Warty Bobbles

May Shawl -- Done!

I spent the afternoon of my birthday (Sunday) finishing my Triangular Summer Shawl (Nancy Bush design from Knitted Lace of Estonia) and am delighted with it.  It is hard not to love a lace shawl -- especially once it is done! -- but this one is kind of significant because it is May-themed: Lily of the Valley being the motif (and May's official flower) and the color green being my forever favorite color and also the color of emeralds (May gemstone).  Since May is my birth month and since I started the shawl 2 years ago (in May) as a birthday gift to myself...well, you get the idea.

I enjoyed working the nupps once I got the feel for them.  And, really, the pattern was not difficult.  It was interesting learning the Estonian techniques as I went along.  The yarn is not at all traditional (except that it is wool lace-weight yarn, of course) being variegated green!  It is Knit Picks Shadow in "Canopy." 

Owen's Yzma Blanket -Complete!

I finished Owen's Yzma Blanket this week!  Huzzah!!

Worked with Dale Baby Ull on US 3 needles and finishing out at 37" by 40" -- a LOT of stitches!

My own design -- and I am very happy with it.  Owen is happy with it too.

(note: we call the wool blankets I have knit for each of my grandbabies "Yzma Blankets" because they call me Yzma -- it is my "grandmother" name)

Flower Patch

Does everyone have a favorite sweater or sweatshirt, ratty and worn and irreplaceable?  Mine is a treadbare mossy green cardigan bought at Old Navy a decade ago.  I wear it around the house on a daily basis -- and the family thinks it is a horror.  But it suits me -- just the right weight, sleeve length, feel.  Like a second skin.

When the left elbow wore through, I mended it as best I could and then patched it with knitted leaves.

Now, the right elbow has worn through.  So, I mended it as best I could and patched it with knitted morning glories!

Pattern from Lesley Stanfield's 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet

Baby Legs & New Photos

Thank you, Sarah, for putting up new photos on my "On The Needles" sidebar (Sarah handles all the high tech parts of my blog -- and she has a little fun with the naming of my "On the Needles" project photos).  It was beginning to look like Rip Van Winkle's knitting bag! (with all the projects sleeping...get it?).  Now the sidebar really does reflect my own knitting bag.

Here is a photo of Owen's Baby Legs:

Okay, and now the whole baby!

Pretty fabulous! 

I have to confess that I resurrected the Scandinavian Sharf -- it seemed like every knitter I knew was knitting some kind of lovely wrap for herself and I began to think how ideal the Scandinavian Sharf would be for my trips this Spring...And it is a joy to be knitting lace again.

Photos

Finally, I am at liberty to show photos of the ArmWarmers I designed and knit for my dear (and gracious!) friend Joyce!

There is a lace pattern panel on top of the arm with shaping on the underside -- this structure should help it stay in place.  There is a thumb hole in the ribbing at the hand/wrist -- or one could roll the ribbing down for a cuff, making the piece into a more conventional sleeve.  It is knit of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in worsted weight.  I am tempted with making a pair for myself -- to wear with my capelets & q'mitls (maybe in light blue...). I am also toying with writing up the pattern and making it available -- in which case I will need a clever name for the piece!  Suggestions?

Also, photos of Owen's sock (now that I have conquered the size issue -- in that I made the first one too small, I am trundling away at the 2nd one).

The locking markers on the toes are not ornaments!  I decided not to kitchner the toes until I was sure of the length.  Although, why not ornament the toes of infant socks?!  It is not like they are going to be wearing shoes or walking!

Ohhh, pretty baby!!

Christmas Outfits

On Sunday morning, I was stitching grosgrain ribbon to the inside of the waist and suspenders of Gwen's leiderhosen style jumper -- and thinking, hmm, I bet no one on Earth is doing what I am doing right now.  That is one of the amazing things about being a knitter -- how unique your experiences can be.  I was stitching as fast as I could because I was on a deadline to get it done before we left for church -- so Gwen could wear it at our golfclub's children's party that afternoon (there, I was sharing a knitting experience with knitters the world round -- we are always racing a deadline!).

Here are photos of Max and Gwen in their German-inspired knitted Christmas clothes:

Gwen's outfit elicited a lot of comments, to my surprise!  Tho among all the taffeta and velvet dresses, it was certainly unique.

Back view!

I cannot take credit for the antlers and the cocoa mustache -- these were provided by the club!

Design credit for Max's jacket: Alison Stewart-Guinee from Fairy Tale Knits

Design credit for Gwen's jumper: Lesley Ann Price in Kids' Knits

Thank you, ladies!

PS Before you congratulate me too much on having their Christmas outfits done on December 4th, let me mention that I still have to finish knitting Gwen's lace stockings!

THE GULL PI SHAWL IS DONE!

This is a red-letter day of mega celebration for me!  A lace shawl is always a major achievement for a knitter – particularly a large shawl with a lot of pattern work.  But my personal especial triumph here is that it is actually DONE! 

I love lace-knitting and I love lace-weight yarn and I love lace shawls.  I have started probably 6? 7? 8?  And never finished one yet UNTIL TODAY!  I have enough lace-weight yarn in my possession for a dozen, maybe 15 lace shawls.  I have several on the needles right now – and I have not given up on them.  Now, today, they have reason not to give up on me!

 

Some particulars about the Gull Pi Shawl:

It is based on Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Pi Shawl” in Knitter’s Almanac.  I used 6 lace-weight yarns from a Knit Picks sampler (wool, alpaca, silk) in a range of gray neutrals – gull colors.  Each of the 8 lace pattern is bird- or beach-inspired (in name and/or design).  It measures 57” in diameter. 

The edging is Birds’ Eye Lace Edging and there are 72 points (16 rows per point) and there was enough of the Basalt Merino yarn for exactly 71 points.  So, there is a single point in the Brown Alpaca which I used for the center section!

 

I had thought I might celebrate with a glass of good Cabernet Sauvignon – but since there was no one around to share it (and celebrating with an entire bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon did not seem like a good idea…), I went with another form of festivity and cast on a pair of wooly socks.

More Butterfly Photos

Okay, I had to get a few photos of the Butterfly Q'mitl -- these show what it looks like when I am not flapping my arms like an albotross.

I think you can see the patterns of the variegated blue section better too. 

I have worn the piece a few times now and it certainly draws comments -- especially when they notice that the "scallops" are really butterflies!  The butterflies, the black edging (which is made from a rayon yarn that pops up and stands on its own), and even the lace must cry out to be handled too -- because that is what has been happening.  I don't really blame the ladies -- I love the feel of the yarn and the little fat butterfly bodies too!

DONE And DONE!

The Butterfly Q’mitl is DONE!  And I am delighted with it.  (the photo below does not actually do justice to the drape -- since I opted for a "albatross wing spread" pose to show as much of it as possible in one shot!) Although I had planned it for summer wear (ha ha!), it really is a splendid autumn piece.  Vibrant colors and rather dramatic.  I am soooo ridiculously pleased with the butterflies-as-edging.

 

 

Also DONE is the baby cap and leggings/socks set from Homespun Handknit.  I believe they will be ideal for little Owen come late winter and spring (when we get our most chilling weather).  I love the retro look!

Tea Leaf Jacket & Otter Rock Sweater

After hearing so much about these pieces, you deserve some photos!

Here is the Tea Leaf Jacket:

And the Otter Rock Sweater (which is laid out for blocking even as I type):

I am delighted with th Tea Leaf Jacket.  And pleased with the Otter Rock Sweater -- I tried it on quickly before I blocked it, but it is hard to tell how it will look with, say, jeans.  It is not form-fitting (and was not intended to be) and has a lot of body -- I think it will look best with leggings and skinny jeans, that sort of thing.  It is certainly cozy and I love the colors and lace details.

Oh, and once I set the sleeve in properly, it sewed up quickly and just how it should!

So, Beach, here we come!

Little Treasures

I believe I mentioned that I had begun the fleur de lis pincushion from Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts publication.  Well, here she is:

I filled it with barley so I can use it to hold tapestry needles.  It is lovely, I think!

And the peapods (from Amigurumi Knits) that I made for Sasha:

They are snuggling with her knit eggplant, she says, even as I write.  Because Hansi Singh has the knitter pick up and knit the stitches for the peas, they actually grow in the pod. Pretty cool!

Two Finished Projects!!

I am delighted to say that my "check off the circle" approach to working through my knitting projects is paying off.  I have checked off 18 of 50 steps and have completed 3 projects of 9!  I have made significant progress through some of the "go on forever" steps too (tho they are not quite to the "check off" stage).  Most of all, I am am feeling less overwhelmed (there is probably a better way to say that -- more "whelmed" being not it...).

And, without further self-congratualtion, some photos:

The newest tam -- it is purpler than the photo shows, I think, and the brownish bits are more raspberry.

And the Autumn Socks

PS  Thanks for the comments on my last post.  I love my friends!

The Seaside Qu'mitl Goes To The Seaside

The Seaside Qu’mitl is done, blocked, photographed – and will be heading to the seaside with me on Friday!

 

It is made up of 3 variegated yarns (of different fibers and weights) and worked up in four different lace patterns!  And they said it couldn’t be done! (well, no one actually said that – tho Sarah had looked at me askance and rolled her eyes)  Using blue-y “summer ocean” colors and choosing wave-ish lace patterns brings it all together – cohesive, like a painting.

 

What else am I taking to the beach?  Knitting, of course.  Several projects: car knitting (for the long drive), mindless knitting (to do while visiting with family), interesting knitting (for the occasional quiet half hour!), getting-ready-for-fall knitting (because fall is coming)….and a little crochet project just to be wild!  Not that I really expect to get a lot of knitting done – it is a family gathering at the beach, after all!  But I will be prepared for whatever knitting opportunity presents itself. 

It has taken me several days to decide which projects to take -- lots of soul-searching and such.  I cannot just throw a half dozen projects in the car willy-nilly!  Well, I could -- but isn't it more sensible to mull and muddle it over for a week or so?  Each project undergoes a battery of questions regarding its suitability.  And then it comes down to whether or not I think I will feel like working on it while at the beach -- which is why a wool capelet in a  cable-type design made the cut (very beachy! even in summer) and why I will be taking some lace knitting (so romantic with the moonlight on the surf) and why certain projects that just require too much brain and focus are staying home! 

The Afghan I Did Not Knit

There are tasks in life from which, once undertaken, there is no escape.  Childbirth for instance.  No one is going to step in and take over for you – even if you beg.  It just cannot be done. You have to do it yourself.   And then there are those tasks which you can walk away from – but if you do, that’s it.    Like cleaning out your own closets.  No one else is going to finish up for you and you have to live with the Un-Accomplished.

 

Then, there is that miraculous and rare gift:  when someone swoops in and finishes that task which you undertook with the greatest of good intentions and then let slide with the greatest of guilt, that task which, though worthy, lost momentum way too soon.  For example:  The Afghan of Guilt.

 

Despite its rather downer of a title, the A. of G. was began with loving enthusiasm:  a wedding gift for a dear niece.  Several years ago.  It is a Lions Brand Yarn pattern – very cool, actually, with concentric rings worked in a range of colors.  One commences in the center with small quick rings, progressing to larger and longer rings until the End of Time.  In stockinette and reverse stockinette. 

 

I confess, it was the endless stockinette (we call it “Stockinette Wasteland”!) that got me.  And (sigh) I should have known better from the get-go.  I just cannot bring myself to do that much plain knitting.  I will always find myself waking up one morning with some foxy cable or a seductive little bit of lace, the poor stockinette stuffed in the back of a drawer somewhere.  I am shameless.

 

So, the A. of G. languished.  And I kept telling myself that I would get inspired to finish it – somehow, someday.  Then, this summer – out of the blue! -- Sarah scooped it up, saying “I could stand to do some mindless knitting.”  And a few weeks later, it was done.  Miraculous! 

 

Well, miraculous for me -- a LOT of knitting for Sarah!   By the final round she had upwards of 700 stitches on the (extended!) circular needle.  It took her an hour to bind off.  

 

Thank you, Sarah!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Gold Leaf Shrug

I finished the Gold Leaf Shrug, well, almost 2 weeks ago.  It took me days to get around to blocking it.  And longer still to get some photos taken!  Not from indifference (I LOVE this piece!), but because I am caught up in our crazy days of summer – usually the best I can do is to grab my knitting as I head out the door!

So, at long last, here it is:

 

 

It can be worn open (as shown) or held closed in front with a shawl pin.  It is soft, light, luxurious -- and I think I will be wearing it a lot this fall.

I am ready to weave in ends and block my Seaside Qu’mitl  (so expect photos, say, the middle of August..haha).  I am enraptured by the linen yarn worked up in lace stitches.  A sculptural quality that warms my bobble-loving heart.  Nothing whispy about this lace.  (Not that I dislike whispy lace – my passion for lace shawls bears witness to that!)  But this linen lace is modern, bold. 

I am already questing about for orange linen yarn to make a kimono-style jacket featuring lace stitches.   Yowza!

Space-y Fingernails

So, we have been having all these family events -- and my knitting has been mostly the kind you can do after a glass or two of wine and a generous helping of cake!

For George's birthday, we decided on "Area 51" as a theme -- since he was his 51st birthday and it would give us an excuse to decorate the house with silver stars and space aliens (and dress up like space aliens, too, of course!).  My space alien persona was of the Star Trek genre -- not any specific character, really, just that sort of human-esque alien with funky make-up.  And electric blue fingernails!

The electric blue fingernail polish I bought at Target has held up better than any polish I have ever used!  So, I still have space-y nails -- which is a bit much, sometimes, when one is knitting and looking at them all the time.  But kind of cool, too. 

The "removeable" alien monster tattoo also lasted longer than anticipated -- and looked far less cool and more like a nasty scab on my forearm (I tried to scrub it off, but it hurt and my arm was turning red and I was likely to end up with an actual nasty scab -- so I had to let it wear off over a couple of days!).

On the knitting front, though, I have finished the "Turkish Bed Socks" for Sasha (Churchmouse Classics pattern -- churchmouseyarns.com -- made with a single skein of Koigu KPPPM).  Fun to knit because there are interesting sock-shaping gymnastics  and only brief sections of stockinette -- and they work up quickly.  I am making a pair for myself as well!

Done!!

I FINALLY finished Gwen’s Yzma Blanket!  (aka: “Blueberry’s Yzma Blanket” because I began it before she was born and “Blueberry” was her “womb name” – I, of course, am her Yzma).  I worked on it (off and on, I confess) for nearly a year-and-a-half and I calculate that it is nearly 81,000 stitches.

 

Dale Baby Ull yarn.  Size 3.00 needles.  Finished size about 32”x32”.    Cocoon Stitch for the center panel with Bramble Stitch (aka: Trinity Stitch, Finnish Blueberry Stitch) for a border.  Hours and hours and hours (and hours and hours) of knitting.

 

Gwen, Yzma loves you!  Enjoy your blanket! (and Happy Birthday, George -- aka: Popi)

 

Gwen"s Easter Dress

As usual, a deadline spurs me to get things done.  In this case, it is Gwen’s dress that is (finally!) done.  It fits her (as Goldilocks would say) “just right.”  I hope she will be able to wear it through the summer – sooooo many little stitches in that skirt!

 

She wore it to the kids’ Easter party at our golf club (Popi was keen to show off his grandbabies to his golf buddies!) and also on Easter Day.  Cozy with a long sleeved shirt under it (and brrrrr! the long sleeves were necessary this weekend), it should also do as a sundress when summer arrives. 

 

The bodice is a bamboo/cotton blend -- and it would have been wiser to choose a wool which would not stretch with the weight of the skirt!  But otherwise I am happy with it.  It is my own design – Gwen’s first ferocity!*

 

*note: a “ferocity” is a one-of-a-kind garment (a Pelagia Fiber Arts term)

PS  The Mariners play tonight!  Hooray for Opening Day!

Stella

I finished the dodecahedron for Gwen (and I think I can finally spell it without having to run and check the directions for the spelling!).  I I worked it up in a variety of sock-weight (an done heavier chenille) green yarns from my stash and added some bobbles, ridges, i-cords, tassels, and wing-like cones to make it more fun.  She played with it today and it certainly made her smile!  She could grab the i-cords and pull it easily -- the benefit of it being light-weight -- as well as grasp the whole thing with both hands.  I should say that I stuffed it with bamboo filling -- my favorite stuffing material now (has some weight, is silky and rather pliable, and is a natural fiber).

Sarah decided that we should name it Stella (for "star," of course).  And in the green colors with the bits hanging off of it, it does seem rather like a plant or animal!

Eggplant

Sasha's Christmas Eggplant!

How Adorable Can You Get/

As promised (and thanks to my techno-fairies), the photos of the Baby Kimono I knit for Emilia’s and Oliver’s baby:

 

Soft and serviceable and sophisticated (if I do say so myself)!  Perfect for an urban baby. 

 

And (get ready to smile) the photo of my Mother and my Grand-daughter Gwen in their matching hats:

 

 

How sweet is that?!