Showing posts with label Yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yarn. Show all posts

05 March 2014

Sweater fix

If you don't follow me on Instagram (you should! I'm @kathleendames of course), you didn't see the little problem I discovered today:


Can you see it? I did an extra round without twisting. Must have been an intense moment in Small Island (love when my dvr records Masterpiece Classics for me that I might have otherwise missed - if you get the chance to watch it, it's pretty good: Benedict Cumberbatch and thought-provoking views on race relations post-WWII in the UK). Anyway, I debated for a few minutes about fixing it. Most likely such a thing would pass the galloping horse test; however, I'm me, and it is front and center on this pullover. My knitting bestie/enabler Annie reminded me that as a Virgo it would drive me bonkers. 

Rather than tinking back the seven rounds, I grabbed some DPNs and decided to see if I could fix them in situ. Pulling the working needle out of the stitches in question, I then pulled the ends of the circular tight (and let them hang to the back of the work) to keep all the other stitches safe from harm. 
I pulled the working strand out of each row until I was a row below the error, at which point I slipped the stitches in question onto a DPN. With a second DPN I used the lowest thread to rework the stitches properly. After a couple of rows I realized that the tension was off (really tight at the right end and loose on the left), which led to dropping back down and doing it again, adjusting the stitches on each row before proceeding wih the next thread. 


Above you can see me working across the row and that the stitches on the left are loose. 


And here it is, all better (although it looks a little wonky a few rows down from my thumb, but that should settle down when the sweater is blocked)!

Forgive the state of my mani. Who knew I was going to be documenting my knitting today?!

BTW, this yarn from The Spinning Mill in Greenville NY is amazing! Undyed merino. I bought it at Rhinebeck. No website info that I have been able to find yet, but I'm pretty sure they are there every year, since Kay Gardiner (Mason Dixon knitter extraordinaire) recently knit a beautiful baby blanket with some that she'd gotten from them at Rhinebeck a few years ago. 


This is what my two skeins looked like when I bought them. Each one is almost 500yds of undyed beautiful squishiness. I can't wait to finish this design and share it with you, but at least now you know how to repair a twist error if you make one like me ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen 

22 October 2013

A Day at Rhinebeck

Saturday I headed up north (Google took me through NJ after it got confused near the GW bridge, but it was scenic that way, too) to meet one of my BFFs and her family for a day of yarny goodness at the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival, known to the knitting cognoscenti as Rhinebeck. The drive was gorgeous, but I was alone in the car and couldn't safely photograph my passing. Suffice it to say that the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the leaves were putting on a show.

But before I left, I had to decide which sweater to wear. Lots of knitter attendees create a new sweater to debut at Rhinebeck, but I didn't want to do that, since almost any new sweater of mine will also be a new design, and to have it ready to publish around Rhinebeck, I would have had to start in the spring. Maybe next year...
Which sweater will it be? #rhinebeck #gametimedecision
Rhinebeck sweater choices
Top (l to r): Sailor's Valentine, Wavelette, Mermaid's Cardigan
Bottom (l to r): An Aran for Anne, An Aran for Frederick, Bloc
Here I am getting ready to get in the car. Nick stayed back with the girls, so I could really focus on the wool fumes. Maybe next year the whole gang will be able to come up.
Getting ready to go #rhinebeck
Almost ready (with Isobel and Penelope)
The drive was smooth and uneventful, once I got over what Google Maps had done to my original plan (I have realized that reliance on technology is not helping me get used to driving around NYC; I just don't have a firm grasp on all the parkways and whatnot and how they connect). The only hitch was the last two miles to the fairgrounds, which took me half an hour to traverse. But I did get to snap a pic of the billboard as a result of the traffic.
Almost there (took 30min to go last 2mi)!
Billboard that I got to stare at for quite a while during the last half hour/two miles to the fairgrounds
I'm working on my selfies. Here is Upon the Spanish Main, which is being tested by some lovely Ravellers even as I type. Mine is in Jill Draper Makes Stuff's Splendour Sock Yarn in Glacier, which I bought at my first Rhinebeck two years ago.
At the fair
Happy to be here in my Upon the Spanish Main shawl
And the Rhinebeck sweater winner: Sailor's Valentine! I heard from friends all over with their choices, and what I loved was that there was no concensus. Maybe I should have done a fashion show throughout the day :)
Sailors valentine at #rhinebeck
Sailor's Valentine was the winner!

On the way to the Rav meetup
Walking to the Meetup
Yellow foliage
Foliage
Rav meetup 1
Rav meetup 1
Rav meetup 2
Rav meetup 2
Rav meetup 3
Rav meetup 3
Mohair goat
Angora (Mohair-producing) goat
Annie's Rhinebeck sweater
Annie bananarota in her Custom Fit Jackaroo
Waiting for some lamb
Everybody wants some lamb for lunch,
but the best was the sheep's milk ricotta filled cannoli - yum!
Annie and I went the whole day without buying yarn! Some booths were just crazy, and Annie was looking for some yarn specifically for a work-appropriate cardigan, whereas I had decided to just let the whole thing wash over me and see what inspiration came. Right near the end, we headed back to Harrisville's booth, which was full of woolly goodness, though nothing quite gelled for me yet. Then we went on to Cephalopod Yarns, which had been a madhouse when we'd passed through earlier. All was quieter. Quiet enough to discover this ombre set in grey. Love! Annie found her cardi yarn here, too.
Traveller
Grey ombre Traveller set from Cephalopod -
this stuff isn't even going into the stash; I'm swatching immediately!
On our way to the car we walked through Building 39, and this undyed merino glowed at me. The half-sweater sized hanks sealed the deal, and two of them came home with me. I think these are going to end up as a unicorn-inspired pullover.
Spinning Mill merino
Luscious undyed merino from the Spinning Mill
If that yarn doesn't look unicorn-y, I don't know what does.
Then we headed back to the house-without-tv with Max's BBQ in hand and listened to the Red Sox win on the radio (actually, we were so tired that we went to bed in the 6th, but they won all the same). Sunday's drive back along the Taconic was even more spectacular than the drive up.

See you again next year, Dutchess County!

06 September 2013

Visiting the Shakers

While in Maine we drove up to Sabbathday Lake to see the Village, which is the last active community in the world. Did you know that there are only three Shakers left? In the world? It makes sense, since it is a celibate religion, reliant upon conversion. Though they are often compared to the Amish, the Shakers embraced technology (all three Shakers have mobile phones). In fact the first circular saw in America was "invented" by a Shaker sister based on ... you guessed it, the spinning wheel!

Most of the village is now a museum, as well as a working farm. We took the tour and got to spend time in the meeting house, which also included living quarters for some of the elders and eldresses (their weaving and boot making tools were upstairs in the living quarters, too - I so wanted to take pictures!). Sadly, photographs were not allowed inside, so I can't show you the dark, lovely blue paint used on the built-in benches around the perimeter, nor the freestanding benches in their classic Shaker style. You can see a photo of the interior here. According to my notes this Shaker blue paint was only used in meeting houses and is a milk-based paint tinted with blueberries, sage, and indigo. Is it just me or is that delightful?!

But I can show you a couple of sheepy shots:
Untitled
Sheep in the barn

Untitled
Sheep in the field (look at the view!)
And the goodies that came home with me: Shaker 2-ply in Scotia, Rose Water, and Eldress Hester's Potpourri. Now, I am generally not a potpourri person, but there is some intriguing spiciness to this that makes me love it. Love it! I get a little boost when I walk into our room.
Untitled
Yarn, rose water, and delightful potpourri from the Shakers
I guess this yarn is actually close to that blueberry/sage/indigo color inside the Meeting House, though lightened up with its tweediness. Something lovely will come out of this!

If you find yourself in Maine, I highly recommend visiting the Shakers. And if you bring two little girls, you might get to visit the Candy Making Room. During the Depression, the Shaker women realized that the market for some of their goods had disappeared, so they took up candy making. As you can imagine they did quite well with it. As an amateur candy maker, I loved seeing their set-up. The Candy Room is no longer on the tour, but our guide thought the girls would get a kick out of it and showed it to us anyway.

But my favorite room was the Fancy Goods Room. I'm not even sure that is what they called it, but it was set up as something of a shop to display all the little baskets and needlecrafts the Shakers sold. Go look at this photograph. I'll wait. It was pretty much exactly the same, just in color. Actually, I think they have since turned it sideways, since the window was to the side of the large case, not behind it. Needle books, sewing cases, all sorts of other little velvet-lined containers for bits and bobs related to sewing. And that cloak! It is a lovely soft red, and that circular drawn portion at the back of the hood is just the best.

More adventures to catch you up on shortly. The kids finally start school next week, and once Penelope is eased into Kindergarten (Friday is her first full day), I'll be able to refocus on blogging, knitting, pattern writing, and so on. Until then ...

Happy knitting!

P.S. The Sabbathday Shakers have an Etsy shop! Only some maple syrup on there now, but they did sell some yarn there. I love Etsy, so maybe we should encourage them to sell more yarn there...

27 October 2009

KSA: Yarndex

Inherited some label-less yarn? Just curious to see all the colors Kidsilk Haze comes in? (Thirty-three shades available as of this writing.) Yarndex is the place to explore yarns. While they may not have every yarn ever spun, they cover a staggering number of yarns, including many no longer in production, which could help you figure out if that thrift store purchase is really a treasure (and if you'll have enough to make a sweater). Color cards, yardage and gauge information, fiber content, price, and so on. This is a very helpful site to have at your fingertips.

29 June 2009

Midcoast Maine Yarn Crawl

On another grey, rainy day I thought I'd plan my next theoretical yarn crawl, this one in my little neck of Midcoast Maine. Working our way up, starting in Freeport:

Grace Robinson: You can see the sign for Fine Yarns and Needlepoint from I-295 (directions on their website). It's a large, open store with an entire garment rack of samples. They carry Rowan, Colinette, Berocco, Dale of Norway, Mountain Colors and many others. I've only been there once, and the shop didn't have that warm, cosy feeling of the modern yarn shops, though that could have been because I was the only customer at that moment. They were nice, but the vibe was more the old-style yarn shop where customers follow flat-knit patterns to the letter, even using the same color yarn as in the pattern, and then pay someone who works for the shop to sew the sweater up for them. But maybe that's just me. They had a great selection of yarns, and if you are in Freeport and can't convince your traveling companions to drive a few more miles north, you will find yarn to satisfy your itch. They do also have a large selection of needlepoint supplies, so I will take my mom there when my parents visit. Open daily.

But if you can drive a few miles further North, take the Route 1 Midcoast exit and head to Brunswick where you will find "YARN" (as in a big sign proclaiming "YARN" on the front of a charming Victorian set back from the road) at Purl Diva. This is really my LYS-away-from-home. Ellen is awesome and has been the Diva for three years. Before that she was an Upper-West-Sider, so we have more than just a love of yarn in common. There is a wall of hand-dyed sock yarn to set you drooling right when you walk in. She stocks Fleece Artist, Madeline Tosh, Malabrigo, Berocco, Peace Fleece, Dream in Color, Misti Alpaca, Sheep Shop, Lorna's Laces, and many others, as well as tons of patterns, books, needles, notions, and some fiber, too. The last time the whole family visited, Nick said he now understood about the wool fumes. If you're hungry, stop at the Brunswick Diner (wonderful lobster rolls amongst other things), then, when you pull out of their parking lot continuing North on Route 1, get ready to turn right at the next street and you're there! Purl Diva is set back from the road a little, and be sure to park in back. Closed on Tuesdays

If you have any yarn money left and would like a cuppa while browsing, don't turn left at the intersection after leaving Purl Diva and head for The Knitting Experience Cafe where you will find the big red couch, coffee and tea, and yarns such as Blue Sky Alpacas, Jojoland, Noro, Spunky Eclectic, and more. When checking out the website (where you can order yarn if not on a yarn crawl), be sure to check out the About Us section and then consider making a Knitted Knocker. They are right behind the Curtis Library, which has it's annual book sale the weekend before Independence Day, which you might also want to visit. Closed on Sundays.

Now, get yourself back to Route 1-North and head to Bath, which is both charming with its antique houses and cobbled sidewalks and a real, working town with Bath Iron Works building ships to order. Once you're under the bridge you will see the big, old warehouse that houses Halcyon Yarn on your left at the light. Turn! If you knit, crochet, spin, weave, braid rugs, tat lace, or dye fiber or yarn, you will be so excited to visit. It's a big place, and there is a lot to see including Brown Sheep, Misti Alpaca, JaggerSpun, Noro, Malabrigo, Halcyon's Signature Collection, and more. There is also a room filled with books (and a little gas stove for those chilly days), plenty of notions, and bargain bags, not to mention the baskets of fiber off to the right. Open daily in the summer (closed on Sundays the rest of the year).

Now, go have something to eat at Byrne's Irish Pub or Café Creme, which has free WiFi, so you can add all your purchases to your Stash on Ravelry, or Marnee's Cookie Bistro, which also has WiFi, then get yourself back to Route 1-North and head over the bridge to Woolwich. Yes, Woolwich.

A couple of miles along you will see a "YARN" sign on the left. Follow the signs and visit the lovely farm full of sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and rabbits and, more importantly, the yarn shed. You have reached Romney Ridge Farm, home of hand-dyed and sometimes even hand-spun yarny goodness. Kelly is very talented and clearly loves her flock. I enjoy reading her blog, too, which allows me the adventure of having a sheep farm without having to get up so early. My sister's Sassymetrical is from their yarn. I can hardly wait to visit again this year. Open daily, Sundays by chance.

Here's hoping the weather improves!

13 January 2009

Long Time No See!

It's been an eventful month-plus around these parts, so blogging fell by the wayside. Penelope came in under weight at her four-month check-up in December, so we were on a rigorous, eat-around-the-clock schedule to get her (and my milk makers) back on track. As a result she gained nine ounces in a week, which was very good. Since then we travelled to Chicago for the holidays, spending time with Nick's parents in their lovely apartment downtown (not far from Loopy Yarns - more on them later), plus a few days with my folks. Before we left the Windy City Nick had come down with a cold, Isobel's cough returned, and Penelope get her first real cold, which, of course, turned into an ear infection. This charming bug made her refuse to eat on one side due to pressure on the ear, which messed with my newly increased supply. Super fun. But we're all back on track now, and hopefully she'll be chunked up enough at tomorrow's weigh-in to start on solids. She seems ready, is interested in what we're eating, sits in her high chair with us at meals, and is cutting her first tooth.

On the knitting front I decided to do a lot of stash diving and knit up presents for almost everyone on the list:
-Hemlock Blanket for my parents in Cascade Eco-Wool - I want to knit one of these for me!
-Hats for Nick's parents and sister - tam for Louise in some yummy Magenta Madeline Tosh Sock Yarn, a slouchier beret for Alexa in BMFA's Monsoon Socks That Rock, and a ribbed watch cap for John in Malabrigo's Paris Night Merino Worsted (almost finished!)
-Gifted Mittens (that Kate Gilbert is genius - love this pattern!) and a pair of Fetchings (that Cheryl Niamath is no slouch, either) for Karen and her family - Blizzard for Bill, Encore Worsted for the kids (washable!), and some prized Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for the Fetchings
-Leg warmers for Isobel in the 1824 wool that refuses to become a sweater for her
-Knitted chain mail for Stephen in Encore


Having lost a week to the "Plump Up Penelope" campaign, I still have to knit or finish:
-that hat for John (I do love Malabrigo - that merino is as soft as cashmere!)
-Teddy Bears for my niece and nephew (fiddly finishing work)
-Cabled Footies from One Skein for my grandmother using up some more of that 1824 Wool
-some lovely item for my lovely sister in a prized skein of wool from Romney Ridge Farm - no idea yet, and she leaves for Germany tomorrow to start a PhD on Afghanistan, so this will probably be a longer-term project


Notice anything? Nothing on that list for Nick or Penelope. Luckily, they are two very understanding people. Nick is going to get a hat at some point, and Penelope might, too. Waiting in the wings is my second sock and a huge queue on Ravelry, plus some new yarn from Loopy Yarns (half-price Louet Merino Gems Worsted - enough for a sweater, two skeins of Malabrigo sock yarn for a light cardi, and a tote bag designed by Franklin!)




Apologies for the lack of FO pictures, but I was in such a sleep-deprived haze for the last few weeks that I gave folks their presents without documenting them. I'll see if I can rectify that at some point!

01 July 2008

Maine Yarn Crawl


Isobel wanted to show you the bit of roving she received at the Portland Fiber Gallery from the spinning lady. She calls it her "fluff". Maybe I'll get her to be the spinner in the family, and I'll knit with her handiwork.

While we were up in Maine, we went on a little yarn crawl after taking Nick to the airport. We visited Knit Wit (just a block down from the Fiber Gallery), which is in a great space, has fun toys up near the front for kids to play with, and a really nice selection of yarn. I bought this GGH Wollywasch on sale and plan to make a yoke sweater with it at some point.

Pale blue (shocking, I know) for the body and brown, fawn, cream, and pink for the yoke. I'm thinking of adapting EZ's pattern from The Opinionated Knitter for the yoke. (Or I may pull a "Kathleen" and research fairisle yoke patterns ad naseum until I master the subject and create my own - you never know.) I also acquired a copy of Loop-de-loop at half the price. What a thought-provoking book, even a few years after publication.

After our visit to the Portland Fiber Gallery, which had lots of lovely roving, some handspun, and information and tools for spinning, dyeing, weaving, and such (which got a little overwhelming in the heat of the late morning, pre-snack), we had organic (in Isobel's case Vegan chocolate chocolate chip) cookies "as big as our heads" at North Star (a very hip cafe next door to the Fiber Gallery), then headed back up to our neck of the woods.

We checked out the Knitting Experience Cafe in Brunswick, which also had a nice selection of yarns (and some toys for 'Bel). I couldn't leave without some pretty blue mohair (my only confusion about this yarn is that I thought Trendsetter distributed Kid Seta but this is labeled "Cascade", but I'm not complaining):



And, of course we visited Ellen at Purl Diva, and I couldn't leave without some Fleece Artist sock yarn from the Great Wall of Socks. Isobel helped me wind it into a cake and declared that I could make her some *gloves* with it. They're always watching you, those little ones: Mommy has gloves for next winter from sock yarn, so Isobel must need them, too. I guess I'll have to look out for a winter coat for her that will match this pretty chocolate covered cherry colorway.




I also took Isobel to visit Romney Ridge Farm. Kelly was very welcoming, and Isobel loved meeting the chickens, ducks, sheep, dog ... in other words "the farm". And I enjoyed checking out all the yarn, including some absolutely gorgeous handspun mohair in a robin's egg blue color that was out of my self-imposed budget. But I did indulge in some of last year's millspun (by the wonderful people at Green Mountain Spinnery) that Kelly dyed a lovely spring green. It seems to be heavy laceweight or light sport, and I am thinking of a shawl for my sister with it, but it will probably have to marinate in the stash for a little while. Kelly said her next batch of millspun yarn should arrive in the next week or so, and then she'll hit the dyepots. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Apologies for not snapping a picture of the shop, which is an adorable fiber-filled shed, but it was starting to rain. Next time.



And time spent in Bath isn't complete without a visit to Halcyon Yarns. I mean, I can walk there!



Misti Alpaca 2-ply (laceweight) in cherry red, Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo in a beautiful turquoise color (Halcyon is discontinuing Wool Bam Boo from their lineup, and I couldn't resist the color - just wish there had been more! I'll have to find a one-skein project for that), and a skein of Rio de la Plata Sock Yarn in Coral Rose - a lovely, lightly variegated orange that I think I'm going to turn into socks for my grandma. I don't think I mentioned that the Amy March Slippers I made for her for Mother's Day, according to her, didn't even go into the drawer but right on her feet. Now, that's a woman who will appreciate handknit socks!

08 October 2007

Cool

So, the folks at Outblush just highlighted the shoes I've been crushing on for months, ordered and returned (too big), then ordered again (just right), and wore to a charity event on Friday. Does that make me cool? I don't really care. And I don't really care that the shoes are way too high for me to wear for more than a few hours. They are seriously cute. See?


OK, since this is a knitting blog I should discuss the knitting...

Clapotis is so old it's new again, thanks to the cool kids knitting Second Wave. I finished Clapotis on Saturday (I have more pics up on Ravelry - username Purly)


The Koigu is lovely. I really like the drape and sproingy-ness of the yarn. I ended up dipping into the fifth skein but should have enough for the endpaper mitts I have yet to cast on for the other KAL I'm down with. Knitting this in sock yarn is much better than laceweight. I bet worsted would go even faster.

I'm back at work on the slouchy cardi, which suddenly seems boring (so not cool): all that stockinette, and the armhole shaping on the front is a little confusing, which probably has more to do with putting the sweater down to knit Clapotis than the pattern. I should have finished the front before switching gears. Lesson learned? Probably not. It will be a nice sweater when it's finished.


More yarn was acquired over the weekend: some Encore Worsted in grey for a baby sweater and a skein of Alpaca with a Twist's Baby Twist - last skein, darnit, but I think it will be enough for the cool Secretary style vest from Blue Sky Alpacas once I acquire some Brushed Suri in Fudgesicle.



I know, Encore doesn't make me cool. But that vest might.

29 August 2007

Back from Hiatus

Yes, chickens, I'm back and may have acquired three pounds of yarn somewhere en route. Ahem. There is a one-pound cone of Zephyr DK, which is really more of a light worsted as far as my needles go, in Steel (same as the color Keri and I split for the MS3 that has yet to be cast on) waiting to become that slouchy cardi from Greetings from Knit Cafe - the one shown in lavender, the one with the hood. Look, people, my scanner is in a different time zone, so you'll have to use your imagination or go check your own copy.

And the other two pounds are two cones of Jagger Spun's Maine Line 2/8 (fingering weight) yarn in Pewter and French Blue to do Eunny's Venezia in two colors (there's a post somewhere around here with links to a lovely one done in black and cream). That will be my first fairisle/steeked project. And is on smallish needles. Eep. And, yes, two cones is probably enough yarn to make two sweaters, but it was much more fun to acquire two cones than a bunch of mini-cones. Don't you think?

But I have the intended project to complete before then. My first idea (cabled vest of my own design) ended up being a bit too hard to read in the dark yarn. Well, the cables looked good when I didn't miscross them, but I was following written out patterns for four different cables (Lobster Claw, OXOX, Twin Waves, and Ensign's Braid) in two different books (Barbara Walker's first and second Treasuries) and had trouble charting them I don't have BW's charting book so had trouble drawing something to indicate the more complicated crosses), so I was going crazy. I've tabled the idea for now and reclaimed the yarn. There may be a Cobblestone in the works, and I'm not linking to it here because the intended recipient might be clicking around here. If you don't know about Cobblestone, check me on Ravelry or drop me a note. Progress is good. I just hope it will fit my friend.

I'll try to get some pics of the pounds of yarn. BTW, it came from the amazing Halcyon Yarn in Bath, Maine. Very helpful folks there.

28 June 2007

OK, look for the last time (yeah, right)


Yesyes, that is a bag from The Fold. And we also have a lovely English Ash Nostepinne. Of course, it's difficult to leave without some Blue Moon yarn, though their selection was on the skimpy side for sock yarn, as I'd just missed the Summer Solstice Sale. Now, I'm on the mailing list, so that won't happen again. The Seduction yarn is in the Shale colorway. Very moi, no? I'm thinking arm warmers. Not quite sure why, but that's the current notion.


And here is Icarus, or at least the start of it. I'm really enjoying the yarn and the color.

With the nostepinne purchase, I should be set for a while, as I have quite a bit of yarn to wind. Icarus and MS3 should keep me busy, so I won't have new toys to show, just WIPs and, hopefully, FOs.

With many thanks to the Fug Girls, I have discovered the end-of-days musical: Xanadu!

20 June 2007

Look!

Chapters of my life yadda yadda yadda. Look what arrived in the mail today!


Gawd, I love yarny packages. The only thing that would have made it better is if it also contained a Nifty Swift. Or, at the very least, a nostepinne (oh, my, they look a little ... ahem), so I can wind center-pull yarn cakes. Oh, in case you don't know, this is the third installment of the Rockin' Sock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

I might even consider making the sock pattern this time, though the yarn would make a lovely shawl for my Grandma. The colorway is called Firebird, and the theme of rebirth/rising from the ashes is quite apropros, no? Well, I think so. Very pretty, cheery, and summery.

In other delivery news, the papers have been served.

Oh, and I must share this awesome horoscope from today's Trib (not sure what made me read it): "Virgo. When queried, let people know the intricacies of your craft. If they don't ask, just behave regally, with pride." Um, can do. I do have a post half-written on Craft that I guess I should get back to. Watch this space...

18 June 2007

Mystery Stole #3

I've decided to join the MASSES of cool kids participating in the Mystery Stole 3 Knitalong. Signups are open until 6 July, so what are you waiting for? Don't be scared! Lace isn't hard, though it requires some concentration. If you can do yarnovers and k2togs, you can do lace. If you haven't done any lace knitting before, try something with DK/sport/fingering or worsted weight yarn and big needles. Some folks recommend Branching Out, though the Airy Scarf (or whatever it's called) in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts is easier, I think, and could be adapted to larger yarn/needles.

So, like I said, what are you waiting for?

I'm going to use some laceweight merino (Madil Super Due - not much down the google-hole for this one, which is interesting) I picked up on sale a couple of weeks ago. I nabbed a skein of cream and one of charcoal grey.

Now, which to knit? Melanie, our fearless MS3 leader is doing her stole in white Zephyr with clear beads, so I was leaning towards the cream, though I had intended to knit a shawl of some sorts with it and then try my hand at dip-dying to get a lovely gradation from neck edge to point. But then I thought about how I would get more use out of a grey shawl, though I had bought that with my BFF, who has been my super support through all this crud, in mind, as grey is her thing. I'd really like to use something from the stash, and Melanie says a smooth yarn is better than something with fuzz, so KSH is out. Her white looks so pretty all skeined up with the beads, but I worry about white getting dirty. I suppose I could always dye it later. And I have a skein of Handpainted Yarn's merino laceweight, which is now Malabrigo lace, in black. But there are only 800-some yards, and it's a single-ply, which might cause some anxiety at blocking time.

I'm going to go with the grey and maybe just gift it to Karen.

P.S. I can't seem to add pictures right now. Something wonky with Blogger and my "securityToken". Oy. ETA: All better now, apparently.
P.P.S. The advantage to marrying into a Jewish family, however briefly, is the ability to use "oy" in conversation freely. Before Peter went into rehab this time, I had an entire conversation with my FIL's wife that consisted of "Oy, oy vey." A disconcerting and slightly amusing moment for this shiksa.

12 June 2007

Laughing Rat Yarn

It's my yarn, Mommy!

Lace Merino in Robin's Egg

Sock in Pacific

Mohair in Robin's Egg

Aren't they beautiful!?! I'm tempted to make these stash pets, but I can't wait to start knitting them up. I think I'm going to use the lace for an Icarus, the mohair for a Sheila Cape, and the sock yarn for, perhaps, socks. I know, what a crazy idea.

Only problem is I'm not keen on hand-winding 1200yds of laceweight, and my swift and ballwinder are in Gloucester. I'm thinking about getting a Nifty Swift, since I don't love the swift I have (it's one of those metal and plastic ones that clamp to the table). Anyone order from Dream Weaver Yarns?

Be sure to check out Laughing Rat's Etsy shop. Her yarns are beautiful, and her customer service was great.


I love the smell of mohair!