Determination

This post is about determination.  Not mine but my yarn's.  This is Blue-faced Leicester wool, dyed by Frabjous Fibers, spun by me several years ago that I've attempted to make various things with. The last effort was going to be a Shetland shawl.  I got the middle done and 3/4 of the border before I realized I wasn't going to have enough yarn.

One thing about getting fiber that's been hand-dyed.  It's never going to come out the same any two times, even if you have a recipe.  But I hoped against hope that it would work and ordered more of the colorway.  But there was no joy.  I got the new rope and, although deeply beautiful (as all their fiber is), it was not close enough even for government work.

But I so wanted to knit with this yarn that I ripped out the border and started again on a wrap shawl with one of my favorite lace patterns, one that, once established, is really easy to work without having to reference the pattern.  I've just finished the yarn that made up the border and have a good 25 inches (unblocked but slightly stretched).  Now I'm going to join on the yarn from the middle section, which was knitted corner to corner.  I decided not to rip it out and ball it up first.  I'm just going to knit right off the previous knitting to cause the least wear and tear to the yarn.  It's a little wider than I intended but it will be fine.  The plan is to finish the main body and then I have some merino roving that exactly matches the turquoise in this variegated yarn that I am spinning to match and I will use that to add a wide border to each end of the shawl to finish it off.  I may even go crazy and add some beads to that!

If you want to do this easy lace pattern, which creates a lovely wavy, leafy sort of pattern, here's what you do.

Cast on in multiples of 8 with at least a couple of extra stitches on either side.
The first half of the pattern goes like this:

• Yarn over, SSK, knit 6, repeat to end and then do your extra stitches (I've got 10 garter stitches on either side)
• Purl wrong side rows
• Yarn over, knit 1, SSK, knit 5, repeat to end
• etc.  Keep knitting 1 more stitch before the SSK and 1 stitch less after it until you get to
• Yarn over, knit 6, SSK, repeat to end.

For the second half of the pattern you reverse this, so you have:

• Knit 6, K2tog, yarn over
• Knit 5, K2tog, knit 1, yarn over
• Knit 4, K2tog, knit 2, yarn over
• etc. until you get to K2tog, knit 6, yarn over

This way your traveling stitch (whether it's moving to the left with the slip, slip, knit 2 stitches together (SSK) or moving to the right with the knit 2 together (K2tog)) weaves back and forth.  Really nice and really easy.  If you lose count, just keep an eye on where the traveling stitch is and you can find your place again.

Play Time

I finally got around to playing with my Fimo clay this weekend to make different configurations of spindles.  I'm not deeply satisfied with any of the efforts but it was kind of fun.

I mixed a sheet of colors and did a few cut outs.  The little pieces in the front were cut from leftovers and I've made holes on each corner of the triangle spindle that I'm going to attach a little leaf to and see what happens when that spins.  The ball shaped one would have been prettier if the ball underneath had been a solid color and then had the colored leaves and flowers attached.  On the square blue and brown one, I added two smaller square pieces in the brown color underneath the blue to add some weight and that makes it a much better weight for spinning.

Lessons learned. 

1. It was fun to play with clay when I was 4 and it's still fun to play with it today.
2. I need to get a handle on how much the hardened clay weighs so I can have an idea on how to design them so they spin right.
3. I need to find a straw or something hollow to cut the holes instead of just poking the sticks through.
4. When you lay out ropes of clay in different colors and  flatten them together, the color distribution is different on the bottom than on the top.  Check out both sides.
5. All the shapes seemed reasonably well balanced except the ball.  (refer to #3)
6. More play uhm, work needed.

I've been waiting to show you this

I love spinning.  I love spinning with spindles.  I love drop spindles and I love supported spindles.  A few weeks ago I made a spindle from a clay whorl from Gambia (I think that's where it was from).  While I was spinning with it, I suddenly thought, what keeps me from making my own whorl.  I had a tub of clay that I've been using for another project so I got it out and started playing.

First I made one that was sort of oblong, another was square and then I found some cutters and came up with these:

With the round one, I did a little design before it dried all the way and I did a little something on the tip of the flowers but I haven't done any other decorating.  I need to get some paint to play around with now.  I love the retro look of the layered flowers.  They all spin reasonably well but I still need to finish the tops so I can spin of the end. 

Next I'm going to play around with adding some beads to the clay but I'll need to get some varnish or something first so the beads can be set into the clay.

In the meantime, I'm going to get started spinning.

Quick peek

I've been very lax in posting the last couple of weeks because there have been a few things going on, including a quick trip to Paris.  Sounds very cosmopolitan, right?  Well, it was cool and it was quick (I had a day and a half to sightsee and a very, very looooong day in meetings with 3,000 people - company meeting) and I haven't quite caught up with myself yet.  It hasn't helped that I spent the entire weekend sleeping fitfully and sneezing and blowing my nose.

But regardless, I got my beaded purse all but finished.  I don't think this is going to be the final handle for it but I've got it lined and attached to the frame and I wish I had somewhere to wear it!

It came out far, far, far more fancy pants than I intended when I started but it started and there was just no stopping it.  I've got it hanging on my dress form just because the black showed up the beads better but it is carried by hand.  I love the clever frame that expands out to open.  Very Victorian.

It's summer, right?

Sorry, but blogging has taken a back seat during this time in my life to life.  There's still plenty going on but I'm usually just too tired to take pics and post.

This weekend ended up being pretty productive, even considering all the things I had to get done for an upcoming trip.  I've been working on a beaded bag that got this far until I ran out of beads.  I had to wait for my favorite bead store to open after the holiday so I could go get another tube but darned if they didn't have any more of the beads I'd used for the bag.  But they did have something close, the beads you see in the fringe here.  Yes, I got this far, had to rip out, tread the new beads and got to the same point and ran out of beads.  But this time I only ran out of beads that were threaded.  Don't worry, I got 2 tubes of the suckers so I would make sure I had enough.  You can's tell too much in this photo but the new beads are a square cut and they have a little more shimmer color in them than the beads in the bag.  But I think it's going to work fine.  There will also be a row of loops about an inch from the top.  I'll have to save showing you the frame I'm going to use until I get it finished.  It will be lined and I already have the lining made.  It will just need to be sewn in. 

 Another project I started this week was an Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi Shawl.I found this fingering weight boucle (I think it's a JoAnn Fabric store brand) in these great spring colors.  You know I love the lime.  I thought this would be a great wrap for the warmer weather when you need a little something in venues with air conditioning.  It's only just begun and there's no way I'm going to knit a lace edging for it.  This one will have a crochet bind off and like it!

 And, finally, I have no earthly idea why I started this project other than I just really liked the pattern and I'm a sucker for color work.  It's just dawned on me that these 3 projects represent the 3 types of knitting I most like to do - beadwork, lace and color work.  Humm...

I didn't have the light weight yarn the pattern called for but I did have a bunch of different colors of Brown Sheep Nature Spun (my favorite yarn) and I was able to approximate the colors from the pattern.  Mine's going to be much longer than intended but I'm probably just going to frame mine anyway (if it comes out alright, that is).  I just love the process.

Perseverance

I'm proud to present the Sea Shell:

I love the way the sleeves came out (finally) and with the seashell button I found to finish off the collar.  Usually I say it's great when something comes out the way you envision it but with this one, I didn't even envision anything.  I started out somewhere and then tried this but didn't like so I tried that and I liked it.  Then I tried this other thing and didn't like it so I took it out and tried another thing, didn't like it, tore it out, tried yet another thing and liked it.  It wasn't so much creativity as perseverance.

If I were to make it again (and, you know, I'm pretty darn sure I will) I have things I would change because I learned something about the construction.  But I don't believe there's anything I would change about this version.  At all.

One of my trial and error efforts came from a technique I found this weekend in a 1933 issue of Needlework Magazine.  I had been thinking about tatting the sleeves so this seemed like it might work.

First you tat the frame.  The pattern is actually for an edging where the motifs are attached for the length of the piece you're edging.

 Then you thread the thread through each of the inside picots of the frame.  You tie down the center by weaving the thread through all the spokes a couple of times.

 Then you start working up each section to create the petals.

How fun is that?!  Isn't that great?

It didn't work as the sleeves (too small) but I think it's super cool so I'm going to make a scarf with the size 8 mercerized cotton I used to make these and then attach these as the scarf ends.  I started experimenting with the little circle of tatting at the top of this photo and I'm now makeing a VanDyke edging the same way (it was the other pattern in the mag).  I'm planning to make 3 tatted triangles (which will be attached) that then have a wide 3-petaled centerpiece in each.  I'm going to frame them because I think that will be a wonderful way to display the work.

One of the other 1933 issues that I found had some cover art that showed this technique used in a cutout of an embroidery piece that I am totally going to do with the knitting as the frame and the needleweaving as the interest piece.

Like a day by the seaside

The little cotton tank that I was working on last week, unfortunately, had to be mostly ripped out.  But it was one of those instances where the pain led to gain.  I hadn't completely thought through the layout (because I was making it up as I went along) and there were some fatal flaws in the plan.  Things like the body would have fit a size 6 sort of person (which I'm not) but the armholes would have come down to the naval.  Not a good look, whoever you are.

But the bit that I did was enough for me to figure out how many repeats I really needed and how to handle the stretchiness of the neckline.  So the demise was not in vain.  And out of it is probably one of my favorite things I've made in a long, long time.

I really need to get a better photo of it as this dress form is now larger than I am and it's at the smallest settings.  But at least you get an idea of the top.  There weren't quite enough repeats for the front but I'd wanted to do a little insert here anyway.  I love the effect.  I don't know if you can see the details but I picked up stitches along the edge and did 7 cables with a little lace pattern between.  The I picked up stitches from the other side and did a 3-needle bind off to give me the finished edge.

I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with the sleeves (I was thinking about doing just a little loosey flap) and then I think I'm going to put big white or shell buttons on the flaps at the front.  I also think I want to crochet finish the bottom part of the armholes just to finish it off.  And then finally I want to make lining for it. 

I just can't tell you how soft and comfortable it is and how pleased I am with it.  I would use a bunch of exclamation points or a smiley face but I've had to use so many at work to keep people from thinking I'm being mean or unfriendly that I've put myself on an exclamation mark/smiley diet.  I'm also on a "like" diet because it's making me crazy to hear every sentence I say or hear others say have the work "like" in it.  They use it in like every sentence.  (But that's beside the point.)

My point is that sometimes inspiration doesn't come all of a sudden.  Sometimes it sneaks up on you and, if you chase it, you can find something that thrills you.

Edited to include this photo: