Sandy Terp's Lace Workshop at NCS

On Friday, May 9 Sandy Terp presented a workshop entitled "Kinds of Lace " at the monthly meeting of North Country Spinners. This is the sampler I made that morning. You can see it hasn't been blocked.

Although I've knit some lace, I've never had a formal class or workshop in the subject. Sandy's approach combines teaching the historical background with clear technical instructions. She has developed a transcription method which replaces the graph -- and saves the eyes.

Baby Micole's Pinwheel Blanket

Baby Present for my dear friend Lucy's first grandchild, Micole. We were at Micole's parents' wedding in April, 2006 in Rome. The next May little Micole was born. When Rebecca, Micole's mother was born, I made her a quilt to which she became very attached. I hope Micole loves this blanket, too.
Pattern: I adapted this from Mielke's Farm's free round dischcloth pattern: http://www.mielkesfarm.com/dishclth.htm
Materials: 2 balls each of Cottontots solids in Pretty in Pink (light), Wonder White, Strawberry and 2 Cottontots Ombre in Very Berry
Needle Size: 7
72 Stitches

Corkscrew Scarf for Ozzies

Knit during the AJL Convention in Boston, June 2006, displayed here by its recipients in April, 2007. It's always useful to have something tucked away. The D.B. claimed to hate it every minute I was knitting it but once she saw it on Joan and Di, was convinced of its merits. More yarn was acquired for another but forgot to buy the time to make it! It's now in Melbourne and I hope had an outing (as it were) for an Aussie Pride celebration.

Checkerboard Socks Finished

I finished these on Saturday. I'd used the new KnitPicks circulars (not modular), size 2.25 mm (#.5), which I loved. Yarns are Trekking XXL color 284, dye lot 4896 for the blue gray and for the red, some left-over Lang Jawoll (I love this dependable yarn!) in color 83.0098/ lot #581/71. I used the matching reinforcement yarn for the toes.

The D.B. loves the checkerboard pattern. If I'd had more red, I would have used it for the heels as well.

They fit her perfectly.

Socks with Schaefer Yarn

Another pair for my D.B., finished mid-October, 2007. I used my favorite pattern, starting with 96 stitches on #0 needles and her very favorite pattern. Finally, I've come to the right calf shaping. However, all her socks gather round the ankles anyway - which the dear doesn't mind. I bought this yarn, even though it's made in New York State, when I was visiting Las Cruces, N.M. last June. I'd never come across this yarn in any New York City yarn shops, and definitely not in my quite limited NJ lys.

The details: "Anne" by Schaeffer Yarns. 60% merino superwash, 25% mohair and 15% nylon. At $26.99 (silly, that!) it's expensive but you get an awful lot of yarn for your money -- 560 yards / 4 oz. I have enough left over despite the generous socks pictured above, for a pair of booties!

I just love this yarn. More especially, my D.B. adores the colors and feel of it. It was a real pleasure to work with and although the socks have only been in the wash a few times, they're holding up well.

Blog Fairy Fiber Present

Present from Jeanne -- cotton and hemp yarn. This is one of the sweetest presents I've ever received. My friend read this very blog to find out what I would really like for my 60th birthday. So, she read my 10/15/07 post and went hunting on the web for more of this wonderful yarn. And, look, there it is.

Isn't that a lovely present from someone who doesn't even knit?

Another Absorba the Mat

The Absorba Frenzy continues. This time it's big enough to count as a rug.

Materials: leftover of 3 1lb cones plus most of 3 more 1lb cones Elmore & Pisgah Peaches & Creme Mountain Colors double worsted
Dimensions: 36" x 30" prewashed
Cat: Phoebe Rose
Leftover: 2 oz yarn!

This little rug is very heavy and thick, as one knits 3 strands at once on #15 needles. But, these wonderful absorbas have the virtue of staying flat on the floor, not tripping up passers-by.

The top photo features Phoebe Rose sniffing out Absorba in an early phase. I ended up with three strips around the center, with two more on each long side (to make 4 on those sides), resulting in a rectangular Absorba.

Another rug / mat for The D.B.! yay!

Dishcloth

Here's a little washcloth for Elaine -- I used a favorite Sugar 'n' Creme by Lily skein and made up the eyelet pattern as I went along. Elaine likes dishcloths with holes 'cause they don't mildew so quickly. We gave it to her for a very late birthday present last weekend. She loves it and thinks it's too nice for dishes. Oh well.

Layette beginnings

The prospect of becoming a grandmother is soooo wonderful. Kinehura.

I've begun knitting for my first grandbaby, due in August. These booties were made from leftover Schaefer Sock Yarn "Anne". They're still missing their little ribbons but that will come this weekend, I think. This cute little washcloth is from my favorite and otherwise totally reliable knitting book, Mason Dixon KnittingUnfortunately, this is not a good pattern. It just won't lie flat. Look at the book -- you'll see that it's never shown flat. But, never mind, it's still very cute and I know how to make flat round or pinwheel items all by myself. So there! I knit it in Sugar 'n' Creme by Lily worsted. If I haven't planned too much, there'll be a big old baby towel to accompany it.

Blanket for Tirtza Chaya and a Present for Her Big Siser

For the blanket:
Materials: 6 skeins of Cotton Classic DK 100% mercerized cotton; 6 skeins 1.75 oz / 50 g and 108 yds / 100 m in crayon colors, light navy, bright yellow, dark purple, kelly green and school bus orange. This is an unforgiving yarn. Pattern: based on the "Modular Log Cabin Blanket" in, you guessed it, Mason Dixon Knitting. My adaptation: instead of 66 ridges, I knit 33. Except for blocks 9 & 10, used 24 or 12 ridges. Block #9 stripes: 9 green, 4 orange, 2 yellow, 4 purple and 18 red ridges. Block #10: 37 navy blue ridges. Block #1: Yellow; #2: navy blue; #3 red; #4 green; #5 & #6 purple; #7 yellow; #8 orange. Dimensions: (before wash and drying: 22.5 x 28".
The dickey: I used the Cozy Confetti pattern in Knitter's Magazine Winter 2007.
The dickey pattern was adjusted to allow for a button band, requested by the mother. I added 4 stitches on each side and inserted 4 buttonholes. For a four year old.

The hat used Sarah Bradberry’s size chart for watch caps for 18-20” head. On #9 cast on 80 sts in k1p1, knit for 6 1/2”. Decrease: 10 times around, always knitting the purl stitches in decrease. Pulled last 10 sts together. Then added 3 “curlicues” on top. For curlicues: Row 1 & 2: Knitted cast on 25 stitches; Row 3 Knit two stitches in every stitch (except in 1st and last); Row 4 Knit; Row 5 same as row 2; Row 6 Bound off loosely.

From Fleece to Skein

The fiber is Blue Faced Leicester, a part of a fleece dyed in osage orange at a workshop in Peters Valley in 2003, after scouring and mordanting it in alum. To process it, I combed the locks on English hand-held combs and then spun and plied it. This week we had a combing demonstration at North Country Spinners, given by MaryLou. At Soar in 2004 I took Robin Russo's excellent Fiber Prep workshop and learned to use the various combs and diz. I'm still working on my plying, tho. I really love the way it turned out.

Socks in the Works

After breaking quite a few of my beloved wooden #1 and #0 needles, losing them on the bus and knitting more slowly for fear of both reasons above, I decided to give the magic loop another try.

Birthday Present for The D.B.

This is one of those wonderful projects that just sort of designed itself. And, one inspired by Ravelry. What a difference it makes to go through the stash, as embarrassing as the totals turned out to be. But, I found a baggie with Lopi, 1 skein of recycled sari silk and a swatch I'd felted.

I started out thinking I'd make a pillow to felt. As I cast on -- again and again -- it just didn't feel right. I kept frogging it. Next I tried to make a bag but the fabric didn't feel right. Finally, I remembered I wanted to make the nested boxes for The D.B. (The Dearly Beloved) who just adores containers for emptying her pockets and bags into.

It just so happens that The D.B. has a birthday this coming Monday. So, I'm making a small table mat and a box from Lopi (see photo) and Himalaya Yarns recycled sari silk. I'm going to knit the mat until the Lopi is finished.

The inspiration for the box is, of course, from Mason-Dixon Knitting -- the nested boxes. My variations: I used one strand of Lopi with one strand of the silk. And, I won't be felting it.

A test swatch I did some time ago was lovely but it muted the silk. The D.B. loves the vibrancy of the colors as they are. I used #11 needles so the fabric is tight enough now to hold its shape, albeit softly. I also only but handles in the two small sides. Next time I won't put in any handles as the somewhat compromise the stiffness of the sides.
I've used two whole skeins of the silk and will use about 1/4 of this third one in the photo. The colorway doesn't seem to matter as the purple unifies them all.

The finished dimensions:
Box: 4" deep and 6"x7"
Mat:

Ravelry Mania

I'm home recuperating and just well enough to become absolutely obsessed with getting all my yarns into Ravelry. The problem with my yarn stash is that it mainly consists of one or two skeins per yarn so it's going VERY slowly. I've spent 10 hours today retrieving, organizing, photographing, and putting back about 70 yarns.

And, I'm only about 1/3, if that, done.

Ashland Bay "Columbia"

Have I said how much I dislike this fiber? This is close to the end of what I'd bought when I first started spinning. And, in July 2007 I sold the Bosworth Journey Wheel to someone who really wanted it, with the help of the wonderful Bosworths. It was quite an adventure but I learned my lesson never to use the services of my local so-called shipping store. The Journey Wheel was a beautiful piece of furniture for my small apartment but never versatile enough for me. I needed a wheel that could spin thick to thin. I'm sorry that I had to part with Jonathan's beautiful handiwork.

Coopworth Skein, May 2007

This finishes up one my first rovings. , except for one spindlefull I found just after I spun and plied this. Because I spun the Coopworth is fairly thick and fuzzy (read: woollen), it did not ply well on the Journey Wheel. However, I was able to ply it on my trusty Louet.

Socks with Trekking XXL

Pattern: My own for The D.B., starting with 96 stitches on #1 needles. Gauge is c.9st to 1". Stitch pattern: basket weave rib -- her favorite
Materials: Trekking XXL Color 298, dye lot 4206 ; 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon. 2.5 oz (100 g) ; 459 yds (420 m);
Jawoll Superwash Sock Yarn by Lang, Color Dark Moss 75% superwash, 18% nylon and 7% acrylic.
She loves this yarn so much that I bought the only 6 I could find on the web plus 3 more of the Lang Jawoll Dark Moss.

Aren't these pretty? I made them for The D.B. but I gave them to her before I photographed them. I've lost the ball band but do remember that it was a skein of Trekking XXL bought at Woolcott & Company in Cambridge in June 2006. I finished them sometime in early 2007. Meanwhile, the socks are in the semi-dress section of the The D.B.'s sock cabinet.

There's no way to coordinate the colors in both socks but it doesn't matter. The stitch is The D.B.'s favorite -- basket weave rib.

Stoke-On-Trent Knit & Felt Tote by Sarah Bradberry

Phoebe the cat is studying the pre-felted market bag. The photo was taken in early January 2007. I haven't fulled/ felted the bag yet because we've been having septic tank, or rather, the pipe to the septic tank problems in NJ so I don't want to tax the waste water disposal situation.

Finally, in on February 2, 2008 I felted the bag while doing the laundry in the city apartment's basement washroom. It took two go-throughs.

My daughter visited me on February 9 -- a refuah shleymah visit following my surgery on February 5. She is mighty pleased with her birthday present bag in her favorite color combination of pink and brown.
Materials: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted
Pattern: Sara Bradberry. Click title of posting for link to pattern

Hat Emergency solved!

Hat Replacement #1
My DB loves this hat. Actually, she just adored its predecessor, lost in a cab, probably, at the end of January. She was disconsolate! But, not to fear, I always keep skeins of the yarn set aside for possible replacement of the hat and the matching mittens. The DB is a most faithful sort, not one to lust after a new hat style. So, last Monday I started to replace it. Made originally in December 2001 from a Bernat booklet's beret pattern, which I adjusted considerably, this hat had (has) been a great success.

Why are there two photos of what appears to be the same hat? Because yesterday, Sunday, I finished the second, emergency backup hat ...just in case the first gets lost. The differences between the two: I made a couple of mistakes in the decreases in #2 and the pompom is more compact.



Materials: 1 skein each of Lamb's Pride Worsted in Periwinkle and Creme. #3 & #5 circular needles; #5 dps,
cardboard for pompom
Circumference: 21.5" -- women's medium

Pattern: Cast on 106 stitches on #3 20" circ. needle using periwinkle. Complete 10 rounds in k1p1 rib. In next round increase to 120 stitches every in alternating 7th and 8th stitch (k in front and back of stitch). This increase avoids the holes of "make 1, using the horizontal thread between stitches" in the original pattern. Thus: increase in first stitch, then in 8th, then in the 7th and so on.
Change to white yarn and begin pattern: k11, p1. This creates 10 sections in the hat, separated by a purl "ditch" which helps hide the increases and gives the hat structure and shape.
Change color every two rows. The first row of the new color is the increase row until 220 stitches have been reached for a wonderfully full tam-like beret. For a more modest, less outrageous beret, increase only to 190 stitches.
Increases: After some experimenting I found the perfect increase for this hat. Knit all the k stitches in the section and only then pick up the horizontal yarn between the last knit stitch and the purl stitch. Place it on the needle with the yarn on the front of the needle slanting from the bottom left side of the last knit stitch to the top of the needle (up and left). Increase by knitting a stitch into the back of the loop on the needle. This avoids holes.
When you reach the desired outer width of the tam/beret, in the next color change begin decreases, knitting together the last two knit stitches before the purl in each of the twelve sections. As with the increases, decrease in the first row of the color change. Continue to decrease until 24 sts remain. Last decrease: knit together the last k and p stitch in each section. Thread yarn through stitches and pull together tightly through bottom of hat to avoid that silly bump which sometimes results.
Pompom, optional but mighty -- use any method you like. I wrapped a lot of yarn around a 3" wide piece of cardboard, tied the middle of each side together firmly with matching thread, slipped it off the cardboard, wrapped the thread around the two little "waists" to make 1 pompom, cut the loops and trimmed it until it was round. Very simple. No tools are ever needed for pompoms.

This is a thick, warm hat.

Hat & Scarf for Stitch'n'Time's Sunday Lunch Program Project

Here's the hat and scarf I finished on February 10 during the first days following surgery on February 5. Let me recommend this as a great recovery activity. I chose something that wouldn't be too much of a challenge and would also be very forgiving. Instead of knitting either the hat or the scarf as the directions advised, I decided to knit both.

At work we have a charity knitting program called Stich 'n' Time, chaired by the lovely and most capable Charlene W. They are planning to give out hand-made scarves and hats to the people who come to The Sunday Lunch Program on February 24. Claire Brenner, President of the Big Apple Knitters Guild, created the patterns for Stich 'n' Time , who also provided the yarn to willing knitters.

I used 6.5 oz of a 7 oz / 187 g. skein of Bernat SuperValue Acrylic, 382 yds / 350 m. in worsted weight. The hat weighed 2.5 oz, the scarf 4 oz.

Because I knit loosely I used #7 needles instead of the recommended #8 and cast on 34 stitches instead of the recommended 32. The edge stitch is a chain edge. It's 14" of garter stitch, 14" of k2p2 rib and 14" of garter. I made the hat on a 16" #7 circular needle instead of the recommended 2 needles, ending, of course, with #7 dp's. Cast on 88 sts, k2p2 for 5"; stockingette st for an additional 5" then decrease every other row , evenly 11 times in the round. It works out to k6, k2tog in the first dec.row; k5, k2tog in 2 dec.row, etc. until there are 11 stitches, then pull these together tightly.

Thank you, Charlene and Claire, for the chance to participate in this project.