Blocking Day at last!
The first step was to run a fine cotton thread through all the edging points to make pinning easier later. Then it's into the bath for a soak. I use Kookaburra wool wash and cool water, and at least a 15-20 minute soak to make sure everything is saturated. This has also been hauled all over the place for 6 years, so it likely needs a good wash anyway.
Update to follow!
I will finish this someday. Another edging repeat done this morning. “Only” 7 repeats left.
Each of those repeats has 20 rows, 370-odd stitches, and 50 beads.
Sigh.
It is going to be very pretty when done.
This past work week was a bit hectic. To compensate, I've done nothing but just what I wanted to do all weekend. There is no better antidote to a crappy week than a Saturday and Sunday spent knitting, reading, playing flute, and cooking with my husband.
The cooking was scallops and grits. Here is the finished project.
Scallops with red pepper, green onion, a little jalapeno, garlic, parsley, and white wine, served over cheese grits. Yum.
Here's the knitting.
I've finally gotten to the last ball of the handspun yarn. I wet spliced it together this morning.
This is a pretty simple shawl pattern, the only challenge will be to guess how much yarn I need for the 12 row garter border. Since this is handspun and hand dyed, I want to use every bit of it that I can.
Out came the trusty drug dealer's scale. The last row I did took 2.6 grams of yarn. I have 126 grams left. Of course the rows get longer as I go, so I'll have to keep weighing as I knit, but I should be able to get several 12 row repeats done still. This should be a nice big cozy warm shawl when it's done.
We're off to the market for provisions, then back to knitting!
I was about to catalogue that lovely Coreopsis dyed yarn and get it into the stash, and then decided that this is just ridiculous. It's not every day you make your own yarn. I handspun this on my Watson wheel (100% BFL fiber), then dyed it myself using flowers we grew in the back yard. It deserves better than to disappear into the stash forever.
So I hunted around for an appropriate pattern, and came up with Stephen West's Boneyard Shawl. I didn't want something complex and lacy, since this is roughly worsted weight and a bit on the rustic side. I also already have 3 lacy complex shawls on the needles. This pattern is one of those that you could knit with almost any weight yarn, and is adaptable to variable yardage. These are fine qualities when one is knitting with handspun that isn't entirely even, and when one isn't 100% certain of the yardage. An extra bonus is that it's a free pattern. I can see making more than one of these.
Here's where I am.
This is pretty much dead simple. It's mostly stockinette, with a garter row thrown in every so often, and increases along each side of the center spine and at each end. You knit until it's big enough, then knit on several rows of garter stitch and bind off. Bob's your uncle.
And yes, those are little Buddha stitch markers. I made those myself, too, with little Buddha beads I found a long time ago.
Have a happy weekend!
The Daily Bread!
Here's the finished bread from Friday;
It was lovely. “Was” is the key word in that sentence. So I made some more:
This one was baked in a bread pan in the oven. I made it partly in the bread machine, but hit the “quick” rise button by mistake so I finished kneading it by hand. This is buttermilk/wheat/oatmeal bread. Here are the ingredients. I made this partly by weight instead of measuring cup, just as an experiment.
2.6 oz rolled oats
1 1/2 cups water
12 oz white bread flour
4 oz whole wheat flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 Tablespoon honey
2 1/4 tablespoon avocado oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/2 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
Mix the oats in the water and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Add the wet ingredients to the bread machine pan, then the soaked oats, then the dry ingredients. Process on the dough setting. Shape into whatever loaf you want and bake. My baking times tend to be a bit free form. This was baked at 425 for about 35 minutes, but I turned the temperature down about half way through. The milk in the dough makes it brown faster.
And here is some of the last of Friday's bread, toasted and with some peanut butter for my lunch today.
In other news, there might be a finished knitting project around here. Here's a preview:
It needs a light blocking but it is done. This is one of those patterns where you just knit till your yarn runs out, but you need to bind off after a pattern repeat. I wanted to use as much of that Pink & Sparkly as possible, so out came the trusty drug dealer's scale.
6.7 grams left–not enough to do another pattern repeat with! Full project details to follow when it's blocked.
This is the never-ending knitting project, but I am nearing the end of this monstrosity.
I have “only” nine repeats of the edging chart to go. Each repeat has 20 rows, 370 stitches, and 50 beads.
Sigh.
In other news, yesterday was a momentous day. It was my last day of working full time. On Monday I start working just 4 days a week. Of course, in a blast of karma from the universe, I developed a case of food poisoning from a “free” lunch on Thursday, and ended up calling in sick yesterday. All is well today though, and I am certainly going to enjoy this tiny first step towards retirement.
Maybe with that extra day each week, I can begin to make a dent in the 211 MILES of yarn in my stash.
One pair of socks done, another pair started. I tossed the stash, and this is what came up next.
The yarn is Trekking, fairly vintage. The color is imaginatively named “1000”.
I just love knitting little picot sock tops. They are sort of a pain in the arse to get started*, but they are so freaking cute once they get to this point.
I know, I know. I am a sock nerd. This will be the same damn pattern, with picot tops instead of ribbing. I live on the edge.
*Cast on, knit seven rows plain, then do one row of yo, k2tog around, then another 7 rows plain. Then turn up the hem and knit the next row with the cast on row to make a little picket fence top. Ingenious. I didn't make this up, I learned it from Claudia.
Me: “Oooooh, you have to come look at this.”
John: “What?” “Huh–nice!” (said in a very half hearted exclamation).
Me: “No, really, it's gorgeous Shetland wool garter stitch! Look at those garter stitch wedges! Look at that lace mesh!”
John: silence
I love him anyway. Even if he has no clue.
My new lace is fabulous.
Hap version 2.
*Yes, the yarn name has the exclamation point in the color name. If the dyer thought it was important, so do I.
Let’s call it New Project Saturday, shall we?
That is well aged yarn. It is Old Maiden Aunt, a lace blend of alpaca, silk, and cashmere. Who knows when I bought this, the date on the photo in the database is from 2012, but the dye lot on the ball label is 2009. Knitting from stash, what a concept.
The color name is Whisky Galore, which is no doubt why I bought it, but it really is just the loveliest shade of Scotch whisky.
And what might I be making with this?
How about this?
A Hap For Harriet, by Kate Davies. The pattern calls for Old Maiden Aunt lace weight, though one of the heavier lace yarns from that line. The Whisky yarn is a bit finer, and has the silk and cashmere so will be more drapey, but I think it will be a good match. I also have more yardage (1189 meters) than the pattern calls for, but Kate is nice enough to have instructions in the pattern as to how to up or downsize the shawl to fit your yardage.
I’m off to find needles to match.
I posted a photo of my Evenstar on Facebook yesterday, and got a nice “I love the cream color” comment. The problem is that it’s not cream, it’s a pale aqua blue. Of course then someone had to ask “is it really blue or is it white”, which cracked me up. But I’m easily amused.
It is notoriously tough to take photos in the Pacific Northwest in the winter time and end up with anything close to the right color. Fortunately we’ve had some gloriously sunny early spring weather here, so I dragged my lace outside and got a few photos. There are some shadows from the trees, and our patio table is filthy, so I covered it with a white towel, since I am way too lazy to clean it now when it’s not going to be warm enough to eat out there for awhile.
I’m posting all of those, since I can. Of course it’s not blocked, so you really can’t see the lace pattern all that well, but that is pretty close to the right color. Click on those to make them bigger so you can see the beads!
Beads! Thousands of them! The edging to this sucker is taking forever, and it is very boring, let me tell you. It’s knit sideways onto the shawl, it’s a simple 20 row repeat, I have about 22 repeats left. Each repeat has 50 beads. Yes, I know how many rows and beads that is. It is going to be stunning once it is done, but this is just the really boring part. And I sort of have to pay attention for a couple of reasons. First, it is fine thread, and it’s a cashmere silk blend, so it has no memory and wants to jump off the needles if it gets a chance. And then I have to focus on putting on each bead. So it’s not really good TV or movie knitting. It’s not really whisky knitting either for the same reason.
If it looks like there is a stray white thread in there, there is. After I finished the body of the shawl, I put in a fine lifeline since I’ve never done a knitted on border before. I figured if I screwed it up, I’d have somewhere to go back to. I probably should put one in now after one of those repeats as well. When I get all the way around the circle, I will have to graft the beginning and ending of the edging together, so there will be a lifeline there as well.
And just because I can, here is Lewey. He wandered outside while I was taking photos.
By the way, Wintergrass was a total blast. We had a great time. There were lots of great bands, including some old favorites and new-to-me groups. My favorite of the weekend was Mark O’Connor, who is a terrific fiddler/violinist. He is originally from the Seattle area, though has never been to Wintergrass before. He is a fabulous musician, and plays in multiple genres, including jazz, swing, classical, bluegrass, and American folk. I have been following his music career for years, so it was fun to see him perform. And we got to meet him after the show, he is as nice as he is talented.
My other favorite, which was one of those new-to-me groups, was Steel Wheels, a band from Virginia. They are very high energy, and great musicians. They were a crowd favorite, so hopefully they will be back. Give them a listen, this was one of my favorites that they did.
And another one. This is not as good of a recording, but this was simply electrifying live.
If you want to see some photos, check out my husband’s blog, One Eclectic Guy!
*Work In Progress for you non-knitters!
And it’s DONE! It is about time, is all I have to say.
Pattern: Old Friend Pullover, Peace Fleece pattern by Peg Richard
Yarn: Peace Fleece worsted, color Violet Vyehchyeerom, 6 skeins. Close enough to BLUE.
Needles: Swallow Ivore straights, 5.00 mm (4.5 mm for ribbing)
Started: August 1, 2013
Finished: February 7, 2015
For: John
Modifications: the pattern as written has ribbing on the bottom, but a rolled hem on sleeves and cuffs. I did ribbing to match for all, and did a tubular cast on and bind off. I also brought the neck up a bit, the pattern as written has a bit wider and lower crew neck.
What I Learned: Well, it’s a pretty simple sweater pattern. I don’t think I like the dropped shoulder construction so much in this heavier yarn, but John loves it. I finished the neck last night and tossed it his way, I’m not sure he’s had it off since. And I adore Peace Fleece, but I already knew that. I suspect this will be a well-loved and well-worn sweater.
Here are a couple more photos.
I have been working away at this one for a long time. You wouldn’t think a plain stocking stitch heavy worsted sweater would take so long. I finally finished all the knitting today. Here it is (minus one sleeve-not enough clips!)
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