Mighty Fine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.