Watching Glass

Watching someone knit can be kind of boring. (Don't misunderstand: I love knitting. But sometimes, just watching someone else knit can be a snooze.) But watching a master make glass — that's exciting.

For the past several months, Martin Blank (the guy in the red shirt, below) has been working at the Museum of Glass. He is creating a piece called Fluent Steps, an enormous piece made up of hundreds of glass pieces, for the museum's reflecting pool. Watching the team work is fascinating, especially because this artist appears to enjoy interacting with the people who are observing the work in progress.

Fluent Steps will be finished and installed in late October (I'll post pictures here). I'll enjoy the piece even more knowing that I watched some of it being made.

Cables and Lace

This project combined a pattern from a California designer with yarn from Prague, Czech Republic, in a color that is matches celadon that I purchased in Thailand.

The particulars:

• Pattern: All Seasons Stole by the talented Rene' E. Wells
  
• Yarn: Bambus, 100 percent bamboo from here (I don't speak Czech so I have no idea what this means), 100 grams, 320 meters; yarn consists of 5 loosely plied strands, each of the 5 consists of two tightly plied strands
  
• Needles: US5
  
• Finished size: 7 inches wide x 52 inches long

Just Like Grandma Used To Do

I am still working with some knitted lace edgings that belong to my friend Nancy. She figures they were made by her great-grandmother. The laces, which probably have been packed away for decades, are discolored.

I am cleaning them with a combination of Biz and the sun. The laces spend a few hours soaking in a Biz-water solution, followed by a good rinse. Then I place them on the grass in the sun for whitening. The laces dry beautifully and most of the discoloration is gone.

Laces aren't the only thing that enjoy the sun. Look at my poppies!

Where's Robin?

On December 1, 2007, I signed on for Paying It Forward. This was the deal:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Robin signed up, and I can't locate Robin. So if you are the Robin who signed up and you still want to participate, please leave a message and let me know how to contact you. Or contact me on Ravelry; look for SueV.

Alix Revisited

Last year I made a big, comfy Alix shawl (see my November 15, 2007, post). I love this shawl. I wear it all of the time. It's great with jeans and on those increasingly rare occasions when I wear dressy clothes. When I found some lovely Black Bunny Fibers laceweight left over from an earlier project it seemed that Alix was a good choice.

• Yarn: Black Bunny Fibers laceweight, approximately 60 grams (525 yards)
• Needles: US6/4mm
• Finished size: 28 inches center back

My red lace leaf maple is a good background, I think.

What the — ?

I usually do not have many negative public comments about patterns. Even if I don't like something, I can often see how someone else would like it. And many patterns that I would never wear look fabulous on other people.

But this sweater from Rowan 43 just seems — well, awful. Knitters work for years to avoid holes and the runner-looking things.

Obviously, I am not the target audience for this sort of thing, but I wonder who is. Why would you knit it on purpose? Why not just take an old sweater and cut holes in it?

Score (Again)!

$15. I hope I'm not using up all of my luck.

Score!

I love thrift stores, even though 99 times out of 100, I find nothing of interest. It's the 100th time that keeps me coming back. This week I hit the 100, finding this lovely stash of Knit Picks Palette. I count 16, maybe 17, full balls plus some extra bits. For $10.

Now the question is, what shall I knit?

Disappointment

I recently purchased a knitting book that I returned within 48 hours. Why? Because the punctuation, capitalization and typography choices in the book annoyed me to the point where I found the book unreadable and unusable. Perhaps my 35+ years as an editor and writer make me very picky about certain things, but if I am going to spend money on a book, I want to be able to read it. In editing, as in knitting, details matter.

So what's wrong with the book?

Punctuation: Commas and quotation marks are not supposed to be sprinkled on text like jimmies on ice cream. Punctuation helps the reader navigate and understand the message. Commas in the wrong places and quotation marks around words that do not need them create visual and mental speed bumps for the reader.

Capitalization: Initial capital letters are for proper nouns. You do not make a word more important by capitalizing the first letter of it. Unnecessary caps create more speed bumps. Further, capitalizing a whole word for emphasis is a typewriter convention. Today's text programs give you bold and italic for that purpose. Heck, even Blogger gives you bold and italic.

Typography: As noted, this book uses a lot of quotation marks — and they are all typewriter (straight) quotation marks instead of typographer's (smart, curly or book) quotation marks, creating more speed bumps for me. Bulleted lists are not lined up and the designer chose tiny, weak bullets that are more like floating periods that bullets.

I am not talking about typos or writing style. I'm talking about what appear to be deliberate design choices that, for me, do not enhance readability and actually detract from readability. On the positive side, the book offered some interesting history, some techniques I wanted to learn and some patterns. But, on balance, the negative aspects outweighed the positive, so the book went back to the vendor.

I am not naming the book, the author or the publisher. Other people will love this book, and I wish them all happiness with it.

Landscaping

No, not garden landscaping, but Evelyn Clark's Landscape scarf. I love this pattern; I've made it a dozen times with all kinds of yarn and all sorts of variations. This time it's Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock lightweight in a color called Gypsum, US6 needles. My variation on the pattern is to use only garter and stockinette for the sections.

Egeblad

Egeblad is a beautiful doily and great fun to knit, even if I don't have any blue flowers currently blooming to photograph it with. I changed the direction of some of the decreases, in particular, making centered double decreases in the center flower part.

The details:

• Thread: Cebelia, size 30, less than half of a 50-gram ball
  
• Needles: 2.25mm
• Finished size: 15 inches in diameter
  

Violets and Doilies

After I finished the yellow daffodil doily of the previous post, I started another variegated purple doily, which, coincidentally, complements the violets that are now blooming.

The particulars:

• Lavori Artistici #11, design #63
• Thread: Clark's Big Ball, size 30
• Needles: 2.25mm
• Finished size: 8.5 inches in diameter

Rhododendrons and camellias should start blooming next month.

Daffodils and Doilies

It rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the spring. Day after day of rain. Or gray clouds threatening to rain. Fortunately, it's also the time of year when daffodils bloom. (Moss also, but that's another story.)

The daffodils made me think that I needed another yellow doily (see February 19 post). I had enough yellow thread left for this, which could be a daffodil. Sort of.

The particulars:

• Pattern: Lavori Artistici #11, design #11
• Needles: 2.25mm
• Finished size: 8 inches in diameter

Stork's Nest

I see no stork's nests on my rooftop or chimney, but one is in my scarf collection. It's Nancy Bush's Stork's Nest Scarf that was in the January/February issue of PieceWork magazine. The particulars:

• Stork's Nest Scarf by Nancy Bush
• Yarn: Misti Alpaca, 1 skein, in denim blue
  
• Needles: US4
• Finished size: 7 inches wide x 72 inches long

Waves, Shells and Peacocks

Every so often I decide to knit a doily with variegated thread, an idea that sends some people into spasm. I think that a good result is entirely likely if you match the thread and pattern properly. This one is Waves and Shells from Gloria Penning's "Knitted Heirloom Lace II." It's also design 5, Peacock, in Christine Duchrow's Leaflet 62.

The details:

• Thread: Clark's Big Ball, size 30
• Needles: 2.25mm
• Finished size: 13 inches in diameter

A Little Sunshine

It has stopped raining temporarily and the weather is warming up a bit, so I decided to encourage the sunshine by knitting some of my own.

Pattern: Lavori Artistici #11, design #26, 60 rounds
Needles: 2.25mm
Thread: Clark's Big Ball cotton thread, size 30
Finished size: 12.5 inches in diameter

More Antique Laces

I'm slowly washing more of the antique laces in my friend Nancy's box of treasures (see previous post). As before, I am taking a gentle approach both on washing and blocking. I hope some day a conservator will give them a proper cleaning and protection.

Several more still need attention but they are very long and I'll have to figure out a blocking scheme before I attempt them.

Antique Laces

While clearing out some family belongings, my friend Nancy found a metal box (bread box?) filled with needlework: mostly crocheted items, some tatting and about a dozen knitted lace edgings and insertions. She thinks the laces belonged to her great grandmother and her sisters, who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

With Nancy's permission, I gently washed one of them. This is one of the larger pieces. It is about 34 inches long and 7 inches wide. Does anyone recognize the pattern? It appears to be knit in very fine thread — size 40? 50? Maybe finer?

The lace is cleaner than it was but still discolored and is damaged in some places but overall it's in pretty good shape for something that's 100+ years old. I think any further cleaning and conservation should be done by a professional.

What?! Another Scarf?!

Yes, another scarf, part of my ongoing effort to work through stash.

Details:

• Pattern: Little Leaf Lace by Sivia Harding.
• Yarn: Fleece Artist sock yarn, 1 skein
  
• Needles: US5 (3.75mm)
• Finished size: 9.5 inches x 72 inches

Yet Another Scarf

Last year at the Western Washington Fair I met Elaine and Randy of Blackberry Patch Farms and some of their sheep. I didn't know this place was so close to home! Later in the fall, I purchased some of Elaine's hand-spun yarn, which became this very warm scarf.

• Pattern: Triple Cable Scarf from "One Skein" by Leigh Radford, except that I used the Double Cable Scarf format and the Triple Cable Scarf width.
• Yarn: Blackberry Patch wool, approximately 400 yards.
• Needles: Size 4.25mm.
• Finished size: 7 inches wide x 76 inches long
  

I have now made two of the cable scarves from this book. I love this book. I love this scarf. So adaptable. So elegant.

Fame!

Not much fame. Modified fame? Fifteen seconds of fame?

PieceWork magazine generously published a photo of my Russian lace scarf . The pattern appeared in the July/August issue.

I think this is very cool. And the scarf was fun to knit. Details here.

On Tour

On tour with the Touring Wrap from Village Yarn & Tea. I saw a shop model and had to make it. The details:

• Yarn: Fleece Artist Suri Blue, 50 percent suri alpaca, 50 percent Blue Face Leicester, 100 grams, 600 meters. It's mostly lime green and pink.
  
• Needles: US4
  
• Cast on 85 stitches instead of the 97 specified.
• Finished size: 14 inches x 66 inches

The pattern, which is available on the Village Yarn & Tea Web site, is cleverly designed to use the whole skein of the luscious yarn. And you can practice (or show off) your Kitchnering skill because you get to Kitchner one border to the rest of the scarf.

Regrettably, my photography non-skills do not show the beauty of the yarn or the pattern.

More Leftovers

I would like to work through the odd bits in my stash this year. This was a good start.

• Double Cable Scarf from "One Skein" by Leigh Radford.
• Yarn: Rowan Rowanspun Aran, color Autumn. Another thrift store find. The skein had a lot of knots in it, but I don't think that's why in was in the thrift store because the skein had not been used at all.
  
• Needles: US7 (4.5mm)
• Finished size: 5 inches wide by 58 inches long.

It will probably be a gift for someone.

Warm and Cozy

My sister's Christmas present to us this year was a wonderful afghan that she crocheted. I especially like the little ruffled edge. It's a perfect cover during our cold and wet Northwest winters. The lamb likes it too.

Leftovers

The yarn is left over, that is, from a vest I made for my husband. I had two full balls and most of a third ball. Thanks to the resources of Ravelry, I decided on the Irish Hiking Scarf.

The details:

• Yarn: K1C2 Paint Box in color #12, Tandoor, approximately 130 grams, 260 yards
  
• Needles: 4mm
• Finished size: 8 inches wide x 50 inches long

Happy Holidays!

Blogger tells me this is my 101st post. That seems like a good way to celebrate the holidays — any and all of them — and look to the new year. Even though it is raining buckets here in the Pacific Northwest, I can celebrate with:

Blooms of paperwhite narcissus and Christmas cactus.

A Downy (or Hairy?) woodpecker enjoying Christmas suet.

Winter solstice at sunset on Hood Canal.

Knitting in Japanese

My first attempt at knitting a Japanese pattern was fairly successful. This is design #7 from "Knitted Lace Designs of the 'Modern' Mode" by Kazuko Ichida, also known among doily knitters as "the blue book." The knitting was straightforward doily knitting with familiar symbols and none of the hieroglyphic, twisted, upside-down-and-backwards Japanese knitting symbols.

The details:

• Thread: Cebelia size 30 in a cream color. I think this is an older thread because the label is different than today's label. I used one whole skein and part of another. The
  finished piece weighs 66 grams, which amounts to about 750 yards.
• Needles: 2.25mm, although I usually do the first six rounds or so in a size smaller needle.
• Finished size: 30 inches in diameter.

Pearl Knot, Not Knit Purl

I decided to expand my repertoire of craft skills with a pearl knotting class at The Bead Factory. I had some beads that needed to be re-strung and decided I could learn to do this myself. This became even more imperative when I learned that a local high-end jewelry store charges $5 a knot to string pearls. The class project was a string of glass pearls, hanging from my fig tree, right. We learned how to knot on silk and on nylon. I'm a silk girl.

With some remedial training — The Bead Factory employees are most helpful and patient — I my broken necklace, below, is now wearable again.



Then I wanted to re-do this jade or jadeite bracelet that I got in Thailand to make it longer. The holes in the beads were too big for knotting, so The Bead Factory employee suggested putting spacers between the beads. Perfect!



Jewelry-making can become as addictive as knitting. If you think you can spend some money in a yarn store, just walk into a bead store.

Paying It Forward

I recently signed up for Paying It Forward from Nurhanne's blog. I usually don't participate in chains or king-alongs or exchanges, but this one sounded fun. Here's the deal:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Pretty simple, yes?

Barter

See the guy on the left with the hat? That's Tristan, a member of the University of Puget Sound crew team. Tristan traveled to England last summer. I asked him to bring me a 500-gram tin of Twinings Earl Grey or English Breakfast from the duty-free shop at Heathrow. He did. He also brought back lots more tea, lots and lots of lovely tea. He refused payment but was persuaded to accept a wool knit hat for those cold, wet mornings when the team practices.

A New Doily

This is design #5 from Lavori Artistici #11. I selected it because I like the cable. Lace and cable are a great combination; doilies with cables are even better.

I am not too thrilled with the spider web center; it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the design. And, it was a pain to knit.

The particulars:

• Pattern: Lavori Artistici #11, design #5
• Thread: Vintage Clark's Big Ball, size 30, in an orchid color (it's solid orchid, not variegated as the photo might suggest)
• Needles: US1 (2.25 mm), although I usually do the first six or so rounds in a size smaller needle, 2.0mm in this case.
  
• Size: 12" diameter
  

The Heirloom

I recently had an opportunity to purchase an heirloom — a doily by Marguerite Shimmons. Marguerite works in size 100 thread. Size 100!

The doily is about 12 inches in diameter. I don't know what pattern it is. It's possible that it's a combination of one center and a different edging. Nevertheless, I love it.

Lacis in Berkeley, California, has a collection of Marguerite Shimmons doilies in its museum collection.

A Big, Comfy Shawl

Everyone needs a big, comfy shawl. My latest is the Alix shawl by Myrna Stahman by way of Debbie Macomber.

• Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot (superwash wool, mohair, nylon) in Lupine, 3 skeins (I had about 5 yards left)
• Needles: US7
• Finished size: 46 inches center back

The pattern as written finishes with a seed stitch border. I decided to finish with the Catharina border from Myrna's "Stahman's Shawls & Scarves." (Not an original idea; I had seen a version with this border.)

Both the Catharina and Alix shawls use Myrna's variation on the Smiling Diamonds pattern from Barbara Walker's first Treasury. Catharina is a Faroese-style shawl; Alix is a triangle shawl. Catharina was the one of the first shawls I ever made, so I was familiar with the edging. The only tricky bit was adjusting the attachments at the center point to center the bottom scallop.

What's nice about this shawl is that you can knit it in just about any yarn. I've seen it in the finest lace weight to much heavier yarns. I've seen it in solids and variegated yarns. It's easy enough for beginning lace knitters but interesting enough for veteran lace knitters.

Lovely Lunna

What better way to transition from summer to winter than with a lace scarf. This one is Lunna, a Jamieson & Smith pattern.

• Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland 2-ply, 2 hanks, 252 yards each.
• Needles: US3
• Size: 12 inches wide by 50 inches long

What made this scarf fun is that part of it has patterning on both sides. The less fun part was grafting 67 stitches. The yarn was a bit stiff and scratchy to work with, but softened up considerably after washing.

The scarf is photographed on my Japanese lace leaf maple — a lace scarf on a lace maple. In the summer, the leaves of the tree are dark red. In the fall, the leaves "catch fire" in a stunning flame color.

A Turquoise Angel

Sivia Harding's Angel Pearls beaded scarf, made with leftovers from Sivia Harding's Shetland Garden shawl (see September 17 and September 19 entries). My only difficulty with the pattern is that the purl and bead symbols on the charts look exactly the same. Fortunately the written instructions allowed me to mark where to place the beads — hooray for designers who provide both written instructions and charts.

• Yarn: Nature Spun fingering weight, approximately 1 skein
• Color: Hurricane Seas
• Needles: US5
• Beads: Silverline 6/0 Black Diamond (turquoise is darned hard to match, so I opted for contrast)
• Pattern repeats: 13 repeats of the middle section
• Size: Don't know; I gave it to my friend Liz before I measured it