It's Indigo colorway of Wisp yarn, by Dream in Color, and it's lovely intense blue.
I forgot the cardinal rule of using an intensely colored yarn: wash it first!
So, as I attempt to knit 96 lace points on the shawl edging, my thumbs, index and middle fingers are distinctly blue on the fingertips. I put lots of hand lotion on before knitting and then wash like a fiend after knitting, but I still see a blue shadow there...not Smurf blue, that's for sure!
I decided against a custom-design of a shawl for my niece. I was at first, then I took another look at the wedding dress she's picked out, and reviewed the shawl books in my collection. Why re-invent the wheel? I asked myself. Just pick one out that already exists, use the Indigo yarn, and you'll live longer and with less stress. I just couldn't make what was in my head come out on paper or crunch out number-wise. Time to regroup, review, and find something else.
Final choice: The Gibby shawl. The version I have was published in a book by Gladys Amedro in 1996, and is still available from Jamieson & Smith as a lovely kit, with the pattern and the cobweb yarn bundled together. One day, I keep promising myself, I will buy some of that lovely yarn and knit one for myself. Why not?
]]>Of course, the Westknits 2013 MKAL of the Color Craving Shawl takes a wee bit of precidence... until I reach a point or something else in my project pile stands up and yells for attention.
I finished the Rockefeller shawl, just need to work in the final loose ends, do a bit of light blocking, and take pictures. I need to take a LOT of pictures of LOTS of things and import them to this blog! I need to take sock pictures, shawl pictures, re photograph a sweater... again, I say Jeepers!
I have half of a half of a quilting project sewn. I attended 2 class sessions on how to make a Bargello Table Runner at Patches in Mt Airy, and still have to find quiet sewing time to finish the top, layer, quilt, and bind. I used shades of brown, using my memories of the colors I saw in sandstone and rock layers in Colorado and Utah. So far, anyone who has seen the various shades has liked it. Place it next to my mother's in blues, and it looks like mountains and sky.
I'm still working on the shawl design for my niece's wedding shawl. I still have blue in my mind, but now I can visualize certain shades of blue, at least 3 dominant shades, in my mental picture of how it will look when it's finished. I'm still not certain if I'll be buying yarn, dyeing yarn, or spinning yarn. That part is still uncertain.
I also have to get cracking on Christmas gifts if I'm knitting any this year. I'm not sure on that yet. Maybe I'll just make a list, see how long it might take to knit them, and wait until next spring to start them for the following year!
Every so often, I have the weird idea of a series of What If's. What if...I started a yarn co-op? Where various spinners pooled their yarn together for sale, and I was one of the sellers/merchants? What if...that co-op also included finished knitted items? What if...I knit a whole bunch of mittens, half-mittens, hats, scarves, socks, and sold them at craft fairs? What if...I wrote up a pattern from my little black work sweater, scaled it to various sizes, and offered it for sale?
Stuff like that, along with anthing else that pops up when I'm half asleep or half awake. Maybe I'll just stick to designing socks, writing those directions up, booking up a collection of them into a sock notebook, and if I do the mitten/half-mitten/scarf-for-sale idea, work on those inbetween and for almost a year. Just to see how many I can do in a month/year/however long it takes, and if/when they are sold, if there is enough to get G-Woolykins off the ground?
Of course, for the co-op to happen, we'd need a physical presence, either as a group of people committed to the actual selling and marketing, or even a location for purchasing that isn't just a once-in-a-while pre-agreed to meeting at another business. I'd hate to be a selling presence on the internet and only being available for physical local pickup once a week in the parking lot of Starbucks. I'd rather have a part-time store location, or have a co-op owned store location, and advertise the dickens out of it... I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?
Just thinking. But, Jeepers! I still have a pile of knitting to do, and I have barely listed the iceberg's tip here. Where's my knitting needles?
]]>Okay, only so many times I can say that before the squee police come after me with a muzzle and cute, comfy, wrap-a-round jacket in my size.
Now, all I have to do is create an heirloom, one-of-a-kind shawl in blue, with lace, for her before the actual wedding. That's not until 2014 or 2015, but still, I have to get cracking!
Lace. Okay, there's lots of patterns available, I have books to play with. Or I can take graph paper and a lot of patience and work up a just-for-her design.
Blue.
Oh, my. Blue.
Which hue? Which kind of blue? Several blues in one, shading light to dark, or one solid or semi-solid? So. Much. Blue. To. Choose. From.
I might wait until Maryland Sheep & Wool in May 2014. Plenty of time to spin up fiber if I find THE BLUE or a bunch of BLUE that will do. I have to watch it, I'll go Dr Seuss on this theme... I might even find the perfect yarn for a shawl.
Well, as soon as I find the right yarn, or the right fiber and spin it up, I'll just have to play with ideas.
Square shawl? Rectangular like a pallentine or stole? Triangle? Large triangle? Huge square like an orenburg style? Or like an estonian style? Or slightly shaped like a faroe style? So many choices... Maybe I'll wing it.
Hmm. Wings... wing shapes? Long like wings? Incorporate sleeves or a "cuff" at edges so it can be like a shrug/shawl combo?
Yikes!
I think I'll just pick up the graph paper and sketch which motifs I want to experiment with first. Or possible edges...
]]>School will be starting back up soon (it already has for a few counties), and I for one bet some are dreading it and others will be rejoicing. Call me harsh, I will be rejoicing.
Why? Too many aimless, bored children that need a focus. I blame their parents or whomever is responsible for them. There. Mini rant done.
Onwards to knitting. Hmmm, what have I finished recently? Well, I did finish a Vine Lace Vest, but no pictures. I like the one in the directions, because that's what sold me on the pattern.
I'm partially through a top for myself, in basic white. I'll be able to wear it to work, whenever I get the sleeves on and work my ends in. Nice, washable baby yarn in acrylic. So, sue me, I like easy care things for work. Makes it easier to wash the dirt out, and if it snags, I won't agonize over ruined wool or silk fibers.
I also have a few quilting projects lined up now. One is a quilting kit I bought from a vendor at the Four County Quilting Guild's quilt show last month. I have to wash, starch and iron the fabric before I can start cutting and sewing it. I love it, it's in blue shades. The other quilting project is a quilting class I signed up for at Patches Quilting in Mt Airy, for a Bargello table runner. I have to pick out my colors first, and hope I can do them justice! I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, so to speak!
Last week, spinning night! I hadn't been there for, well, 2 sessions. My reasons are bad headache (all gone, thank heavens!) and extremely tired (FCQG show wore me out!). I was able to put on my teaching hat, and help someone, I hope. She's a beginning spindler, with a lovely drop-spindle. Showed her some of the basics, and hopefully next time she'll be ready to take it further and maybe get to actually drop? Yes, support spinning for the first time can be tiring and annoying, but it shows you the basics and helps you get a feel for twist and drafting.
I just wish my go-to book for learning how to spin wasn't so hard to find or out of print, Hands on Spinning by Lee Raven. I know it's available used at various online venues, but I just wish someone would either reprint or reissue it. Such a worthy book to have on hand, great basics, good illustrations and pictures, and I love her explanations. Sigh. Well, there's other resources too, like at Interweave for their ebooks and the online community. Yes, there's Ravelry too!
]]>I knit socks.
And other items too, like shawls, scarves, sweaters, mittens...but mostly, lately, it's been socks.
In particular, I'm working on a pair for my mother's breast cancer surgeon. She started a tradition of knitting a pair of socks for him almost every time she sees him for a followup visit. I'm not going to count the pairs of socks, just point out that his feet are well covered and warm in either the operating room or in the exam room.
This time, I'm knitting a pair, and I'm working on a design of twisting ribbon stitches on a purled background. The yarn is from a yarn stash, not sure when we bought the yarn or where. It's a soft raspberry pink, but I think any shade of pink would work well, so long as the yarn has a great stitch definition when knit up.
I'm thinking of finding a baby yarn and trying the same design again, as well as playing with undyed sock yarn and seeing if I can either dye them or if the pattern shows up in white-on-white knitting.
So far, I love how the toe and heel stitches are working out, with half being regular stockinette and half reversed...knit one side, purled the other! I'm also playing with other variations in my mind, but I'm sticking with the formula I have so far with this pair, and I'll have to see how well I can write this up for a toe-up sock construction. This design would work quite well for a traditional cuff-to-toe sock construction as well, and I'll have to see how to make notes for this as well...hmm, which heel? which toe?
Let's see how quickly I can finish sock #1 before I play with the reverse engineering...Now where is my camera?
]]>I can also be put into the category of those not afraid to spin in public. Well, sort of. Spinning with a like-minded group of fiber fanatics constitutes as "public" right?
I'm still battling the occaisional rough edges, and one thumb split, but my fingers are in fairly decent spinning condition. A-n-d I've spun quite a bit of wool into yarn or a single that's ready for plying into yarn. I have a backup hank of braided wool in my spinning bag with the spindles, ready for it's turn on the top whorl.
I've also been drooling over my stash of ready to spin fiber, trying to figure out which one to pull out next, or should I use one colorway first, or another coloraway later... Choices, choices!
Most of my fiber has been purchased from my visits to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I have a few bags of lovely dyed wool from Brush Creek Wool Works. I think they have an etsy shop, but I'm not sure about the weblink to it. I wait for the first weekend in May, then I drool over the colors and pick one out for myself. Inevitably, someone will see the bag, and comment on how it looks like a bag of cotton candy. So I joke to family and friends about putting my bag of "candy" into the car before I continue the fiber senses overload.
I have too many favorites to just look at to list here. I'll be making my wishlist again this year, just like in previous years, but visiting the vendor listing on the MDSW website, and doing my funny little computer magic of list and sorting so I know which building has which vendor. Makes it a little easier to find someone in a specific building or barn if I have my list. Mom has a list too, and most times we put our lists together. Sometimes we go "phooey" and give up on the lists when the crowds get a little too crowdy, we get too tired, or have reached our fiber limit.
Sometimes it is just fun to look at what's new, what's changed, and what has remained the same in fiber, tools, wheels, spindles, knitting books, weaving looms... and then fiber limit hits. It's basically the same as sensory overload. I know I really hit that the first year we went to MDSW. Just too much to take in the first time...but we went back...and back...and only one year have I missed MDSW because of a work schedule.
I have a short wish list of fiber to purchase, and I'll mostly be looking at what there is to see. Of course, we'll do our traditional lunch of barbecue lamb sandwiches and lemonaid. Yummy!
It's also fun to look for someone we've met and become friends with over the years, find out what's happened since the last time, and see what's recommended for this year. That's how we found out where to get the best sandwich ever. When in doubt of the best place to eat, ask a shepherd!
]]>My fingers are almost in "condition" for spinning. Not quite as dry, nor quite as rough. Lots of cocoa butter hand lotion at night, lots of Aveeno during the day, and bandaids on the thumb splits for protection at work seems to be doing the trick.
I'm not pulling out my spinning wheel yet. If I did, it would be the Schacht wheel, which has spinning-in-progress waiting for me to resume. I'll take my drop spindle project, which is hand colored roving being spun and plied into sock weight yarn. I have some plying to finish, and then I can pick up and start spinning the rest of the roving again. Soft, pretty, and fun!
I wonder if I'll be demonstrating my techniques? Or helping explain some basics of spinning to anyone? I have no idea what comparison there is in experience among the spinners in the group. For all I know, I might be the "novice" amongst them!
Mom will be taking her wheel. We plan on pulling it out this week, dusting and oiling and getting it ready for "public" spinning! I think she plans on practicing on it a little too, to get her hand back in and reacquaint herself with her spinning rhythm.
On the knitting front, I've started Beithe again, this time in a soft blue woolen blend, but this version is for Mom. I had it separate on me in a few places when I was winding the skein into a ball, so I have a few mini balls waiting to be spliced back in. I think the staple from the label pinched and broke the yarn, because it is consistently in the same place, and rather a clean break on either one strand or all strands of the yarn. If I don't have enough yardage because of the splicing, I'll either create a different design for a shawlette, or pull out the Landscape Shawl and do the neck scarf version.
]]>The X-spindle and starting fiber was purchased at the Marr Haven booth, along with an instruction sheet listing the steps to start spinning. We also had a short demonstration in the booth of how it worked. We went home, pulled out the instructions and read them thoroughly, then started experimenting. We also purchased a book with pictures that shows how to start spinning on spindles AND spinning wheels. Wow! Spinning wheels!
So, after quite a few months of spinning on the X-spindle, and dropping it, I acquired a couple other spindles (Hatchtown makes very nice wooden ones). Then after dropping any spindle I was working with too frequently, my father grudgely allowed us to bring spinning wheels into the house to live with us.
My first wheel: the Ashford Elizabeth wheel. I bought it in the plain, unfinished wood, and spent the time sanding and rubbing the wood with mineral oil before I assembled it. At that time, spinning wheels only came with single treadles, and after I had it for a couple years, double-treadles started making an appearance. Call me a crazy traditionalist, but I prefer a single treadle.
I used that poor Elizabeth so much that there was a major amount of chatter and rumble every time I spun on it. I tried oiling where the bobbin might be rubbing. Nope. I oiled where the whorl rubbed and spun. Nope. I oiled everything that could possibly be oiled within reason on the mother-of-all. Nothing stopped it from rumbling. Even replacing the whorl didn't stop it for long.
Next try, another wheel. This time, the Schacht Matchless. Again, a single treadle wheel, and before Schacht offered it as a double-treadle wheel. Wheee!! Multiple whorl speeds, it spins quietly, quickly, and hey, look! Hi-speed whorls and bobbins! Just my thing! The Schacht wheel became my go-to wheel and favorite (sorry Elizabeth) for spinning anything. Literally.
The Elizabeth still has fond memories for me. The first wheel I spun alpaca on, the first wheel that I tried navajo-plying on, the first wheel that I discovered how fine I can spin and that yes, I can spin sock-weight yarn on. I still have all the bobbins and the lazy kate for Elizabeth, but they languish with her under a cloth in the living room.
My Schacht wheel is waiting for me to pick up where I left off with a merino roving, in a blend of colors that spins into an interesting blue shade, with hints of red and maybe a wee bit of purple blended into it. Very pretty. I think it has been at least 2 years since I last spun on it. At least I know I can pull it out, clean the dust off, oil the wheel up, and after a few seconds of handling the yarn and the wool, be spinning away again.
I still spin with spindles. I still have my X-spindle, and it has a navajo-plying project still on it. Merino roving my mother dyed for me in many colors, single-spun on my Golding spindle. So actually, it's a two-spindle project, one for the singles (Golding) and one for the plying straight off the other spindle (X-Spindle).
As for the actual spinning, I am a largely self-taught spinner. First from the directions that came with my X-Spindle, then from that first how-to-spin book, and from various other books and magazine articles I have since read. When I was first attempting the actual spinning, YouTube was in its infancy and there were very few videos available either on tape or DVD. (I think DVDs and CD-ROMs were in their early days too...)
When I compare the how-to-spin information available to anyone today to when I was first learning, I am amazed at how our access to spinning information has changed over the years. Websites with videos, YouTube, DVDs and CDs with step-by-step information, and many many more books available in print than I can imagine. Classes and in-person lessons, not to mention folk schools and seminars or spinning retreats that were only in a few areas are becoming more wide spread today.
And now, a local spinning group, Carroll Spinners. I sat in on their recent meeting on March 1, and I plan on attending every meeting that I can. Yippee! A good reason to spin, and talk with others who like to spin (not to mention talk and laugh and have fun!)! If you have access to Ravelry, you can find us there, as well as information about the next meetings.
]]>Grrrr. I really don't like having the cracks and splits in my thumbs or fingertips, nor do I appreciate how my cuticles will split, tear, and bleed from just brushing against something. So, out comes the heavy application of cocoa butter hand lotion at night. And lots of Aveeno hand lotion during the day if I can.
I don't do any spinning when my hands are this dry and rough. I can't get the fiber to flow smoothly, and I don't like lots of snags in stead of spinning. Bleh.
I discovered, by way of my mother, who found out by way of the maintenance man, that there is a spinning group meeting at the senior center on Friday night. Last night, March 1, was the first time for me to sit in. Since Mom doesn't drive at night, I played chauffeur and sat in on the group with her. Lovely ladies, full of life and laughter, and I can't wait for the 15th to come around. I now have a reason for getting rid of those nasty rough fingertips and getting them back in good spinning condition.
Every first and third Friday of the month, the spinning group (now called the Carroll Spinners) meets at the Westminster Senior and Community Center, 6 – 9 pm. I know where I'll be those evenings, as long as my working schedule allows! I admitted to the ladies that I have a Ravelry name, and owning up to 2 spinning wheels. Ashford Elizabeth (single treadle, bought pre-double treadle time period) and a Schacht Matchless with a single treadle. Schacht was just starting to make the double-treadle Matchless, but I wanted a single, and boy, am I glad it's only one treadle! The Elizabeth wheel is quietly snoozing under a cloth in a corner of the living room, next to Mom's Elizabeth wheel. Yes, this is a multi-wheel house! Her Matchless (also single treadled) sits next to mine, and both wheels have spinning-in-progress quietly resting.
I have several drop spindles, and one spinning project is still on 2 spindles, waiting for me to finish plying so I can spin the rest of the roving. I don't know how much yarn I've spun from the roving. It's a merino roving Mom dyed using food coloring and a little kool-aid, in lovely rainbow colors. Wonder if I have a picture or can get a decent one showing the colors? That yarn is earmarked for future socks, if I ever get it finished! The spinning wheel work-in-progress is a blue-ish roving that has only filled half a bobbin, never been plied. I don't really remember the last time I spun on the wheel. Two years? Three??? It needs serious cleaning up and oiling before I can start back up again. I'll need to check the drive band too, see if it is in good condition or needs replacing.
I haven't started a 2013 project list yet. I still need to count out the projects started, finished, and languishing as UFO's or feather castles for 2012. It's more than 2 that I finished! I'll also have to start getting in the habit of taking photos of my finished projects, and maybe a few in-process photos too. Seeing how something looks says more than just talking about it.
My current knitting is the Beithe shawl, and a pair of Imbas socks. Beithe just needs the I-cord finishing, and Imbas sock 2 is near the ribbing and overlay. You have to knit it just to understand it!
I think there's also a scarf or shawlette still on the needles made of a multi-stranded skein of yarn that I purchased at the Maryland Sheep and Wool from Autumn House. I recently rediscovered it in my yarn stash, but I don't know or remember the exact content, just that it may have silk, and I like to knit it. Well, except for when my fingertips are going velcro/sandpaper texture, that is. Then it rests and waits for them to get a little smoother for knitting. It's a variation of a simple triangle shawl, starting at the bottom tip and growing out at the sides gradually every row, with eyelets along the side edges. I'll just knit it until all the yarn is used up, then bind off, work the ends in, and enjoy it. Nice, simple, and great for when I watch TV but need something to occupy my hands.
]]>I hear fireworks outside at night.
Really?
Why does the decibel level of noise inversely equate to IQ levels? I will never fathom that.
My current hot weather knitting: socks (of course), a lace scarf from Knitting Traditions.
]]>For example, I have sock samples to knit so I can write up and finesse sock directions. There is one in particular that didn't work out right, I never finished, and it keeps waving at me from my project bag. I need to either start it over, unknit it to restart the pattern, rework the pattern, or just do a totally different pattern. Sigh.
Another project is a sweater for me, except it's just a cone of white wool. I need to swatch, sample, measure, and design it. Not to mention actually get to the knitting part of it!
However, I have moved a couple items from "to do" to the "done" category of my knitting. A scarf for my mother in sock yarn, scarves for me from a kit that I received for Christmas, and a small sample/shoulder shawlette that I have knit up. Now I need to guesstimate the yardage of yarn and write up my ideas into a set of directions.
Current projects I'm working on, not including the waiting-room projects from earlier? Well, still have to restart that hat, the shawl is a little further along, and I have second sock started on the pair of socks. I'm working on a shawl that was just a set of directions (Christmas gift) and a ball of yarn (repurposed from a prior project), and I'm almost throught the first chart. I love it, it's fun, and since I pulled most of the stitch markers, I'm zooming along! The pattern is easy enough to follow that I only have the center stitches marked. Lyrical Lace from Fiddlesticks. I love their patterns, and I'm finally knitting one! Envision cartoon happy bubbles over the knitting...if you dare!
I still have a pair of boot socks that need the first sock off the needles and second sock started (I have no problems with second socks!), another pair that I'm playing with 2 colors and stitch patterns that is still in first sock and needs to be taken off needles and start second sock...I just realized I have at least 3 pairs of socks in mind for when the needles are naked of stitches, yikes!
There's quite a bit of knitting I haven't listed here yet that's on my list for 2012. Yes, a list, but sadly, no pictures. I have to work that part of my life into a new habit, adding pictures to my words. But, hey, listen to the yarn and needles clamoring for my attention, saying Knit ME! KnitME!
And this is only February? Gotta get knitting!
]]>I'm a little torn, if I want to cart my laptop with me. For charting up a design I have rough notes on, writing up cohesive information from those notes, searching for a little inspiration, reading email? Not sure. Maybe just a little knitting and reading. And a little more design playing with a shawl/scarf that I started the last time I was waiting.
I think I'll restart a hat I was working on, because I'm just not happy with the way the start of it looks. Ever have one of those projects where you look at it, try to make yourself accept the way the project looks, and decide it just "won't work that way" or that it needs restarting? Well, it will be restarted.
I might carry some extra yarn and knitting needles for playing with an idea that's been floating around in the back of my mind. Not sure how it will work out yet, so it can't hurt to play with it.
Ah, the bliss of playing with yarn. Wonder why it is so hard for people to understand how satisfying knitting can be. I'll let someone else write that book.
]]>Yep. Looks like the sit and knit as I wait worked again. I did get some done on the sock, and started the shawl/scarf/stole. Not sure if it's really going to be a shawl, a scarf, or a stole, it's still growing.
Only one person asked me what I was knitting and watched me for a bit. She was waiting for the shuttle, so she could go to work, and admitted that she was working on a scarf. I hope I encouraged her, telling her that if you can knit a scarf, you can knit anything.
It's true. If you can knit a scarf, you really can knit anything. Once you have the basic mechanics of knitting down, making the loop, pulling the yarn through, making stitches, the world of knitting can be your oyster. Really.
And knitting as you wait makes the time go faster, at least for me it does.
Really, I'm ready to go? Thank you!
So, I packed up my knitting for now, drove off into the rest of my day, helped make a double batch of kruschiki (I probably spelled it wrong) and did my usual daily things on my off day.
I have my laundry list of things the car needs done next (according to their nice inspection checksheet), so now, all I need is another job so I can pay for them. At least I can knit while I wait. Or write down my shawl/scarf/stole and figure out if it needs to be shared with the world for knitting? Hmm, the possibilities are endless!
]]>Why? Repair recall notice on Subaru Forrester, I live in the "salt belt" and in the state of Maryland. I have no idea how long this will take, inspection, possible repair or replacement, coating of corrosion preventative material.
First estimate of how long it takes? 3 hours. Maybe. Maybe longer.
So, first thing, Monday morning, hi, here's my Subaru. I'll wait.
If it takes 5 hours, it takes 5 hours. I'll have plenty of knitting with me as I wait. Socks, a shawl or stole, maybe a hat or two. Plenty of knitting to keep me busy.
I know I'll get the hairy eyeball looks, and the usual (extremely original) questions of: is that a baby hat? (sock) What are you crocheting? (it's knitting) How do you knit on all those sticks? (double point knitting needles in the round)
It'll be interesting to see how many people either avoid me, ask questions (ice breaker for creating conversations), or just "ignore" what I'm doing. The usual pay-no-attention-to-the-crazy-woman-knitting-in-that-chair routine.
Maybe my car will be fixed faster?
Nah!
Now, which yarn will work for that shawl/stole idea growing in the back of my mind, will that pattern stitch work in a sock, and what size needle works best for that hat and yarn? Hmmm! The possibilities, the possibilities! I'll have one fat knitting backpack!
Is there room for my fish crackers?
]]>At least now I know why the Dragons Sang last week.
Anne MacCaffrey, RIP (11/21/2011)
One of the most influential writers I ever met in her books. Between will seem so much colder now.
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