward to the blog tour visit! I notice that everything I've seen from the book is knit from Qiviut or a blend, this is a silly question, I'm sure, but why is that? Do they typically use mostly this particular fibre? Is is substitutable with other fibres? If these questions are too completely novice to tolerate, just ignore me!

Hi Charity, these are good questions. The reason I used qiviut is that the Oomingmak Co-op uses qiviut for all of their products. The original idea for a cottage industry to help Native Alaskan women make money came from John Teal, a Vermonter who wanted to domesticate the musk ox and to find a way to use their fur for commercial textile production. During the early days of experimentation, several women worked with Teal to decide what kind of yarn to use and what types of products to create. The plan was always to use musk ox wool, because the musk ox are native to Alaska and they wanted to have a uniquely Alaskan product. They tried weaving first, but decided that looms were too expensive and heavy to provide to the Native Alaskan women who would be creating the products in remote areas accessible only by plane, dogsled, or boat. In addition, many of the the Yup'ik and Inupiat people still live a semi-nomadic lifestyle. That is, they travel to different places at different times of year to fish, hunt, and pick berries. Although they now live in modern houses in their villages during the winter months, seasonal travel to fish camp and other places to gather food is still very important. Knitting is one of the few fiber arts that uses tools and supplies that are completely portable.

From Susie:
I have a single skein of qiviut to knit into a scarf and I'm looking for a really, really simple lace pattern to knit with it. I absolutely love the qiviut and would also like to know where to purchase more.

I have one beginner scarf pattern in Arctic Lace: the Fish Trap Scarf on page 125, that has a simple diagonal line design. I also have a very, very easy neck gaiter on page 152. It is knitted in the round in a ribbing pattern. Either of these are great for first-time lace knitters. You can also make a scarf using any easy lace pattern. One popular and classic design is called "Feather and Fan". This pattern has several variations, so make sure you look for the design where the yarn overs and decreases are on the same row. The other versions, where you make yarn overs on one row, and make decreases on later rows, is more confusing for a new lace knitter.

I also have some very easy lace ribbing and eyelet stitches in Arctic Lace on pages 160 to 163. Any of these could be made into a scarf using the recipe on page 172. If you have other stitch libraries, look for lace patterns that have plain wrong-side rows, and have small repeats. Practice first on heavier wool yarn with larger needles. After you learn the stitch, then make a swatch with the lace yarn to get used to working with the fine yarn and smaller needles.

From Heather:
I don't have a specific question, but I would like to learn more about the women who belong to the Co-op.

A large portion of the book is about the women who belong to (and own) the Co-op. They are Yup'ik and Inupiat Eskimo women. Most of them live in rural villages around the state, but a few have moved into Anchorage or other cities. Although they are all Native Alaskan women, their experiences are all unique. Some grew up in traditional sod houses and ate only Native food gathered from the land. Others grew up in modern homes and never even saw traditional igloos (the word means "house" in Inupiat and does not refer to an ice igloo) until they went to school. Some of the women have college degrees and have worked as teachers or in other professions at times during their lives.

Here's a bit of what I have to say about the knitters from the book:

"Most of the knitters in the co-op are from the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta area. Knitting comes naturally to the women of this region because they have experience as artisans that is centuries old. Even before the arrival of the Russians in Alaska, Yup’ik and Inupiat women were highly skilled seamstresses and artists. They used their talents to sew fur clothing to protect their families from the elements in the winter, and to weave baskets and socks from grasses that grew in the region. Today,the women of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are known as the finest basket weavers in Alaska. "Knitters join the co-op for many different reasons. High-school and college students may need spare change to blow on weekends with their friends. Wives and mothers may want to supplement their household income or purchase specific items, such as fishing boats or new stoves. For many of the women, knitting is a goal-oriented project. They need enough money for a boat, and knit until they have enough to make the purchase. Then they take a break from knitting as they focus on other areas of their lives."

In addition, the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta is an area with very few jobs, which is why there are so many knitters there. When other jobs areavailable, most women will take the higher paying work instead of knitting.

I'd like to thank Donna profusely for taking the time to answer every question that was posed to her and for sharing this wonderful information through her book.

Go Ahead, Make My Day

2006-11-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days that starts out crappy and gets progressively worse?

I was on track to have a day just like that until I arrived home and found a large box sitting on my porch. Turns out, it was from Stephanie, who revealed herself in the enclosed note as my pal in the International Scarf Exchange.

First, the scarf:

It's a gorgeous lace scarf knit from KidSilk Haze in a color that I like to claim as my own. Stephanie says my scarf was her first attempt at lace but I'm having a hard time believing that. Really, look how wonderful it is:

And if the fantastic scarf wasn't enough, the box was packed full of goodies.

If you click on the photo and then move your mouse over the photo that opens up in the new window, you can read a description of each item. But this goodie deserved a photo of its own:

Okay, Stephanie, you said you trolled my blog to learn more about me but I don't ever remember mentioning the little germaphobia non-problem. Who tipped you off???

Thanks so much for a beyond-wonderful package.

Sunday Evening Prepositions

2006-10-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

On the needles:

The Sienna Cardigan from the Fall 06 issue of Interweave Knits. I still have the sleeves to knit but I've found two errors and one inconsistency in the pattern. I'll post a summary of the errors later this week.

From the wheel:

I finished plying the sparking singles I spun from Spinerella's thrums. Love the sparkle:

I'm thinking this would be wonderful knit into a teddy bear or other toy. Anyone know of a good pattern?

Over on the DeStash Blog:

More yarn that needs a good home. Maybe your home??

In Which I Reveal A Surprise

2006-10-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

I don't know how many of you have seen and/or purchased a copy of Donna Druchunas's new book, Arctic Lace. It's not just an amazing book of patterns; it's also an account of the Oomingmak Knitter’s Co-op and includes information on qiviut fiber and yarn. Donna has embarked on a blog book tour and she'll "be" here next Friday.

I thought it would be fun to send Donna some questions about Arctic lace knitting and the process of researching and writing her book. If anyone has a question for Donna, please email me or leave your question in the comments. I'll send all the questions to Donna in the next couple days to give her time to prepare answers by next Friday. The book is really fascinating so don't pass up your chance to ask Donna about Arctic lace and knitting with qiviut.

More DeStashing

Emboldened by the success of selling the yarn I recently listed on the DeStash blog, I'm plowing ahead with some more offerings. I just I listed my copy of Knitting With Beads by Jane Davis. Click on the photo if you want to buy it for $12.50

Knit Faster

2006-10-25T06:17:00.000-06:00

The view from my porch last night:

Now where did I put that scarf and those gloves??

In Which I Describe How I Knit Fetching Pair #2

2006-10-24T17:34:00.000-06:00

Here's my second pair of Fetching fingerless mitts:

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: one skein, Queensland Collection Kathmandu (merino, silk, & cashmere)
Needles: 4mm double points
Pattern Alterations: I began knitting this pair on the 45 stitches called for in the pattern and immediately realized the gloves would be waaaaay too big. So I frogged and restarted with just 35 stitches. Perfect. I knit the cuff for 18 rounds, the same as the pattern suggests, but I set up the thumb opening by knitting only 5 stitches onto the waste yarn. Like I did with my first, 45-stitch pair, I centered the thumb over the 4x1 ribbing cuff by knitting the first two stitches of the left glove, inserting the waste yarn, and then completing the round. For the right glove, I inserted the waste yarn at the end of the round, but again I centered it over the 4x1 rib. After placing the waste yarn, I worked 6 rounds in the 4x1 rib, worked a cable, knit 5 rounds in 4x1 rib, worked a second cable, knit 3 rounds in 4x1 rib, then bound off all stitches in purl. For the thumb, I picked up 4 stitches above, 5 below, and 3 at each side. I knit the thumb for 8 rounds and then bound off in purl.

I adore this second pair and have been wearing them almost nonstop. The yarn is soft and warm and very fluffy. Does anyone know if it's exactly the same yarn as Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, 'cause it sure seems like the same yarn.

More Finished Forest Canopy Shawls

The owner of my LYS, Suzette, finished her Forest Canopy Shawl quite a few weeks ago but I never uploaded a photo. Here it is:

She used Zephyr yarn in a beautiful apricot colorway. I love the lace-weight version.

Donna sent me a photo of her completed shawl:

She used her own handspun; some of the first she's ever spun! Awesome.

And Eileen (one of my SnB grrls) finished her shawl too. She's got photos on her blog. It's gorgeous in person; the Wool in the Woods yarn was a wonderful choice.

Biting The Bullet

2006-10-22T18:57:00.000-06:00

It's official. I put a few felting yarns up for sale on the DeStash blog.

Click on the photos to go to the listings

Saturday Prepositions

2006-10-21T11:43:00.000-06:00

In the sky:

Today's sky is filled with sunshine and small, wispy clouds. And, yes, the sky really is that brilliant blue color. It's literally, the perfect day. This photo was taken while I waited for my daughter to finish up at softball practice.

Off the needles:

My second pair of Fetching gloves. These were knit from one skein of Kathmandu yarn. Details to follow.

On the needles:

A secret project that is causing me much heartburn at the moment. *sigh*

Into the mailbox:

I finally mailed the Wavy Feathers Wimple I made off to my pal in the International Scarf Exchange. Hope she likes it.

In Which I Thank You And Describe How I Altered Fetching

2006-10-19T19:21:00.000-06:00

First, thanks to everyone who left a comment for Blogless Val. Seriously, I really appreciate that you took the time to help me bring my little scheme to fruition. I’m not sure whether Val can actually respond to the comments or whether they are delivered to Margene’s email account, but I’m sure she was appreciative of every one . . . and surprised. Last time I checked there were over 148 comments (wow!). I would say Val is entitled to something extra special from Rhinebeck! And don’t forget to check out today’s post from guest blogger #2, Karen.

Second, as promised, here are my first pair of Fetching fingerless gloves:

Sorry for the crappy photo. The one in Monday's post is much better.

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Classic Elite Wings (yellow, overdyed by me with Brilliant Blue ProChem dye)
Needles: 3.5mm double points
Pattern Alterations: These notes won’t make much sense unless you have the original pattern in front of you.

I didn’t like the fabric I was getting with the 4mm needles called for in the pattern, so I went down two needle sizes to a 3.5mm (U.S. #4).

The yarn I used, Classic Elite Wings, had a bit more yardage than the yarn called for in the pattern so even though I have very small hands, I decided to make the gloves just a bit longer since I read that other knitters have found they are somewhat short in the cuff. After I completed the last cable of the cuff, I knit the ribbing for 21 rounds instead of 18.

I loved that the cables for the left and right gloves were crossed in the opposite direction, but I didn’t like that the thumb was not centered over the 4x1 ribbing. I didn’t realize that until I had completed the first glove (which is the left glove). So when I knit the right glove, I inserted the waste yarn for the thumb near the end of the round instead of at the beginning. Specifically, on that round I worked 37 stitches in the 4x1 ribbing, inserted the waste yarn into the next 7 sts, then purled that last stitch. This resulted in the thumbs of the two gloves being mirror images. See:

As an added bonus, the change I made to the thumbs also resulted in the end of the round being positioned on the palm side of both gloves which means it is less noticeable

After I placed the waste yarn for the thumb, I worked 6 rounds of 4x1 ribbing, worked the cable, then worked the thumb. Because I completed the thumb first and had already split the single skein of yarn into two smaller skeins, I just knit the hand until I ran out of yarn. I was able to work 6 rounds of 4x1 ribbing after the cable. I would have liked to make a second cable, but I didn't have enough yarn.

I abandoned the picot bind off and just bound off all the stitches in purl to prevent the top edge from rolling

When I worked the thumb, I picked up 3 sts in each corner instead of two, and knit the thumb for 8 rounds instead of 4. I picked up the corner stitches by lifting the stitch and knitting it through the back loop. This twists the stitch and minimizes holes. I bound the thumb stitches off in purl, too.

That’s about it. I think the pattern is a clever use of a single skein of yarn. I love the gloves and will probably make a few more pairs after I finish my current crisis knitting. I’m thinking Classic Elite Lush would be a nice substitute for the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran since it has a whopping 123 yards in each 50g skein but knits up at about the same gauge.

Tomorrow or Saturday I’ll show you the second pair I made and tell you how I altered the pattern just a bit more.

In Which I Ask A Favor Of You

2006-10-18T07:45:00.000-06:00

Many of those who read my blog, also read Margene's blog. This week, Margene has abandoned her blog while she searches for the proverbial Golden Fleece at Rhinebeck. But zen master that she is, she made arrangements for two other Ewe-tah knitters to guest blog while she's away. Their compensation is a fibery goodie from Rhinebeck. That's the background, now I'm about to ask for the favor.

I kinda, sorta, maybe goaded Margene a bit about how many comments her guest bloggers will receive on their posts. In the spirit of a good wager, Margene agreed that the more comments her guest bloggers receive, the better their fibery goodie. And I'm all about forcing Margene to pony up goodies. So, please, hop over to Margene's blog and leave a comment to today's post which was written by the incomparable, yet sadly blogless, Val. I might add that the post is truly wonderful and very inspiring.

And while I'm acting all nervy and everything, if anyone knows how to sew together the shoulders of a sweater worked in 2x2 ribbing, can you help Sibylle out. Don't let the German blog fool you, she speaks English too. Thanks!

As the quid pro quo for all your help today, I promise that tomorrow I'll describe in full detail how I altered the Fetching pattern, not once but twice. Promise.

Fetching

2006-10-16T22:00:00.000-06:00

I spent part of the weekend plying the sparkling roving and the rest working on my first project inspired by the Lonesome Skein Knitalong . **

Behold, the left half of a pair of Fetching fingerless gloves.

I'm using one skein of Classic Elite Wings yarn that I overdyed. I split the skein of yarn into two equal balls before I started knitting; one ball for each glove. Hopefully, my measurements were close. I figure I'll weave the ends in after the second glove is finished in case I have to make any adjustments; like take out a round of knitting at the top.

I didn't follow the pattern exactly (surprised?). And I have plans to alter it a bit more for the second glove in order to make them mirror images. I'll let you know how it works out.

Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawls

In the last week or so, I've received several emails from knitters who have finished their Forest Canopy Shawls . I've just been too damn lazy to post the links. But I have tried to visit everyone's blogs and leave a comment.

Elizabeth knit her shawl from Anne sock yarn and wore it to a wedding. Check her blog for a funny story.
Edna knit hers from Anne, too.
Kristie knit hers from Lorna's Laces yarn. Gorgeous.
Sharon used Mountain Colors Bearfoot. Great substitution.

***BTW, if you want to join the Lonesome Skein Knitalong , today (Monday) is the last day to sign up. So act fast.

Saturday Prepositions

2006-10-14T17:30:00.000-06:00

Above our heads:

Although it's brightened up considerably, this morning was grey and overcast. DD and her friend accompanied me to Silver Fork Lodge for a late breakfast. The three of us then took what will most likely be our last lap around Silver Lake before winter sets in.

Around the bobbin:

DH and DS were in New York the last few days on a pilgrimage. I took advantage of the evening quiet to spin up a bit of Spinderella's thrums for a baby sweater. I think the purple Angelina will be cute knit up.

Into the shopping bag:

What do you think? Ugly? Cute? Hard to say. I'm holding onto the receipt just in case I change my mind.

In Which I Think Too Much About Destashing

2006-10-12T19:56:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking some more about why I seem to have such an enormous stash and I think I've reached a unilateral consensus on the issue.

Although I am the child of Depression-era parents (who, to this day, have difficulty throwing away even the most useless things), I don’t stash yarn because I fear a ~~fiery~~ fibery Apocalypse or the arrival of a day when I won’t be able to afford to buy even a single skein of Red Heart Shetland Chunky from Smiley's.

[Random photo of my current mindless knitting project posing with my still-fabulous flowers.]

Instead, I’ve come to the conclusion that I stash yarn for two main reasons:

1. I love to shop but, at the same time, I hate to shop. In other words, I’m a browser. I absolutely, positively hate to go shopping when I need something. And, I’m basically indecisive by nature so I fear I would never knit anything if I bought yarn on a project-by-project basis. I would simply wander aimlessly from yarn shop to yarn shop, seized up with all the possibilities. Having a healthy stash eliminates the panic of finding myself projectless and thrown into the distasteful situation of actually needing to go to the yarn store.

2. I love yarn . . . all yarn. Well, okay, almost all yarn. Think about it. Every skein holds such promise. How will it look knit up? What will the colors look like in garter stitch, stockinette, double moss, felted? What needle is best for this fiber? I can't stop myself from endlessly pondering the possibilities hidden inside each luscious skein. This is the main reason why I still haven't listed any of the yarns I set aside on the DeStash blog. I just need a little more time to exorcise the demons.

That's my stashing story, and I'm sticking to it.

So, why do you stash yarn? Or not.

In Which I Reveal The Buttons I Chose For The Baby Sweater

2006-10-11T20:35:00.001-06:00

Thanks for all the helpful input on the buttons for the baby sweater. I was 5 minutes away from sewing on the plastic/leather, old-man buttons when I decided to look in my button box. And, of course, I found something I'm pretty sure I like better.

Cute or what? Even better, the parents of the as-yet-unborn child for whom I knit this sweater met while serving in the Peace Corps in Africa. Brilliant.

My favorite is the back panther which I think I'll put at the neck unless one of you talks me out of it.

And kudos to those of you who guessed that I spent part of my Columbus Day holiday preparing my stash for a major destash. Here's some of the stuff I'm contemplating moving out:

Somehow, it seems like more in person. The first to go will probably be some mohair and two skeins of orange Cotton Ease that someone might like for a quick Halloween costume or a scary deer hunting project.

For someone who doesn't particularly like mohair, I seem to have an ungodly amount of it in my stash. I guess I like the idea of mohair, I've just never been able to make friends with it. If you're looking for some nice 100% mohair and a mohair/wool blend (there's no nylon or acrylic in my mohair), check the DeStash blog either today or tomorrow.

And, can I make a quick observation about destashing. Why is it that I have very little interest in any particular yarn until I decide to get rid of it? Seriously, I have been staring at the bags of yarn and the books for three days now and I can't stop thinking about all the projects I could make from them. I keep removing skeins from the bags and coming dangerously close to casting on. What's up with that?

Progress

2006-10-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

The only thing better than having a day off work for a federal holiday, is when that day is not a school holiday. Aaah, how I love the deafening silence around here when the kids are at school. Not surprisingly, I made a bit of progress on a couple of knitterly projects. In fact, I actually finished something. Seriously, that is not a misprint.

Remember the baby sweater I botched a couple of weeks ago? It's finally off the needles:

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, but I just love this pattern which is called the Blossoms and Bowties Baby Cardigan. I think this is the fourth one I've knit. Instructions are given for bulky weight and worsted weight yarn and I've made the sweater with both types. I prefer the worsted weight but if you use bulky, you can easily knit the entire sweater in a weekend. Well, unless you totally screw it up like I did last month.

I changed the pattern a bit this time, working garter edges instead of the chevron cuffs and lower edge. See my double-start cast on at the bottom edge?? You gotta love that double-start cast on.

Tell me the truth; what do you think of the buttons?

They're plastic (nice plastic) covered with a thin layer of leather. Are they too old-mannish for a baby?? Seriously, do they scream "Grandpa"?

And what else did I do today? Well, here's a hint. It involved opening many, many Rubbermaid bins.

Saturday Prepositions

2006-10-07T19:03:00.000-06:00

In the sky:

The last bit of cloudiness after a night and day of rain.

On the kitchen table:

Click on the photos if you want really, really large versions.

I bought this fabulous bouquet of flowers at last night's Legal Aid Fundraiser. There was a different arrangement on each table and they were auctioned off to the highest bidder at the table. These were arranged by a local florist called Roots. Although I had never heard of this business until last night, their number went right into my address book. Seriously, this could be the most spectacular arrangement I've ever had at my house.

Around the bobbin:

Some roving I picked up this morning at Three Wishes. It's distributed by Kraemer Yarns and I believe it is fairly new because Kristine said she'd just received the shipment and I couldn't find any information about it on the Web, including on Kraemer's site. I can tell you what I think of it, though. It's OK. Personally, I don't like any of the Kraemer yarns. The colors are beautiful, but the yarn itself is kinda blah. Same is true of this roving. I'm spinning up a colorway called "Spice" and it's a beautiful, heathery mix of orange, red, and yellow. But the fibers themselves are somewhat short and coarse with little crimp so the singles are somewhat hairy. I don't think the finished yarn will be particularly soft or lofty. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this roving to a beginning spinner. It's been prepared nicely and drafts very, very easily.

Has anyone else used this??

Great Balls Of Fire Baby Hat

2006-10-03T18:05:00.000-06:00

Yarn: less than 50g of fingering weight wool (I used this handspun yarn)
Needles: 3.25mm circular needle (16”) and a set of 3.25mm double points

Using the circular needle, CO 96 sts using the stretchiest cast-on you know. I like the cast-on Nancy Bush calls the "double start."

Join into the round without twisting the stitches.

Begin working the ribbing pattern as follows:
*k1 tbl, p1; repeat from * to end of rnd

Continue working this ribbing pattern, round after round, until the sides of the hat are approximately 3.5 inches high, measured from the cast-on edge.

Begin decreasing as follows:
Rnd 1: *keeping in established rib pattern, work 14 sts, k2tog tbl (i.e., knit two sts together through the back loop): repeat from * to end of rnd
Rnd 2: *keeping in established rib pattern, work 13 sts, k2tog tbl; repeat from * to end of rnd
Rnd 3: *keeping in established rib pattern, work 12 sts, k2tog tbl; repeat from * to end of rnd

Continue in this manner, working one less st before the decrease until there are 12 sts on the needle. Change to double-pointed needles when necessary.

Last decrease round: *k2tog; repeat to end of rnd (6 sts)

Cut the yarn, thread it onto a tapestry needle, and draw the needle through the 6 remaining sts to close the hole at the top of the hat.

Weave in the two yarn ends.

Find a baby who needs a new hat.

Genetic Defect

2006-10-02T16:27:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I got word that a former co-worker is pregnant. After a brief search through my stash, I decided no particular yarn was calling out, "Baby gift, baby gift." So I decided to take matters into my own hands and spin up something more appropriate. I opened up the first of several bins holding my fiber stash and this immediately caught my eye:

Wouldn't it have caught your eye, too. I mean it's kinda bright, huh. It was actually dyed by Margene during the class we took from Kate at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair in early September. I shared my extremely dark, hand-dyed roving with her, and she shared her ~~retina-searing~~ richly dyed roving with me.

The goal here was to spin up a nice DK weight yarn and knit up a quick hat. If all went well, booties could follow since there's plenty of roving.

After plying up my two bobbins of singles, I came to the conclusion that I am genetically incapable of spinning anything heavier than fingering weight yarn. Instead of the 60 yards or so of DK weight that I was aiming for, I found myself with approximately 180 yards of fingering weight:

What do you think? Will the hat make the child look too much like a match head? On the other hand, I guess I could call the colorway, Don't Play With Matches.

Blind Squirrels

I have a friend whose favorite expression is, "Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes." The expression came to mind when I was browsing through the new issue of Knitter's Magazine today. I was surprised to find a wonderful sock pattern designed by Candice Eisner Strick:

Definitely worth the cover price of the magazine which is otherwise somewhat mediocre.

Saturday Prepositions

2006-09-30T13:01:00.000-06:00

In the sky:

A beautiful blue sky viewed from the football field of my son's school.
Not a bad view, huh?

From the dyepot:

A single skein of Classic Elite Wings yarn that began as a yucky yellow color. I submerged it in a dyebath created with some Brilliant Blue ProChem dye that I got from Kate. I love the color now:

This is destined for my first project in the Lonesome Skein Knitalong -- the Fetching gloves from Knitty.

Lonesome?

2006-09-28T13:18:00.000-06:00

Every year, around this time, I have traditionally posted a fairly lengthy list of holiday gifts that can be knit from 1-2 skeins of yarn in my sidebar. This list is apparently more popular than I anticipated because I typically receive emails beginning in August asking me when it will be available.

This year I’ve taken a different approach to helping you beat the stress of holiday knitting. Carole and I have created a knitalong that will hopefully provide incentive for you to complete your holiday and charity knitting and allow you to use up single skeins in your stash.

Behold:

The Lonesome Skein Knitalong

Don’t you just love Carole’s button!

If you have a house full of stash and a holiday gift list as long as your arm, join the knitalong by clicking on the photo above and completing the sign-up information. Guidelines and further information can be found on the group home page.

But hurry, because membership sign-ups end on October 16th!

Something In The Air

2006-09-26T05:50:00.000-06:00

Teri mentioned at Stitch 'N Bitch last week that her husband had recently asked her to knit him a sweater. She was floored because he's never requested anything before. In a similarly strange turn of events, DH, who ~~barely~~ happily tolerates all my knitting and yarn-buying adventures but rarely asks for anything, made a "request" on Sunday for a pair of fingerless gloves. Oh, and could he have them by Friday, please.

What gives? Is there something in the air spawning many manly requests for hand-knit goodies?

So, what's a grrl to do? Drop everything, of course, and tend to the crisis knitting. I still need to weave in the ends (oh, the ends!) but I hope to get that completed at Stitch 'N Bitch tonight:

I used bits and pieces of instructions in Ann Budd's, Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, those patterns are waaaaaay oversized. I adore the book, but I think there's a bit too much ease worked into the numbers. I knit these gloves using the instructions for an 8-year-old and they fit DH, well . . . like a glove.

More Finished Shawls

Teri, Birdsong, and Heidi have all finished their Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawls. Way to go, grrls!!

Huh??

2006-09-24T19:08:00.000-06:00

Okay, which one of you got to my blog by Googling:

what color candle runs out fastest

Wednesday's Sky on Saturday

2006-09-23T19:19:00.000-06:00

OK, this photo was taken on Wedneday, not Saturday, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it with you. I actually went back to the house for the camera when I saw this at the top of my street.

Compare it to this photo of last Saturday's sky taken from nearly the same spot:

Crazy weather.

Patons SWS

Several people left comments and questions in my post about the little felted bag I made from the Patons SWS yarn.

Ansley said she used the yarn for some non-felted slippers and it pilled a lot.

Tensy asked if the little "bobbles" that show in the felted fabric are bits of soy that didn't felt. That would be my guess. As far as I know, 100% soy doesn't felt.

Gail wondered how soy yarn is made. Sorry, Gail, I have no idea. Maybe someone else knows.

Mary and Patt both asked where I got the pattern for the bag. As usual, this wasn't knit from a pattern; just off the top of my head. But I might make another one and keep better notes.

Success!

2006-09-21T16:30:00.000-06:00

Not only did the Patons SWS yarn felt, it felted like crazy!

And look at how fabulous the felted fabric looks with all its cute, little swirls:

The yarn itself is very dense and, accordingly, the finished fabric is also very dense. I will surely be using this in the future for more felting projects.

Has anyone used it for a non-felted project? As I knit with it, the yarn developed a definite halo and I wonder if a non-felted item pills when worn.
Any experience with that?

Kids, Don't Try This At Home

2006-09-20T18:18:00.000-06:00

While perusing the shelves at Michaels, searching for a pair of scissors to replace the innumerable pairs I have lost in the last month, my eye wandered to the Wall 'o Yarn. There, among the fun fur and acrylic/nylon blends, was a bin filled with skeins of beautiful-looking yarn in fantastic colorways. Further investigation was in order.

I plucked one from the bin and checked the fiber content--70% wool and 30% soy.
Hmmmm . . . Must.try.the.new.Patons.SWS.yarn.

I brought the skein to Stitch ' Bitch last night and cast on for a small felted bag. I only had the one skein (110 yards) so it worked up quickly.

See that teeny, tiny, bit of yarn? That's all I had left. Talk about cutting it close. I couldn't have planned that if I tried.

It's in the washing maching, felting, as I type. It's pretty loosely spun so if it felts at all (crossing fingers) it should happen fairly quickly. Hopefully I'll have something fun to show tomorrow.

Random Sunday

2006-09-17T18:33:00.000-06:00

The weather has improved somewhat after yesterday’s snow. Here’s the second photo I took yesterday. This one is from the front of my house looking West (the opposite direction from yesterday’s photo).

Depressed by the sudden onslaught of winter, DH and I took a ride up to Ogden in the afternoon. I finished the wimple in the car on the way back.

FYI, the pattern called for 300 yards of lace weight yarn or 200 yards of fingering weight yarn. I used Rowanspun 4-ply and followed the instructions for the lace-weight version. I used about 2.5 skeins; each has 160 yards. So that’s about 400 yards.

I blocked it only lightly since I want it to remain stretchy. And I used a really stretchy bind-off and blocked the bound-off edge so it flares out slightly. That will be the bottom edge; the part that sits on the shoulders.

This is for my pal in the International Scarf Exchange. Hope she likes it!

Searching For

These people have ordered my Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern but the email message with the pattern attached has come back to me as undeliverable.
Christy Ann Flynn
Maryanne Cooper
Mary Alice Tinari
Bridget Gordan
Eileen Noel
If you see your name listed above and you haven't received your pattern, please email me by clicking on this link.

Saturday Prepositions

2006-09-16T15:51:00.000-06:00

From the front door looking East:

Yikes, snow way down in the foothills. Looks like it's time to break out the hand-knit socks.

On the needles:

a lace wimple out of Rowanspun using this pattern. This has been my project-of-choice since last Friday. I'll be sad when it's finished; I just adore working with this yarn and the pattern is easy to remember so it's been a great take-along project.

In the planning stages:

another lace shawl. But I won't have much time to devote to this for a few weeks.

Winners

2006-09-15T22:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who played along in my quick and dirty contest.

The winners of the shawl patterns were:

Lisa

and

Joan

Congrats! I'll email your patterns to you on Saturday.
If anyone asked me a question in their contest email, I'll try and read through them tomorrow and get back to you.

The yarn I used for the Lombard Street socks was Brooklyn Handspun Signature Superwash. And now that I think of it, Marie's "Soft Spun" yarn would make a fabulous Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl. Hmmmm . . . I'm off to see what colors Marie has available.

More Shawls and a Contest

2006-09-14T20:52:00.000-06:00

Woah, thanks to everyone for sending links with photos of their Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawls.

Birdsong is knitting hers from some lace-weight yarn hand-dyed by Margene (under Teri's supervision). She claims to be at the half-way mark, but she's gauging that by the number of stitches on the needle. Sorry, hun, that's not how it works. Good try though.

Sunflowerfairy is knitting hers from a beautiful pink yarn. I think it's her first lace project. Excellent!

Lorette finished her first and already has plans to make a second from laceweight. That's the spirit!

Joan finished one, too! She's dubbed the shawl, "the easiest pattern ever."

I really enjoy seeing the finished shawls so make sure you send me an email when you finish yours.

And here's the contest part. Tomorrow I will give away a free copy of the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern to two knitters, chosen at random, from everyone who sends me an email that correctly answers the following question:

What yarn did I use for the sock pattern I designed for MagKnits?

I even linked to the issue so you have no excuse not to enter.
Good Luck!

Variations On A Theme

2006-09-13T08:18:00.000-06:00

I don't intend to turn this into a "confessional" post, but suffice to say I've been buying a lot of yarn and starting a lot of projects lately. The finishing part . . . well . . . not so much.

But I did complete my contribution to this years' Utah Legal Aid Society Fundraiser. It's a square lap blanket based on my Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern. I've already submitted it to the organizers of the fundraiser but I forgot to take a finished photo. So all I have is this crappy photo of the blocking stage.

It was a fairly fast knit (on size U.S. #11 needles) and took 6 skeins of Berroco Mohair Classic to complete. Unfortunately, I only had 5 skeins of Berroco Mohair Classic. And that's where the uncontrollable stash came in handy. I just dove into the stash and came up with a nice, contrasting shade of yarn with exactly the same fiber composition and exactly 1/2 the weight of the Mohair Classic. So I just doubled it and used it for the bind-off row.

It's a nice size, about 50 inches across on each side. Do you think I should call it a "lap blanket" or is that too old-fashioned? My friend suggested that calling it a "throw" would help with the bidding during the auction. Thoughts?

I also finally uploaded a photo of the Forest Canopy Shawl that I knit from lace-weight yarn. I used one skein of Knit Picks Shadow and worked Rows 1-8 of the Body Pattern until I had 259 stitches on the needle.

Oh, and check this out. Kate has already finished her Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl! Brenda cast on for hers; and Teresa revealed that she was my test knitter. Take a peek at her finished shawl; it's gorgeous.

S is for . . .

2006-09-11T01:04:00.000-06:00

Stephanie (and The Sock)

here in Salt Lake City!

Yup. After months of badgering the owner of Black Sheep Wool Co, arrangements were made for Stephanie to add Salt Lake City to her current book tour. I had the life-altering pleasure to be included in the group of local knitters who showed her around town on Friday afternoon.

We started at Temple Square for a photo shoot with The Sock ( Stephanie took the photos so you’ll have to check her blog for the visual evidence.). The day started out cloudy and dreary, but as Stephanie and I walked down Main Street from her hotel toward Temple Square, the clouds broke up and the sun started to peek through the haze. Holy cow! She even has the power to improve the weather.

After Temple Square, we picked up Margene and Miriam then all four of us headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon for lunch at Silver Fork Lodge and a walk around Silver Lake (a/k/a "The Margene Treatment"). The lunch conversation was hilarious and nonstop.

The walk around Silver Lake involved the taking of many photos and a brief stop so The Sock could take in a little rock climbing. The ride down the Canyon was spectacular, especially since the leaves are beginning to change colour (did I spell that right, Steph?).

Photographic evidence of my nearness to Herself:

In the evening, Stephanie played to a packed audience at the Salt Lake Art Center and then signed books at Black Sheep Wool Co. well into the night even though she must have been exhausted. Heck, I know I was exhausted and she was doing all the work.

It was a fabulous experience. Come back any time, Stephanie!

It’s Official – I’m An Idiot

2006-09-09T16:56:00.000-06:00

Clearly, Her Greatness did not rub off on me.

Imagine my horror when I started to attach the fronts of this baby cardigan to the back by working a three-needle bind off at the shoulders and discovered the error of my ways:

Some neckline shaping would be nice, don't cha think.

Hello frog pond.

*damn*

Teaser

2006-09-08T17:18:00.000-06:00

Look who I picked up on the side of the road.

Yes, it's Herself in my car holding my knitting. *swoon*

Picture Perfect Weekend

2006-09-06T18:09:00.000-06:00

Saturday and Sunday I attended the first annual Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair and I'm happy to deem it a total success. I sincerely hope it becomes an annual event. Birdsong even flew in from California to attend. This post is photo-intensive. And if you want more photos, head over to Margene's blog.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I headed off to Wheeler Farm for a dyeing class with Kate. Kate taught us her secrets to dyeing roving in stockpots. Here's Kate and Margene taking a breather; it was hot:

And here's my finished roving alongside Margene's. Would you be surprised if I told you the pile on the right is not mine?

Sunday's class was an advanced spindle spinning class taught by Elizabeth Daily, the owner of Greensleeves Spindles. What a fascinating class. Elizabeth gave us each a bag of assorted fibers and then let us try as many of the Greensleeves spindles as we wanted. It was interesting to see how different fibers behaved differently with the assorted spindles.

Birdsong and Margene like the class, too:

And while we were dyeing and spinning, Laurie was selling soap alongside Katherine who was selling her fabulous "Make One" t-shirts.

Here's blogless Val buying some soap from Laurie:

And here's Birdsong learning to spin on a Great Wheel.

I bought very little fiber:

Some trums from Spinderella, some yummy hand-dyed wool from THE Judy Jackson, and some hand-dyed superwash merino from The Sheep Shed Studio. The large, 18-ounce pile of green roving is the prize I won in the finished item competition.

But I did score some excellent back issues of Knitters for the ungodly sum of 50 cents each.

Psyched.

Winners

2006-09-05T04:32:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest to identify the ballpark in which I was knitting my Parade socks. Most of you got the correct answer which was Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. We had awesome seats, just 4 rows above the Oriole's dugout. And the source of those great tickets was none other than the effervescent Amber, a/k/a the woman holding the sock in the photo. Amber was the inspiration for my Amber hat pattern, the link to which is in the sidebar.

Oh, right, so who won???

Dana guessed the name of the ballpark correctly so she won the bar of Laurie's soap. Laurie's website is now fully operational so take a look and order your favorite bar.

Hillary correctly guessed that Amber was holding the sock. She won a copy of my new Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl pattern.

And there was one more winner this weekend . . . ME! Remember Kate's merino/silk/alpaca roving that I spun into this lovely lace-weight yarn.

Well, I knit it up into a Mountain Stream scarf last week and entered it into the finished item competition at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. Here it is, adorned with it's First Place ribbon:

WooHoo!

FOREST CANOPY SHOULDER SHAWL

2006-09-01T00:03:00.000-06:00

Lace knitting is addictive. Many knitters, however, have never tried lace knitting or become discouraged because the project they chose is not suitable for a beginner.

I have written this pattern for beginning lace knitters; particularly those who have previously been unsuccessful at knitting triangular shawls.

More experienced lace knitters will find this pattern perfect for quick gifts. Or, if you like, choose a finer-gauge yarn and knit a larger shawl.

The pattern contains comprehensive information on knitting lace, including tips on choosing yarn and needles, avoiding and fixing mistakes, and swatching for lace projects.

Both written instructions and charts are included; you choose which method you prefer.

The stitch pattern is easily memorized after just a few repeats, making this a great take-along project.

This project is a one-skein wonder and can be completed from just one skein of Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool Quarters. The sample shawl was knit from the "Sierra" colorway on size U.S. 8 (5mm) needles.

The pattern is 6 pages long and must be printed in "landscape" mode. Once you have completed the payment process, you will automatically receive an email containing instructions on how to download the pattern. These instructions will be sent to the primary email address tied to your PayPal account so please check that email account. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. If you do not have the reader, you can download it here

The cost of the pattern is $6.50 and all payments must be made through PayPal. To purchase the pattern, simply click here.

Please do not violate my copyright. This pattern is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not reproduce the pattern for distribution, sale, or any other purpose. Finished items made from this pattern may not be sold.

All pictures, patterns, text and content on this page are the sole property of Susan Pierce Lawrence ©2006. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website (e.g., text, photos, etc.) is strictly prohibited.

Birthday Loot

2006-08-31T18:37:00.000-06:00
Behold the prezzies bestowed on me Tuesday night by my Stitch 'n Bitch grrls:

Clockwise from top left:

From Laurie, a huge hank of lovely, undyed merino yarn and a bar of her handmade soap.
From Teri, a skein of her hand-dyed merino sock yarn in the colorway, Crushed Strawberries (I'm thinking scarf for this).
From Erin, some handmade caramels in a hand-sewn bag (they were quickly consumed after I took the photo).
From blogless Val, some lavender-scented linen spray (I go through gallons of this stuff).
From Mim, handmade strawberry/mango jam (yum!).
From Katherine, a bar of her handmade soap and two skeins of Lang's new Mohair Luxe yarn (I'd like to be the first to say that this new yarn is just amazing!! I'm headed off to the LYS to buy more, more, more.).
From Margene, two skeins of spindle-spun yarn (yes, that's right; spindle spun!! Click here to see a close-up and marvel at her new-found spinning talent).
From Gwen, a fun little bag made entirely from zippers--lots of zippers.
And Eliza gave me this fantastic orchid before I left on vacation:

Seriously, look at all this fabulous hand-made goodness. I feel extremely fortunate to belong to such a wonderful group of knitters, spinners, soap-makers, dyers, & artists. Thanks grrls, not just for the prezzies and the sugary goodies, but for putting up with me every Tuesday evening!

Swallowtail Shawl

2006-08-30T06:11:00.000-06:00
Margene kindly agreed to hold my Swallowtail Shawl for a photo:

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark
Source: Interweave Knits, fall '06 issue
Yarn: 1 skein Misti Alpaca laceweight
Needle: 4mm (U.S. #6)
Finished Dimensions: 52 inches across the wingspan and 26 inches down the center back

Notwithstanding the nupps, which are a bit slow to work on the purl side, this was a fast knit. I spent less than 3 days actually knitting on it. Now that the shawl is completed, I stand by my original observation that the three different stitch patterns used in the design do not transition into each other smoothly. But, I didn't alter the pattern by recharting the transitions because I'm wearing it to a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday so I was in a rush to finish it.

Tomorrow . . . photos of birthday swag from my Stitch 'N Bitch grrls.

Got Nupps?

2006-08-29T18:53:00.000-06:00

My Swallowtail Shawl is done and blocked. Better photos tomorrow if I can persuade someone at Stitch 'N Bitch™ to model it for me tonight.

Don't forget to enter my contest but please don't leave the answer in the comments where everyone can see it. K? Just send me an email by clicking on the link I created in the post.

Easiest Contest Ever

2006-08-28T17:03:00.000-06:00
I haven’t hosted a contest in a while so here goes.

Study this photo carefully:

Then send me an email by clicking here, telling me where the photo was taken. If your name is chosen at random from all the correct entries, you’ll win this bar of fantastic soap which was hand-made by Laurie.

I’ve tried nearly all of Laurie’s soaps and can vouch for their amazingness so this bar is a real treat.

As a bonus, if you can also correctly guess the name of the woman who is holding the sock in the photo, you’ll also win a free copy of my new pattern which will be unveiled later this week. Here’s a hint – her name appears somewhere on my blog and has been there non-stop since last March.

Good luck!

Saturday Prepositions

2006-08-26T08:03:00.000-06:00
In the sky

On the feet

From the luggage

My vacation was fun, but exhausting. I guess after 20 years of living in the West, I'm no longer able to tolerate high levels of oppressive heat and humidity. Although I met up with two friends who guffawed when I voiced my weather complaints; they both said the weather had mellowed from prior weeks. Yikes. Anyway, between the heat and the walking and spending 10 days in the close company of two warring teenagers, I feel like I've aged a year.
Hey, wait, I did age a year! Thanks to everyone who left me happy birthday wishes.

I hope to spend some time this weekend getting my new pattern ready for sale and marshaling the energy to finish up some UFOs. Oh, and I've got a contest planned for Monday so check back if you want to win some delicious hand-made soap.

Diverted

2006-08-17T11:25:00.000-06:00
I’ve set my Norwegian mitten aside for the time being since I really need a portable project and it doesn’t fit the bill right now. But, instead of finishing up any number of perfectly portable projects that are already on the needles, I started something new.

I recently subscribed to Interweave Knits, having previously been content to purchase individual copies at my LYS. But, IK is running a killer deal–5 issues for less than $20–so I succumbed. My last experience with the IK subscription service was less than pleasant, but this time my first issue arrived very quickly. Wonder if they’re using a different company to handle subscriptions.

Anyway, I was immediately attracted to the Swallowtail Shawl because the design incorporates the Lily of the Valley stitch, one of my favorites. It’s a fast knit; I cast on last night and have already completed 10 repeats of the Budding Lace pattern.

A couple of observations about this pattern. The transition from the Budding Lace pattern to the Lily of the Valley pattern looks somewhat awkward to me. Anyone else think that? Or does it just appear that way in the photo? I might add a row of eyelets or something since the two designs don't appear to flow into each other anyway.

Second, I didn’t use the provisional cast-on method to begin my shawl. Although I love that method when the first pattern repeat begins with many stitches, like some of the top-down Faroese shawls in Myrna Stahman’s excellent book, I don’t think it’s really necessary for this shawl. Instead, I cast on 5 stitches, knit 2 rows, then worked the following two rows:
k2, yo, k1, yo, k2
k2, p3, k2
This gave me the required 7 stitches to begin the Budding Lace chart and it was considerably easier.

It looks fine to me. But what do I know.

Slight Of Hand

2006-08-14T16:18:00.000-06:00
Now you see it:

Now you don't:

After working feverishly to finish the first Norwegian mitten that was featured in Saturday's post, I excitedly removed the waste yarn from the stitches at the thumb opening and discovered the hand was too short. *DAMN*

I rarely knit mittens but I certainly learned a lesson from this latest experience. After knitting about an inch above the thumb opening, it would be wise to open up the thumb stitches and place them on some waste yarn. Then you can try the mitten on and knit the hand until it actually fits. *doh*

Is this some well-known trick employed by all you mitten knitters? Am I the last to the thumb party?

Saturday Prepositions

2006-08-12T08:35:00.000-06:00
In the sky: whispy clouds after a night of spectacular lightening and rain.

From the wheel here's 275 yards of fingering-weight 2-ply I spun from Kate's merino/alpaca/silk roving. Margene and I both bought some at Three Wishes last Friday. Margene, who is much more organized than me, has a photo of the unspun roving here.

Click on this photo if you want an extreme close-up:

I'm really excited over the prospect of taking a dyeing class from Kate at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. I'm such a transparent groupie when it comes to her hand-dyed rovings that the owner of Three Wishes sent me an email when she got a new shipment. I had to buy one of every colorway; wouldn't you?

On the Holz & Stein rosewood (yum!) needles, a mitten that I'm knitting from the book Selbustrikk, an absolutely amazing pattern booklet sent to me last week by Kate in Norway:

Quick Gift

2006-08-10T18:50:00.000-06:00
What do you get when you mix a 50g skein of Mandarin Petite with a set of 2.75mm bamboo double-points?

A soap sock, of course.

I needed a quick gift for a Friday dinner party so I combed the stash for a project that could be made in a night. The Mandarin Petite was very nice to work with and since the cast-on was only 39 stitches I finished the project in due course. Yay, an FO, albeit a small one that almost can't even be called a project. But, hey, it came out cute.

The pattern was in a booklet self-published by a local knitter. I got my copy at The Wool Cabin but I'm not sure they carry it any more. Oh, but wait, you can buy it from Nancy Bush by clicking here.

Even better than the quickness of the knit is the fact that the soap gracing the inside of the sock was made by moi! Well, kinda. I wore Katherine down a few weeks ago with my begging and she kindly took an evening to teach me how to make soap. How fun and dangerous both at the same time; the lye part was thrilling but riddled with potential disaster. Anyway, I can't claim that I actually made the soap since Katherine did most of the making, but I did a lot of the stirring. And I chose the scent combination, which was a mixture of orange and cedar. Nice.

Help Wanted

2006-08-09T17:52:00.000-06:00
Update: Thanks for the fantastic response to my "help wanted" ad!
I found a test knitter and hopefully the pattern will be available in a week or two.

I'm hoping someone out there is willing to lend me a hand with something. I'm in the process of finalizing a new pattern: an extremely basic lace shoulder shawl. I've made two of them with no problems but I would love to have someone else test knit and give me some feedback before I offer it for sale. Ideally, I'm looking for someone who has knit a little bit of lace (or at least knows how to work yarnovers and decreases), but has never made a shoulder shawl. You'll also need your own skein of Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool. I can't offer much, other than a free copy of the pattern and this large hank of my handspun yarn.

Any takers? Email me if you're interested and I'll give you more details. Picky, hyper-critical people are particularly welcome to apply.

Socks

2006-08-07T00:59:00.000-06:00
The two sock patterns I recently completed for Knit Picks have just been added to their online catalogue. Unfortunately, the photos on their site need to be revamped, so here are a couple I took before I shipped the socks off.

The first sock, the pattern for which can be found here, has a braided "ribble" (i.e., reversible cable) on the leg and 1x1 ribbing down the foot. The toe is a round toe.

I can highly recommend the yarn they sent me to complete this sock; it was soft and knit up nicely. There was very good definition on the cables.

The second sock pattern can be found here.

This one has a large lace cuff, lines of lace down the leg, and a plain foot.

I can't say enough good things about the yarn I used for this sock which Knit Picks is calling "Gloss." It compares favorably to Regia Silk and the finished socks felt like heaven; I almost shed a tear when I was forced to mail them away. I'm thinking the yarn would make a great shawl, albeit slightly heavier than laceweight, since the fabric would drape beautifully.

There you have it; how I spent my summer vacation. Well, actually, there's one more sock to come. Check MagKnits on September 1st (she says crossing fingers).

Saturday Prepositions

2006-08-05T15:20:00.000-06:00
In the sky:

From the wheel:

On the needles:

Thunder and Lightening and Wind – Oh, My!

2006-08-03T08:43:00.000-06:00
A wild, crazy storm blew through Salt Lake on Tuesday and my neighborhood was particularly hard-hit by torrential rain and 70-80 mph winds. Our house was spared any major damage, although the clean-up from some flooding in DS’s bedroom is ongoing. My neighbors were not quite as fortunate. This tree at the top of my street was hit by lightening and split right in half.

The impact of the lightening strike caused my neighbor’s bay window to shatter.

Trees (and power lines) are down everywhere; many fell on houses, cars, and garages.

Some trees were snapped at the base:

Others, like this huge one directly across the street from my house were uprooted:

Although I have a new sock-in-progress to show you, knitting and blogging will have to take a back seat to cleaning up this week.

Got Handspun?

2006-08-01T14:26:00.000-06:00
Check out the August issue of Magknits.

Lots of cute ideas for using small bits of handspun.

Knitting & Spinning & Lunch–Oh My

2006-07-30T19:38:00.000-06:00
Knitting
It was hot as hell again this weekend so I didn’t venture far from the comfort of the air-conditioned house. The upside of the miserable weather is that I finished knitting a scarf that I started eons ago. It’s a mystery to me why it took me so long to complete this simple project; I think it’s been on the needles for close to 3 weeks.

It’s a scribble lace scarf; a slight variation of this pattern. I got the ribbon yarn at Roberts (don’t worry, Teri, I used my 40% off coupon) and the Crystal Palace Kid Merino at Soul Spun. The ribbon yarn was surprisingly fun to knit with; the Kid Merino not so much. I had a problem with the mohair separating from the nylon core as I knit. Anyone else notice that?

Spinning
I also manage to spin up 4oz of Amy’s roving in the Macaw colorway:

Not the colors I’m usually drawn to, but I think I bought up all the red-orange rovings she offered a couple weeks ago. I actually like the finished yarn and it may be destined for socks if I can free up my 3mm needles.

Lunch
On Saturday I had the absolute pleasure of lunching with Margene and Kim at Café Normandie. Kim drove down to spend the weekend with Margene and they kindly allowed me to tag along for part of the day. Huge fun! Kim was such a doll. I’m hoping she returns in September for the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair.

Oh My
We just finalized our summer vacation plans and the destination is Washington D.C. I’ll be there some time between the 15th and the 24th of August. Any shops or Stitch ‘n Bitch groups I shouldn’t miss?

Singles

2006-07-27T18:19:00.000-06:00
I received several emails about the lace-weight singles in the photo I posted last Saturday. It seems easiest to answer all the questions here. I’m anything but an authority on the subject of spinning lace-weight singles, but I can tell you how I did it.

I had been thinking of trying to spin some singles and then I received these lovely hanks from Michelle.

That rekindled my interest so I rummaged through my fiber stash and came up with some hand-painted merino roving that I’d purchased from Amy King. The colorway is "Tahiti" but I think she may not have any more in her shop right now.

I split the roving lengthwise into smaller and smaller pieces until I had strips that were approximately ½" wide.

I predrafted each strip to the point where the fibers were barely held together. I then spun it on the Schacht using the whorl with the 9:1 ratio. Basically, I had predrafted to the point that it was really not necessary to draft any further as I spun; for the most part, I just let the wheel take up the fibers. I put just enough twist in the fiber to hold it together.

After the bobbin was full, I wound the singles onto my niddy noddy and left them there for about a week. I assume you could also leave them on the bobbin for a while to let them go stale and then wind them on the niddy noddy. After a week, I tied the hank in several places; at least 6, if I remember correctly. Then I let the hank sit in a Eucalan bath for about 15-20 minutes. I spun the extra water out in my washing machine, used my hands to stretch the hank in all directions, and then set the hank on my hammock to dry. I did not hang the hank or attach a weight to the end.

Surprisingly, after it dried, the hank hung perfectly straight so it must be pretty balanced. I’d show you a photo but I gave the yarn to Margene. Maybe she’ll post a photo on her blog or send me one if I ask her nicely.

That’s it.
Like I said, I’m no expert but this method worked for me. I think a common mistake when spinning singles is to put too much twist into the fiber. Although I didn’t have to do this, I would bet the spinning police will not arrest you if you run the singles through your wheel in the opposite direction to release some of the twist.

I’m just sayin’.

Have You Seen?

2006-07-24T13:07:00.000-06:00
The preview of the Fall issue of Vogue is up. There are lots of sock patterns and an article by Meg Swanson on sock knitting. I especially love the black and white socks. Wonder if they could be adapted from knee socks to crew socks.

Random Saturday

2006-07-22T11:03:00.000-06:00
In the sky (from the backyard this week):

On the needles (a sock for Lion Brand)

Around the niddy noddy (675 yards of laceweight singles)

O is for . . . .

2006-07-19T14:37:00.000-06:00
Opal Sockenwolle

10,900 grams of Opal to be exact. Enough for at least 109 pairs of socks with probably a few hundred grams left over.

I was a little apprehensive about posting a photo of ~~most of~~ my Opal stash. But after gathering it all together I realized it's not as large as I feared. I've been slowly either knitting it up or swapping it. But here are some of my "prized" skeins.

This skein is from the long-forgotten "Summer Sizzler" series. I *heart* this skein so much I don't think I could ever bring myself to knit with it. I searched in vain for another skein a year or two ago but had no success. Got one to trade??

Remember Opal Royal??? It was probably the first sock yarn with lurex added for sparkle. And it was unusual for Opal because it was put up in 50 gram skeins

Here's a skein of original Tiger, a prototype of the new Tiger, and the Tiger from the Rainforest Collection. I actually think I like the prototype skein the best.

And the best part about gathering up all the Opal for the photo shoot? I found two skeins of Trekking that I forgot all about.

Stick A Fork In It

2006-07-16T15:54:00.000-06:00
The lace blob is done:

I think I set some kind of personal record knitting this shoulder shawl; 450 yards of laceweight merino in 2 days.

After I blocked the shawl, I got this inexplicable urge to knit something in worsted weight wool. Well, maybe it's not inexplicable given that in the last 4 weeks I've not knit with anything heavier than fingering weight yarn (i.e., 4 pairs of socks and a shoulder shawl). Because I need a baby gift, I grabbed a skein of wool I picked up at Jo-Ann out of curiosity and started a Star of the Day hat. I altered my own pattern by working only 5 points on the star instead of 7.

As I type this, the hat is almost ready to be bound off. Worsted weight yarn knits up fast! And, I have to say, this particular yarn was extremely nice to knit with. It's called Tesoro and I was a little surprised to see it at Jo-Ann, a store I normally associate with crappy novelty and acrylic yarns.

The pros: The yarn is extremely smooth and soft with a nice hand. Plus, if the reviews on the Jo-Ann site are accurate, it won't felt so it's perfect for a baby item.
The cons: Comes only in yucky pastel shades (hate the pastel shades) and it's a bit pricey. I can get a 100g skein of Nature Spun worsted for almost the same price I paid for this 50 gram skein.

I have to admit I was intrigued by some of the reviews of this yarn that were posted on the Jo-Ann site. Do you really think a manufacturer should be required to include information on the ball band that specifically says, "This Yarn Will Not Felt"??

Saturday Sky

2006-07-15T06:03:00.000-06:00

Here's my Saturday Sky, taken at 5:30 a.m. from the window of the ~~infirmary~~ bedroom.

Looks like another scorcher. Yesterday was our first 100+ degree day and it was miserable.

Speaking of miserable, you may wonder why I was up at 5:30 on a Saturday morning taking photos from the bedroom window. Well, the uncontrollable coughing fit might have had something to do with it. DD kindly passed on a nasty virus and it's just about knocked me out. I went into work yesterday for a few hours and it was clearly a mistake. I appear to have taken two steps back in my recovery effort.

I put at least part of my sick days to use, though, working on a piece of lace poop:

When I get some time, I'll write out the pattern. I'm just trying to decide how to finish off the border.

Back to bed.

Stuck At The Border

2006-07-10T22:39:00.000-06:00
Taking photos of my Langsjal Jóhönnu for the 4th Amazing Lace challenge spurred me to the finish line. I've been working almost exclusively on socks lately (yes, you'll see the new designs soon) so it was refreshing to change course and knit real lace.

When I took the photo for the Amazing Lace challenge on Thursday, I had completed 14 repeats of the center pattern:

I just finished repeat #25.

The pattern calls for 28 repeats of the center pattern but I've decided to stop at 25. Aaah, the benefits of being short; less length to knit.

But here's why I'm "stuck at the border." I cast on fewer border stitches than the pattern called for and I vaguely remember doing something exceedingly clever after I knit the first border to get the number of stitches to work out properly for the center pattern. It was so clever I've now forgotten what I did. So, although I should be starting the second border, I'm now frantically looking through scraps of paper to see if I memorialized this on a scrap of parchment.

Please tell me I've written this down somewhere.

N is for . . .

2006-07-09T18:52:00.000-06:00
Nature Spun Worsted by Brown Sheep Company.

Nature Spun is one of my favorite yarns for felting. I’ve found that it felts much faster than some other wools and it seems to throw off a little less fiber. Good for the washing machine, too, I guess. A double strand makes a nice, sturdy felted fabric.

I like Nature Spun so much that I have a bit of a collection of it. Every time I go to the LYS, I try to pick up a color that I don’t already own so I can "stash shop" when I get the urge to start a new felted project at 10:00 on a Sunday night.

My current Nature Spun stash resides in its own Rubbermaid bin. Should I be embarrassed to admit that?

Sunday Sky

Sunday’s sky from the driveway is not looking as promising as Saturday’s.

That big plume of smoke to the west can’t be good.

Saturday Sky

2006-07-08T18:02:00.000-06:00

After a deluge on the afternoon of the Fourth of July, the entire valley cooled down considerably. Temperatures barely made it into the 90s most of the week. Today's sky is a bit hazy and the air is a little heavy (19% humidity, which is pretty humid for SLC). Here's the photo I took from the bottom of my driveway as I left for a walk to the LYS:

I walked so I wouldn't be tempted to purchase too much. I passed on some nice yarn but then happened upon this great (but heavy) find at the local thrift store.

Stamps from Persia:

It's interesting to browse through, but the bag got pretty dang heavy about a half mile into the walk home.

And I just discovered that I missed this flippin' sweet event. *Dang*

Amazing Lace - Challenge #4

2006-07-06T10:27:00.000-06:00
True to form, I've been extremely lax at meeting the Amazing Lace challenges. I've also been lax at working on my teammate, the Langsjal Jóhönnu. The latest challenge, #4, is to answer the following question with a photo:
"If you bound off your lace RIGHT NOW - what could it be used for?"

Since I missed challenge #3, which was to compose a poem dedicated to your lace teammate, I've decided to combine challenges 3 & 4 with a haiku and a photo:

Icelandic beauty
held promise, now abandoned
dinner time; let’s eat

I Love The Fourth of July

2006-07-04T10:20:00.000-06:00
OK, I may not be a wear-it-on-your-sleeve-flag-waving patriot, but I soooooo love the Fourth of July. And the best part is the neighborhood parade held every year just a block from my house. Everyone gets into the act and the kids have a wonderful time. I've come to conclude that the kids participating in the parade enjoy throwing the candy more than the kids watching the parade enjoy catching it.

And look at this. Is this not the best use of spray painted bubble wrap you've ever seen:

And I know it's not time for a Saturday Sky photo, but take a look at the view of the sunset I had from my porch last night.

Amazing.

Public Service Announcement

2006-07-02T10:38:00.000-06:00
In case you missed it, the new issue of MagKnits is up. And, in what could be a first for me, I love EVERY pattern.

Saturday Sky

2006-07-01T13:12:00.000-06:00

After a wild Friday evening of lightening-started fires and driving rain, we woke up to this wonderful Saturday sky:

MOUNTAIN STREAM SCARF

2006-06-30T17:17:00.000-06:00

This lace scarf is knit using techniques from traditional Orenberg shawls. It is a small but challenging project and a nice introduction to the Orenberg construction.

TECHNIQUES USED
Provisional cast-on
Short rows
Grafting
Charts
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Width: 11 inches (after blocking) Length: 50 inches (after blocking)

YARN & NEEDLES
1 skein, Rowan Kidsilk Haze (You will come extremely close to running out of yarn. If that makes you nervous, or if you'd like a longer scarf, purchase two skeins of Kidsilk Haze.)
Size 6 US needles.
The cost of the pattern is $6.50 and all payments must be made through PayPal. To purchase the pattern, simply click the link below:

Once you make your payment, you will receive instructions on how to download the pattern. These instructions will be sent to the email address you used to make the PayPal payment so please check that account. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. If you do not have the reader, you can download it here.

Please do not violate my copyright! This pattern is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not reproduce the pattern for distribution, sale, or any other purpose. Finished items made from this pattern may not be sold.

All pictures, patterns, text and content on this page are the sole property of Susan Pierce Lawrence ©2006. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website is strictly prohibited.