Knit for Joy!

Wherein Facebook stole my blog posts!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:15:00 +0000

I'm a bad, bad blogger. It's true. Facebook has totally usurped my blogging brain.

Well, that and the fact that between my "day job" running the shop and my "night job" transcribing I don't have a lot of bandwidth left for writing blog posts.

For now, I'll just say that if you want to know what's going on at the shop, you should follow the Facebook page. I update it on a regular basis with pictures and everything. Just like I used to do here!

I'm not sure when I'll be back to regular blog posts here, so I won't make any promises I can't keep. But I'm not ruling out possibilities, either.

If you're reading this, thanks! You're much more loyal than I would ever have imagined. :)

Ciao for now!

Hangin' at the shop!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:02:00 +0000

Today was spent making progress in setting up Urban Fiber Arts. Once again, friends came over and spent the afternoon helping me. I'm so lucky to have these amazing people in my life! There is no way this shop could happen without their help!

Scott had offered to hang some speakers for me. Then he showed up and surprised me by bringing these awesome speakers that are professional-quality and proceeded to suspend them from the ceiling. Did I mention the ceilings are about 14 feet tall?

Next weekend, he's bringing over an amplifier and all I'll need for music is my iPod or to connect the system to the computer and there will be lovely sound dispersed throughout the shop. Amazing! Thank you so much, Scott!!!

Donnie and Angel helped me put together the rolling carts that I'm using for shelving. We got three of them done and then ran out of shelf clips with three shelves left to go on the fourth cart. I'll go to Portland Store Fixtures this week and get some more so we can finish that one.

While we assembled the carts, Duffie and Wendi took on the task of opening up all the SKUBB cubes from IKEA that will actually hold the yarns and fibers. Angel and I had gone to IKEA earlier in the week and purchased 34 packs of these cubes, three to a pack. Wendi and Duffy were ripping plastic and zipping up the back side of each cube, then cutting out all the tags from the inside of them. As soon as we finished assembling a cart, they loaded it up with cubes. This truly started making the place look like it was ready to sell something!

Oh, and then there's the seating area! I purchased some great chairs from Cost Plus (on sale, no less) that are comfortable, sturdy, and the exact right colors for the shop. Lori, Angel, and Duffy put together the two that I had brought in (there are two more still in my garage).

I had purchased a piece of vinyl wall art from MiraentuInterior.com in Mexico. They have some really marvelous art pieces and shipment was very speedy. Here are Donnie and Angel putting the piece on the wall.

And here's Duffy doing her best Vanna White imitation to show off the finished product.

This shot also gives you a peak at the chairs, table and rug in the sitting area, as well as one of the carts with the cubes awaiting product.

First shipments of yarn should start arriving this week. More orders will also be placed. Next weekend, Scott and Donnie will install the rest of the lighting and, if it arrives this week, the slat wall. Checkout counter and display case will arrive with the slat wall. Then the point of sale system needs to come in and I will be furiously entering products into the inventory database and printing labels and stocking shelves.

There are more details to take care of, too -- like a city business license and getting the signs made. But things are really starting to roll along and I've got my fingers crossed that I will be able to officially open the doors before October.

Did I mention that I have incredible friends??? :)

WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to help decorate the new shop?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:40:00 +0000

If you are a knitter, crocheter, weaver, felter, or any other "er," and would like to help decorate the soon-to-be-open Urban Fiber Arts' space, here's how you can do it.

I was inspired by Green Mountain Mama's pattern that popped up on Ravelry, but I'm not worried about lettering or that they're all the same size or i-cord connections. I just need banner flags in a variety of colors and sizes. Only caveat is that they shouldn't be too big, maybe about 12 inches long would be the largest I'd want.

Here's the deets on making a knitted version. But remember, they don't have to be knitted. :)

Size US7 needles (or size appropriate for the yarn you use)
Some leftover worsted or DK weight yarn (or whatever else you like)

Cast on an odd number of stitches. This will be the top, widest edge, so figure out how big you want it now.

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: Knit 2, Purl to the last two stitches, Knit 2
Row 4: Knit 2, SSK, Knit to last 4 stitches, Knit 2tog, Knit 2
Row 5: Knit 2, Purl to last two stitches, Knit 2
Row 6: Knit all stitches
Row 7: Knit 2, Purl to last two stitches, Knit 2

Repeat rows 4 through 7 until there are 7 stitches, total, remaining. End by working Row 7.

Finishing rows:
Row 1: Knit 2, Slip 1 knitwise, Knit 2tog, PSSO, Knit 2 - 5 stitches remain
Row 2: Knit 2, Purl 1, Knit 2
Row 3: Knit all stitches
Row 4: Knit 2, Purl 1, Knit 2
Row 5: Knit 1, Slip 1 knitwise, Knit 2tog, PSSO, Knit 1 - 3 stitches remain
Row 6: Knit all stitches
Row 7: Knit all stitches
Row 8: Knit all stitches
Row 9: Slip 1 knitwise, Knit 2tog, PSSO - 1 stitch remains
Row 10: Knit 1

Cut yarn and pull tight. Fini!

If you'd like, you can block the flag, or I'll do it with the steamer at the shop. Either way is fine.

Feel free to embellish your flags however you like or add a hang tag with your name on it so you can spot it in the shop, or whatever.

Thanks for the help! Stay tuned for more developments. :)

Another one? Oh, my!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:47:00 +0000

Warning! The sky may fall around your ears at any moment! Certainly posting twice in one day after such a long silence will have some sort of catastrophic event, don't you think? :)

Okay, folks in my knitting group have been after me to post pictures, so here are some "before and after" shots.

First, we have the space as it was when I leased it.

Now, I don't have anything particularly against pea green, but I sure didn't like it on these walls! I guess for the former tenant it made some sense. After all, it was an Asian/Organic convenience store of sorts. But for yarn and fiber, this color simply would not do.

Further, the floor looked like it had once been carpeted, but that was ripped up and someone did a really bad job of painting it. It was splotchy and changed colors towards the back of the shop. Just had to go.

So, Tom from Painting Visions came out and in a couple of days' time transformed the place for me. I had picked out some colors at Home Depot and he made them come to life. BTW, if you need a painter, I highly recommend Tom. He gave me a great deal and did a fabulous job very quickly. Hire him! :)

Anyway, here are the after shots (these were taken on my cell phone, so apologies for the quality or lack thereof):

Ah! Much nicer, don't you think? What you can't tell is that on the wall where the cement pillars are, there are three sections. They color starts off slightly darker in the first section, gets a bit lighter in the second section, and then goes to the lightest color for the rest of the walls. The lightest one is called Dogwood White, so it's not a true grey and not a hospital white, either. Just light enough to brighten the place without making your eyes hurt. The red wall in back and around the front windows is a color called Vin Rouge, which appeals to me on several levels!

And isn't the floor just SOOOOO much better?!

There will be a 4-foot black slat wall strip down the longest wall, with the checkout counter sort of in the middle. Seating will be in the front section to the left of the door as you come in. All the shelving is chrome wire carts on wheels, which I can roll out of the way when Portland Spinnerati meets at the shop.

There will be some track lighting added to the walls and brighter bulbs put in the overhead fixtures (which I'd love to replace, but can't afford to do just yet) and oh so many other little tidbits that you'll have to wait to discover!

Okay, I think that's all I have for now. More to come, of course!

The BIG news edition!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:49:00 +0000

My blog updates, as you may have noticed, have been slow in coming this summer. Mostly that's because I kept hoping to have big news to announce. At first it seemed like the news would come quickly. Then something would happen to slow things down again. Every time I thought it was a go, another speed bump would come along. There were times I thought it would NEVER happen and then, in a seemingly quick landslide of events, it DID happen!

What is this mysterious event, you ask? Well, some of you know already, but for those who don't, here it is.

I'm opening a new store!

You may have heard that Knit Knot Studio closed recently due to Elizabeth's retirement. I had originally looked into purchasing her shop, but then the first speed bump came along -- her landlord decided to sell the space rather than enter into a new lease.

That launched a search for a new location in the same Pearl District neighborhood, which took a lot longer than I thought it would. So, Elizabeth had clearance sales, closed the shop, and proceeded to spend a lot of quality time with her new grandchild and her family. I kept looking for a suitable location.

When I found a great location, there were speed bumps there relating to the previous tenant. I won't bore you with the details, but it took a while to get everything straightened out. Then it took some more time for negotiations to work out between me and the landlord. Happily, we finally reached a mutually-agreeable accord and I now have a lease!

Urban Fiber Arts is located at 428 NW 11th Avenue, between Glisan and Flanders, in the heart of Portland's Pearl District. We're directly on the streetcar line and within TriMet's "Free Rail" zone. It's a wonderful spot, with Madena of the Pearl Mediterranean restaurant on one side and WeVillage drop-in daycare on the other.

At Urban Fiber Arts, you'll find quality yarn and fiber from the Northwest and beyond. I'll have a good variety of regionally-produced products from independent fiber artists such as Stitchjones, Abstract Fiber, Black Trillium, Dicentra, Mountain Meadows, Sweetgrass Wool, and more. I'll have a good selection of spinning fiber along with spindles and even a couple of wheels. In addition, you'll find handspun yarns and locally made shawl pins, tote bags, stitch markers, and who knows what else.

If you can't make it to festivals such as Black Sheep Gathering or Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival, or if you go to those and then find you can't wait for another year to go by before you touch and see the pretty regionally-produced fibers and yarns again, then Urban Fiber Arts is where you want to be! We'll also have some great products from beyond the Northwest, so stay tuned for information about those.

I'm not sure when opening day will be, but if you want to be notified, as well as find out more about what's going on at the shop as we go along, just send email to info@urbanfiberarts.com and I'll add you to the mailing list.

I have a lot of great things planned for Urban Fiber Arts and I hope you'll come visit!

Black Sheep Gathering

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:50:00 +0000

I mentioned yesterday (wow, two posts in two days!) that I spent Saturday in Eugene at the Black Sheep Gathering. It was my first time for this event -- hard to believe, but true.

There was a LOT of stuff to see and do. I mostly wandered the vendor area collecting business cards and asking questions. You'll find out more about that soon enough. :)

I did end up buying a few things, though. Just couldn't resist!

So, what you see here is 4 ounces of Cormo top from Rainbow Yarns Northwest in beautiful mottled colors that I think will spin up into some gorgeous, lofty yarn. I just love Cormo and I love these colors, too!

The other two items are from Jenkins Woodworking. I spent a lot of time touching and playing with the beautiful Turkish spindles Ed and Wanda were selling before finally deciding on the larger one in the picture, a Turkish Delight in Bois de Rose wood. It weighs in at 25 grams. As you can see, I've tried it out a bit already.

The other spindle is the small but mighty Kuchulu. The shaft on this little guy is only 3.5" long and it weighs in at 14 grams. I was resisting the cuteness of these babies until Wanda pulled this one out. It's made from deer antler with a cocobolo shaft. Way too cool to pass up! This one is actaully heavier than many of the ones on display because of the antler. There was a pretty one made from bamboo that weighed just 8 grams!

I'm new to this drop-spindle stuff (I usually stick to my wheel), but I can definitely see the allure. Now I just have to get the cat to stop thinking that these spinning things on a string are cat toys.

Anyway, that's what I was up to on Saturday. Stay tuned. . . :)

What's that echo?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:24:00 +0000

Ah, it's the sound of a neglected blog!

Okay, so, here's a new pattern I call Artio. It's a fisherman's style scarf and I love the way it fits.

On the left, Millicent is modeling the original knit in Zealana Kauri, a lovely Merino/Possum mix from New Zealand.

On the right, Rachel is modeling the test/sample knit in Stitchjones dyepot Merino worsted. Doesn't she look cute? Love those colors!

This pattern will be available soon, I promise!

I hope to put some REALLY exciting news here soon, so stay tuned!

Got to go to Black Sheep Gathering on Saturday and had a lot of fun, but didn't take a single picture! ACK!

Oh, and today I got a major award! (Okay, maybe not so major, but still. . .)

The word: Demure (adj): quiet, modest, reserved or serious

The entry: "Amish flirting: Demure allure."

St. Paddy's Day hit & run!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:52:00 +0000

That's the kind of post I'm making today, not some terrible accident I've been in or anything. :)

First, here's a shot, at long last, of the finished Sarah sweater. Hard to take a picture of yourself, but here it is anyway.

The color here is fairly true and fittingly green for today. The pattern calls for a zipper, but I've been using the pretty copper pin instead. Don't know if I'll put in a zipper or not.

Next, here's a shot of the scarf I blocked today:

This is a new iteration of the Columbia scarf I created a while ago but never really got around to releasing the pattern on any kind of widespread basis. I knit this one using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky and will be submitting it to their Independent Despigner Program soon. It's got reversible cables and the latice looks good on both sides, too, so it's quite versatile. Two skeins of Wool of the Andes Bulky made a scarf that blockes to 10"x70".

That's all I've got today. Like I said, hit and run!

Take a gamble on life!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:12:00 +0000

"The life of man is like a game with dice; if you don’t get the throw you want, you must show your skill in making the best of the throw you get."
-Terence

I dealt blackjack at a casino party last night.

There's really nothing remarkable about that, but...

I met a most amazing woman there. I'm sure she doesn't feel that she's amazing, but she certainly was to me. She was inspirational in the way that one small thing occurs in your life and lasts forever in your memory, influencing your choices and who you become.

Her name was Janie and she had never gambled before, but she was eager to try something new and since no real money was changing hands, this was her opportunity.

Again, that doesn't seem very remarkable. Except that I see lots of people at parties like this who have never gambled and, despite the fact that no real money is involved, they're much to nervous about "losing" to take the chance and learn, to take a chance that they might have fun no matter what happens.

But back to Janie. Another player and I took turns explaining the game to her and we began. As often happens at blackjack tables, there was quite a lot of conversation. When someone asked Janie how she was affiliated with the party (it was a corporate event, not a public one), she explained that she had been invited by a friend and that she had recently moved to the Portland area from Michigan.

You see, for the last ten years, Janie had been the caretaker for her husband as he battled cancer. When he passed, they had been married for 58 years. It was then that Janie decided it was time she did something for herself. She had put her marriage, husband, family first for most of her life and now she wanted to put herself first and see what it was like.

So she had estate sales and let go of the antique collection, her husband's Civil War memorabilia collection, the house, just about everything. Then she packed up what remained and moved to Portland where one daughter and grandbaby live. She looked at several retirement communities, signed a lease, and moved in. She said they'll have to drag her out of that place, because she loves it so. And she's very hopeful that she'll meet a new "Mr. Right" one of these days, too.

When asked what her secret was to having a successful 58-year marriage, Janie thought for a minute and said, "Keep a positive attitude!" She explained that there were lots of times in her life when she could have let the dark clouds settle over her head, but what would be the point of that? She knew there was sun above them, so why not watch for it to peak out instead of focusing on the clouds? Much more fun that way!

Wow. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could all follow Janie's example? What would happen if you spent all your time looking for the light instead of fighting the darkness?

I so admire Janie's positivity and resliency!

And as for the gambling, Janie did pretty well. She won some, she lost some, and she had a whole lot of fun doing it. I suspect that's pretty much the way she's navigated through most of her life. Throw those dice. Hit that 12 against the dealer's 10 showing. Try. Win. Fail. Laugh along the way, and enjoy the ride.

Oh, did I mention that Janie is 84? Yeah, I was shocked when she said that. She certainly didn't look or act like some 84-year-olds I've known.

Janie, wherever you are today, thank you for spending some time at my table. You are a rock star!

Believe in "impossible things"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:05:00 +0000

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
--The Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass

In looking at what is going on around here, it's no wonder, really, that the blog has gotten short shrift. Let's look at some of the irons I have in the fire at the moment, shall we?

Doing support work from home for a smartphone research company.
Teaching two classes a week at a local yarn store (LYS) -- crochet and knitting combined.
Dealing blackjack for a casino party company.
Finalizing that secret knititng project I mentioned before. Knitting is done, pattern writing is in progress.
Knitting a sample for a design I want to submit to another publication.
Thinking about possibilities for a new sock design for a sock club installment later this year. Yep, another secret project!

And, if all that seems impossible to manage (it's not really), I'm starting to work for. . .

Is that cool, or what?! Among other things, I'll be working with yarn shops and yarn-related businesses, helping them manage their e-newsletter creation and distribution. It's a darned near perfect marriage of my experience with Web stuff and my love of all things fiber.

When I first saw the job description, I couldn't believe it. I sent a resume immediately, then forwarded the posting to some of my friends asking them to send positive energy for me to get the job. Then I sort of turned all stalker-grrl on Leanne. I friended her on Ravelry, followed her two accounts on Twitter, friended her on Facebook, and left a comment on her blog. Finally, I printed the job posting, wrote on it in big, bold letters, "This is MY job!!!" and put it on my computer, right next to the monitor, along with a printout of this great article about taking risks to do what you love.

And it all worked! I got an email from Leanne saying that my actions in following and commenting got me noticed. We exchanged a few emails, then had a long, fun, interesting chat on the phone and the next thing you know, I had the job.

Never underestimate the power of positive thinking!!

Actually, this is part and parcel of a few years' worth of positive thinking about being able to make a living doing something related to my passion -- fiber arts. It started with test/sample knitting for KnitPicks*, grew to a part-time job at All About Yarn**, then teaching, then designing a few patterns, then being asked to design socks for an independent dyer, then for a sock club, then for a book and another sock club, and now. . .

Well, gosh, who knows what's next? So far, I'm a long way from really paying my mortgage with this line of work, but the possibilities are truly endless.

So, if you have a passion, a desire, a yearning for something, keep the faith and put that energy to the universe. Then keep your eyes open for possibilites and grab them. Baby steps are fine -- every one of them leads to larger possibilities. You just never know until you try, and you can't try if you aren't willing to take some risk.

I have to say that there have been a few opportunities to take the skills I garnered from a whole lot of years in the high-tech corporate world and get something that pays better and has more security (if there is such a thing these days). But every time I even thought about pursuing those things, my guts felt like they were tied in knots and I got depressed. So I stayed the course and although I'm not making much money, I'm very happy with my choice.

I view money as a renewable resource. And I trust that I will have what I need when I need it, in one way or another.

So far, trusting that the universe will provide, taking a risk, and listening to my gut, has been fruitful for me; your mileage may vary.

What's your dream? What are you doing to realize it?

Whatever it is, whatever you're doing, keep on believing in "impossible things," and one day they may become possible, or even real!

_____

* I owe BIG thanks to Isela for this one. She is the one who first told me about test knitting and gave me the name of the person in charge at the time at KnitPicks. Until then, I didn't know what test knitting was. Thanks, Isela! :) Just goes to show you, you never know what might happen when you give a little bit of advice and guidance.

** And I owe another big hunk o'thanks to Melissa. I first met Melissa at an Aurora Spinning Guild workshop. She shared that she had always worked in some aspect of fiber arts and I asked how she got her foot in the door. It just so happened that she knew of an opening at All About Yarn and got me hooked up with the owner. Next thing you know, I was working there. Thanks, Melissa! Oh, and Melissa now has her very own shop that totally rocks -- which is fitting since she rocks, too!

Wh-wh-what???!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:43:00 +0000

Wow! I just blinked and February is gone. I'm not sure how it happens that when we're young life seems to move along so slowly and then, when we get older, it just seems to fly past in the blink of an eye. All I know is that is exactly what seems to be happening!

Did you watch the Olympics? I watched quite a bit, but it was really, really frustrating. A three-hour tape delay (thanks for nothing, NBC), combined with a lot of bad "color commentary" and constant hopping back and forth between coverage of one event then another (they seemed to jump away from a sport whenver an American was out of the running) are the kinds of things that made it frustrating.

Everything was happening just six hours to the north of me, yet I was denied the ability to see it live. Crazy-making stuff, that.

The capper was last night. I read tweets from my Canadian friends about what was happening and then, as they were signing off, finally got to see the closing ceremonies. Only to have NBC stop for "intermission" part way through so they could show us a truly mind-numbing waste of time in Jerry Seinfeld's new show, "The Marriage Ref," wherein celebrities sit in a studio and make fun of people who have very strange things they're arguing about and then determine a "winner" between husband and wife. Staged much?

This was followed by local news and then the rest of the closing ceremonies were aired. I think. I fell asleep and didn't see it.

Any tiny bit of redemption NBC earned by finally airing the last few hockey games live to all time zones was completely wiped away by that bozo programming decision last night.

Thanks for nothing, NBC. You suck.

Oh, and congratulations Team Canada on the gold-medal hockey game! Congrats also to Team USA. A silver medal is nothing to sneer at, especially when you played your heart out -- which you did!

Oh, were you looking for knitting content? Sorry. Nothing to show here. I'm turning the heel on the second of the crazy socks, but that's boring. And the other thing I'm working on is secret. It's turning out really, really nicely (at least to my eye), but I can't show you anything or tell you any details.

So... nothing to see here. Move along! :)

Happy Fat Tuesday!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:33:00 +0000

Truly, this post isn't about Mardi Gras or Lent or Ash Wednesday or any of that, although I know that Fat Tuesday (or Shrove Tuesday) is associated with all those things.

I just like to mark the one "holiday" a year that is actually named for my body type. There, I said it! Oh, and while you're reading, take a minute to read this article and think about your fat assumptions. Thanks.

Now, on to more knitterly things...

There has been a lot of fiber-related stuff going on here lately. I have pictures of some, but not all of it, so here you go.

First, I finished the Austermann Step socks. They are warm and sturdy and fit perfectly. Size 0 (2.0mm) needles with my standard 3x3 seed stitch ribbing and flap heel. As I've grown accustomed to doing, I carried the slip-stitch heel pattern all the way down the 22-stitch center of the foot, stopping only when the toe decreases reached those 22 center stitches. Makes for a very sturdy sock, indeed, and one I hope lasts for several years.

A new pair is already in the works. In fact, I finished the first one last night. This is the same needle/pattern combination knit in Lana Grossa Meilenweit 100 Multieffekt. It's a wild colorway with just about everything in it. I can only surmise that I was in a very adventurous mood when I bought it! Second sock is already cast on and will be my public knitting project for a while.

That's because the big project I'm working on right now is private and cannot be revealed until later this year. Maybe one of the things you can give up for Lent is wondering what it is. LOL

I also finished my Madelinetosh Sarah cardigan, but I haven't gotten a good picture of it yet. I wore it to Madrona and it fits like a dream. I've decided not to put a zipper in it for now. In fact, the pretty heart-shaped pin I bought looks really good on it, either to hold it together or just as a pretty thing on the wide shawl collar. I'll get some pictures soon and post them for you. :)

I went to the Madrona Fiberarts Retreat over the weekend. When I got settled into the hotel on Thursday night, I cast on for a cowl using some yarn I spun up last year from some Stitchjones Merino roving in the Bulb Garden colorway. This isn't my usual color palette, but when I saw it, it just screamed "Tulip fields!" at me and I had to have it. I spun and plied it to keep the colors together as much as possible and then stared at it a lot. I threw it in my bag before leaving for Madrona thinking it might be the perfect thing to have along, and it didn't disappoint.

I used a 24" US6 (4.0mm) circular needle and just made up the pattern as I went along. If y'all are interested in it, I did take notes and can write it up. It's just a bit over-sized so that it can be pinned when worn, if you like. Of course that meant I had to go to the market at Madrona and look for the perfect pin to complement it.

Here's the lovely Ann-Marie modeling the finished cowl. The heart pin in the picture is from Gita Maria, maker of beautiful enameled pins, earrings, buttons, and other jewelry. I love it and it can be worn with lots of other things. It didn't dawn on me that it was perfectly in alignment with Valentine's Day until someone at Madrona commented about that. Doh!

At Madrona, I had the pleasure of attending two full-day classes with Judith MacKenzie McCuen. We learned all kinds of things about fleece from luster long wool sheep and the down breeds. Judith has more knoweldge about wool and sheep in the tip of her nose than I can ever hope to have in my entire head! While I don't plan to purchase a raw fleece any time soon, I learned a lot of interesting things and my eyes were opened to the benefits of using some of the coarser feeling wools for garments instead of always looking for fibers that are soft to the touch. I even went back to the market and bought eight ounces of drum carded Wensleydale to experiment with.

Judith explaining about the various types of coats found on one luster long wool fleece. That one is a Wensleydale that has already been washed and skirted.

And here's another one that has been skirted, but not washed. This came from a coated sheep, so it was fairly clean and had limited grease.

Various down breed fleeces. In this case, "down breed" means sheep that came from the Downs of England, not necessarily downy soft fibers. :) These included Dorset, Suffolk, and Hampshire.

The two days went by in a flash and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. How'd you spend your Valentine's weekend?

January updates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:00:00 +0000

This poor blog, like so many others, has suffered from neglect lately. So let's see if I can catch up a bit.

Let's start with knitting since, after all, that's probably why you're here.

I've finished the body of my Sarah sweater and am working on the sleeves. And I have discovered the down-side of a top-down, one-piece sweater -- working on the sleeves is a bit tedious with all that fabric to move around as you knit. I'm using the magic loop method to do them and that adds a fiddly factor to the process. The whole thing is gorgeous and I can't wait to wear it, BUT it's difficult to take it with me to work on (and a lot of my knitting time is done away from home) AND I can't seem to deal with working on it for very long in any one sitting.

Anwyay, here's a shot of the pretty cable at the back of the sweater. This will be repeated at the wrist of each sleeve. The yarn is really the star in this sweater (Madelinetosh worsted in Fjord) and it doesn't seem to photograph well at all. It's much prettier tahn the picture, trust me!

In fact, the yarn is so pretty that when we got a shipment of it in at the shop, I bought another skein in the Baltic colorway and cast on for a 198yds of Heaven shawl for me. I made one of these for a Christmas gift in Ultra Alpaca and liked the pattern so much that I kept knitting and made ended up needing two skeins of yarn. This time I followed the pattern as written so I could finish with just the single skein. It's just the right size to use as a scarf and the color is scrumptious.

My roommate's employer will welcome a son to the family in early May. I wanted to make something fun and decided to work up a Baby Surprise Jacket. I've never made one of these before, so I figured now was a good time to try. A dive into the stash yielded a skein of Blue Moon Socks That Rock in Mediumweight in a lovely Rare Gems color that was perfect.

If you've never knit one of these, it truly is an adventure and an exercise in trust all rolled up into one package. As I was knitting, I could not, for the life of me, figure out how it was going to fold together and form a jacket. It wasn't until the buttonhole row that I could see how it was going to work. Altogether, it's a brilliant construction -- but then, what Elizabether Zimmerman pattern isn't? -- and a quick, fun knit. I hope the recipient's parents like it and that it fits for a few months.

Finally, after a very long time in the WIP pile, I returned to the Austermann Step socks and finished the first one today. I just hope the second doesn't take nine more months to finish! This is just my basic sock recipe of a 3x3 seed-stitch ribbing. I carried the heel stitch down the entire bottom of the sock for cushion and durability. Now to cast on the second one!

As for non-knitting stuff, let's see if I can keep from boring you to tears and make it into a short list.

1. My birthday was January 9th. I worked that day at the shop and it was crazy busy. I was on my feet for seven solid hours. Afterwards, my roommate took me to PF Chang's for dinner and it was yummy.

2. The following day, I could barely walk. I took myself to ZoomCare where they referred me to a podiatrist and advised that, with the 24-year-old break on my left leg that wasn't set correctly, I probably shoudn't have a job that required me to be on my feet for seven hours straight.

3. I visited the podiatrist and saw an xray of my foot/leg that made me wonder how I've been walking much for the last 24 years anyway. I've been advised that surgery to re-set the bone and try to correct the deformity is the best course of action. Research continues into my options for this. Stay tuned (unless you're already sleeping). It's scary what they want to do. :(

4. I finally got around to getting the PT Cruiser towed to the dealership and repaired. So now I can cruise around town in the speedy vehicle now and then -- although most driving will still be in the Prius for fuel economy reasons. It's good to be in a powerful vehicle again sometimes, though. (Yes, the Prius has power. But it's not comparable to a 210hp turbocharged engine, sorry. I love the Prius, too, it's just different.)

5. On advice of my doctor, I stopped working Saturdays -- which is why I have time to update the blog today! I'm still dealing blackjack at Wild Bill's Casino Party events, but they're graciously giving me a sit-down table.

6. Haiti. Don't think I need to say more. However you've contributed to the relief effort, thank you. The devastation is unimaginable. The spirit of the people is amazing. The rebuilding will take years.

That's about all from chez Joy for today. I leave you with this. . .

"May your walls know joy; May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility." -- Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey

Birthday tulip

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:31:00 +0000

tulip
Originally uploaded by maxfun47.

One of a bunch my sister sent. Thanks, sis!

Twenty-what? A year in fiber perspective.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:43:00 +0000

2010? How is that possible? Time definitely flies.

I remember being in elementary school and writing essays about what we thought we'd be doing in the year 2000. Back then, we all pretty much felt that we'd be so old that we wouldn't be doing much of anything. Ah, the perspective of youth!

Now here it is, ten years past that date. Amazing. Remember when 2001: A Space Odyssey seemed like it was way far in the future? How about the sequel, 2010, the movie that introduced "piece of pie" as a humorous twist on an old cliche?

Gee, I'm old enough to remember reading Orson Wells' 1984 and thinking how far in the future that date seemed!

Perspective is everything.

So, to give 2009 some perspective, from a knitting standpoint anyway, I present my list of FOs for the year:

Mixed Signals scarf
Christmas spin shawl (started in December, finished in January)
Vicki's Victory scarf
Hanami
Nutkin socks
Star-topped Premie Hat
Trekking socks
Hey Teach! sweater
Secret of the Shawl KAL (aka, Crystal Garden shawl)
Ellis baby dress
Krista top (never did get a picture)
Come Sail Away socks
Slip 'n Slide socks
First Impression stole
Whirligig baby shrug
Lotus Leaf scarf (x3)
Traveling Woman shawl
Mini sweater
Multnomah shawl
Handspun Traveling Woman shawl
Astoria socks (for the Community Sock club - pattern available in 2010)
Julep beret
Basket Whip Cowl
198 yds. of Heaven shawl
Citron shawl

There was also a Cowl'd and Frosty Morning, but I never did get a picture before I gifted it at Christmas.

Lots of spinning happened, too. And of course there was the TKGA show and Sock Summit and Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival and an entrelac workshop and S.O.A.R.

I designed and released five patterns into the world and have another that just needs testing. Not sure why I've put that one off. Just distracted, I guess.

I have several WIPs that I want to finish up soon. And of course there are lots of things in the queue for 2010, including at least a couple of new designs.

Looking back is an interesting thing because it's often much easier to think of things I didn't finish rather than those that I did. However, now I'm focused on looking forward.

And to start things off, I finished Harmonia's Rings on January 1, 2010. This Sivia Harding pattern is awesome and a very quick knit. I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu in the colorway In the Navy. It's yarn that's been in my stash for a very long time and it worked up beautifully in this pattern. I still have plenty left for something else, too.

What are you looking forward to in 2010?

Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:36:00 +0000

I hope your holidays have been merry -- and continue to be!

Things were bustling around here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then ground pretty much to a halt thanks to my back. While getting dinner ready, I started having spasms in the middle of my back. Lovely thing, that. One minute you're busy in the kitchen and the next you're grabbing the counter and just trying to breathe.

Fortunately, and with the help of ibuprophen and massage (thanks, Scotty!), things are already a bit better. I spent all day Saturday taking it very easy. I felt bad about staying home from the shop since I knew we were having a sale and it would be busy. Fortunately, Kathleen was already planning to be there to help out, so between her and RaNaye, they managed okay. I just didn't trust my back to hold up, nor did I want to be driving and suddenly not be able to breathe because I moved the wrong way. That definitely wouldn't be good!

At least I was able to sit and knit. I finished the Citron shawl. I was going to make it bigger, but by the last 12 rows, there are something like 550 stitches on each row and I decided that was as big as my patience would reach, so I bound off. On Sunday the back felt better, so I washed and blocked it and it's now around my neck keeping me toasty warm. It really is a cute thing, just more of a scarf than a shawl, which is fine by me.

The yarn is Malabrigo lace. I used almost all of one skein. The color is Pearl 36, which is gray with a slight bit of pink that shows up depending on the lighting and the background color being worn. Unfortunately, it doesn't show up in the picture very well. As usual, Malabrigo is a joy to knit and to wear. So soft!

Saturday's mail yielded my new Signature circular needles. Woot! I ordered a pair of US 6 needles in 32" length since that's the size I use most often when knitting lace with sock-weight yarn. Since Citron is off the needles, I had to search for something new to start that would use my new, shiny, super-pointy, wonderful Signature needles. (BTW, I'm not getting paid anything to review these needles, 'kay? Just so we're clear.)

I finally settled on the Woodland Shawl by Nikol Lohr using some Blue Heron Rayon Metallic that I got from one of Susan Pandorf's legendary destash sales. I'm not sure what the color is called, but it's a lovely blend of blue/purple/green with gold metalic bits. I've done two repeats of the pattern so far and I really like how it's looking. I should have enough yarn in the 550-yard skein to get a decent stole out of it.

Oh, and the Signature needles? Love 'em! (Was there any doubt?) I got the 6" length needles, which are longer than the usual needle tips on circs. The length is perfect for my big hands and lets me keep a lot of lace stitches on the needle, thus mitigating the need to keep sliding stitches from the cable to the needle -- something that can be a PITA when working lace. The cable is very flexible, but doesn't coil on itself. One of the reasons it doesn't coil while knitting is that it's set into the needle in such a way that it swivels as you knit. They managed to do this while still keeping a very smooth join, which is fabulous. Oh, and I got the stiletto tips, so they're nice and pointy for those pesky K2tog and SSK maneuvers.

The surface of the needle itself is what you expect from Signature -- smooth but not too slick. I'd put them about even keel with Addi Lace for ease of stitch movement. I don't think they're as slick as Addi Turbo needles, which is fine for how I use them. The Signature DPNs I have (size US1) have a microscopic scoring on them that allows stitches to move easily but keeps the needles from falling out of the knitting accidentally. The circulars do not have that feature and I don't think I miss it. It's really more necessary on the DPNs than on circs.

The US6 needles I got came in green. I'm not sure if the other sizes are in different colors or not. That's something they do with their DPNs, though, so maybe they are. Pictures on the Web site do show some in red.

One thing I know for sure is that I will save up to get two sets of 24" US1 circulars when they're available. Knitting socks on two circs will be a joy with those! (Although I do love my DPNs, it's nice to switch-hit sometimes.)

It's Festivus!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:27:00 +0000

How I spent my Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Sweets!

Treats!

Bits of this and that

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:26:00 +0000

Last night was the Tigard Knitting Guild holiday potluck/meeting. After we ate lots and lots of yummy food, we did a gift exchange. If you brought a gift, you drew a number and that entitled you to choose a gift. I received a lovely felted basket filled with Christmas candy. It's just the right size to use for a spinning notions basket and hold oil, orifice hook, and so forth in style.

There was also an incentive for renewing membership early, which is that black thing with the guild logo on it. It's a Knit Kit and it's fab! I had put off purchasing one of these and now I don't have to. Awesomeness!

There's been lots of knitting here. . .

The Fresco Basket Whip Cowl knit up fairly quickly. I didn't use Fresco, but kept with an angora/wool blend yarn -- in this case, Lana Gatto Classy. If I made it again, I think I'd do another repeat to make it a bit longer. I had plenty of yarn since it took just over 2 balls to complete per the pattern specifications. It's very warm and soooooo soft!

Then there's the 198 yards of Heaven (Ravelry link) shawl. This was such a fun thing to knit that I got carried away at knit night and just kept going on the chart. I didn't realize until I got home that I was only supposed to have done 2.5 repeats of the main chart and I had just finished three. Rather than rip back, I did 3.5 total repeats and then went on to the edging. This delayed the completion of hte project a bit because I had to get to the shop for a second skein of yarn -- Berroco's Ultra Ulpaca. I like the way the sizing came out and it's very warm and soft, too.

I did modify the edging chart. As written, it doesn't line up with the eyelets of the main pattern and that didn't sit well with me. So I just adjusted things to keep the repeats in synch and off I went. Oh, and I didn't do the edging in garter stitch. Instead I kept it in stockinette until the last few rows and then switched to garter stitch so the edges wouldn't curl. I like the overall effect.

The new issue of Knitty came out and just about every project in there looks appealing. I dove into the stash and grabbed a skein of Malabrigo Lace in Pearl and started the Citron shawlette. It's coming along very nicely and, as usual, knitting with that yarn is pure pleasure. I have three skeins in the Pearl colorway, so I will most likely make the shawl bigger than the pattern calls for (one skein's worth wouldn't be very big for me). It's basically mindless knitting, so it makes for a great take-along project.

The BIG news around here is that a design I submitted for an upcoming publication got accepted. Now I just have to -- as Tim Gunn would say -- make it work! I have a feeling you won't be seeing much knitting from me for the next couple of months as I work on this stealth project, so be patient. :)

A whirlwind weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:27:00 +0000

This weekend went by so quickly and was so full of activities that I need another weekend to recover!

Thanks to Twitter, quite a few patterns and products and fun things cross my path that I may not have found otherwise. On Friday, Tina tweeted about a lovely crocheted beret pattern she had found and I had to check it out.

A few clicks later, I had purchased the pattern for Julep from Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark of Piebird Design. A quick look through the stash yielded a perfect sock yarn for the project -- Fortissima Colori Disco Socka in a pretty turqoise. The color and sparkles in this yarn are prefect for the person to whom I intend to gift the hat. A few hours later, I was almost finished with the project and I finished it up over the weekend. Ya gotta love crochet for knocking out a quick project!

I took Saturday off from the shop so that I could attend the Community Sock Club meeting at Gino's in Sellwood. Deb Accuardi of Mt. Hood Fiber hosts the club, which includes locally dyed yarn, a locally designed pattern, and a gourmet luncheon of fresh, mostly local ingredients paired with wonderful wines. I'm not a member, but this month I was the designer so I got a chance to attend. Boy, do I ever wish I was a member! The luncheon was superb -- absolutely one of the best meals I've had in a very long time.

Susan of Abstract Fiber provided the yarn for the sock I designed. When we were asked to do the December installment for the club, we quickly agreed that it would not contain any reference to the holidays since we wanted an all-season kind of sock. Instead, we opted for a distinctly Northwestern appeal. I suggested an evergreen, sort of snow-on-cedars kind of approach. Susan added her flair and came up with a lovely yarn of greens and brownish-orange and deep blues, drawing on inspiration for where land meets river and sea in Astoria, Oregon.

Mirroring that theme, I wanted to incorporate the land/river/sea themes into the sock. And thus was born Astoria. A winding path of twisted stitches meanders down the sides of the leg, much as the Columbia River meanders to the sea. Between is a field of knit/purl textured triangles, representing the lush evergreens that cover the hills of Astoria. Texturing on the heel flap continues down the bottom of the entire foot, providing a soft cushion similar to moss you'll find in the forests here. It also helps make the socks more durable for those of us who tend to wear out the soles of our socks first.

For now, the pattern is only available to members of the Community Sock Club. Next year, it will be available to a broader audience.

Thanks to Deb for the opportunity to design this sock and to Susan for creating such a lovely palette to work with!

Sunday was Spinnerati at the downtown library. It was a small group this month, what with all the activities for the holidays happening, but we still had a great time. I made some more progress on the lovely cashmere/silk roving I got at the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival. It's a challenging fiber to work with because it's very slippery and has a short staple, but I'm getting the hang of it. Pics to follow when I've made more progress. :)

In between all of that, I ran the roulette table at parties on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. See why I need another weekend?

Hope wherever you are it's warm and cozy!

Chapter three

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:47:00 +0000

In keeping with what seems to be the current theme, I made another Traveling Woman (Ravelry link) shawl. This time some of my handspun called to me.

Specs:

Yarn spun in February 2009 by me at 15wpi.
Roving from Spinner's Hill. via Dizzy Sheep, was 8 ounces of Corriedale-Finn Ramboullet cross in Fall Colors.
Yardage available was somewhere between 650 and 680 (depending on whether you believe the count off my knitty noddy or my yarn meter, neither of which are spot-on accurate) and I have about 50 yards left over.
Needles size US7 (4.5mm).

Cast on Wednesday evening. Cast off Sunday morning. Did I mention that I love this pattern? Yeah, I got a little obsessed with knitting it this time, but then who wouldn't?

I did five repeats of chart A before the final chart B.

Finished size is 72"x28" and I love, love, love it.

Yarn from this fiber is not particularly soft, but it does make for a very warm and durable garment. I gave the whole thing three soaks -- once in Eucalan, once with some hair conditioner, and once with a bit of vinegar because some color was still coming off the fiber and because protein fibers tend to like the little bit of acid vinegar brings to the party. The resultant bloom in the fibers softened things up quite a bit, but it's still not a next-to-the-skin fiber for me, which is just fine.

This one I'm keeping for myself.

Second verse, similar to the first!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:16:00 +0000

The second small shawl is complete.

This is Multnomah (Ravelry link) by Kate Flagg. It's a lovely use of the classic feather and fan pattern, don't you think? I knit this in one week using US4 (3.5mm) needles and one skein of Malabrigo Sock in the beautiful Indiecita colorway. The picture makes the colors look more distinct than they are in person; they sort of blend into each other in a very pleasing way. This sock yarn gives such a lovely drape to the project! It's a lot smoother yarn than the Jojoland Melody I used for Traveling Woman. Both are lovely, just different.

Last night I grabbed some leftover sock yarn -- Socks That Rock Mediumweight in The Cookie Next Door colorway -- and a copy of the Mini Sweater Ornament pattern by Emily and started knitting. Before you know it, I had this completed:

Isn't it cute? Here it is again, being modeled by a Teeny Beeny bear. He looks pretty toasty warm to me!

That's all for now, folks. If you're in the U.S. -- or if you're not, but celebrate any holiday you can -- I leave you with warm thoughts of thanks for visiting here. Hope you and yours are warm, healthy, happy, and well-fed this holiday season!

Traveling Woman

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:54:00 +0000

Actually, I haven't been traveling at all since I got home from SOAR. But, I did knit this. . .

That's a Traveling Woman shawl (Ravelry link) -- or shawlette, since it's very petite. This was a very quick knit. I started it on a Wednesday evening at knit night and finished it the following Sunday evening. Not that I knit straight through or anything. I still had regular things to do, like work and watching Survivor and such. (Okay, watching Survivor was really knitting time, but who's counting?)

Anyway, the point is that it works up very quickly, which is great this time of year. This is destined to be a Christmas gift for a friend who doesn't "do" computers, so all is safe.

I used Jojoland Melody in color number Y11. I used the 100% wool version of this yarn, not the superwash. I didn't alter anything in the pattern and used just slightly more than one ball of yarn.

When I first took this off the needles, it did the typical lace thing, looking tiny and sorta pathetic. I thought, "Well, she can wear it as a scarf and it'll still be pretty cool. Besides, she's a small person." Oh, how quickly we forget what a good blocking can do for lace!

So I put it in a sink full of tepid water and some Eucalan and let it soak a while. Then I pulled it out and started blocking it. And, lo and behold, it did what lace does. It stretched as if attending a really vigorous yoga class and bloomed into something totally lovely. (Sorry for the crappy picture -- it was about midnight when I took this.)

Yep, it blocked out to exactly the measurements the patten promises. Which is to say, it's a small shawl, about 48" x 17", which is just right for wearing in a variety of ways.

I hope my friend likes it. Blue is her absolute favorite color. Millicent sure seemed to cozy up to it!

Next on the needles is the Multnomah shawl (another Ravelry link) in Malabrigo Sock. I'm using the beautiful Indiecita. It's destined to be a gift, too, and should be finished fairly soon. I started it on Monday night and have about 20 rows of the feather and fan lace left to complete.

I am loving these quick shawls! Perfect quick projects for the gray rainy days of November.

Spin City!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:54:00 +0000

Things have been moving quite quickly around here. Still are, actually, so this will be a quick overview/update.

SOAR was last week in Sunriver. I got to be there for the 3-day workshops and had a marevelous time in Spinning 101 with Maggie Casey.

We learned all kinds of things and enjoyed working with a washed Corriedale-cross fleece and a gorgeous Polwarth fleece, too. It was my first time experiencing Polwarth and boy, am I hooked!

Yes, it's just this luscious!

We did short draw, long draw (even with cotton), woolen, and worsted spinning. We learned Andean plying and although the wrap around my hand got pretty tight, I managed not to lose a finger doing it.

My first worsted-spun, Andean-plied fiber.

Here are some of our sample skeins. We each got a little bit of multicolored fiber from Louet and took artistic license with how we spun and plied it. You can see some of the results here, along with some cotton and some of the Corriedale, too.

On Tuesday morning, we awoke to a dusting of snow. It was beautiful.

I had to leave on Wednesday afternoon for the next adventure of the week, so I missed the marketplace and the retreat sessions. From what I heard later, I also seem to have missed the H1N1 virus, which unfortunately hit a few of my friends. I'm glad I missed that, but still wish I could have been there the whole week.

These two piles of fleece started out quite a bit larger.

However, I wouldn't have changed a thing, because on Thursday morning, I got to see my friend Scott and bring him home to be my new roommate. It's been almost five years since I saw him last, so this was a very good thing. :)

In the next couple of days, we got him moved into the spare room at the house and pretty much settled in. We're both still adjusting, but it's going well. He's spoiling me by cooking and cleaning -- stuff I don't do much. I maintain that I'm Oscar and he's Felix (of The Odd Couple fame).

Sunday, I had the luxury of spending the entire day spinning. While at SOAR, I finished another bobbin of the Corriedale-Finn-Ramboulet cross I've been spinning since ~~the dawn of time~~ for a while and plied it into a nice two-ply. I already had a three-ply of the same fiber with a strand of metallic nylon added to it. On Sunday, I ran both plied bobbins through the wheel again, adding more twist to each. Then I chain-plied them together, creating a pretty 13-wpi, 5-ply yarn.

There's about 375 yards, so I have some good options for what to make. Haven't decided yet what it will become. For now, it's just pretty. :)

Now it's back to our regularly scheduled programming of working while establishing new routines. It's been quite a long time since I shared a household with anyone, so there are definite adjustments to be made. So far, so good!

This just in: Actual knitting content!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Yes, this is a knitting blog, darn it!

On Friday, I attended an entrelac class given by Joan Schrouder as part of the Tigard Knitting Guild's annual fall retreat. In about three hours, Joan masterfully taught us how to create knitted fabric that looks way more complex than it really is.

In the swatch, you can see that the second tier of blocks (the raspberry-colored ones) have a little line of stitches in tan showing through. The subsequent tiers don't show that because Joan showed us how to avoid having them there. Simple, but brilliant.

I was inspired. So I came home and pulled out some DK weight yarn that Stitchjones had dyed for me quite a while ago in her Gene Simmons colorway. I originally intended to make another Clapotis with this yarn, but never got around to it. I tried a couple of other things with it, but the pairing of yarn and pattern just wasn't right, so to the frog pond it had gone. But with the entrelac? It's a match made in knitting heaven!

Here is the beginning of what will eventually be a stole. I did a six-stitch entrelac repeat, which is just right for the length of color changes in this yarn. The only problem is that I don't have enough yarn to make the length of stole that I would like. However, I have a plan. I'm going to work part of it in the variegated yarn, then get a skein of each color (red, white, black, grey) in solid and do either a nine-stitch or a twelve-stitch entrelac in alternating colors for a ways, then do some more in variegated. I think I'll finish the whole thing with an attached i-cord.

It's a design-as-I-go project, and as such is definitely subject to change along the way! In the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun knitting it and it's a very portable project that doesn't require checking a pattern. Love!

There's been some other knitting going on here, too. I purchased a pattern at the shop that's really fun to knit, takes very little yarn, and works up quickly. It's from Val Love of Dovetail Designs and is called the Lotus Leaf Scarf. With about 100 yards of yarn and an evening, it works up like this:

Rowan Soft Lux in soft grey:

Malabrigo Worsted:

Handspun Merino Superwash:

The only change I made to the pattern was to do the keyhole openings using doubleknitting techniques instead of placing half the stitches on a holder and working each side separately.

The handspun yarn I used wasn't quite a worsted weight, but it still worked up nicely. It has a little less "body" to it. It's lighter, yet still warm.

And, just for fun, here are some alternate ways to wear this cute little scarf:

The "I have a toothache" look:

The "rabbit ears" look, which also reminds me of some of the scarves Lucy and Ethel used to wear over their curlers on "I Love Lucy":

Next week is S.O.A.R. and I'm really looking forward to it! It will be my first "real" spinning class. In three days with Maggie Casey, I'm sure my brain will be stuffed with all kinds of wonderful spinning techniques.