Every time I look at this photo I want to eat this again

I was in Melbourne the week before last, and am finally getting around to processing photos. My sister took me to Borscht, Vodka and Tears and I ate a lot of (delightful) pierogies.


My dad and I went to a football match at the mighty MCG for the first time. Look at this weather! Is that not the perfect first MCG experience? (I'm actually not being sarcastic).


The game could have been a little bit more exciting, but at least this old scarf is still going strong. I did have to confiscate it for repairs after the Sydney game we attended last year.


We also visited Hosier Lane - there is information about some of the art here.

She lets her ladder down for those who really shine

Rhonda asked for photos of the bracelets on my wrist, and I am happy to oblige. They seem to go with my casual vibe these days (I'm still on long service leave).

Latest obsession

I know I saw instructions for this method somewhere online in the last few weeks, but I can't find any trace of that tutorial now. Luckily I remembered the basics of the method from when I first read it. It's a three-strand plait (braid) with beads placed in the middle of the plait on every second cross. I already had quite a collection of coloured waxed cotton (and I found a few more colours in the dollar shop yesterday) and lots of beads of all kinds. Only certain shapes/sizes of beads work - some of them won't stay in place properly in the plait. So far I'm only really happy with the turquoise beads. But I think there will be some more good ones to unearth from my bead collection.

Your smile seems softer than it was

Okay, I'll admit it. I am on long service leave and have been for a month. Not that you would know it from my output. I seem to be doing just a little more of everything (reading, sleeping, socialising, exercising, knitting, felting, mooching around), none of which adds up to anything substantial to report.

But I do have some nice before'n'after photos. Those are always fun.

One small idea that wafted into my head was to do a felted rainbow something. This little grey pouch wasn't carefully planned, as you may be able to tell from its slightly odd dimensions. I didn't want the flap to obscure the rainbow, the stripe sequence needed a certain number of rows, and then I needed more grey at the bottom to balance it. It probably should have been wider to balance the length.

I used these instructions for travelling jogless stripes but I think the execution is flawed. It looks really messy to me. Maybe I wove in the ends too tight.

However, felting hides a multitude of sins. Actually in this case it only almost hides the mess, though it may not be obvious in the photos. Felting is great for hiding messes. I think with the right simple project, felting might be ideal for beginner knitters. I certainly take advantage of the opportunity to be slack with things like weaving in ends (I don't really bother for most projects) and keeping tension even on DPNs. I often use really large ones - 8mm or more - and don't fuss about the loose stitches at needle changes. For any other project I have to keep an eye out for ladders and tend to constantly move the stitches around the needles. And this has resulted in annoying spirals more than once.

That pear has been stuffed but won't have its stalk and final shaping added until it dries.

Sampled

I'm getting ready to tackle a project that has been waiting in the wings for a long time - the Orenburg Honeycomb lace scarf by Galina Khmeleva, published in Piecework Magazine (May/June 2010).

I started a swatch - mainly to see how the stitch pattern worked and if the needle size was appropriate. And I finally learned how to do a long-tail cast-on. From the photos and the chart, the honeycomb didn't look very difficult, but in her introduction to the pattern, Khmeleva notes that many of her students find this motif more challenging than the other basic elements of Orenburg-style knitted lace. This made me wonder what the other elements looked like, and I found some of them here, with a pretty interesting story to go with them, too.

I cast on using red Filatura di Crosa Centolavaggi, which is basically the laceweight version of Zara. This is the yarn I was always planning to use, but then I remembered some Knittery handpainted laceweight I've had stashed for years, and gave that a try. But the Centolavaggi is so nice, it's totally the winner.

And then I decided to keep going, turning the swatch into a kind of sampler. A messy, unbalanced one - not the kind that ends up in a museum 100 years later!

Felting for beginners

Here are some of the latest finished pears. I do have a few people waiting for some, but for now, while I build up a decent batch with a good choice of colours, they are decorating the coffee table.

I've also been sequinning again. I now have a delightful range of transparent colours and sizes. The loose sequins are also decorating the coffee table, and sometimes (oops) the carpet.



And I was tickled pink last week when I heard that as part of their summer Yarn Camp, Lancaster Yarn Shop, in Pennsylvania USA, wanted to run a workshop using my pod pattern. I was delighted to be asked and very happy to give my permission.

Can I buy another cheap Picasso fake?

I have some time off work and have been making lots of pears.

Moda Vera Mousse (70% wool, 30% soya) is good for felting and I tend to stock up each time I find it on special at Spotlight.

I was there last week, a frustratingly mistimed visit, as I must have missed the big yarn sale by a day or two. I did find a nice multipack of clear sequins - sequins are not just for Christmas - but I had thought I would be coming home with wool...so I scoured the shelves for something worthwhile. And I found what I thought was more Mousse in the perfect pear colour.

Although the price stickers did obscure the name of the yarn, I should have checked more carefully. A blend of acrylic and milk fibre? Not going to felt. This stuff looks and feels almost exactly like Mousse, but it is a totally different yarn, Chantilly. And I had knitted three pears with it before I realised. I'm glad I hadn't tried to felt them yet - I was able to unravel them and start again with the Mousse. Not sure what I will do with the two balls of Chantilly though. I'm thinking maybe a lacy cowl, though it's not a colour I would normally choose.

Over the hills where the spirits fly

A few years ago, I knit a big red scarf for my sister. Then it was stolen at a party. I had more of the wool (Cleckheaton studio mohair) and wanted to make a replacement, but she wouldn't let me, she said it wouldn't feel right. I still feel that another big scarf is due to her, when the time is right.

However, this one was for a friend's birthday. I had the idea to buy her a lovely hand made scarf, perhaps something woven. I looked around and couldn't find anything that was right. K thought I was being strange, why wouldn't I knit one instead? Partly it was because I was worried about timing, but then we ended up being late anyway and so I decided to take the time. And it actually was quite quick and very satisfying to knit.

My plan, such as it was, was to do the same basic concept as my sister's scarf (which I hope might be still making someone happy, preferably not the nasty thief though), a big chunk of lace in about 8ply. I tried using the same red mohair with a different lace pattern. It was working, though I found the chart really slow to work through. However, the main problem was that I wasn't sure about the colour and also the yarn - mohair is not for everyone.

Colour-wise, what I had in mind for her was a very deep dark blue. But when I saw this hand-painted Misti Alpaca Tonos Worsted at the Woolshed, I knew it would be great. And I hoped my sis would forgive me for going back to the Print o' the wave motif after all. It just seemed like a perfect match, those ocean-y tones with the wave lace pattern.

I had a hard time getting a good photo of the hand-painted colours ('Tealing Blue')- it looks a bit too light and blue, and I thought it had more green in it.
Isn't it difficult to discuss colours online? I always get a shock how much my photos can vary when seen on different screens.

The reason it was quick to knit was that it's only 54 stitches wide including the garter stitch border (on 6mm needles). Actually I think last time I didn't even do a border. I also did the whole scarf in one direction this time, I didn't think the grafting in the middle was worth it, especially as it is more likely to be wrapped casually around the neck as a scarf rather than draped formally with the waves cascading symetrically in each direction. Although my grafting skills have definitely improved since 2007, I seem to remember the pattern doesn't mesh perfectly together in the two different directions, anyway.

Let the sun breathe us in

Three years ago, my sister was expecting twins and I made two little cardigans for them. She had the baby knits out the other day, as she is getting things ready for the new baby on the way.
There's no immediate need to knit for the new one, as there are doubles waiting for him or her in a couple of sizes. But of course, when the time is right I will make something special for my new family member.

It was perfect timing to be reminded of those cheezels as I was just starting/planning another cardigan for a friend's baby. I had been thinking of adding a couple of grey stripes, but realised just in time that that could look a bit school-ish in maroon and grey. I think this motif, borrowed from a Knitty.com pattern called Nieman, worked much better.

I also reused Carole Barenys' seamless top-down raglan pattern. I doubt I'll ever knit a seamed baby garment again. This was for a boy who's a little bigger than a newborn, so I switched to 5 ply wool (Heirloom Heatherwood, which is not really just maroon, it has blue and red in it, really lovely stuff + a little bit of some grey vintage stuff) with 3.75mm needles, and added a couple of stitches too. I also did the buttonholes every 10 ridges instead of 12 - when you omit the garter ridges in the pattern, I don't think it needs as many rows in length (the ridges would make it pull up a bit).

These last two pictures were taken before I washed it. It's amazing how much better knits look after being washed (in this case soaked for a while with a little hair conditioner in with the wool wash) and laid out nicely to dry. I suppose this IS blocking, though I can't bring myself to call it that, when it's the same thing I do when I wash and dry anything handknit or delicate. In my mind, blocking involves a special effort with pinning and/or wires.

For the colourwork rows, I consciously kept things *really* loose, and for the first time managed to avoid the pulling-in effect. Very happy about that.

now's no time to hesitate

The other day I took some more items in to the Craft ACT shop. They regularly stock my pears and bowls there, and they sell slowly but reasonably steadily, which is fine with me. It might be hard to keep up with faster sales, and I like knowing that they are there for people to see, even if they don't always buy.

However, I have been wanting to develop another product I could sell there, and thought that this necklace might be a good contender.


A while ago I made another one to send to my aunt. Here they are posing together.

For us sort of quiet types it can be hard to put yourself out there. I knew that they are selective about what they stock - and I'm cool with that of course. I happened to be wearing the necklace (not planned on this occasion, though I had worn it before hoping it would spark a conversation) and as our business was being concluded, I pushed myself to say 'have you seen my necklace? I'd like to show it to you as a possible item to sell'.

And then, as I fumbled with the clasp, the bloody thing fell right off my neck!

A jump ring had come unattached from the felt at the side.

I had no option but to plough on, 'ah well of course it is a prototype, and I plan to use sterling silver findings, I have some oxidised silver chain at home which is really nice, anyway what do you think?'

Talk about an uncomfortable silence. To be honest, the reaction ended up being pretty kind, though not exactly enthusiastic.

It actually wasn't really until I got home, pulled the wretched thing out of my bag and replayed the experience in my head, that I realised just how mortified I was. What awful timing. How hard it will be to try again.


The one I made for my aunt used oxidised sterling silver chain which I bought on etsy. Aunty, I do hope it is standing up to a bit of wear but if it falls apart, call me!