Sue Knits

Vintage Knits for Cold Weather

2012-01-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

It is snowing here in Western Washington. Maybe not a lot of snow compared to the Yukon, perhaps, but a lot of snow for us. I can enjoy it because I do not have to go anywhere.

I was looking in my box of cold-weather gear just in case I decided to go outside, and found these vintage hats and mittens. My mother knit and crocheted these for me, probably in the 1970s. I remember wearing all of these at one time or another.

If there is a lesson here — and I am not sure there is — it is that, with a little care, some knit and crocheted items can last for many years. The color palette may be a little out-of-date, but they are still warm and cozy. But I probably will not go outside today.

Boilermaker Mittens

2011-12-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

It has been cold here, cold enough for mittens, which Mike did not have. Into the stash for some leftover Cascade 220 black and gold tweed yarn, Purdue University's colors. Mike has his master's and doctoral degrees from Purdue, so he is pleased to wear the colors.

I used Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd for the template. This is a great book that I use frequently.

Mitteldeckchen III

2011-11-26T10:14:00.001-08:00

If you are a lace knitter or want to be of if you just like looking at beautiful lace knitting (or knitted lace; I never can remember the distinction) you need to join the Lacy Knitters Guild. The guild newsletter features members and their knitting, and contains terrific patterns for doilies and edgings, some new, some old. This one, Mitteldeckchen III, called my name.

And it should call my name. It is designed by lace knitting master Eugen Beugler. I immediately grabbed my needles and cast on. The details:

Pattern: Mitteldeckchen III by Eugen Beugler in Lacy Knitters Guild 2011-2. According to the pattern notes, the doily combines the center of one doily with the border of a different doily. It has 75 rounds.
Thread: Lizbeth, size 40, color 642. Debbie from DS9 Designs carries the Lizbeth in every color and size. This was my first project with Lizbeth, and I was cautious because it is made in China. Based on this first sample, I found it to be a nice thread for knitting, with a crisp finish.
Needles: 1.75mm (US00)
Finished size: About 12 inches diameter.

I am now going back through my Lacy Knitters newsletters to see what else calls my name.

Boise Retreat 2011

2011-11-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

The Boise lace knitting retreat has always provided an enormous opportunity to learn new skills, to admire fabulous knitting, and to stand in awe of amazing creativity. For example:

Easter eggs

Doilies

Mounting doilies in a ring

We also explored different fibers for lace knitting, with a lot of attention to Shetland sheep and Shetland wool. A conundrum: What is Shetland yarn? Is it yarn produced in Shetland from Shetland sheep? Yarn produced in Shetland from any type of sheep from any location? Yarn produced from Shetland sheep regardless of location? All of the above? Other variations?

Shetland fiber and yarn

Shetland fleece

We also talked extensively about Icelandic yarn with Linda DeMoss from DeMoss Mountain Meadow Ranch, and had the opportunity to fondle and purchase her beautiful fleeces and fibers.

This is only a small slice of all of the good things that happened at the 2011 Boise lace retreat.

A Big White Felt Whale

2011-10-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

During my periodic trips to Richmond, Virginia, I usually try to visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. I always find something unexpected and delightful, often something fiber-related. This time it was a big white felt whale.

The exhibit is Mocha Dick by Tristan Lowe. According to the staff at the exhibit, the whale is supported with an inflatable infrastructure. Cleverly concealed zipper seams hold Mocha Dick together and add texture to the sculpture. Felt barnacles also add to the texture.

Was Mocha Dick the model for Herman Melville's Moby Dick? Possibly. Even though I like this sculpture, I am not going to re-read Melville's epic. Did not like it in high school, do not like it now.

New Skills

2011-09-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

I picked up this pattern because it contained two techniques I have never done before, and because I had some yarn in stash that would be suitable.

The first technique is a Shetland construction of the center triangle. Maybe I have done this before, but not recently. The other technique is working with different sizes of needles to create the stripe effect. I like the Shetland construction but I am not as crazy about the two-needle-sizes technique but I think it works here and I am glad I tried it. I really like a picot bind-off, which I have done before.

The details:

Pattern: Simmer Dim by Gudrun Johnson at The Shetland Trader.
Yarn: Louet Gems, 100% merino wool, 185 yards/50 grams, 2 skeins, Pink Panther
Needles: US5 and US10
Finished size: 15 inches center back

2-3-1-1

2011-09-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Seven ribbons at the Western Washington Fair this year: two blue, three red, one white, one green. I won first-place blue ribbons for an edging and a shawl (the photos are a little wonky because they are shot through glass in not-great lighting).

Observant readers here will note that the shawl is displayed wrong-side out. Sheesh.

The three second-place red ribbons are for doilies and for a scarf that did not photograph at all because the case where it was displayed had no lights:

The gold doily was designed as a round doily but it did not want to be blocked round. It wanted to be square-ish. I think it is knit a little to tightly to be round. Maybe I'll try it again on a larger needle.

The third-place white ribbon was for a Quincy hat and the green honorable mention ribbon was for Mike's vest.

This year’s fair grand champion in knitting was stunning. I do not know this knitter but she has my great admiration.

One disappointment (aside from displaying the shawl backwards) was that the number of knitting entries seems smaller every year. The number of entries seemed particularly low to me. If we knitters do not step up and start entering things, the whole home arts program could disappear, which would be sad.

Argentina Memory

2011-09-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of the must-do attractions when visiting Buenos Aires is the outdoor San Telmo Sunday antiques market. No doubt you will find legitimate antiques; you also will find all of the tourist crapola you can imagine, and then some. With so much going on, you might miss the central market, with fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, household items, and other “treasures.” And tucked in the central market is this shop, the only one I saw selling yarn.

Had to purchase, of course. The skein I bought weighed 136 grams; it is probably worsted weight. The young woman in the shop assured me it is “sheep wool.” The yarn decided it needed to be a multidirectional scarf, specifically this version.

I used US8 needles and ended up with a scarf 5 inches wide and 86 inches long. It is a warm scarf. Every time I wear it I will think of the very hot day in Buenos Aires when I bought the yarn.

I Love This Hat

2011-08-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

The hat that I love is Quincy, by Jared Flood. This is just the latest of several Quincy hats I have made.

As usual, the details:

Yarn: Lana Grossa Royal Tweed; 100% merino; 50 grams, 100 meters. The hat took only one skein, but it took all of that skein.
Needles: US9 and US8. (5.5mm and 5mm).
Finished size: A little large for the “model" but just right for a real person, especially one who does not like a tight hat squeezing her head (that is, me).

Squared

2011-08-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

I like square doilies. I have looked at this one several times and finally decided it was time.

This doily has some interesting attributes at the beginning and end that I had not expected. I had expected the plain center part to be one row with yarn-overs at the corners, followed by one row plain. Wrong. It is two rows with yarn-overs, one row plain. At the end, the bind-off as written is done with knitting, not with a crochet hook. I tried it as written but did not care for it, so I used a crochet bind-off. Perhaps with practice, I could master the knitted version.

The details:

Pattern: Millpond, from Handmade Lace and Patterns by Annette Feldman. The book is out of print but readily available. Apparently this doily also appears in a Priscilla doilies book. It is not charted.
Thread: Cébélia Blanc No. 20, one ball (50 grams, 405 yards) plus a small amount (less than 10 yards) from a second ball.
Needles: US0 (2.0mm)
Finished size: Approximately 20 inches x 20 inches.

A New Doily

2011-08-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

I am a great fan of the doilies on Yarn Over; this one is Stor Rund Dug, which translates to Big Round Doily. In this case, Big Round Purple Doily (it really is round, although it looks cockeyed in the photo).

The details:

Thread: Valdani 35 wt. cotton. Color Sweet Violets-Muddy Monet Collection. I love the colors of the Valdani thread; the variations in color are subtle but show nicely. I buy the thread from Debbie at DS9Designs; I want every single color.
Needles: 1.2mm (US 0000).
Finished size: About 15 inches diameter.

I am a great fan of variegated threads for doilies when the thread and pattern complement each other. I think variegated threads are especially good for scallop-y patterns, such as Feather and Fan, Old Shale and variations.

Let me also here recommend to you the Lacy Knitters Guild and the new Web site. If you like lace knitting, this is a place for you. Well worth visiting and membership.

Design by Me

2011-07-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

My husband wears knit vests a lot. Even his students have noticed and commented. This is the latest one. It is a conglomeration of several patterns and my own experience knitting vests, so I think I can claim that I designed it.

I had thought that this yarn would lend itself to all sorts of cables and gansey designs, and it probably does. But getting gauge gave me fits. My swatches (yes, washed and blocked) were spot on, but not at full size. After many false starts, I ended up with a simple Andalusian stitch. I finally got gauge and and a handsome vest, I think.

The details:

Yarn: Bemidji Woolen Mills Homespun yarn, "The Natural Yarn ... from the wool of sturdy Northern-grown sheep." Four skeins, 225 yards/4 ounces. Lovely wool!
Needles: US3 (3.0mm) and US4 (3.5mm)
Gauge: 4.4 stitches/inch in Andalusian pattern (have I mentioned that I am a loose knitter?).
Pattern: Loosely based on Ann Budd’s Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns, a very handy book that I have used frequently.
Finished chest circumference: 48 inches. Because this yarn is a little on the heavy side, I gave it a little more ease than usual.

Confession

2011-07-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

I admit that during my many, many, many years of knitting, I rarely thought about the material I was knitting with. Yarn was yarn. It was wool, cotton, alpaca, silk, acrylic, or some combination. Some projects were successful; others less so.

In recent years I began thinking more about the fiber I was knitting with. Why did it behave the way it did? Why did I like a certain fiber? Why did I dislike another fiber?

This new book, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius, is a great asset for knitters who want to know about their materials. Open it anywhere and learned something about the basic material we knit with.

The first thing I learned was, "Wow, there are a lot more different breeds of sheep than I ever knew." The second thing was, "Sheep are not just sheep. There are a lot of differences among them." Then, you have goats, camelids, bison, musk ox, and rabbits, to name a few.

I am not a spinner, nor do I want to go there. But I am learning that knowledge about how a yarn is produced is making me a better knitter. I probably will not read this book from front cover to back, but I definitely will open it to random pages to meet another type of yarn critter.

This book is a great companion to The Knitter's Book of Wool and The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes.

Yarn in Innsbruck

2011-06-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

Finding a yarn shop in the European cities we visited was not difficult. If the tourist office does not know (and only rarely does the tourist office fail to know), then finding a fabric store — they are everywhere — and asking usually works.

Innsbruck was no different. This shop, Masche & Design, is in a courtyard off Innrain 9, near Marktplatz. It is a small space, but has a large selection of European yarns. Worth a trip.

I also visited a nice shop on Museumstrasse, which had a nice selection of yarn and thread. It was the only shop where I saw — and bought — Diana Strickdeckchen, a magazine with knitted doilies and tablecloths.

Shopping for yarn in Europe is not difficult. It just takes persistence and willingness to ask questions in an unfamiliar language, often with a lot of hand gestures and drawings. It made me wonder if knitting visitors to the United States would find it as easy to find yarn shops.

Bolzano

2011-06-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

Now in Bolzano and no shortage of yarn here. At this shop, on via Argentieri/Silbergasse (everything here has two names, one Italian, one German), I purchased some worsted weight wool from local sheep, "mountain sheep," the very patient English-speaking owner said.

I also had the good fortune to find some of the 1.5mm needles I have been looking for at Aadler, on via Portici/Lauben.

Bolzano is a good place for yarn shopping.

A Pretty Doily

2011-06-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

We are at a lovely agriturismo in Asti, Italy. (Read about it by clicking on the Travel link under Other Interests on the right.)

This was one of the decorations in our room:

I learned that the mother of one of the owners is an expert at crochet. I am not sure if she knit the doily (it has a crochet edging) or whether an earlier generation knit the doily. Other crochet and tatted pieces are attributed to a grandmother. In any case, a knitted doily in the room sure makes Il Milin feel more like home.

Oh, yes, another yarn shop, this time in Asti, just off the main shopping street. Excellent selection of embroidery supplies as well.

Yarn in Torino

2011-06-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Although I have not yet found my 1.5mm circular needles in Italy, I have found plenty of yarn, this time, in Torino.

The first shop was on via XX Settembre. It was small but had a nice selection of threads.

The second shop, Alma, on via Giuseppe Barbaroux in a nice shopping area, appears to produce and sell its own yarns, including lace weights at 1,200 meters/100 grams and 2,000 meters/100 grams, in many, many colors.

Bologna for Knitters

2011-06-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

It is not very difficult to find yarn and thread in Bologna, Italy. My two favorites are Casa della Lana and Filato Monterosa, two very different shops within easy walking distance of the apartment that is home for a week.

Casa della Lana, on via Augusto Righi at via Gugliemo Oberdan, looks like a women's clothing store from the outside, but on the inside, the shelves are stocked with lovely yarn, mostly Italian. The very finest lace weight is all together. The other yarns are arranged by color, which is not normally my favorite arrangement, but it works here.

Filati Monterosa, on via G. Marconi at about via Parigi, has some yarn but its selling point with me is threads of all varieties, brands, weights, and colors.

I won't list what I bought but it was difficult going down from "one of everything, please" to what will fit in my suitcase.

Buying yarn may be easy but needles, not so much. Yarn shops have some needles, mostly long straight ones. You also can buy needles in mercerie, shops that sells notions such as sewing thread (but usually not fabric), pins, ribbons, buttons, women's underwear, zippers, some crochet threads, embroidery threads, and crochet and knitting supplies (but usually not yarn, except in small towns where mercerie function for both notions and yarn). I am looking for 1.5mm circular needles; so far, 2.0mm is the smallest I have found. Guess I have more shopping to do.

A Little Shoulder Shawl

2011-06-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have long admired the Citron shawlette/scarf/shoulder shawl. What really sold me on knitting this was seeing my friend Joy's version.

As usual, the details:

Pattern: Citron by Hillary Smith Callis Smith, Knitty, Winter 2009
Yarn: Trekking XXL; 75 percent wool, 25 percent nylon; 459 yards/100 grams; color 418.
Needles: US5
Finished center back length:16 inches

I had enough yarn for only six rows of the final 12 rows for the ruffle, with about 30 inches of yarn left over. The shorter ruffle works for me.

Knitting ’Round the Campfire

2011-05-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Not a literal campfire. Those who know me know that I do not go camping. Roughing it is a hotel room without Internet access and cable TV.

The color of the yarn is Campfire. The details:

Pattern: Glorianna from Elizabeth I scarves by Jolene Treace. The pattern is Pendants from Barbara Walker’s 2nd Treasury.
Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow, 100% merino, about 440 yards, in Campfire.
Needles: US4
Finished size: 7.5 inches x 65 inches

I have made this scarf before because I like the Pendants pattern and it is fun to knit.

Tiny Purple Hats

2011-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

My friend and knitting guild colleague Jeannie is involved with the Purple Hat Project at our local Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. Mary Bridge has a program to help prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome. The parents of every newborn will receive a DVD and a book that explains this very difficult time for new parents. And, with help from local knitters, each new baby will receive a purple hat to reinforce the message. Jeannie is collecting hats sized for preemies and newborns in any and every shade of purple. Hat do not have to be solid purple; they just have to have some shade of purple in them somewhere. Size does not matter too much; there is a head for every hat, as the saying goes.

At a recent guild knitting retreat, we were given some new yarns to play with. I chose Cascade Pacific, a blend of superwash wool and acrylic, in lavender. Truth told, it is not my favorite yarn to knit with; it feels plastic-y in my hands. That said, it is very soft and washes up well, so it is good for baby clothes. I actually made four hats from one 100-gram skein but already gave the first one to Jeannie.

I hope some baby likes his or her little hat.

Off Topic

2011-04-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Periodically I veer away from knitting to something else. Last week was wine.

First, Chilean Pinot Noirs and Syrahs. My husband, a wine economist and blogger, was invited to participate in an online discussion of these wines. You can read about it here. Our cat, Mooch, figured out that Jeni was going to be his new best friend. Fortunately, Mooch does not mooch from the table and was perfectly happy to sit in Jeni's lap and be petted.

The second event was Malbec World Day. During our visit to Argentina earlier this year, we drank some fabulous Malbecs. Making a selection from our cellar was difficult, as you can read here. But I was happy with the choice (but I would have been happy with any of the options).

My next post will have some knitting it in. Promise.

Knitting But Not Finishing

2011-04-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since I have posted a finished project. That's because I have not finished a project recently, other than a log cabin wash cloth. I learned that technique at a recent retreat of the Puyallup Knitting Guild. One reason that I have not finished something is that I couldn't resist starting a couple of new projects

However, I have been looking through some knitting books, some old, some new. One of my favorites among the new books is Margaret Stove's Wrapped in Lace. The beauty of this book is not just the patterns — don't get me wrong, the patterns are gorgeous — but the information about techniques, design processes, traditions, conservation, and more. This book, like Margaret Stove's other books, is for the thinking knitter.

I also have been looking through a classic, Knitting Counterpanes by Mary Walker Phillips. While I am unlikely to knit a bedspread, the elements of the counterpanes can easily be used in other designs. This also is a book for the thinking knitter who can admire the designs of earlier knitters and adapt them to contemporary knitting.

Milana Scarves

2011-03-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

While traveling in Buenos Aires, I visited a lovely yarn store called Milana Hilados and met with designer Joji. For reasons I can't explain, I was immediately attracted to yarns that are very far from my usual fingering weight and finer. These are big, fat, beautiful mega-bulky yarns, which are a signature design of the shop.

I think this yarn is called Florcitas. It is is super bulky wool roving with felted flowers. The blue one, at 146 grams, is 5 inches wide and 76 inches long. The white one is 156 grams, 4.5 inches wide and 61 inches long. The white roving is heavier than the blue, which accounts for the difference in finished size, even though both are garter stitch on 7 stitches. Both are knit on 19mm (US35) needles, which if I never use again will be just fine. Give me my 0000s any day.

Nevertheless, I like the scarves and I think they will make nice Christmas presents for [fill in the blank].

Textiles in Argentina

2011-03-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

I've written a little about yarn shops in Buenos Aires. I was further excited to find more beautiful textiles and this fascinating little book. I can't show here everything I purchased in Argentina because some things are Christmas presents, but I can show you a few things.

My three favorite stores in Buenos Aires for high-quality textiles and other Argentinian crafts are Elementos Argentinos, Artesanías Argentinas, and Arandú. Arandú is especially good if you want to buy horse-related clothing, jewelry, accessories — for people and for horses. I am positive this is nowhere near a complete list of excellent shops, but I was quite pleased with these three.

I did like this yarn winder at Arandú. The salesman didn't quite understand my fascination with it. He said it belongs to one of the women who weaves ponchos for the store. The store uses it for display. I did twirl it a few times, and it moves smoothly. Simple, functional, artistic.

Both Elementos Argentinos and Artisanías Argentinas could identify who made their products and where they were made. At Elementos Argentinos I was attracted to this little sheep.

Janice and I were immediately taken with the llama shawls. Doesn't she look great in the red one? I bought the turquoise.

The first yarn I saw was at the San Telmo market before I went to the shops on Avenida Scalabrini Ortiz. I found some pretty yarn in this tiny stall in the market. More about the yarn when I actually knit it up.

Like most tourist destinations, Argentina abounds with low-quality, kitschy tourist stuff. But for my money, I prefer locally made products, especially if my purchases support local artisans.

Knitting and Art

2011-02-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

Salentein winery in Argentina's Uco Valley includes an art gallery, mostly featuring work by contemporary Argentinian artists but also a few European artists (the winery owner is Dutch). Among the paintings is this:

The painting is by German painter Hans von Bartels (1856-1913), and it is titled "In de duinen," ("in the dunes"). Note the sheep in the background. It also looks like she is knitting in the round on three, maybe four, needles.

For more about Salentein winery and our travels in Argentina, select Travel in the Other Interests section on this blog's menu.

I am not getting much knitting of my own done during our travels, but I am not sorry about that.

On the Road

2011-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

I am not knitting much or writing about knitting much during my travels in Argentina. If you want to read about our trip to Argentina, click on the Travel link under Other Interests.

Yarn Day in Buenos Aires

2011-02-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Through the miracle of Ravelry, I "met" Marcela, who lives in Buenos Aires. She recommended a yarn shop called Milana Hilados and "introduced" me to Joji, who works there. Fun, fun, fun!

I looked at a number of other yarn stores on Scalabrini Ortiz, but Milana was by far the best. The others had too much acrylic and bulk commercial yarn, while the yarn at Milana is high quality and creative.

All of that yarn shopping was so exhausting, we needed coffee to restore ourselves.

Loooooong Scarf

2011-02-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of Jared Flood, and not just because he has local roots. This is his Woodsmoke Scarf from Brave New Knits by Julie Turjoman. I had several balls of assorted colors of Knit Picks Palette. Palette colors are more vivid than the original colors of the design, but it still works, I think.

The details:

Pattern: Woodsmoke Scarf by Jared Flood.
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, Blue and Lilac; I used almost a full skein (231 yards) of each.
Needles: US5
Finished size: 6.5 inches by 89 inches (probably the longest scarf I have ever knit)

The surprise in this scarf is that it is incredibly boring to knit but the final result doesn't look boring. The center panel is straight garter stitch. The eight-row lace edging is easy to memorize. Because this was such a long scarf, I had to knit a lot of edging.

That said, I started another one with some more random balls of Palette. Sometimes boring is just right.

On the Edge

2011-01-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

Last October I took a class on edgings. I knit my edging some months ago but procrastinated when it came to sewing it on. Knitting is more fun than sewing those tiny little stitches.

I knit this edging with Cebelia size 30 on US0 needles. The pattern is part of a collection I have from the early 1900s that I hope to publish someday.

Glass

2011-01-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

This post is a diversion to my interest in glass. One of the benefits of membership in Tacoma's Museum of Glass is the opportunity to meet and watch amazing artists. Last weekend, Preston Singletary was working in the Hot Shop.

Another member benefit is the monthly drawing. Every time you visit, you can put your name in a glass bowl and have a chance to win a prize. My husband was December's winner! The prize was a lovely glass bowl that artist Michael Sosin calls Wabi-Sabi. It's a very exciting addition to our glass collection.

I have said before that the Museum of Glass Hot Shop is one place where I cannot knit. Not because I am not allowed to knit, but because watching the artists takes up all of my attention.

Things I'll Never Knit

2011-01-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

Add this to the list of things I'll never knit.

Saw this photo in the New York Times on December 12. It's from Dolce & Gabbana. The whole outfit — body suit, coyote fur boots, and crystal goggles — will set you back $3,810. Plus tax. Scarf may be extra. There also appears to be a matching bag.

Now Fair Isle is not my favorite technique to do. I love the way it looks, but it is not an enjoyable knit for me.

And that is all I have to say about this.

Cowl

2010-12-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since I knit Ice Queen last year, I've become quite attached to cowls. Apparently I have become attached to green cowls, since my Ice Queen is mint green, but that may be another story for a later time.

The yarn was a gift from a year ago. It took that long for it to tell me what it wanted to be, after several false starts.

The details:

Pattern: Diamond Leaf Cowl by Darlene Joyce, offered as a freebie by Mosaic Yarn Studio. The pattern called for four repeats; the yarn allowed me four and a half.
Yarn: Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer in in Olive; 70% silk, 30% seacell; 140yards/50 grams; 2 skeins. This is amazingly soft and luxurious yarn.
Needles: US7
Finished size: About 13 inches tall.

I am likely to knit this again; it really shows off relatively small amounts of luxury yarn.

Knitting in Circles

2010-12-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

A friend knit and wore this little shawl and I loved it. It is one of those patterns that did not make complete sense when I read it, so I just started knitting. And, never one to leave well enough alone, I changed the edging.

The details:

Pattern: Spiral Octagon Shawl by Selma Miriam, Interweave Knits, September 1998. I substituted the Hilton Lace edging for the designated edging, which involved small bit of fiddling but nothing serious. I even was able to Kitchener without my normal level of aggravation.
Yarn: Nature Spun sport weight in Snow. The pattern calls for a fingering weight but this yarn worked for me.
Needles: US3 (3.25mm)
Finished size: Approximately 14 inches back neck length.

This is probably a prototype model to see if I could make the pattern work. I can, so I am likely to knit this again — maybe in a dark color to wear over a white shirt?

Selma Miriam also designed the Kousa Dogwood Shawl, which has been on my to-do list for some time.

Textiles on the Road

2010-11-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

Recent travels to Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., provided opportunities to see some lovely (Richmond) and fascinating (D.C.) textiles.

First, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has an exhibition of quilts from the Winterthur Collection.

I am not a quilter, but this collection showed the art and skill of the quilters. Beautiful!

Equally fascinating is the Crochet Coral Reef at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. Though the reef is almost entirely crochet, I did see bits of knitting, lace, and other textile arts in the displays, along with plastic bags, pull-tabs, and other debris that does not belong in the ocean. I still don't understand hyperbolic crochet, but I appreciate the art in the exhibit.

The two displays have something in common: The more you look, the more you see and the more you appreciate the craft and art involved.

Very Pink

2010-11-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

It's pink. Very pink. I found three skeins of this yarn in a thrift store and a little more than two of them went into this shawl. It cried out for beads.

Details:

Pattern: Haruni by Emily Ross, free on Ravelry. I added an additional repeat on the leaf part.
Yarn: Mondial Prestigio Super Kid Mohair, 80% superkid mohair, 20% nylon, 245 meters/25 grams.
Beads: 8/0 silver-lined champagne
Needles: US4 (3.5mm)
Finished size: 26 inches center back

Wine and Yarn

2010-10-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

This has been a summer and fall of wine tourism, which also means yarn tourism. Fortunately, the two are compatible.

One trip took us to the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, source of some terrific wine. At Robert Sinskey Vineyards, where we found some lovely organically grown wines — and skeins of wool! The Sinskey people use sheep to help mow and fertilize the vineyard. The tasting room/gift shop sells hat kits plus single skeins.

According to Debbie, the vineyard manager, the sheep are mostly Romney crosses, CVM and Lincoln/Corriedale crosses. In 2009, they used a Leicester cross ram. All of this crossing produces nice wool.

I used my 132-gram skein to make a scarf.

Pattern: Double Cable Scarf, part of the Rib and Cable Quarter in One Skein by Leigh Radford.
Needles: US6/4mm
Finished size: 4" wide x 43" long

Earlier this month, we went on a wine-tasting tour the the Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia. Again, very good wines. I visited two very different but lovely yarn shops in Kelowna. I can recommend both Art of Yarn and Kelowna Yarn and Needlecrafts. I bought a skein of lace-weight alpaca at the first stop and thread at the second.

Lace Knitting in Boise

2010-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

One of the great pleasures of the year is a week of lace knitting and lace knitting education at Myrna Stahman's annual lace knitting retreat in Boise, Idaho.

This year, among the things we learned were how to incorporate beautiful edgings on towels and hankies.

We admired participants' beautiful knitting.

And we shopped.

Great fun all around. It was a joy to spend a week with such talented knitters and teachers.

Finally, A New Doily

2010-09-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have not knit any doilies for a while, so it was time to knit one that I have been thinking about for some time.

The details:

Pattern: Adonienieroschen (I have no idea what this means) from Old World Treasures by Gloria Penning. Perhaps this is a Herbert Niebling design? The ribbing in the center flower gives this doily a lot of great texture.
Thread: Cebelia size 30
Needles: 2mm (US0)
Finished size: approximately 16 inches diameter

This Made Me Laugh

2010-09-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Knitted bacteria!

Fair Time!

2010-09-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

One of the pleasures of the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup, Washington, is seeing the beautiful needlework. And taking home a few ribbons. I had a good year.

First place and Best in Category in the Lace section for my spiral doily.

First place for another doily, also in the Lace category.

In the Knitting category, I have second place for a scarf.

Third place for a shawl.

And honorable mention for a hat.

Beautiful Bags

2010-08-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

My friend JJ is an amazingly talented seamstress and designer. She recently went on a bag binge, creating beautiful tote bags. She also taught her techniques to some of her friends. Her skill and design sense result in truly artistic creations.

So I asked her if she could make a bag from a weaving I purchased in Burma in 2000 or thereabouts. It was not the finest weaving in the world but it reflected a memorable time and place for me.

Leave it to JJ to create not one, but two, beautiful tote bags from this length of cloth. Each is interfaced and lined, with an inside pocket and a key-holder clip.

Now I have to start some knitting worthy of JJ's beautiful bags.

JJ is not in the bag business although she sells them (generally $40 to $50 each — a bargain, considering how beautifully made they are) to friends and friends of friends and at a craft fair from time to time.

Summer Alpaca Knitting

2010-07-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

We have had the perfect summer for knitting with alpaca — cool and damp. The alpaca was a lovely gift from Kelsey, who just finished a Fulbright scholarship in Peru and is next going to Ecuador with Kiva. Kelsey is a weaver and, based on her writing, made the most of her time in South America. You can read about her travels here.

She brought me three skeins of yarn from Sol Alpaca, 80% baby alpaca, 20% silk, 100 meters/50 grams. The blue is deeper and richer than in the photo.

I kept the scarf pattern very simple — stockinette and garter ribbing — to highlight the yarn. Knit on US5 needles. The finished size is 7 inches wide by 74 inches long.

Thank you, Kelsey, for the beautiful gift.

A New Shawl

2010-06-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

For the past several years, I have attended Myrna Stahman's annual lace knitting retreat. A week of lace knitting — how good is that! I have made some good friends and learned a lot. This shawl, in a way, represents how much I enjoy the retreat and the esteem in which I hold my fellow lace knitters.

Those of you, dear readers, who are familiar with Myrna's book Stahman's Shawls & Scarves recognize the pattern as Marialis, a.k.a., feather and fan. Marialis is Myrna's sister, and a regular at the retreat.

The yarn was dyed by retreat attendee Patti, who produces and dyes yarn in her studio in The Dalles, Oregon, for the 10th retreat. The colorway represents the landscape of the facility where the retreat is held, with the trees, roses, blue sky, and so forth.

As to the details, I knit the shawl on US4 needles. The lace weight merino yarn weighs in at 340 yards per 1.8 ounces. I used almost four skeins, about 1,200 yards. I made version B, variation 1. The finished back neck length is about 26 inches. And, yes, the feather-and-fan does its cupping thing as the pattern grows. And I don't care.

Another Shawlette

2010-06-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned more than once or twice, I like shawlettes. And I like using sock yarn for them.

The details on this one:

Pattern: Mini Mochi Shawlette from Crystal Palace.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock lightweight, color Waterlilies, 1 skein/350yards
Needles: US5

Of course, I made a change. I did not like the knitted-on edging with this yarn so I did a picot bind-off

Autumn Shawlette

2010-05-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

I like shawlettes and shoulder shawls. They are easy to wear and don't take forever to knit. And it is nice to have small shawl for cool weather or air-conditioning. This one was interesting to me because it starts at the bottom, casting on what seems like a gazillion stitches, then knitting upwards as the shawl gets smaller. I think I prefer starting from the neck but I do like this scarf.

The details:

Pattern: Lace Panel Shawl and Scarf (I made the scarf version)
Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland Sprindrift, color Autumn, 105 meters/skein, approximately 2.5 skeins
Needles: US2 (2.75mm)
Finished size: Approximately 11 inches back neck length

As usual, I made some changes, preferring directional decreases, especially the quadruple decreases in the panel. Instead of making them all as a knit 4 together, I made the right-leaning ones as K4tog and the left-leaning ones as SSSSK.

I very much like the I-cord bind-off across the top; to me, it makes a nice finish.

True Blue Damson

2010-05-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of Ysolda Teague's Damson shawl. It is easy and gives a lovely result. I finished this one a few months ago and finally got a photo that I like.

I added small blue and magenta-ish 6.0 beads to the edging. I like beads on the bottom of shawls for sparkle and to add a little weight to the bottom of the shawl. Other details:

Yarn: Harrisville Shetland Tweed, True Blue, approximately 500 yards
Needles: US6
Back neck length: approximately 15 inches

The shawl is is hanging on my 50+-year-old Royal Ann cherry tree; I hope recent wind storms have not destroyed this year's crop.

So Where Have I Been?

2010-04-27T14:08:00.001-07:00

Knitting, of course, and drinking wine. But not at the same time. Mostly.

First was the Puyallup Knitting Guild Spring Retreat, where we learned all about mitered squares. Great fun!

Second, a trip to Napa for Stags Leap District Vineyard to Vintner.

As soon as we get some good weather here, I have some FOs to photograph.

Another Old Favorite

2010-04-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

Whenever I have a small amount of yarn in search of a project, I often turn to Versatile Scarves by Evelyn Clark. I especially like the Triple Eyelet Scarf.

The details of this one:

Yarn: Brunswick Impressions hand-dyed wool (discontinued), Maui Ombre, less than 1 skein, maybe 250 yards?
Needles: US9
Finished size: 14 inches back neck length

I have finished several other items that I will post as soon as I can get decent photos.

Back to Doilywood

2010-03-23T13:05:00.001-07:00

I saw this doily while cruising through an old knitting and crochet book that belongs to my mother. I did not think I had seen this before, but it turns out that I already had it.

This doily appears in two places that I know about: Hand Crochet by Royal Society #3, Lace and Doilies and Danish Lace Treasures by Gloria Penning. The latter has errors in rounds 43, 62, 63 and 65, at least compared to the former. I also understand that it appears in Kunststrick/Knitted Lace by Sonja Esbensen and Anna Rasmussen, but I do not have that book.

This doily has a bit of everything: some fagoting, some large holes, a section with patterning on every round and an unusual bind-off. Perhaps not the most attractive doily ever designed but certainly interesting to knit.

I knit it with Flora thread, size 50, on US0 (2.0mm) needles. Finished size is about 10.75 inches diameter.

Old Style

2010-03-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

While clearing out a box of old sewing supplies, I found this lovely package of sewing needles.

Based on some superficial Internet research, it appears the packet was produced in Germany before World War I; some suggest it dates from the Spanish-American War (1898). When folded, it is about 4.75 inches wide and 2.5 inches high.

And it appears to have most, if not all, of its needles.

Was this an advertising or promotional item? Sold or given away? If it is from the Spanish-American War era, was it intended to encourage support for the war or to celebrate a victory? Or was the Iowa the focus? How does the German-made Iowa needle book relate to other similar military-themed Army and Navy Needle Books? And why military-themed needle books at all? Sadly, I have more questions than answers.

Nevertheless, it is still a beautiful little piece of sewing history and military history.

Damson

2010-03-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

The first time I saw this (thanks, Pat!), I knew I had to knit it. It is Damson by Ysolda Teague.

Yarn: Pagewood Farm Yukon in Really Red; merino superwash, bamboo, nylon; 450 yards. I did not have enough yarn to finish as written, so I did a crochet bind off instead.
Needles: US5
Finished size: 15 inches back neck length

I am working on a second Damson. I expect to have enough yarn to bind off as the pattern specifies, and maybe even add beads.

Two Bow Ties

2010-02-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Finding a pattern for leftover bits of yarn or one special skein is always a challenge. The Garter Loop-Through Scarf by Marci Richardson from the book Designer One-Skein Wonders is a good option. In both cases, I made the scarf longer and narrower.

One was made with about 160 yards of Gedifra Momentum, a worsted weight poly-cotton blend with a bit of sparkle.

The second was made with one skein (120 yards) of Noro Yuzen, a DK weight, wool-silk-mohair blend.

I think this pattern will enter my repertoire of favorites.

More Wine Tasting

2010-01-31T13:03:00.000-08:00

I have come to like JoJoLand's Wine Tasting Scarf, even though I changed the direction of most of the decreases to make a stronger line on the lacy bits. The yarn (which really isn't this orange) was hand-dyed by my friend Naomi.

Knit on US4 needles. Finished size 6 inches wide by 46 inches long.

Maybe it is time for some wine tasting.

Hat Trick

2010-01-16T13:26:00.001-08:00

I have been knitting hats recently. Must be the cold weather. My friend Jane had knit the Debbie Bliss Cabled Beret, which I liked a lot. The pattern as written is knit flat; I changed it to knit in the round.

I started with some Cascade 220, color 4008. Knowing that I am a relaxed (very relaxed) knitter, I used 2.75mm (US2) needles for the ribbing and 3.75mm (US5) needles for the body, sizes I usually use with worsted-weight yarn. The result is a nice hat, but not a beret.

Could I make it more floppy and beret-like? Yes, with bigger needles. I retained the 2.75mm needles for the ribbing but went to 4.5mm (US7) for the body. The yarn is Plymouth Galway Colornet, color 565. Ta-da! A beret!

The red hat has a finished weight of 84 grams. The green one has a finished weight of 102 grams. That's a difference of 22 percent!

And, yes, I know that a hat trick needs three. So here's the third hat, based on Jared Flood's Turn a Square hat. I like the shaping on this hat. The blue is Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb in Blue Flannel; the stripes are Cascade 220 in color 8404 (brown) and color 8021 (off-white). Needles are US3 for the ribbing and US4 for the body. Yes, relaxed knitter.

More Fluttering

2010-01-04T10:33:00.001-08:00

When I saw this yarn, I knew it had to be a Flutter Scarf. The yarn is hand-dyed baby alpaca (435 yards per 1.8-ounce skein) from Spor Farm in The Dalles, Oregon. Patty calls this color Wild Child. Knit on US3 needles.

This is a happy scarf. Wearing this scarf makes me happy.

Ice Queen

2009-12-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Holiday greetings to you, regardless of what holiday(s) you celebrate. Perhaps every day you are able to knit is a day to celebrate.

I have been wanting to knit Ice Queen since it was published. It has two of my favorite features: lace and beads. I had one skein of my minty green mohair-silk left so it became Ice Queen. And it has been cold so a warm scarf-wimple was appealing.

Details:

Pattern: Ice Queen by Rosemary Hill, published on Knitty; version A (stockinette) with bead placement that is a combination of versions A and B and my own misreading of the pattern, which means lots of beads
Yarn: 1 skein Emmebi Silkid, 70 percent kid mohair, 30 percent silk, 220 meters per 25-gram ball, made in Italy but purchased in Riga, Latvia
Needles: US8 for the body, US for top bind-off
Beads: 8/0 silver-lined tourmaline seed beads

Doily with Spiral Variegated Version

2009-12-18T09:38:00.001-08:00

Fear of variegated thread for doilies? Not me. The right colors and the right pattern can work together successfully. For example:

Details:

Pattern: Doily with Spiral from Yarn Over
Thread: Valdani 35 wt., 100 percent cotton, color Vanilla Sky from DS9 Designs
Needles: 1.2mm (0000) for start and first 8 rounds, then 1.5mm (000)
Finished size: 12.5 inches diameter

I have some more of these lovely threads; just waiting for the right pattern to find me.

Brrrrrr!

2009-12-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

The deep freeze of the past 10 days or so is starting to thaw. It was perfect hat-knitting weather.

I was delighted to find Jared Flood's Turn a Square Hat. It is a great way to use leftover bits of yarn; in this case, Cascade 220, color 8408, 100 percent wool, and discontinued Brunswick Tweed, color Birch Bark, 50 percent wool and 50 percent cotton.

Gobsmacked!

2009-11-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

When I first started lace knitting, I spent many hours visiting Nurhanne's Web site, Yarn Over. I was especially enchanted by her collection of doily patterns and quickly became hooked. I still visit regularly and still knit doilies from Yarn Over.

In December 2007, Nurhanne offered Pay It Forward on her former blog. She offered a hand-made item to the first three people who signed on and agreed to make the same offer on their blogs. This was too good to pass up.

So, this week I was gobsmacked when I received this beautiful wool shawl, made by Nurhanne, based on a Marianne Kinzel leaflet.

It is so beautiful. That it is also one of my favorite colors is a bonus.

Unfortunately, only one person signed on for my Pay It Forward, and I had no way to contact her. So, Robin, if you are still out there, please make contact so I can Pay It Forward to you.

Wine Tasting

2009-11-26T10:46:00.000-08:00

Wine has a big role in our household. We enjoy wine and my husband is a wine economist (I am the principal wine research assistant). So when I saw this pattern, called Wine Tasting — and saw it shortly before his birthday — it seemed like destiny.

Pattern: Wine Tasting from JoJoLand. I made some changes: I thought that some of the decreases were going the wrong way (wrong way for me, YMMV), so I changed them. Unfortunately, the pattern is not charted, and I did not take the time to chart it. Had I done so, I would have discovered the decrease issue before I started knitting. Oh, well, do-overs are part of the process.
Yarn: JoJoLand Melody in color MS12, 220 yards per 50-gram ball.
Needles: US4
Finished size: 9 inches x 57 inches

Minty Fresh

2009-11-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

Kid mohair and silk and beads — yummy.

Pattern: Scaruffle by Bess Haile, from Clara Parkes's The Knitter's Book of Yarn. I think the numbers in the pattern for the short rows are off, but the pattern is very forgiving.
Yarn: Silkid by Emmebi, 70 percent baby kid mohair, 30 percent silk, in minty green, made in Italy but purchased in Riga, Latvia. (Mint green is not always my first choice of color but the combination of color and softness-silkiness of the yarn makes it work for me.)
Needles: US4 and US10.5.
Finished size: Not nearly as long as the pattern but very wearable.
Beads: Silver-lined 8/0 seed beads in a color called tourmaline. I added five rows of beads in the neckline area. Tedious, but worth it, I think.

And, yes, the scarf is photographed on my Japanese lace leaf maple in its full autumn splendor red.

Mighty Fine

2009-11-08T13:31:00.001-08:00

I had an opportunity to knit with a buffalo-merino blend from Buffalo Gold (I do not know if it is generally available yet). It is mighty fine yarn, in two senses.

First, it is almost cobweb weight, coming in at 400 yarns per ounce.

Second, it is mighty fine to work with. It is extremely soft and luxurious. You want to fondle it, as well as knit with it.

Pattern: Glorianna, from Elizabeth I by Jolene Treace.
Needles: 3mm. I used plastic needles with a little "drag" to them. The fineness and softness of the yarn did not work well with my slickest needles.
Finished size: 7 inches by 60 inches.

Patron of the Arts

2009-11-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

The Museum of Glass is one of my favorite places to hang out. The museum Hot Shop, where you can see artists making glass, is one of the few places where I can't knit because watching the artists is so interesting.

I am especially interested in the museum's Kids Design Glass program. The first Kids Design Glass exhibit opened this weekend. Museum supporters were offered a chance to sponsor one of the pieces. This one, by 10-year-old Meredith, is the one I chose.

It is untitled but the artist's notes say that it is a chicken-turtle with big lips. Makes sense to me.

Some of my other favorites are Pepper and Green Guy.

Use the Kids Design Glass link above to see more of the collection and the original drawings. Better yet, visit the exhibit.

Fall Landscape

2009-10-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

Evelyn Clark's Landscape Scarf is one of my favorites because of its versatility. My standard Landscape Scarf differs from the pattern because I alternate only garter and stockinette. I make it as big or as small as I want based on the amount of yarn available.

This one is extra-special because I used yarn dyed by my friend Naomi. She says the yarn is Knit Picks Palette, originally in a variety of colors intended for a Fair Isle project. She over-dyed it all to these beautiful fall colors. Naomi has taken to dyeing yarn in a big way, with great success.

I knit the scarf on US6 (4mm) needled. The finished back neck length is 16 inches.

A Week Full of Lace and Learning

2009-10-18T08:55:00.001-07:00

The annual Boise lace knitting retreat brings together about 20 lace knitters for a week of teaching, learning, sharing and fun — and a little shopping. This year's retreat was as rewarding as previous retreats. Classes on incorporating lace into sweaters, designing doilies, geometry of shawls and short-row doilies gave participants much to think about.

The show-and-teach sessions each day allowed participants to show off their beautiful knitting, such as:

A Commission

2009-10-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Annika asked for a knitted blanket for Fluffy, her hamster. I had never made a hamster blanket before but if Fluffy needs a blanket, then Fluffy needs a blanket. Annika expressed a preference for red.

I knit a plain square; garter borders, stockinette interior. I nixed lace because I was afraid Fluffy would get her feet caught in the lace. And, I thought it should be machine washable and dryable. Fortunately, I had some red tweed Wool-Ease in stash, which met all of my criteria.

Annika and Fluffy appear to be happy with the results. Annika always supervises Fluffy when she is in her blanket so Fluffy doesn't chew it.

Annika is a great girl — a good student, math whiz, student leader, friend to animals, very articulate, and lots of fun. I am glad she is my friend.

Fancy Feet

2009-09-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I knit socks. The last socks I knit — actually, all of the socks I previously knit — were top down, knit on double-pointed needles. Then three events came together:

I borrowed Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson from the Tacoma Public Library (I have since purchased the book).
I decided that I should learn Judy's Magic Cast-On.
I closely watched my friend Carole knit socks on two circulars. She knits two at a time; I started with one at a time.

The result was a pair of toe-up socks, made from Patons Kroy Socks FX in Cascade Colors, knit on US1 (2.25mm) needles.

I am a convert to toe-up, Judy's Magic Cast-On and knitting socks on two circular needles. That is a lot of change in one pair of socks.

Just in time as the weather starts to cool down.

Four Blue Ribbons

2009-09-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

Each of my four entries in Lace categories at the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup won a blue ribbon.

My Flutter Scarf won in a category for beads, and even won a Judges Craftsmanship Ribbon (the pink one attached to the blue one, below). I have never won that before so I am really excited.

Mandenblute doily, in the large doily category.

Coronet doily in the small doily category.

And Weeping Willow shawl in the garments category.

Additionally, I won a red ribbon (second place) for a vest in the Knitting section. I usually threaten that Mike has to wear the ribbon when he wears the vest. An idle threat, as it happens.

And an honorable mention for my Lily of the Valley lace scarf, also in the Knitting section.

I am pleased that the judges liked my knitting. The fair attracts so much fabulous knitting of all sorts that judging must be very, very difficult. I would much rather knit than judge.

Vested Interests

2009-08-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Turns out that sometimes plain, stockinette knitting is just the right choice. That was the result for this vest for my husband.

The details:

Pattern: Combination of Classic Knitted Vests for Men and Women by Nancy Wiseman and The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd
Yarn: Brunswick Berber Tweed (discontinued); 50 percent wool, 50 percent cotton; 250 yards/100 grams; color Birch Bark
Needles: US5 for body, US3 for ribbing (yes, I am a "relaxed" knitter)

I tried adding cables and other flourishes to make the knitting more interesting, but the yarn color is so complex, almost a ragg-like quality, that any additions got lost. So plain stockinette was the default. Though it was rather boring knitting, I am pleased with the result. Brunswick sure made some nice yarns back in the day.

A Hat

2009-08-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted recently because I haven't finished anything recently, except for a hat. But I think it's a pretty hat. It was a bit of a challenge, because I had only one skein of the multi-color green yarn. I opted for a top-down hat, figuring I would knit as much of the green as possible, then switch to something else for the ribbing. Finding a complementary color and weight was harder than I thought it would be.

The details:

Pattern: Karlchen
Yarn for top of hat: OnLine Linie 50 (discontinued?), viscose-cotton-linen blend, 50 grams, 88 meters
Yarn for ribbing: Pima Tencel, cotton-Tencel blend
Needles: US4 for top, US2 for ribbing

One Doily Twice

2009-07-22T09:20:00.001-07:00

Same doily (Marianne Kinzel's Coronet from her "First Book of Modern Lace Knitting"), same needles (US0, 2mm), different threads, different results.

The thread on the left is Clark's Big Ball, size 30, color 158. The thread on the right is Cebelia, size 30, color 799. Interestingly, the green and pink doily blocked slightly larger than the blue one, which may be a result of the thread, the blocker (me) or both.

Two-Color Doily

2009-06-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is one of the few doilies I've seen that is designed to be a two-color doily. Unfortunately, older pattern books do not give credit to the designer. I think this designer incorporated the lace and color in a pleasing manner.

Pattern: Knitted Two-Color Doily from Star Doily Book #104
Thread: Cebelia size 30, cream and 799 blue (I love this color)
Needles: 2.0mm (US0)
Rounds: 82
Finished size: About 12.5 inches diameter

Fluttering Again

2009-06-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that I am crazy about the MimKnits Flutter Scarf? This is my second, but probably not my last, one.

Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr, approximately 500 yards (left over from my Weeping Willow shawl), color Elderberry
Needles: US4 (3.5mm)
Beads: Japanese 8/0 seed beads
Finished size: Approximately 75 inches long

Meanwhile, my garden is doing well. The colors are always a source of inspiration.

Small Doily

2009-06-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, variegated thread was common. While it does not work for many doilies — usually the more complex ones — it can be used more or less successfully for simple doilies, such as this one.

Details:

Pattern: Small Doily from Nurhanne's yarnover site (a resource treasure for doily knitting fans). It is 42 rounds. The pattern directs you to purl rounds 36-38 and 40-43, but I knit them.
Thread: J&P Coats size 30 crochet thread, small ball of 150 yards, color 19. The fact that it is J&P Coats means it is pre-1952 thread; J&P Coats and the Clark Thread Company merged in 1952.
Needles: 2.0mm
Finished size: about 8.5 inches diameter

Square with Diamonds

2009-06-03T08:17:00.001-07:00

The Lacy Knitters Guild (and as a group on Ravelry) is an amazing resource for lace knitters. The newsletters are chock full of information about lace knitting. And, each issue contains patterns from the Lacy Knitters Collection, such as this one:

Pattern: Square with Diamonds, Kunststricken 1637
Thread: Cebelia, size 30, yellow, color 745 (this is an older thread, judging from the label)
Needles: 2.0 mm (US0)
Finished size: approximately 12 inches x 12 inches

I made this doily for my friend Debbie as she begins her new job and new adventures in Vancouver, Washington. I've known Deb for 23+ years both as a work colleague and as a friend. She is definitely a doily-worthy friend.

Weeping Willow

2009-05-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

I greatly enjoy the shawl patterns from Two Old Bags. This one is Weeping Willow. Details:

Weeping Willow Shawl from Two Old Bags
Yarn: Zephyr, 50 percent silk/50 percent merino, color Elderberry (wonderful yarn, wonderful!)
Needles: 4mm (US6)
Finished size: 35 inches center back

I added 8/0 Japanese seed beads to the center of the diamonds, along one of the chevron and at the tips of the edging. The beads are nearly the same color as the yarn because I wanted to add a bit of sparkle and weight but did not want the beads to overwhelm the pattern or the yarn.

Two Unrelated Cool Things

2009-05-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Cool Thing No. 1: My friends Nancy and Michael framed the doily that I knit. Nancy selected this one, Egeblad, as a housewarming gift for their new home in Tucson. I like the way they framed it. I feel like my work is hanging in an art gallery.

Cool Thing No. 2: We spent two days in East Wenatchee, Washington, bottling wine for Fielding Hills. We helped bottle about 200 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon during our first shift and about 200 cases of the Tribute red blend during our second shift. No photos of the bottling line because we were working.

We enjoyed good company and hard work in a beautiful orchard setting.

And good meals with plenty of Fielding Hills' excellent wines.

One of My Favorites

2009-05-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Fiber Trends Versatile Scarves pattern is one of my favorites because it is so — well, versatile. Any weight of yarn, any amount of yarn over about 200 yards, solid or variegated — whatever suits you. The pattern has three versions: triple eyelet border, basic garter and eyelet lace.

The particulars of my scarf:

Pattern: Triple Eyelet Border from Fiber Trends Versatile Scarves
Yarn: Unique Designs by Kathy Withers; kid mohair, shetland, angelica; 270 yards/2.8 ounces
Needles: 4mm (US6)
Finished size: 14 inches back neck length

Fluent Steps

2009-04-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

From time to time, I was at the Museum of Glass when artist Martin Blank was making the pieces for his work Fluent Steps. The work was installed and dedicated earlier this month. I love this piece.

Learn more about Fluent Steps here and here.

Yes, I am still knitting. Stay tuned.

Garden Party

2009-04-18T12:29:00.001-07:00

Back to knitting. Concurrent with working on the garden, I finished the Garden Party Shawl from Two Old Bags (coincidence?). What's great about this shawl is that the shoulder shaping gives a U-shaped neckline so the shawl stays on better. And I really like the ruffles.

Pattern: Garden Party Shawl by Two Old Bags (the picture on the front of the pattern does not do justice to the pattern).
Yarn: Black Water Abbey two-ply fingering organic wool in Dark Welsh, 400 yards/3 ounces; approximately 720 yards total.
Needles: US5
Finished size: 23 inches center back.

Mooch supervises both the garden and the knitting, but participates in neither.

Time for Gardening

2009-04-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

We interrupt this knitting blog to talk about the garden. It is finally warm enough to plant in my new planting boxes. This is very exciting. I planted lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, and Chioggia and golden beets. I also planted English peas and sugar snap peas in another part of the garden. Potatoes will be planted soon.

I usually wait until late May or early June to plant tomatoes and peppers. Our summer really starts after July 4.

The other edible parts of the garden include a Royal Anne cherry tree, a Gravenstein apple tree, a purple plum tree, lots of raspberries, three blueberry bushes, a few strawberry plants, and a lot of herbs.

We are fortunate to have several excellent farmers' markets nearby for plants and other food. At the first market of the season, we bought some blackberry honey and some hummus made with garbanzo beans and Riesling grapeseed oil.

I'm hungry now. Back to knitting.

Flutter

2009-03-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw a picture of this scarf, I knew I had to knit it. It is the Flutter Scarf from MimKnits.

Yarn: Malabrigo Lace, 470 yards/50 grams, 1 skein. Can't remember the color name.
Needles: 3.25mm
Finished size: 7 inches x 60 inches

It was fun to knit and looks like a scarf that will get a lot of wear (and compliments). I probably will knit this pattern again and again and again.

Another Lily of the Valley

2009-03-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Lily of the Valley seems to be a popular motif, from Niebling (see previous post) to Nancy Bush. This is Nancy Bush's Lily of the Valley scarf from Knitted Lace of Estonia. I want to knit everything in this book. Everything. All of it. Even with nupps and even with having to Kitchener the body to the border.

The yarn I used is very, very slippery, which made the nupps more of a challenge, but the I think the yarn and pattern are a good match. The secret to nupps — clearly stated in the book and elsewhere — is to make them very, very loose.

The details:

Yarn: Naturally Dawn, 50 percent wool, 50 percent silk; 171yards/25 grams; 3 skeins; color Creme
Needles: 3.25mm
Finished size: 8 inches wide x 65 inches long

Lily of the Valley

2009-02-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Doilies are fun to knit. This one is Lily of the Valley by Herbert Niebling from the new Anna Burda magazine.

Details:

Thread: Kordonnet 80, made in Slovakia, purchased in Prague a few years ago
Needles: 1.5mm
94 rounds
Finished size: Approximately 18 inches in diameter

UFO No More

2009-02-16T15:07:00.001-08:00

I started these more than a year ago but stalled after I finished the first mitten minus the thumb. I kept them readily available to remind me to finish them. I am glad that I finally finished them, although our coldest mitten-wearing weather is over for this year (I hope).

I am not crazy about color knitting — give me lace knitting any day — but I decided to challenge myself with these.

Pattern: Annemor #13 from Selbuvotter by Terri Shea
Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, 2 skeins black, one skein of a color called Fog
Needles: Knit the ribbing with 2.25mm needles and the remainder with 2.75mm

Key to success with the patterns in this book is to enlarge the charts so you can see what you are doing and to keep marking off where you stop and start.

These mittens were not the oldest UFO (unfinished object, for you non-knitters) in my knitting bag. And that's all I am going to say about UFOs.

Oooh! Sparkles!

2009-02-09T12:58:00.001-08:00

My friend Bridget sends the best, most creative Christmas presents. This year it was a skein of Tilli Tomas Salt & Pepper yarn in a shade called Fitler, which is a square in Philadelphia near Bridget's home. How cool is that? It's spun silk and teeny little beads (hope you can see the beads here).

The pattern is a Turkish Stitch scarf from Loop Knits, knit on US9 needles. Knitting took some care to not split the silk strand and the bead strand (beads are on a separate, very fine thread). The finished sized is about 6 inches wide by 54 inches long.

It's very luxurious to wear. And perfect for Valentine's Day!

Wool in the Desert

2009-01-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Why, you might ask, is Nancy standing in 70-degree sunshine, surrounded by cacti, wearing a wool scarf? Because she is modeling her new scarf.

She purchased the brown-ish yarn (136 yards) from Unique Designs by Kathy; I paired it with two skeins of Jo Sharp DK in a color called Orchard. The result is a brioche stitch scarf with random stripes, 8 inches wide by 64 inches long.

Now she needs some cold weather to provide a proper environment for her scarf.

A Winter Hat

2009-01-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

My gift in the Puyallup Knitting Guild holiday gift exchange was this pattern and yarn for a winter hat. Twined knitting. Not my favorite type of knitting, with all of the twisting and untwisting, but the hat and yarn were so pretty that I was willing to give it a go. That, and Joyce egged me on: "You can do this, you can do this."

The timing was excellent because we have had a cold winter and this is a snuggly, soft, warm hat with earflaps. I really like this hat, and I even warmed up (a little bit) to twined knitting.

The details:

Lisa Ellis Designs Basic Twined Ski Hat
Yarn: Crystal Palace Taos, 100 percent wool, 1 skein (128 yards), color 02 Gila Bend; trim is Cascade 220 in a sage green from stash
Needles: US6
Finished size: Adult

Jeanne's Shawl

2009-01-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

My friend Jeanne thought that her 80-something-year-0ld mother would enjoy having a shawl. Seemed like a good idea to me.

Eventually, Jeanne selected a Faroese shawl because the shaping would stay on her mother's shoulders better than a triangle or a rectangle. Then she choose the Alka pattern from Myrna Stahman's book on Faroese shawls and seaman's scarves.

The yarn presented a challenge: soft, not too heavy, not too light, no wool, machine wash and dry. With the help of Ravelry's yarn index, I found that Knit Picks CotLin, a DK-weight cotton-linen blend, met my requirements. Jeanne chose the color Lantana.

Knitting on US7 needles, I used about nine skeins, 1,100 yards. I used the leftover yarn to make a few face cloths for Jeanne.

Jeanne gave the shawl to her mother for Christmas and it was a hit. Her mom seemed quite taken with the idea that someone would hand-knit a shawl just for her. She joyfully modeled it before all of her friends and relatives (that's not her in the photo, that's me).

Sun Break

2009-01-06T14:10:00.001-08:00

Our escape to Tucson to visit friends gave us a much-needed break from winter. Although it rained a few days, we generally enjoyed a week of warm, sunny days and desert life.

One of our excursions took us to Kathy and her critters. My friend Nancy (below) had sent me some of Kathy's wonderful hand-spun, hand-dyed yarns, so it was a pleasure to meet Kathy and some of her animals.

White Pre-Christmas

2008-12-21T13:01:00.001-08:00

A winter storm has covered the Puget Sound region with snow. It may not look like much compared to what others typically experience in winter, but we are not very good at dealing with snow. We don't get it often enough or heavy enough to invest in millions of dollars of snow-removal equipment, and the hills that make up our communities make driving — and even walking — treacherous. Road travel, air travel, ferry travel and bus travel are heavily curtailed by common sense as well as blocked roads.

My backyard. Yes, I should have pruned the rose bushes a little more.

The boxes are new raised garden beds.

The good news is that being trapped at home for several days offers more knitting time and more time with our new cat, Mooch. Mooch started hanging around about two years ago. The neighbors named him Mooch because he regularly cadged meals from their house. Long story short: A neighbor three blocks away is involved with cat rescue. She rescued Mooch, recognizing that he is well adapted to living with people. We learned his story when she called after we gave him a collar with a name tag and phone number.

So Mooch is now part of the household. And he does not especially care for snow.

Holiday Shawlette

2008-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

I like bright colors most of the time, but especially during the winter. This small shawl, which is Rene' Wells' Bison Shawlette from Luxury One-Skein Wonders fits the bill for the holidays. Rene' cleverly uses three triangles to good effect so the shawl fits nicely over the shoulders.

The yarn is not bison or buffalo. It's Takhi Twiggy Tweed, a discontinued wool yarn. I think I knit six repeats of the main pattern. I put small beads on the bottom points to add a little weight to the bottom. You can't see the beads because they match exactly the color of the yarn, but they do their intended job.

Bhutan Treasure

2008-12-08T09:25:00.001-08:00

My friends know that I enjoy all sorts of textiles and fiber-y things. Friends who have traveled extensively in Bhutan gave me this lovely cotton weaving they bought in 1988. It's huge, 8 feet long by 4.5 feet wide. It makes a great sofa throw. The people who gave it to me have used their Bhutanese textiles as tablecloths!

It's a lovely piece and its bright colors warm up dreary Northwest winter days.

Mixed Results

2008-11-30T09:03:00.001-08:00

The yarn is as soft as butter and the color is rich with the glow of silk. However, as you can see, the color is wildly different in each of the two skeins; one is far greener than the other. I expected some difference — the yarn is advertised as such — but this was a lot of difference. Also, when I washed it, it bled like a stuck pig.

I know I could have alternated the skeins, but I (and the recipient) wanted to maximize the length of the scarf. The recipient is happy with the result. If anyone asks, I will attribute the color difference to "design feature."

Yarn: Alchemy Synchronicity, 50 percent silk, 50 percent wool, 2 skeins, 118 yards per skein, color name Dragon
Needles: US6 (4mm)
Finished size: 6 inches by 58 inches

The pattern is an easy one that I learned somewhere but cannot remember where. It is a pattern that works for many types of yarn when nothing else seems to. It is a multiple of 4 plus 2:

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit 2, purl 2, end knit 2

Of course, you can vary the number of knits and purls to suit yourself and your yarn. And you can add slipped edge stitches if you prefer that look (I do).

I Love This Book

2008-11-18T13:01:00.001-08:00

The book is "Knitted Lace of Estonia" by Nancy Bush. This pattern is the Raha Scarf. I happened to have a skein of qiviut that decided it needed to be this scarf.

Yarn: Moco 100 percent musk ox qiviut, 1 ounce, 220 yards; this is the softest yarn I've ever used
Needles: US4
Finished size: 4.5 inches wide by 62 inches long (although I could probably block it slightly wider and shorter)

This book has so many beautiful patterns that I want to cast on for all of them immediately.

Mandenblute

2008-11-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

Mandenblute is one of the patterns in "Old World Treasures" by Gloria Penning. Gloria is a treasure herself; her publications have kept many doily patterns in print and available to knitters.

This is part of my journey to size 100 thread. I'm almost there — this is size 80. The details:

Thread: Kordonet 80, made in Slovakia (I bought it when I was in Prague, either at Tesco or Kotva, probably in 2006). I used about two-thirds of a 20-gram ball. This thread is very crisp, which is think is a good choice for this doily, but it did have two knots.
Needles: 1.5mm
Finished size: approximately 16 inches in diameter.

The pattern has a few errors, which are easy to figure out. If I were to knit this again, I would change some of the double decreases. All are left-leaning decreases (slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over). I would use both left-leaning and right-leaning as appropriate. But in this size of thread, I don't think the direction of the double decreases is noticeable.

Two Scarves

2008-10-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

In between doilies, I have been knitting scarves. Benefits: using up stash yarn, good travel projects, good knitting-while-yakking projects, and gifts.

The one to the right is the Cat's Eye Scarf from "A Fine Fleece" by Lisa Lloyd. It's knit from Haneke Select 75 percent merino, 25 percent alpaca, 460 yards, on US6 (4mm) needles. The finished size is 8.5 inches by 63 inches.

The scarf below is Off-set Diamonds from Caryll Designs. The yarn is Baruffa Maratona, two skeins from a thrift store. Knit on US7 needles. Finished size is 6.25 inches by 57.5 inches.

Boise Lace Knitting Retreat

2008-10-12T08:10:00.001-07:00

One of the great pleasures of the Boise Lace Knitting Retreat is seeing lovely work from so many talented knitters. This year was no different. Learning from the work of others is as important as the learning that takes place in the official classes. Below are only a few of the many stunning pieces.

Plenty of hand-dyed yarn was for sale, providing no end of temptation.

A group of Idaho artists also was meeting at the facility during our retreat. One was a talented beader, whose work earned many ooohs and aaaahs. She might even have persuaded a few knitters to add beading to their repertoires.

Doily with Spiral

2008-10-04T08:01:00.001-07:00

I gave myself a break from the teeny-tiny thread for a doily in size 30. This is Doily with Spiral, a free pattern from Nurhanne's site.

Details:

Thread: Cebelia size 30, approximately 210 yards
Needles: 2.0mm for the first five rounds, 2.25mm for the remainder; I find that starting in a smaller needle size helps make for a tighter center
Finished size: approximately 16 inches in diameter

This is a fairly easy pattern to knit, even though it isn't charted, with a stunning result.

I'm off to Boise, Idaho, next week for Myrna Stahman's lace knitting retreat. This is my fifth (I think) year to attend. I always come home with a head full of good ideas and new techniques. A whole week of lace knitting — what a luxury!