Time Off

I have discovered the joy of making lace. I made a lace shawl for a friend for Christmas. I have made and am making lace scarves for friends for the just-passed reunion (one down, two to go!). I LOVE making lace. Just love, love, love, love it.

But there's a fly in the ointment. You knew there had to be one, didn't you?
While I like making lace, I have a hard time manipulating needles that are smaller than size US 5. I am not sure if it's my big ham-hands or if I just lack the dexterity. Years ago (I say it was 15, but it's more like 20), when I was studying ASL, I was the best fingerspeller in the class. I practiced fingerspelling every day, sitting on the subway trains and fingerspelling every word that appeared on the advertisements. It got to the point where I was better at fingerspelling than the teacher, who was herself Deaf.

I'm out of practice these days with the fingerspelling, but I thought that I'd be able to handle small knitting needles. Not to put too fine a point on it, but FAT CHANCE!!! I've got some lace on the needles right now, it's a gorgeous pattern, the yarn is actually the stuff recommended by the pattern's author, the colour is sublime, and I know who is going to get it when it's done. If it gets done. Because I can't make my damn fingers do what I want them to do when I'm knitting with these tiny needles!

Hey! I know! I'm using a circular needle with a 36 inch cable. I'm really used to using straight needles if I'm making anything other than a hat. It's not my hands' fault! It's the needles' fault!

Forever Yarn

This past holiday weekend I've been in Pennsylvania for the second annual reunion of friends from my grad school days (the first degree). Steve and Carlene and I drove down from Boston, Brad and Alexandra and their girls drove in from Maryland, and we all converged on Libby and John's house outside Philadelphia. Good friends, good food, and of course, good yarn.

On Sunday, several of us visited the James A. Michener Museum for the astonishingly brilliant exhibit on the Pennsylvania Impressionists. What an amazing show! The curator deserves major kudos for pulling this exhibit together. In short, I liked it, I really liked it.

After touring the exhibit, some of us decided to wander the shops in Doylestown. While my friends explored the bookshops, I hit the yarn store. Forever Yarn (no website, alas) has a terrific collection of high end yarns. I entered through the back door, and there were about seven women sitting in the front room. I heard one of them call out, "The place is full of women!" Like I'm not used to that. I replied, "On my Friday night knit I'm usually the only man there." When they realised I was a knitter, they were very welcoming. They asked if I'd made my hat (I had), and what was I looking for, and were very friendly. I was just looking around, seeing what they had and if any of it appealed to me.

They had a lot of yarn that really appealed to me. I only wish I had more money so I could have gotten some of the yarn I saw there. I did get some beautiful yarns (pictures to follow!), but I couldn't quite justify the absolutely beautiful Swans Island (100% organic merino), even though I wanted to buy out their entire stock. I did, however, take the information for this yarn, and when I am able, I will be getting some of it. Just gorgeous!

The yarn I did buy, though, is not just stash yarn. I've got plans for this stuff, y'know! First, there was some Madeleine Tosh. I've never bought Tosh before, though I've looked at it. I don't make socks, so it never occured to me that you could make shawls or fine scarves with it. So I got four skeins in two colourways to make a scarf. In the store, one looked like burnished gold, and the other a cobalt blue. But when I got them home, the blue looked more purple, but I think it's going to work anyway.

I think these will work well together. I'm looking forward to working with this yarn.

I also bought some Shibui Silk Cloud which is 60% mohair and 40% silk. It is a rich cranberry colour, and alas, there was only one skein left. However, after talking with the ladies, one of them said that she had two skeins that she was planning on exchanging. We exchanged information and she's going to check her stash, and if the dye lots match, she'll contact me and I'll buy it off her.

I am hoping that we have a match, since I will need the extra yardage for what I'm planning on doing with this yarn. And the picture doesn't do the colour justice.

Everyone at the shop was friendly, the owner told me that if I lived in the area she'd offer me a part time job (!) which just made me laugh. I'd love to work in a yarn store, but I'm not sure how much of my paycheque I'd take home. Something tells me that my stash would increase exponentially.

It was a terrific experience at Forever Yarn. The addition to my stash is very pleasing and everyone at the store was friendly and welcoming. I'm looking forward to a return trip at next year's reunion.

Forever Yarns, 15 W. Oakland Ave, Doylestown, PA  18901
215-348-5648

Feather and Fan

I just finished a silk lace scarf for a friend. I've never made a feather and fan pattern before, and I really enjoyed it. The pattern came from Mind's Eye Yarns and can be found here: http://www.mindseyeyarns.com/resources/patterns/brushed-mohair-scarf.htm

The yarn I used was Tao by Colinette, 100% pure silk. I've got two more of these on the needles for other friends, and am thinking of adapting the pattern to make a shawl. That idea sends goose bumps all over me, since I think it would make a terrific shawl. I'll also search Ravelry for feather and fan patterns, just to get a better idea about them.

This still needs to be blocked and I need to sew in the loose ends, but I'm really happy with it.
Now I've got a week to finish two more of 'em!

Mark's Hat

So Mark likes the colour green. So I made a hat for him and he got home today from his family's holiday feast, and found a box from me on his front step.

This is the hat.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca, 50% alpaca, 50% wool.

This is Mark in his new hat:

This is Mark in his new hat. Handsome fellow, eh? I think he looks dashing in his new toque. Of course, in his e-mail to me, he said that it is only about 50 degrees in his area, so not quite cold enough to wear a nice warm toque.

My other friends who recieved knitted goodies from me haven't sent me any pictures, but when they do, I'll post them.

Hats for the Holidays

Living in New England one's ears often get cold in the winter time. What could be better, then, than hats to keep heads warm, even if they aren't heads in New England.

This is Jake's Tychus hat, in chunky Malabrigo. School colours, of course, to match the scarf he got last year.

This is Jake's scarf from last year. It looks a bit brighter than the hat, but the yarns are actually the same dye lots.

Tim's hat in Noro Silk Garden. I didn't realise that there were only 109 yards, and realised that there wasn't enough yarn to make four inches of ribbing, so I ripped it back and decided an inch and a half of ribbing would suit.  I had my doubts about the earth tones, but it did come out well.

Mark's hat, in Berroco's Ultra Alpaca. Mark likes the colour green, so rather than make a solid hat, I thought I'd do a bit of Fair Isle.

These are the hats for the holidays. When they're done, I'll post the Scarfs for Solstice.

Ameeta Scarf

I am chugging along on my holiday knitting. Ask me at one point, and I am certain I'll get it all done. Ask me thirty minutes later, and I'll assure you that there is absolutely no way that I'll get it done before it needs to be shipped out. I have been hard at work on Deniss A. Saganai's Ameeta Scarf, the pattern for which can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ameeta-scarf

It's a fun and funky basket weave scarf that I'm intending for a ten-year-old girl. I'm using Malabrigo Rios for it, in Purple Mystery. It is absolutely stunning. I have at least one, perhaps two, more repeats of the pattern before it's done. I'm hoping to finish it tonight.

Here's what it looked like this afternoon.

It has a scalloped edge which just tickles me!



Here is a view of the basket weave pattern.

The colour is so rich and imperial in its purpleness, that I am looking forward to taking a picture of it in the sunlight, just so its true hue can be seen.

When this one is done, I'll have only two more to go, and they are both more than half finished.

Hats and Hats!

OK, so it's been ten days since I have had time to post. The Catholic guilt is sometimes overwhelming. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

So here is the fantabulous Dawn in her Unspeakable Cthulhu hat.

I made this for Dawn's birthday, and she was really happy with it. This is she modeling it for me. I think it looks terrific, if I do say so myself.

I finished a hat for a friend this very morning. It is in Noro Silk Garden, which, I must confess, as I have countless times before, not my most favourite yarn.

I am not much one for earth tones, but even I have to say this came out rather well. I originally had four inches of ribbing, but realised there would not be enough yarn to complete the hat (there are only 100 metres!), so I frogged back to an inch and a half of ribbing, and did only three-and-a-half inches of stockinette. I just had enough yarn to finish, and if I make another Silk Garden hat (which only has 100 metres of yarn!), I'll use only an inch of ribbing. However, it still came out rather well, if I do say so myself.