Startitis and Fibre

ETA: apparently "startitis" is the wrong word because I actually finish my started projects. Apparently "prolific knitter" is the more accurate title. But I wasn't going to call myself that.

Oooh, look what arrived yesterday. My order of BFL spinning fibre from To-Ply Fiber Arts. I'm going to spin it up the finish my Earth Day / Wheel of the Year project.  It's long overdue to be completed.
I love how fibre (and spindle) orders from independent dyers typically come with mini samples of other fibres - to tempt me. This order come with a silk hankie in a gorgeous fire colourway. I've yet to spin silk, let alone from a hankie. This should be fun!

The mini braid of merino-silk called to spun up immediately. I whipped out my mini turkish spindle from Threads Thru Time and finished up this single. Now I'm quickly plying it together (from both ends of the ball - one of the joys of working on turkish spindles) on my medium spindle (also from TTT).

The fibre I actually ordered is two braids of this BFL in Snowy Pines. I think it will nicely compliment the Earth Day colourway I previously spun up from this same dyer.

As you can see, I'm experiencing a wee bit of startitis... If the recent projects weren't evidence enough, I just started two shawls designed by Canadian Judy Marples. The blue is a Calais Shawl (using my leftovers from the Evenstar shawl). You can guess why I wanted to knit up this pattern soon. The golden is her new Harmony Shawl design, which I could not resist. Hey, they are both stash-busting projects! The golden is Painted Fleece merino/seasilk in Goldie Locks colourway. I picked this up a few years ago at the KW Knitters Fair. One of my fabulous finds in her 50% bin! (Along with the Evenstar yarn actually.)

Nausea? What nausea?

It dawned on me today that I must be free and clear of the first trimester - because I don't feel nauseous!
It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
Also makes me have to be more diligent about eating because there isn't a constant reminder that food and I have a close relationship right now.
And not eating is a bad idea.
I still need to keep up my energy -- baby-growing energy.  Got to put on the weight - for two wee ones.
Fortunately, last time I weighed myself at my weekday workplace I was still on track gaining good weight.  I'm counting my weight gain now from my pre-Abi weight because that's my 'normal' weight.  The BFing weight was lower (by just over 10lbs) and once I quit BFing I think it was rather inevitable that I'd gain back those few pounds to what had always been my 'normal' weight (and which, incidentally, is supposedly an 'ideal' weight for my size - which is why I've never fretted about my weight and never had to 'workout' or pay particular attention to my diet, besides nutrition for nutrition's sake. I digress.).
Anyhow, last time I checked I was up to 152lbs and that was over a week ago.
And the belly keeps growing.
But I've yet to start tracing it! Bad, bad me!

As for my first trimester aversion to knitting, I know that I can knit stockinette or garter because I'm just finishing up a Yule doll for Abi, complete with dress, undies, shoes... You'll see later. It's in hiding and I don't want her to accidentally see it on the computer.

I haven't tried my hand at lace yet.  Finishing up some simpler projects first that are overdue.  For example, Robin just reminded me that I was knitting fingerless gloves for him.  I'd put them aside in the late fall once it became obvious that he wouldn't e needing them for biking for another 6 months or so. Weather got too cold for fingerless hand coverings.  But I said I'd finish them for Yule... yikes. Time to finish those doll shoes and then find the gloves... in the black hole of knitting stuff that is my former office.  That black hole is coming in handy right now to hide gifts.

Oh, and I'm starting to feel guilty about not having prepared any sort of holiday cards this year... as cards start arriving here.  Every year I tell myself we'll do it, and only occasionally do I get around to writing cards.  (Note the usage of "we" and "I".)

Speaking of preparations, I'm quite proud of Robin this year. He's out shopping for my Super-F'n-Awesome gift right now (that's what I asked for).  Yes, and it's not even Christmas eve! There's weeks left until Yule and Christmas.  Clearly I need to ask for a SFA gift every year to get his butt in gear. As for the rest of his family... sorry folks, but I've made it clear to Robin that I am not taking on responsibility of doing ALL the gift work.  At this time of year I've got enough to worry about gifts for my family, nieces and nephews, BFFs, and my local crew of friends (since I've accrued quite a few awesome folks in my life).  I've got cookies to make for potlucks and cookie exchanges. Ornaments to make for ornament exchanges... and far too much knitting to do.  Which, by the way Robin's family, if you ever want something knit you just have to ask and I'll consider it. At the very least it will make gift-planning easier even if it (a large item) takes a few years. We have time, right?  (My family knows this.)
I haven't even mailed out my gifts yet... la dee da...

Back to laundry.

Where'd my Be-Bo* go?

Last night I discovered my cute little belly button has disappeared - transformed into a large bowl valley in my tummy.
I think that's a good indicator of how these babies are expanding...

I also learned yesterday that my aversion to knitting during this first trimester is not unique. Apparently most of my knitting friends had an aversion to knitting at this point too.  It seems weird to me, still, that just the thought of an activity would make me more nauseous.   I'm pretty sure I was knitting at this point when pregnant with Abi. I remember I started a small baby blanket (and I was very new to knitting then) just to have some focus and reminder of the pregnancy because I couldn't 'feel' anything. You know, because in the early months you don't feel movement, etc. But maybe I didn't get started until second trimester...
Regardless, I've had to force myself to at least work on the knit-a-long design. But any plans I had for Yule knitting have been tossed.

*"Be-Bo" is a tiny hippo's way of saying belly button, as per the Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton. Not that I'm a hippopotamus. But if I were, I'd at least like to think that, relatively speaking (compared with other hippos), I'm a tiny one.

Mittens for You to Knit

I'm very excited to see my friend's mitten design in the new Interweave magazine Jane Austin Knits 2011. The lovely Anne can tell you all about her own design at her blog. Go look. And then choose your yarn. Or follow the links to see more from the magazine.
Her design was also featured on this morning's email issue of Knitting Daily - which is how I knew of the release.
I've been waiting with almost-as-much anticipation as Anne to see the final result. I remember when she started with an idea. Then a chart. And a swatch... And then acceptance from the magazine. Oh, and then the very short deadline to knit up the samples for the magazine. It's very exciting! You know, as a designer and knitter and friend. Not necessarily in that order.

Me, I'm knitting mittens too. Mine are simple mitts for Abi, but I am pleased with the yarn. It's my own handspun. Using up the bag of romni wool fibre I bought many years ago - for non-spinning purposes. I deliberately plied it loosely, but that was before I had plans for the yarn. It was Robin who suggested I make Abi new mittens. And to keep them warm, I'm using small needles (2.25mm). And the fluffy yarn is proving to be less-than-cooperative at times, but they are coming out lovely and warm. They're a little tight to get on, but she can fit her hand through the cuff. So they'll simply be nice and cozy tight to keep the wind out - and to keep them on!

Note how the barber-pole yarn transforms into beautiful fabric.

Lace and Spinning

You may be aware that I love lace.
I find there is great inconsistency in how lace yarns are 'listed' or categorized. I was curious to compare some of my favourite laces to see how they look, side by side.

L-R: 1) My handspun single. I am making this a 2 ply, but it's still a lace weight. (see below for plied photo)
2) Black Grignasco Merino Silk - this is probably one of the finest lace yarns I've purchased and is a 2-ply. As you can see, my handspun single is pretty close in thickness. (Look at the shadows too.)
3) Red Baruffa Cashwool - I'm looking forward to knitting with this. A light 2-ply lace.
4) Spice Trail Montague - ah, my favourite yarn base, Montague by Waterloo Wools. Same yarn used for my Battle Weary shawl, my Green Embrace, and my current Tread Softly shawl. It's a tightly plied, 2-ply merino-silk lace yarn. The yarn has lovely stitch definition because of the fiber content and plying.  Especially when compared with how loosely the other lace yarns are plied.
5) Orange Wellington Fibres 2-ply mohair/wool (80/20 blend) - I've had this (and a green skein) forever. I really must knit it.
6) Yellow Centolavaggi - a loose 2-ply lace. From my 2011KALendar shawl.
7) Green Shelridge Farms soft touch lace - another loose 2-ply
8) Green, hand-dyed knit picks bare lace - a 'medium' ply, 2-ply lace. A bit wider than the others.
9) Handspun single - Mermaid colourway of some fancy fibres sent as a sample with another order.  I deiberately spun this thicker than the other singles I've been making (for lace) because of the angelina content. Plied with some plain white for more of a DK weight yarn. (see below)

My favourite remains the Montague for its stitch definition and colourways.I'm looking forward to knitting up the black with some small needles in an intricate lace shawl (for my mom...). I think it will take a while.  The green hand-dyed also has a lot of purple in it (we were actually aiming for a more ocean-themed colourway with blues... totally did not turn out that way). It's for mom too.

Not content to simply purchase mill-spun lace yarns, I of course have to spin some. Here's my current collection of tools:

Far left - a top whorl suspended spindle that I made the other day.
Next - my new supported spindle by Thomas C. Forrester that makes lovely lace. So far I've spun one set of alpaca singles.
Blue - my newest turkish suspended spindle in size 'medium' from Threads Thru Time
Orange - my tiny turkish spindle also from Threads Thru time, which is great fun for carrying around and making lace.
In package - a Knit Picks turkish spindle. A friend is currently borrowing mine and this will be hers. It's a large size.
Bottom: the 'stick' I used for stick-spinning.
Not shown (oops) - my new Rakeshaw spinner that works much like the stick. Mine was made by a local guy and purchased through a guild member. (Yes, I've joined the KW Knitters Guild this year - finally).

And here are the 2 most recent mini skeins I spun:

Singles - showing how the 'mermaid' is thicker. As you can see, the tiny spindle does not make very large amounts of yarn. It's still a lot of fun!

Mermaid single - this wee ball maxed out what my tiny spindle could hold. It wasn't very difficult, by the end, to wind the yarn on to the arms, but I wasn't about to finish with a small amount of fibre left.

Teal singles

Teal plied together.

Mermaid plied with a white wool-silk single whipped up for this purpose. You can't really see the shiney angelina here. I think I'll knit something like a small Yule ornament with this.  It is very loosely plied - deliberately so.

Last night I borrowed a book on the history of Orenburg lace knitting. (The knitters Guild has an incredible library that I now have access to.) I look forward to learning more. I've also been reading Wrapped in Lace and Knitted Lace of Estonia, which have a lot of information about regional lace styles and methods.

Mystery KAL - spoiler alert

As you should know, I'm leading a mystery knit-along for a new design of mine called Tread Softly. The KAL is over on Ravelry, but it's closed to new members now. The complete pattern will be available in January. It has been a lot of fun to share my design and watch other projects in progress. I only see a small fraction of the WIPs. Sometimes I go to the Projects page from the main pattern page and look at more. It's also been quite the ego-booster, I must confess. A lot of wonderful praise about the pattern. I knew I loved it, but one never knows how others will appreciate the design. Especially when it's a mystery. Each new section is an entirely different pattern of stitches around a forest theme.
So far I've released 5 clues (the most recent came out 'today' - technically I put it up late last night).

The shawl at the end of clue 4 - plus a few rows of clue 5.

The central leafy and floral motif.

Bear paws and berries on a branch. (Or some saw these as flowers such as bluebells and maybe lion paws. They can be whatever the knitter wants - within reason.)  Some of my knitters have been replacing the nupps (the 'bumps') with beads. Those look lovely too.

Clue 4 - some paw prints going the other way towards the edge.

Evenstar FO

At long last, the glorious shining Evenstar shawl is finished! I knit this between Oct 2010 and Aug 2011, although there was a long period when I did not work on it. I needed a break.
Click on pictures to see larger versions (and I've shrunk them considerably already, so it won't fill your screen.)

The full circle (mostly) hanging on the brick wall (imperfectly, but you get the idea).

The radius of this shawl is about 28"

Yes, it was worth every minute...

...and every bead placement.

My shawl was knit with Painted Fleece merino lace yarn in sapphire blue that I picked up in the 50% bin at the KW Knitter's Fair 2 years ago (almost 3 now since the next fair is quickly approaching in September - same day as wedding number 2 for the summer). There were two full, matched, gorgeous skeins just sitting there in a bin. I have no idea how they could still have been there when I arrived since I certainly was not the first person in the door. There were no knots in the yarn, it knit up like a dream, it blocked out beautifully, and when washed there was barely any blue in the water despite the mass of yarn soaking. I paid $24 for the pair - of hand-dyed yarn. All 1760 yards of it. I'm confident it was destined to become my Evenstar.

Pictures still do not do the colours and the beads (iridescent, pearlized, and metallic blue) justice.

I'll be wearing this to a couple of evening weddings this summer closed with a lovely handmade silver shawl (technically it was made for hair, but same technique for use) pin I purchased at Spirits of the Earth Festival from Angelyques.

P.S. Dear mommy, I honestly do not post these photos to taunt you with my beautiful lace. Let me remind you that this beauty is coming to you later this month - hand-delivered with love.

Before I forget, this hand-knit shawlette in hand-spun yarn (purchased, not spun by me) will also be accompanying me for donation to a fundraiser.

Once again, photos do not do justice. There is red sparkle in the yarn.

So many Hatchlings

Normally I don't like to knit a pattern more than once.  There are so many more patterns I would love to play with, that I usually don't see the point in knitting the same thing.

Apparently, that is, until my Hatchling obsession.  I recently finished another in a golden, silky yarn. It's divine. And a gift. Shhh. Surprise. (You don't know who it's for and the person may or may not ever read the blog, so I'm really not worried about ruining the surprise.)

 

  For context, I also made these ones:

Today I picked up MORE yarn to knit ANOTHER one. This one will be donated to a fundraiser being held for my cousin and his son.  My cousin is terminally ill with cancer and is not insurable (that's my quick summary of why the fundraiser is being held).  I also grabbed some lovely handspun yarn to whip up another shawl for the fundraiser.  Both will have to be finished by August 19th - not a problem.

Speaking of Hatchlings...
within two days two new baby girls entered my circle of loved ones!
My sister had a baby girl named Sara on our wedding anniversary date.
Yesterday (two days), later my friend had a baby girl named Brielle.
Aren't those lovely names?
Another local knitting-friend is due (with another girl) at the end of summer and her baby shower is coming up.
Consequently, I've been handling a lot of baby stuff - to gift (and to lend to my sis). Going through Abi's old stuff brings back so many wonderful memories.
I've yet to see any of these beautiful girls in person, but I will soon.

Handspun Hatchling

Finished spinning and plying this yarn in time to knit up the last half yesterday and block it in time to wear this week at Fest.  This Hatchling Dragon shawl is staying with me! Sorry, I can't part with it. But I have a replacement gift Hatchling already started.

Have I mentioned that I spun this yarn? Because I'm rather pleased with it.  I wouldn't use a striping yarn with this pattern again though. I still love the shawl, but the stripes are not ideal.  However, I'm willing to forigive that flaw because, well, I SPUN THE YARN.

Evenstar

 If you follow the blog rather than the FB feed, you may have noticed a couple spiffy new widgets on the left sidebar that show my Ravelry FOs (that's "finished objects" for the non-knitterly/crafty folks) and WIPs (works-in-progress).  One of the pieces I am pleased to finally be finishing (slowly but surely) is my Evenstar Shawl.  I started this back in October. It's knit with a fine yarn on fairly small needles (3.25mm).  There was an extended period where I was tired of a very repetitious section that was taking forever - so I put the project aside.  I picked it back up again in April and eventually finished the main body by end of May.  Then I couldn't find the pattern for a while, got caught up with other lace shawls, etc, and here I am in almost-July finally working on the edging.

 As you can see, it's a heavily beaded edging. It's slow going. I'm aiming to work two chart repeats a night because I want to make sure it is finished in time for a September wedding. There are 56 chart repeats. That's 1120 rows and 2800 beads.  I've finished 9 repeats so far.

The shawl is unblocked, so the stitches are bunched together.  I've attempted to lightly open up the stitches in this last photo to give an idea of the finished look.  (I also managed to slide the needle out of several stitches while doing this, but was able to fix that with minimal difficulty.)

As I finish up this shawl, I'm much of the way through another circular-knit shawl.  The new one is a square shawl.  I'm working on the second last main body chart. There's probably another 20 row chart after that, and then the knit on edging (much as the above shawl).  The new mystery KAL (knit-a-long) shawl currently looks a little something like this (but with more rows since the photo was taken).  It follows the story of Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne.  In the photo below I had finished the "China" clue/chart (like dragon scales). Now I'm working on "Japan" (cherry blossoms). Also seen here is India, Egypt, and England.

Finished Projects

In light of the recent posts concerning incomplete projects I thought I would share a photographic list of finished projects from this year, in order of completion:

A slip cover for Robin's archos using the leftover yarn from his Yule socks. Made it up sans pattern.

An indecisive ribbed scarf with vertical and horizontal stripes. mine. I was asked to share this technique last year so wrote up a tutorial.

My first shawl of the year. My own design to use some dreamy mocha-pink handspun yarn I bought locally (before I started spinning!) Bought the complimentary pink silk-blend to go with it.

A Carcassone hat for a friend's birthday. My design.

A Decepticon slouchy hat. Chart is not mine, but the colouring is. And I hand-dyed the yarn for the gradient effect. This was a special request from Candace.

Some socks for mom using a simple slipped stitch pattern to break up the variegated yarn.

A crocheted Festival shawl as a surprise for a friend who had surprised me with this yarn as a gift. This was my first beaded shawl. I also knit myself a lacy cardigan with the yarn last year.

Abi's pink and blue scarf using yarn she dyed and plain white. Knit with double garter.

A Fibonacci Sequence toque for dad.

An Ethereal shawl for a friend.

Another crochet shawl using up yarn from my stash. I kept this one, although I'd assumed I would gift it.

Rhombus socks for mom in a Raven-way yarn from Blue Moon Fibrearts.

A Traveling woman shawl for a friend with yarn that Abi dyed.

A strip for a collaborative gift blanket using yarn that Abi and Isaac dyed.

A spring shawl (Summer Flies) for Abi using up more yarns that Abi dyed - and a little of my handspun yarn too! I haven't bothered to block it, but I can to make it grow with her.

A Hatchling Dragon shawl for my sister. My design and the yarn had been gifted to me by another friend who doesn't like bamboo yarns - which she discovered after buying some lovely bamboo.

My Battle-Weary Dragon shawl. My baby. My design. Many beads.

A Windermere/Tigers Eye stole for mom. The never-ending thing. ( Not as never-ending as my Evenstar. Or the afghan for Veronica we shall not speak of.)

A quick Lotus hat for me from my stash.

My green Sweet Embrace stole. Nupp-ilicious and I adore this yarn from Waterloo Wools. Same as the Battle-Weary. There's another skein in my stash...

A bucket hat for me using old cotton I've had since I started knitting again.

A quick crocheted Geoui shawl using up stash yarn that pooled terribly when knit. I think the pooling works in the crochet design. This one was gifted to a friend.

My rainbow-licious Antonia shawl. I could not resist when I saw this single skein of rainbow lace yarn.... Then I cursed myself for buying a yarn nearly impossible to match to a pattern. This worked. I love it. mine!

An Indigenous shawl using up the yarn I bought many years ago while in Saskatoon with mom for a conference.

A sweater for Abi in the pink (of course) yarn she chose from a local yarn store closing sale. A simple raglan I made up as I went with a diamond lace motif.

Another strip for another collaborative piece.

The mystery knit along shawl from June.

The Undercover blanket Abi and I made

An Echo Flowers shawl in my favourite yarn - Waterloo Wools Montague. (Same as Green Embrace and Battle-Weary Dragon above - different colours of course).

The End - for this moment less than half-way through the year...