ColourMart 2/28 100% cashmere

I thought long and hard before I placed my order, but the price was just toooo good not to give it a go. I mean where else am I going to lay hands on 2300 yards of pure cashmere for $36? So I went for the dark natural color, grabbed my ever favorite Sharon Miller "The Angela" pattern and I cast on. I chose the "The Angela" simply because it's pretty easy to memorize and I knew the pattern inside and out so there would be no guess work...

I decided not to pre-wash, mostly because I'd heard rumors that Habu was coming out with an oiled, coned, cashmere yarn - so if they were going to sell it oiled, why not try it with what I had at hand. Used size three needles, which I'm guessing might be a little large, but we'll see....and went to town.

Started knitting, no issues - except a tiny one, it smells a little dusty? I know this can't be, and the husband and the kid and the in-laws all say no it doesn't and I'm crazy - so I admit to being crazy! Maybe I'm having flash backs to my days in the cutting tool industry and machine oil is forever ingrained in my nose! Which would again make me crazy! Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

I've finished the first section and I'm having to resist the urge to just finish it off and wash and block it!

At the Guild

So how much fun was guild today! So many thanks to all the teachers who gave so much of themselves! Thanks too to all the kind people who fussed over my lace!

As to books here's some of the books I mentioned at guild...

Heirloom Knitting - this is written by Sharon Miller out of the UK. I use this book about everyday. It's pricey, but I think it's worth it. I think Brook and Susie over at the Kirkwood Knittery have one copy over at the shop, otherwise you'll have to order off the Heirloom Knitting website. I think I heard rumors too that Meg over at Schoolhouse Press has them in stock.

Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace book - just out. It has some really beautiful projects, and there's something for every skill level. My problem with the book came with the idea of having to sew on a border. Not one of my favorite things to do. I did have fun learning to bead with the free download from Knitting Daily (good only thru December), but I won't be doing the crocheted on bead thing for quite a while.

Seaman's Scarves and Shawls by Myrna Stahman - I've had this one for a couple of years and it definitly gets my vote as a wonderful book, that also doubles as a pattern library! Again there's something for all skill levels here.

Victorian Lace Knitting - by Jane Sowerby - love this book. Although the projects are lovely there is a wealth of information in the back of the book on construction and designing!

Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn Clark - I just picked up this little gem and I love it! But make sure when you're ready to start you have the needles in your hands. It makes everything so much easier!

Rose Red

I've been self-indulgent, all I've done is knit and not really written about anything. It's really more fun that way! Not to mention I'm a bore, that is until yesterday...I think it's time to get started on something way fun, funner than anything I've attempted to date! I believe that starting the first of the year I'm going to attempt Sharon Miller's Lerwick. YIKERS! But I also feel the need for a little cash/silk cobweb, but I need to stay in the silver family since dark colors are playing havoc on my eyes lately - I am not aging gracefully! Join me for the insanity?

Rose Red and Estonian Lace Scarf

This is my Rose Red- it is actually called Shadows and Light by Evelyn Clark in her "Knitted Triangles" book. I really love this book, I know some people have said that in trying to make it usable for a novice knitter they've actually made it harder. I disagree. I think that this little gem has something for everyone and every level. Personally I learned a lot about "transitional" patterning rows! And yes it took me about an hour to truely understand how it was supposed to work - but I have learned so much from this book!

The second one is "Estonian Lace Scarf" which is my Nancy Bush and is being offered as a free download until December on Knitting Daily website. I'm not real crazy about picking up all those stitches around the outside and then knitting out to the points. But on the other hand it sure does beat having to knit the border separately and then SEW it on! I tried beads instead of nupps - gotta say I'm a fan of the nupps! Beads just thru my timing off.

Also note to self - when doing the edging shown in this pattern, the swallowtail and almost all the knitted on edges in Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace, go down one needle size when binding off. I know that this is contrary to most modern lace knitter's instinct. But I've found that if I go down one needle size the "scallops" actually hold up better during continual wear. Has anyone else tried this

Curse of the Empty Needle

After finishing my Lily of the Valley Scarf from Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace I immediately ran down stairs to block it! I think it came out great. Now for the down side, I decided to block my Leda's Dream Shawl and I blogged the process. (Thanks for all the great feed back!) Which meant that my needles sat empty for almost 72 hours. Yup EMPTY. Way back when I was told that if you let your needles stay empty they will be cursed. And it's true. I have made 2 days of failed attempts. I tried four different patterns with multiple starts at each, all FAILED.

Then last night at 9 pm while watching election returns (as of this morning Missouri still wasn't finished counting) I started Lyra. And after only 20 minutes of collecting up supplies everything just clicked again. So note to self - no more empty needles! I'm not much on keeping multiple projects going, but that is changing...starting now! So I'm also going to go thru my Victorian Lace Knit Today book and cast on a scarf. Besides I don't think Lyra is the sort of thing I should carry around!

Off to class...to date I've only lost one student. Toni is the furthest and as of last week was appling her beechleaf border. Valerie was memorizing her beechleaf border and should start this week. Sharon is now starting to knit her faggoting round after finishing her garter stitch center, and Anne is almost half way done with her center in garter. Note to self, only teach small projects!

How I block...

Everyone always asks me..."How do you block"? I personally always think that each project deserves it's own unique method. But on the day I'm writing this down I'm working on blocking my Leda shawl so I guess this is as good a one to document as any.

First off one of my major weapons is...Pantene PRO V Rainy Day 4 Curly Hair Shampoo and Conditioner from the Walgreens. Yes there are many wool washes and shampoos around but the Pantene was in the bathroom one day and I used it, and the shawl came out so well I've been using it ever since...same bottle for over two years. NOTE - this only works on HAIR, not silk or bamboo or acrylic! So I fill the basin with warm water, I disolve about a 1/2 teaspoon in the sink then add the shawl. Swish it around for a bit and let it set for about 10 minutes. Then I empty the sink and run clear water over the shawl until it stops sudsing. Then give it a good rinse in tempid water. Then I fill the basin with warm water again and disolve about a teaspoon of the conditioner. Throw the shawl in and swish it around a bit. At this point things may feel a little...slimey! Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Empty the basin and rinse with clear running water for about 5 minutes. This process seems to tame the fibers that "poke" some people and make them itch. It acts the same way a good conditioner works on unruly hair. With it you have a great hair day, without it...you may want to knit a nice hat!

Now for weapon number 2 - my salad spinner. Personally I recommend a dedicated spinner for knitwear unless your family enjoys their spinach with hair. Throw the shawl in and give it a couple of good spins. This gets rid of most of the excess moisture and will cut down dramatically on the drying time.

Pull it from the salad spinner and grab the 3rd weapon- the ugly plaid sheet! Yes a sheet, you'll save yourself tons of time if you throw a plaid sheet down, now you can pin to the lines instead of having to constantly stop and measure. Final secret weapon...the wires! These are readily available from lots of different places. I know that the Kirkwood Knittery has some, mine are ancient and I got them from Myrna Stahman. I usually start in the middle and work to the ends of the longest side. Since the Leda has straight sides I threaded the wire thru each of the slipped stitches being careful to slip them consistently! When stretched this stitch adds a really pretty border down the side of the shawl and distributes the tension evenly down the sides. I know that there are other methods...string, frames, pins, etc. I've used them and depending on the project they may be a right choice, but this is my preferred method for this type of shawl. Personally I like something more along the lines of the wave pattern at the bottom of the shawl...just slide thru the one big hole and then the next. Easier on the eyes and much faster....

Now the tricky part. I only say this because this is where the majority of ooop's can occur. Generally I pin out the part of the shawl the furtherest away from me. So following a line on the sheet start placing pins between the wire and the knitting (never ever ever stick a pin in the actual fiber itself! You want the stitches to be able to float up and down the wires.) Pin to a little less than stated finished size. YES you will be moving pins a lot! You then start stretching the side closest to you a little bit at a time. Really take your time, stretch too little and you loose pattern definition, stretch too much and you'll end up snapping one of the stitches floating on the wire. So stretch and pin, stretch and pin, until you get a fabric that you like. If there is a border in a border situation, look thru the holes in the fabric and locate a line to follow! I then pinned out the bottom and top with individual pins to shape. Starting size 47 inches x 18 inches. After blocking 72 inches by 22 inches!

So Leda''s Dream (from Pink Lemon Twist - $2 ravelry download) is knit in KnitPicks Shadow (about $9). The shampoo and conditioner (too inexpensive to matter) make it buttery soft with a beautiful drape. Knit time about a week, blocking time about two and one half hours. This was a fun pattern with NO ERRORS! I shortened the pattern because the owner is very petite.

It's Here

Oh my gosh - it's here - it's finally here! Nancy Bush Estonian Lace! You won't be hearing from me for a while I've got things to do!!!!! NUPPS HERE I COME!!!

12 in 12

I love this hat! It's based on the hat in Sunny's Mittens book. I cast on 80 stitches, did 3 ridges of garter stitch, knit plain for an inch and a half, added 3 more ridges of garter stitch. When the hat measured 5.5 inches I decreased at five equally spaced places and then finished off. That gave me the band to play with. It just looks soft and warm and snuggly. Hopefully it will appeal to the whoever gets it! This was 11 of 12. And finally 12 of 12 was another freebie Frivol off the net. Again I used stash yarn on both, but there is still so much stash yarn left I wonder if I'll ever knit through all the acrylic odds and ends. Which leads me into what I've learned from the 12 in 12 self challenge....

Let's see - it's easier to complete a task if there's a little competition involved. Even if it's self imposed! I need to thank rms for posting her FO's to match mine! She's amazing! I also learned that I've been knitting lace tooooo long. All the yarn I used felt huge and let's not talk about the needles!!! (I didn't even own a set of size 8 double points!) Also my wrists ache! I am a fiber snob, I'm thinking that I'll donate all my acrylic yarn to guild so I don't have to feel icky about not working on it's depletion! (The hubby says this is part of 6 Sigma and he's proud of me?)

So this all started with guilt from Toni, followed up by a missing order from ColourMart (guilt from the universe?), but it taught me a lot! Now according to rms, she had about 8 people asking for my "With Grace" over the weekend, I need to write that up pretty soon...I need to join Procrastinator's Anonymous...tomorrow!