Wingspan

Apparently I am still on a color binge. I was not intending to make this but I saw a sample in a yarn store and had to have it.

Details:

• Pattern: Wingspan, a free pattern on Ravelry.
• Yarn: Schoppel Zauberball; 75 percent wool, 25 percent nylon; 100 grams; 420 meters. I used 88 grams for eight wedges. Color: frische Fische.
• Needles: US4

This was fun to knit. Not sure I would knit it again (it did get quite boring) but it was fun once. And I love the colors.

Color Burst

Maybe it was sunny California. A friend was knitting a scarf like this and I immediately added it to my must-do list. Then I saw the yarn on sale. And it made a great travel project during a recent trip to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia. Another bonus: It goes with practically everything.

The details:

• Pattern: Wisp from Knitty, without the buttons.
• Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn; color S184; 100 grams; 420 meters; 70 percent wool, 30% nylon
• Needles: US6 (4.25mm)
• Finished size: 9 inches x 80 inches

Knit-One-Below Scarf

Earlier this year, my knitting guild, the Puyallup Knitting Guild, held a class on knit-one-below, with a scarf as a class project.

Once I got the hang of it, the knitting was very easy. My scarf is very long because the recipient likes long scarves that he can wear in a slip-knot kind of style.

The details:

• Yarn: One skein each of Cascade 220 in gray (8400) and gray-brown-white tweed (9539).
• Needles: US7 (4.5mm)
• Finished size: 7 inches by 83 inches

I like the way the two yarns make a nice tweed.

A Message?

We recently traveled to New York City and Washington, D.C. This was on the wall in our room in our hotel in New York, the Hilton Fashion District. I do not know if this saying is in every room (I hope not) but I am glad it was in ours.

In case you cannot read it, it says: “Knitting is very conducive to thought. It is nice to knit a while, put down the needles, write a while, then take up the sock again.” — Dorothy Day.

Good advice.

We spent a lot of time walking around New York, and I had the sore feet to prove it. Visited two yarn stores that were worth the sore feet: School Products and Purl Soho. Very different stores, but each a pleasure in its own way.

Then on to Washington, D.C., and Looped Yarn Works, only a few blocks from our hotel. How fortunate is that? I only wish I had more time to sit and knit a while.

But I am glad to be back home.

Frustrating

Knitting the doily was easy; taking its picture to good effect has been much harder. The thread colors are very subtle but my photo attempts have resulted in too much contrast or turned them into mud. I opted here for one of the muddier ones but I think the colors come through. I hope so anyway.

The details:

• Pattern: Helen from Old World Treasures from Gloria Penning, 73 rounds.
• Thread: Lizbeth size 40, color 167 Jungle Greens (lots of greens, some yellow, a little teal).
• Needles: 1.75mm (US size 00).
• Finished size: 10 inches diameter.

The only change I made was to make the double decreases in the petals as centered double decreases.

Based on only a few projects, I very much like the Lizbeth thread. I purchased the threads from Debbie at DS9Designs, who carries most, if not all of the colors, in several sizes (no affiliation, just a happy customer). Some of the variegated colors have too much contrast for my taste, but some, like Jungle Greens, are far more subtle and more appealing to me.

The photography issue still bugs me. I try to take pictures outside in natural, overcast light (we have a lot of overcast here in the Pacific Northwest), on different backgrounds, with and without fill flash. Suggestions?

Vintage Knits for Cold Weather

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.