Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Is There A Photographer In The House?
My Ancient Woodlands shawl looks lovely on me, but for now you’re going to have to take my word for it.
I tried to get my husband to take some modeling shots last night, but not a single one of them is good enough to edit, let alone post on the internet for public viewing. I’m going to see if my mom or step-dad can get some decent ones this afternoon.
But, just to tide you over, I do have some obligatory blocking shots.
Mom, I have to thank you once again, from the bottom of my lace-knitting soul, for the blocking wires you gave me. They made the process so much faster than just using pins, and they produced amazing results.
After I soaked the shawl for about half an hour, I rolled it up in a towel and had Joey stand on it. Then we repaired to the spare room, took an end apiece and threaded them onto wires. Pretty soon, we had it stretched out.
Border
Center
The cables… oh goodness, I’m in awe of the way Miriam Felton incorporated them into the design. They pull the center of the shawl in and they pop right up off of the fabric.
And behind them is a series of yarn-overs and decreases, which help keep the rest of the fabric from bunching up around them. Genius, truly genius.
Now then, there simply must be someone in this city who can get some decent picture of this shawl! Excuse me, won’t you?
I tried to get my husband to take some modeling shots last night, but not a single one of them is good enough to edit, let alone post on the internet for public viewing. I’m going to see if my mom or step-dad can get some decent ones this afternoon.
But, just to tide you over, I do have some obligatory blocking shots.
Mom, I have to thank you once again, from the bottom of my lace-knitting soul, for the blocking wires you gave me. They made the process so much faster than just using pins, and they produced amazing results.
After I soaked the shawl for about half an hour, I rolled it up in a towel and had Joey stand on it. Then we repaired to the spare room, took an end apiece and threaded them onto wires. Pretty soon, we had it stretched out.
Border
Center
The cables… oh goodness, I’m in awe of the way Miriam Felton incorporated them into the design. They pull the center of the shawl in and they pop right up off of the fabric.
And behind them is a series of yarn-overs and decreases, which help keep the rest of the fabric from bunching up around them. Genius, truly genius.
Now then, there simply must be someone in this city who can get some decent picture of this shawl! Excuse me, won’t you?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A Very Scary Question
The Ancient Woodlands Shawl is off the needles and ready to block. I bound off this morning while drinking coffee and watching the Tour de France. Even unblocked, I must say it’s a rather impressive piece of work, and I’m so excited to get it on the blocking wires this evening I can barely sit still.
My husband asked me a very scary question the other night while I was working on it.
“How many stitches are in that?”
I explained that the shawl is 114 stitches wide, that it was the cables in the middle portions that pulled it in, not any increase in the counts.
“No, I want to know how many stitches are in the whole thing!”
I boggled at him. The whole thing? He wants to do the math and come up with the number of stitches in the whole thing?!? Do I really need to know that?
Quite frankly, I don’t think I do. It's one of those numbers that might haunt my thoughts and keep me up at night.
Although now he’s got me curious…
My husband asked me a very scary question the other night while I was working on it.
“How many stitches are in that?”
I explained that the shawl is 114 stitches wide, that it was the cables in the middle portions that pulled it in, not any increase in the counts.
“No, I want to know how many stitches are in the whole thing!”
I boggled at him. The whole thing? He wants to do the math and come up with the number of stitches in the whole thing?!? Do I really need to know that?
Quite frankly, I don’t think I do. It's one of those numbers that might haunt my thoughts and keep me up at night.
Although now he’s got me curious…
Friday, July 3, 2009
They Followed Me Home
Time for Show and Tell!
The first thing I found at Black Sheep on Friday was a copy of Heirloom Lace by Sharon Miller. It’s one of those books people mention all the time, full of charts and techniques. It’s a good reference book to go into my library.
That same day I found a skein of Lightweight Mill Ends from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. It’s mostly blues and greens, with some purple thrown in for good measure.
On Saturday I spent an incredible amount of time dithering at the Tactile Fiber Arts booth. All of their yarns are dyed with natural materials, and the colors are just amazing. I settled on a skein of their merino laceweight called Pomegranate, which is quite a departure for me, as I’ve never worn much red.
On Sunday, I took my mother to the show with me. I told her the same thing I did last year, “Pick a sock yarn, I’ll knit you the socks.” Then it was her turn for dithering, and she finally decided on a merino/bamboo blend from Wolf Creek Wools.
Oh look, more lace yarn! ('cause I might not have enough...)
This is a 2-ply alpaca from Rolly Thompson of Fox Hollow Farm & Fiber. It’s so black you can see blue highlights in it, and it has the most incredible shine to it.
Next was a skein of Cashmara sock yarn, a blend of superwash wool and cashmere. This is even now on its way to a friend as part of a swap package, and I hope she likes it!
Finally, the last purchase, the one I agonized over the most and the one I’m most excited about.
Four skeins of 60/40 Merino/Angora laceweight from Toots Le Blanc & Co. No dye in this, just blended colors from different animals to get this beautiful grey color. I was fingering a skein of it when the vendor pointed me to a beautiful scarf knitted out of the same yarn. It halos in the most amazing way, and the piece was light as... as... it’s amazing stuff.
This is destined to become an Orenburg shawl of one type or another, as I think the garter-stitch the style is based on would suit this yarn right down to the ground.
All this, and I stayed within my budget! Granted, I’d been squirreling money away for a year, but still...
The first thing I found at Black Sheep on Friday was a copy of Heirloom Lace by Sharon Miller. It’s one of those books people mention all the time, full of charts and techniques. It’s a good reference book to go into my library.
That same day I found a skein of Lightweight Mill Ends from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. It’s mostly blues and greens, with some purple thrown in for good measure.
On Saturday I spent an incredible amount of time dithering at the Tactile Fiber Arts booth. All of their yarns are dyed with natural materials, and the colors are just amazing. I settled on a skein of their merino laceweight called Pomegranate, which is quite a departure for me, as I’ve never worn much red.
On Sunday, I took my mother to the show with me. I told her the same thing I did last year, “Pick a sock yarn, I’ll knit you the socks.” Then it was her turn for dithering, and she finally decided on a merino/bamboo blend from Wolf Creek Wools.
Oh look, more lace yarn! ('cause I might not have enough...)
This is a 2-ply alpaca from Rolly Thompson of Fox Hollow Farm & Fiber. It’s so black you can see blue highlights in it, and it has the most incredible shine to it.
Next was a skein of Cashmara sock yarn, a blend of superwash wool and cashmere. This is even now on its way to a friend as part of a swap package, and I hope she likes it!
Finally, the last purchase, the one I agonized over the most and the one I’m most excited about.
Four skeins of 60/40 Merino/Angora laceweight from Toots Le Blanc & Co. No dye in this, just blended colors from different animals to get this beautiful grey color. I was fingering a skein of it when the vendor pointed me to a beautiful scarf knitted out of the same yarn. It halos in the most amazing way, and the piece was light as... as... it’s amazing stuff.
This is destined to become an Orenburg shawl of one type or another, as I think the garter-stitch the style is based on would suit this yarn right down to the ground.
All this, and I stayed within my budget! Granted, I’d been squirreling money away for a year, but still...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sensory Overload
Ah, Black Sheep Gathering, how I adore it. I look forward to it every year; honestly, it’s better than Christmas and nearly as good as my birthday.
There are so many things to see, so many incredible colors and textures, so many people and so much laughter. It’s a great place to meet people, especially if you play Black Sheep Bingo. I’ve played as both a player and a square for the past two years, and even though I’ve never gotten a bingo on my card, getting the chance to connect with so many people is great fun, not to mention a very good exercise for an introvert. I feel a little bad about forgetting to put their button on my blog this year, but I resolve to do better next year!
I spent quite a bit of time in the livestock barns this year, meeting lots of fiber on the hoof and telling all the animals how beautiful they are. I mean really, how can you look at a pen full of baby angora goats and not have your heart melt?
Not that the adults give anything away in the cuteness department…
This sign in the SuDan Farm area made me smile.
These wee babies are just a week old and were some of the stars of the barn.
They’re dairy kids who were brought to the show because they were being bottle-fed… I really wanted to take one home with me; I just couldn’t come up with a way to convince my husband it was a good idea.
On Sunday I got a chance to get up close and personal with the winners in the Fiber Arts Show. Goodness, all the creativity and skill on display were inspiring.
This is one of my particular favorites
I swear my hair looks just like that some mornings… it’s uncanny how the artist knew that!
The Black Sheep Cup is given to the best overall entry in the adult divisions, and this year’s winner just knocked me out.
Back
Side
Front
That’s 2-ply handspun silk, knitted up into a shawl designed by the crafter. It’s got the most amazing drape and shine, and the attention to detail is astonishing.
For just a few minutes I felt inadequate for using machine-milled yarn and other people’s patterns for my projects. Then I reminded myself that four years ago I didn’t know a yarn-over from a hole in the wall, and I felt better.
It was a marvelous three days, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again next year, even though it took me a few days to recover from the sensory overload.
If you find yourself in this part of the world next June, I would strongly recommend you come see it all for yourself, and look me up in the process. I’ll be the one with the camera in my hand and two shopping bags over my shoulders. I’ll be sporting a goofy grin, and I’ll be babbling about all the wonderful yarn and all the beautiful animals. I shouldn’t be hard to spot at all.
Next Up: Show-And-Tell of what followed me home from Black Sheep Gathering. Even though I didn’t bring home a dairy kid, I still got some amazing things!
There are so many things to see, so many incredible colors and textures, so many people and so much laughter. It’s a great place to meet people, especially if you play Black Sheep Bingo. I’ve played as both a player and a square for the past two years, and even though I’ve never gotten a bingo on my card, getting the chance to connect with so many people is great fun, not to mention a very good exercise for an introvert. I feel a little bad about forgetting to put their button on my blog this year, but I resolve to do better next year!
I spent quite a bit of time in the livestock barns this year, meeting lots of fiber on the hoof and telling all the animals how beautiful they are. I mean really, how can you look at a pen full of baby angora goats and not have your heart melt?
Not that the adults give anything away in the cuteness department…
This sign in the SuDan Farm area made me smile.
These wee babies are just a week old and were some of the stars of the barn.
They’re dairy kids who were brought to the show because they were being bottle-fed… I really wanted to take one home with me; I just couldn’t come up with a way to convince my husband it was a good idea.
On Sunday I got a chance to get up close and personal with the winners in the Fiber Arts Show. Goodness, all the creativity and skill on display were inspiring.
This is one of my particular favorites
I swear my hair looks just like that some mornings… it’s uncanny how the artist knew that!
The Black Sheep Cup is given to the best overall entry in the adult divisions, and this year’s winner just knocked me out.
Back
Side
Front
That’s 2-ply handspun silk, knitted up into a shawl designed by the crafter. It’s got the most amazing drape and shine, and the attention to detail is astonishing.
For just a few minutes I felt inadequate for using machine-milled yarn and other people’s patterns for my projects. Then I reminded myself that four years ago I didn’t know a yarn-over from a hole in the wall, and I felt better.
It was a marvelous three days, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again next year, even though it took me a few days to recover from the sensory overload.
If you find yourself in this part of the world next June, I would strongly recommend you come see it all for yourself, and look me up in the process. I’ll be the one with the camera in my hand and two shopping bags over my shoulders. I’ll be sporting a goofy grin, and I’ll be babbling about all the wonderful yarn and all the beautiful animals. I shouldn’t be hard to spot at all.
Next Up: Show-And-Tell of what followed me home from Black Sheep Gathering. Even though I didn’t bring home a dairy kid, I still got some amazing things!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Half Of The Forest
I bound off the first half of my Ancient Woodlands shawl at my knitting group last Monday, and it felt like I had passed a major milestone. It got passed around the table to much ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing, and I had to keep a sharp eye on one of my friends who would very much like to have it for her own.
It was nice to spread it out over the table, run my hands over it and just marvel that I’m actually making it with my own hands.
Then it was time to contemplate the next step, unzipping the crochet cast-on and getting the loops back on the needles so I could repeat the pattern in the other direction.
Armed with my US 0’s (2 mm) I did the deep breathing thing for a few minutes and got to work.
Slide the needle into a few stitches
And gently unravel the crochet cotton
Again and again and again.
Then I did a certain amount of counting and head scratching. 113 stitches? That can’t be right; I’ve been mentally counting to 114 for weeks now. Do it again… 111, 112, 113… drat.
Then a snippet of knitterly lore swam up from where it had been hiding, deep in the recesses of the portion of my brain known as I’ve Read About This Somewhere.
I remembered that if you’re going to be taking a provisional cast-on out and knitting in the other direction, you need to cast on one extra stitch and then decrease it away in the first row. That way you’ll end up with the correct number of loops, instead of being presented with the need to do an increase after taking out the provisional.
I’ll admit it here… I fudged it. And you know what? I can’t find it anymore.
Since then I’ve been pretty much obsessed with this shawl. I finished nearly half of the first chart over the weekend, and I’m up to the 51st row as of this picture.
Who knows, I might even stand a decent chance of finishing this one before the next shipment arrives!
It was nice to spread it out over the table, run my hands over it and just marvel that I’m actually making it with my own hands.
Then it was time to contemplate the next step, unzipping the crochet cast-on and getting the loops back on the needles so I could repeat the pattern in the other direction.
Armed with my US 0’s (2 mm) I did the deep breathing thing for a few minutes and got to work.
Slide the needle into a few stitches
And gently unravel the crochet cotton
Again and again and again.
Then I did a certain amount of counting and head scratching. 113 stitches? That can’t be right; I’ve been mentally counting to 114 for weeks now. Do it again… 111, 112, 113… drat.
Then a snippet of knitterly lore swam up from where it had been hiding, deep in the recesses of the portion of my brain known as I’ve Read About This Somewhere.
I remembered that if you’re going to be taking a provisional cast-on out and knitting in the other direction, you need to cast on one extra stitch and then decrease it away in the first row. That way you’ll end up with the correct number of loops, instead of being presented with the need to do an increase after taking out the provisional.
I’ll admit it here… I fudged it. And you know what? I can’t find it anymore.
Since then I’ve been pretty much obsessed with this shawl. I finished nearly half of the first chart over the weekend, and I’m up to the 51st row as of this picture.
Who knows, I might even stand a decent chance of finishing this one before the next shipment arrives!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Holding My Feet To The Fire
As promised, I have actual knitting to talk about in this, and I even have pictures. Not only that, but it’s only been three days since my last post. I’m on a roll folks, I can feel it!
The Gas Flame Socks are done, and I’m very happy with them.
The yarn did what many Socks That Rock skeins seem to do, which is produce one section of fairly even stripes, and another section with spirals and/or flashing. It drives some people nuts, but I didn’t mind it at all in this pattern.
They’re worked from the toe up, with short-row toes, gussets worked in a lovely purled panel, a short-row heel and a very clever heel flap (which completely eluded my photographic skills.)
These socks were an interesting challenge to knit. The toes made me doubt my ability to count, and the twisted stitches combined with the cables made certain that I never got bored with them.
A word to the wise: twisted stitches eat yarn. This is how much I had leftover out of a 360 yard skein…
11 Yards
Project Details
Pattern: Firestarter from Yarnissima
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight, colorway Rare Gems
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) toe to mid-leg, US 2.5 (3.0 mm) mid-leg to bind off, US 3 (3.25 mm) bind-off
Mods: none
If I knit this pattern again, I will:
I really enjoyed working on these socks, both because of the pattern and because of the yarn. If you’re looking for a pattern to challenge you, this is definitely one to look at.
Next up:
The Ancient Woodlands Shawl will make an appearance.
The Gas Flame Socks are done, and I’m very happy with them.
The yarn did what many Socks That Rock skeins seem to do, which is produce one section of fairly even stripes, and another section with spirals and/or flashing. It drives some people nuts, but I didn’t mind it at all in this pattern.
They’re worked from the toe up, with short-row toes, gussets worked in a lovely purled panel, a short-row heel and a very clever heel flap (which completely eluded my photographic skills.)
These socks were an interesting challenge to knit. The toes made me doubt my ability to count, and the twisted stitches combined with the cables made certain that I never got bored with them.
A word to the wise: twisted stitches eat yarn. This is how much I had leftover out of a 360 yard skein…
11 Yards
Project Details
Pattern: Firestarter from Yarnissima
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight, colorway Rare Gems
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) toe to mid-leg, US 2.5 (3.0 mm) mid-leg to bind off, US 3 (3.25 mm) bind-off
Mods: none
If I knit this pattern again, I will:
- Either pay attention to row gauge or stop the gusset increases several rounds sooner.
- Stick with the smaller needle rather than switching so that the leg will be a bit snugger.
- Continue with the cable pattern for a couple more repeats.
I really enjoyed working on these socks, both because of the pattern and because of the yarn. If you’re looking for a pattern to challenge you, this is definitely one to look at.
Next up:
The Ancient Woodlands Shawl will make an appearance.
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