A couple of years ago a few of us bought some Harrisville fiber for spinning. I had a vision of a yoked sweater and I wanted it to be in a solid color up to the yoke and then I wanted to spin a yarn out of yellow, orange and red with really long color repeats to knit the fair isle pattern for the yoke. Well the fiber came but it was not at all what we were expecting. It must have been made up from floor sweepings because there is a lot of vegetable matter in it and the fibers are wool but all really short. It was really beyond my spinning abilities at that time but I kept it and looked at it from time to time, sure in my heart that it had character and would be something lovely someday.

This week I started pulling fiber stash out of my workroom closet in preparation for a program at the Weaver’s Guild and of course, my 3 half-pound bags of Harrisville fiber came out with everything else.

So I sat at the wheel and decided that, instead of trying to fit this beautifully dyed fiber into my little preconceived notions, I would just let it be what it is. With this in mind I spun and spun and spun and fell in love with the end result. Although heavier than I would normally like I just got more and more intrigued by the depth of color in the batts. The fiber isn’t really a roving or really a batt but sort of a combination. It’s a very, very thin batt that worked much better when I spent the time to unravel it a bit.

Here’s a photo of the fiber and the result.

The multi-colored skein-ling (because it’s only little, after all) was because I wanted to see how it would do as a 3-ply (a bit like a rope, actually) and the orange skein-ling is a 2-ply. As I was plying it, all I could think about were those great Paton’s patterns from the 50’s of coats knit out of those wonderful bouclé yarns. There might be a plan developing here.

Ahemmm...

Quite enough said, I think.

Just a quick post to show some pictures of the latest project – elegant long gloves.

The first picture is of the test glove which has at least 4-5 major design flaws but at least it’s enough to show me what I need to do with the real ones.

Here’s the 1st of the real gloves. As you can see, I’ve just finished the hand and now I’m starting work on the wrist and forearm.

I had hoped to finish them this weekend but an unexpected and equally unwelcome bug hit at 5am sharp on Saturday morning and is just now receding. In fact, it was so bad that I didn’t even want to think of touching a knitting needle. Better now, thanks.

If I start going to the Opera I might as well be ready..

I saw a pair of long gloves the other day and started thinking about how much scope there would be to designing a pair of long gloves. I found some Misti Alpaca Lace (natural dark tan - groovy color name, isn't it? I call it 'camel' colored) in my stash that I’ve been so wanting to make something with and it’s perfect for this project. Soft, elegant, alluring, takes the lace part well and gorgeous!

Don't have photos yet but will try to get those posted tomorrow. The idea is for the gloves to have a lacy pattern on the back of the hand then gently decrease to the wrist. At the wrist will be some open lace and I'm thinking some special beads so that it looks like a bracelet round the wrist. The gloves I saw actually had a sparkly bracelet around them on the wrist but I thought, why not just work them into the glove? Right?!

Then they will continue up the forearm with the lace pattern worked all the way around the glove. I think. Maybe just the top but I think all the way round. I certainly wouldn't need to do any increasing to accommodate the line of the arm as the lace would automatically do that for me.

I love the feel of the laceweight for the glove and the alpaca is super soft and very warm. The glove I'm doing right now is really a "work out the pattern" glove and I will make the real pair once I've got everything worked out here.

I keep telling everyone these are for all those 'black tie' events I go to in Springfield, Illinois! Ha!! Well, I now have an Opera Hood and I'll soon have long gloves so carry on!!

Ready for the Opera

Done! I’m done!

I thought the “Feather Border” was going to defeat me but I finally got it. I don’t know if this ever happens to you but I can look at something and look and look at it and not get it. But if I put it away and come back to it, often, all of a sudden, it makes sense. That’s what happened here. Once I came back to it, all of a sudden I couldn’t believe why it had seemed so hard.

There was no real instruction for putting it all together so I had to go by the picture to add the ties and pompoms but I think it looks pretty close.

I’ll try to get the pattern written up and posted sometime this week. I definitely have a couple of things I want to riff off of this.

Hood as Scarf

I finished the lining and was testing it out last night when I laid it over my shoulders to carry it back into the living room. And like all the best ideas...whaaalaa.

It has a very interesting look as a scarf and, made larger, would make a very interesting shawl. Of course there would have to be some alterations but those are easily done. I don't know if it's the colors or the shape that makes this look very civil war era to me as a scarf. But I tell you what. When I finish this, I'm going to use a slightly heavier yarn and see how it comes out.

Progress

I’ve made some progress on the Opera Hood. Enough progress that I was modeling it to a group at knit night tonight and suddenly realized that everyone in the café was watching me with this blue and grey thing on my head!

Never mind. I’m still very pleased with it so far. This is a picture after a light blocking. In this yarn and gauge it’s too small for me but would certainly fit a young girl. The blocking, as it always does for lace weight, causes it to make sense.

The grey sections you see at the top will form the place where they will be tied at the neck which will make the side sections fall over the shoulders. The bottom of the grey triangle will fall down the back.

I have the tip of the lining yet to make and then the top section to figure out. So far, so good, I think.