A Big Week for the Kids

Verity's birthday.






Peace's ride on the merry-go-round when she went on the big monthly trip into town with Mommy.





Benjamin's Birthday with Charity eating birthday candles when I had my back turned.

Forsythia

Click on the photo above for big.....

Flowers: Beloved by my Mother. Happy Mother's Day, Numer!
Yarn: Spunky Eclectic "Sumac" Superwash BFL. Wheel spun, chunky, 80 ish yards.

Handspun Silk Scarf

Fiber: Tussah silk from AVFKW
Yarn: Two ply. Spindle spun, wheel plied.
Pattern: Tudor Grace by Knitspot

Camera : New. I think this means you'll be seeing more of me. :-)

One of Those Days: A Surprise and a Shawl

It was one of those days.

One of those days when you forget to make the coffee, and then when you do make it you talk to one of your daughters while you are pouring it, and keep pouring and pouring until the counter is flooded. O yes.

One of those days when someone always seems to be wailing for one reason or another and must come to Momma for kisses or conflict resolution.

(One of those days when you take pictures of your new shawl and you take pictures of the purl side, and don't realize it til after you've posted them on your blog and on Ravelry)

One of those days when you are feeling sluggish and not quite with it.

And into that day came a package. A mysterious package. "I don't remember ordering anything," I tell Bruce. Goodies Unlimited, it said on the package. "Maybe it's a bomb." I said helpfully. So of course he opened it. Very carefully. Out came all manner of delightfully scented things, and at the bottom a little note that said "A Gift from Rhonna"

Oh my! Did I enjoy my bath last night! I don't think I have ever had such an array of specialized products! And just a sniff of the lavender turns my sluggish into peaceful.... Thank you Rhonna for a delightful surprise!

The other good thing about yesterday was getting to wear my new shawl. I had 4 oz. of pygora which I spindle spun and wheel plied, to about 65o yards of laceweight yarn.

I decided to make the small version of Laminaria, a pattern which I loved at first sight. I did end up cutting out one of the blossom repeats because I feared running out of yarn, but because I knit it at such a large gauge it ending up being quite a large shawl. Even so, it doesn't look too sleazy to me, which I guess is just the magic of pygora. If it hadn't been for the pygora article in Spin-off, I could have spent a lot of time finding a guage that I liked. Cough. I used, I realized as I put my needle tips away yesterday, one size 7 tip and one size 8 tip to knit the entire thing! le sigh. And I never noticed anything amiss.

I did slightly adjust one of the motifs at the bottom because I read on Ravelry that it looked like an alien, and then every time I saw that motif, I could see nothing else. Not being especially fond of aliens, I decided to move his nose to his forehead and he rewarded me by not looking so much like himself. He is probably still quite happy though, as aliens rather enjoy having their noses in odd places.

The shawl has not yet been properly blocked, because we seem to have a dearth of straight pins. Time to visit the general store. I did spread it down to dry on the living room floor, and primped.

I had 1 ounce of dark grey and 1 ounce of white pygora from Cary, in cloud form.

I had a little less than an ounce of taupe and a little more than an ounce of white from A Verb for Keeping Warm Ultra Club, in roving form. It was interesting to spin the different preps and see the differences in fineness and sheen between samples. I think I have a slight preference for spinning the clouds.

I wish my shawl were perfect, but once again I have errors. This was such a fun knit, though, and one that really taught me a lot about lace knitting. Thankfully I think the worst errors were right at the beginning and will be covered by my hair, so I guess I'll never cut it.

I have come to the conclusion that I love knitting lace. I don't love knitting socks or little fiddly things with gussets and such, though I really enjoy wearing them. But I love lace. Sigh.

Morning Surf Stole-Scarf

Wide enough to be a stole, drapey enough to wear as a scarf, I love how this pattern turned out.

Fiber: Susan's Spinning Bunny cultivated silk
plyed with
Lisa Souza's "Mardi Gras" colorway in superfine superwash merino

Over 600 yards of light fingering weight yarn

knitted on size 3 needles.

Low Whorls are for Klutzes

I was able to take two more Abby classes last week. At The Spinning Loft. One on spindling, one on drum carding.

Sadly, I was a bad blogger and forgot my camera, so I missed taking pictures of all the fun and fibery people that I met.

All I have is a little knowledge.... and so much of the knowledge that I have is very physical, the type that is difficult to describe in words.

But there are a few things to share.

Because a bottom whorl spindle does not have to be secured with a hook, it is excellent for klutzes like me who tend to drop drop spindles. If you are a top whorler, you know that if your hook is out of whack, your spindle does not spin well. If there is no hook, you eliminate the Achilles heel. This reason alone makes me want to become proficient on a bottom whorl.

Abby had us trade spindles around the room, so we could see how cop shape and winding on methods change the feel of the spindle. That was such a fun exercise! Everybody spindles a little differently, and I definitely learned from trying some new things.

Abby noted that spindles are adaptable to a person's individual physiology.... there are many different ways to approach spindling, and experimenting to find what is most efficient for you personally is a good thing.




When questioned on how to decide what kind of spindle to use for a particular project, she said, well, it depends. Sampling is a must. There are so many variables with spindles, fiber, the kind of yarn you want,...... even the weather can affect your spinning! (Abby told how she had difficulty in learning to spin cotton until she tried it on a very hot and humid day, when everything clicked for her. )

Well, with the scenes beside my spindling basket showing my deck engulfed in snow and the icicles getting long in the tooth, I have no urges to spin cotton.... just lots of warm woolies!

Many secret Christmas projects in the works......

Shhhhhhh.......

Skeleton Leaf Bookmark Pattern

***Revised. as of Feb. 2011/ thanks to Alexis for her helpful suggestion....I think the pattern is much improved now. I do recommend that if you want your leaf to look much like the pattern, use a fine laceweight yarn

Remember this?





I have had several requests for the pattern here and on Ravelry, so here goes. I don't have the capacity to do a graphed pattern on my computer, so I have opted to use a sort of knitting shorthand instead of using words. Hopefully it will have a visual quality to it that will help you grasp the pattern of the pattern.

I used laceweight and size 3 needles. Your gauge may vary.

K= knit
O=yarn over
V= knit two together

(ssk)=slip slip knit

Starting at the base of the leaf, cast on 5.

Row 1 KKOKOKK

All even numbered rows until row 10, purl across

Row3 KOVOKOVOK


Row 5 KOVKOKOK(ssk)OK

Row 7 KOVKOKOKOKOK(ssk)OK

Row 9 Bind off 3 OVKOKOK(ssk)OK(ssk)OK

Row 10 Bind off 3, purl remaining stitches.

Rows 11-14 Repeat rows 7-10 once more.

Row 15 VVOKOKOKO(ssk)(ssk)

Row 16 Purl across

Row 17 Bind off 3, OKOKOKO(ssk)(ssk)

Row 18 Bind off 3, purl across

Row 19 Bind off 3, OKOK

Row 20 Purl across

Row 21 Knit 5 together.

Break off, weave in ends. Block. Finish with cord and tassel or as desired.

Let me know if you have any problems with the pattern! I am kinda new at this.

Lots of snow here....

ending with some pictures for you!