This top-down shawl plays with movement of stitches, having both subtle curving motion and clean decrease lines. The tessellating wave motif shifts and increases like ripples in a pond.
The uneven picot edging speaks of waves crashing against the shore.
Yarn Requirements: 2 skeins, Impulse of Delight Bluefaced Bliss, 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool. 375 yards per 110 gm skein. Colorways “Blue Skies” and “Lost Lake” Suggested Needles: 3.5 (US 5) 24” or 30” circular or size needed to obtain gauge. Gauge: 22 sts and 24 rows over 4” in pattern after blocking. Finished Size: 52” across the top and 26” from neck to point. Techniques Used: This pattern uses the following techniques:
knit, purl, k2tog, k front and back, yo, p2tog, p3tog, placement and slipping of markers, (k1 p1 k1) in 1 st, sl1 k2tog psso, sl, ssk, psso, and a provisional cast on.
It has been an absolutely beautiful autumn. It’s lasted longer than I thought was possible in this place. We normally have 2 seasons (summer and winter) with about a week of transition in between, but fall has been long, luxurious and sensual this year.
Yesterday the leaves on the maples outside of my office building were falling like snow, and this morning, I stepped from the bus, lifted my head and saw the most beautiful sight. The foothills were purple in the pre-dawn light and the sky was turning fiery shades of yellow and orange with streaks of azure cloud and the whole thing was framed by the vivid yellow, palm-sized leaves of the maples. It was gorgeous and I sat there for a minute just soaking it in, wishing I had my camera, willing my mind to keep that mental picture for as long as I live.
No wonder people in other places that actually HAVE autumn like it so much. THIS is what I was missing.
As the USA heads into another very important election, we are bombarded by a lot of advertisements, slogans, and one-word reasons why we should vote a certain way or against someone else. If you haven’t made up your mind by now, I can’t see any more bombardment making a difference. And that’s not why I’m writing about it today.
My mother sent me an e-mail the other day with Doris Goodwin‘s list of 10 traits of great presidents, which got me reflecting on how I got to this point.
• the courage to stay strong
• self-confidence
• an ability to learn from errors
• a willingness to change
• emotional intelligence
• self-control
• a popular touch
• a moral compass
• a capacity to relax
• a gift for inspiring others
I am clear to anyone who asks that I am voting for Barack Obama. (I am not looking for an argument, so don’t start one, please) Living in Utah, the reddest state in the nation, I don’t hold out much hope that my one blue vote will count when the electoral college meets. Before the primary election, I hadn’t voted in 6 years, but after so long of being apathetic and cynical about the political process, I am inspired by the idea of casting a vote for someone I would not be ashamed to see fill the highest office in the land. For once I don’t feel like I’m voting for the lesser of two evils. And that gives me hope.
I’ll be in Portland on November 8 and 9 teaching some lace classes at Knit/Purl. I’ll be doing an Introduction to Lace Knitting on November 8 and an Introduction to Lace Design Class on November 9. If you’re a Portland area knitter, or making a trip to Portland, come on down!
I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about Knit/Purl, so I am very excited to be teaching there. And my new LYS, Blazing Needles, is sort of a sister-store with Knit/Purl since the owner, Cynthia, is good friends with Darcy. Next year Blazing Needles will get to display the felted thanksgiving dinner that’s in the window at Knit/Purl right now.
Give a shout out in the comments if you’re in the Portland area!
Anne has announced the 2009 Wooly Wonka Lace Club and I’m excited to be a part of it again. This year the theme is Shakespeare. Here is the line-up.
March: Miriam Felton of Mimknits is kicking off the subscription kits with a nod to Othello. She’s taking her design theme from Desdemona’s handkerchief, a strawberry motif, done in a drapey merino blend laceweight dyed the color of (what else?) crushed strawberries.
June: Judy Anderson has chosen a lovely soft periwinkle blue silk/merino laceweight for her A Midsummer Night’s Dream project, a triangular lace shawl knit in fairy lace motifs and sprinkled with sparkling beads.
September: Anne Hanson of Knitspot will be chiming in for her interpretation of Macbeth’s Burnham Wood, with a rectangular stole covered with tree and woods motifs in rich earthy hues on a laceweight cashmere/silk yarn.
December: Sivia Harding has agreed to round out the year for us by taking a cue from As You Like it, following the twists and turns of the plot (which resolve neatly in the end!) in the shawl’s lace patterning, and creating a Faroese-shaped shawl knit in a slightly heavier, fingering weight yarn dyed in a deep blue-black ink color.
Doesn’t that sound great? If you’d like to learn more about the club, or sign up, visit Wooly Wonka’s page about it here. There are only 100 subscription spots total and they’re open to international subscribers as well, so if you’re interested, check it out.
Of course, almost as soon as I post the pattern, there are some errata. They’re simple, but important.
You can see the errata here, but the download has been updated. If you would like to download the updated version, just send me a note using the contact form with your order number and I’ll be happy to refresh your download so you an get the updated version.
She sent me this sketch of a mitten that was dancing around in her brain. A double mitten that would keep her hands warm through all of the levels of Vermont winters. Norma provided the concept, and I worked out the details.
The Inner Mitten is worked at 8 spi from sock weight yarn, creating the perfect showcase for a riot of color or a single skein that you were saving for something special. This simple stockinette mitten would be enough for fall or a quick jaunt out to the mailbox. The Outer Mitten is Manos Silk Blend at 5.5 spi. This yarn is light, drapey and luscious. Use a complementary color of Manos for a subtle look, or a contrasting color for some drama!
Dimorphous means “having two forms”. This pattern blends form and function beautifully.
This pattern is sized to fit a 7.5” hand (measured around the palm) with about .5” of negative ease. This allows for a comfortable and secure fit. The bottom portion of the Outer Mitten is worked flat until the keyhole is finished, and then the rest of the mitten is worked in the round. All other portions of the pattern are worked in the round.
Having survived a week of all-day computer software trainings at work, I am now staring down a week of stay-at-home vacation. This break from work is much needed as I was starting to feel overwhelmed and trapped and very very cynical about my job.
When facing a break, I tend to frantically start typing up loose ends (because I finally have the TIME to do it rather than always leaving everything half done). Last night I processed a bushel of honey crisp apples into sauce, took stock of the remaining half of the flat of roma tomatoes I got last week to make some more salsa, and ran around the house scrubbing carpet stains out with Tuff Stuff. As an aside, if you have stains in your carpet get a can of this at an auto parts store and good stiff bristled brush and you’ll be a happy camper. This gets out the stuff that carpet cleaning doesn’t.
I folded laundry, I washed dishes, I cleaned out the fridge. And when I’m done with some tidying I think I’ll be ready to actually enjoy my week off. It felt like a clean slate, a completely FREE line of days with so many options! But I’ve started making plans now. I will work at Blazing Needles a day or two, spend some time with friends, perhaps eat Tibetan Food, and possibly design something new.
I’ve got a pattern release for you tomorrow, and hopefully a lot more posting in the week to come. But now it’s time for me to dash off to the farmer’s market.
I found my camera cable after having it lost for a while (when I moved everything around to put an eliptical in my house) and just last night got around to finding it. This week is full of LONG hours of training at my full-time job (I worked 10 hours yesterday and barely scratched the surface of the things I have to do besides the training), so I’m just going to catch up in this space.
Pattern: Simple k3, p1 ribbing with k1, p1 ribbing at the upper cuff. Reinforced slip stitch heel, and a 4-pointed star toe. Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks that Rock Lightweight in the Raven Clan colorway “Corbie” Needles: 2.5 mm (US 1.5) Crystal Palace bamboo dpns Verdict: I’m still not sure I like the STR, but they were fairly fast socks, and good colors… I might grow to love it, but I’m withholding judgment so far. After I wear them I might change my mind one way or another.
Pattern: stockinette sock with k2p2 ribbing at upper cuff and calf shaping. Eye of Partridge Heel and random purl decrease toe. Yarn: My handspun chain-plied yarn from a Superwash Merino Bonkers roving. Needles: 2.25 (US 1) dpns for the ribbing and 2.5 (US 1.5) for the rest of the sock. Verdict: I am so in love with them. Every time I look at them I just tell myself “I SPUN that yarn! and I MADE those socks!”. It makes me giddy and totally inspired to finish the spinning for a sweater.
This was my first successfully executed Eye of Partridge (EOP) heel! For some reason all the previous times I was missing that you have to have a regular wrong side row in between the slip stitch rows. 🙂
