Bluebird

"Look! We're a bluebird!"
"Shut up. It's too hot. Hurry, take the photo."

The details:

Bluebird by Rosemary Hill aka Romi

Knit Picks Gloss Lace - merino & silk - Mermaid

2 skeins = 880yds = 100grams

Size 3.75mm or US5 Addis Lace circular needles

S/L blue green beads - size 8

21"x 72"

I did 30 repeats of the center pattern. I had 2 grams left - like to live dangerously! lol! I remember when I first saw this stole on Romi's blog... I knew I had to make it for Poohla. It was an enjoyable knit and well written pattern.

Swatching

Everytime I look through Haapsalu sall, I love Karukellakiri 1 - page 77.

So, I asked in Ravelry what it means and it's a Pasque Flower - purple.

They have rules about what defines a Happsalu sall. Now that I know, I'll probably break every one of them! lol! :D

I swatched using 2mm needles in Cashwool (left) and got 9x8 cms.

I swatched with Zephyr and 2mm needles (right) and got 10x9.5 cms.

But notice how the nupps show up better in the Cashwool?!

I love that twisty thing in the middle too.

I was so excited, I ran out to Main Street Yarn to buy some Cashwool.

I bought 2 skeins - pale yellow & pink. Brought it home and decided I hated the colors, so I'll overdye them!

The yellow one I dyed with Jacquard lilac & a touch of hot fuchsia.

It ended up being a sad mauve. Wooly said, "This is sad, sick, putrid... You're NOT going to knit with this are you? DO OVER." He doesn't hold back his opinion! lol! So I decided to throw it back in the pot with one package of grape Kool Aid and ended up with the top skein! I love it now and think it looks like lilac flowers.

The pink one I overdyed in one package of orange Kool Aid and got a peach color - lower skein.

I might throw it back in the pot with another package of orange to make it darker. Haven't made up my mind yet.

So, I'm all ready to use the lilac skein for Karukellakiri 1. Then I noticed it's similar to Maikell in Knitted Lace of Estonia - one less nupp. Funny, I have Maikell in my queue. I guess I like what I like!

The Gossamer Web

Fleegle opened her Etsy store, and guess what else I like? Maybe too much!

"They're bigger that me!"

Top 3 are Love Potions 3 (hey, it has 3 in it's name, I had to get 3 of them!)

Left is Poppy (Padma), middle is Violetta (Vesper), right is Tequila Sunset (Fiona)

2/36 merino (35%) cashmere (35%) silk (30%)

They're so soft and have that shine from the silk. They live up to their name - Love Potion 3. I want one in every color! Yes, I gave them names, wouldn't you?! :D

Bottom left is Sheherazade in Ultraviolet.

2/36 camel (50%) cashmere (20%) merino (20%)

I'm calling her Shohreh. Deep, dark & mysterious.

She's my favorite. Who knew camel was soft?!

Bottom right is Vorpal Bunny Ranch in Quince.

2/36 merino (50%) angora (40%) cashmere (10%)

I'm calling her Miyamojo. If I were a color, I would be quince.

I've been looking for that color, so I'm thrilled!

What am I going to make with them? Huh? Can't they be pets?!

Well, I haven't decided. One will be Lerwick. One will be Spring Shawl & one will be Spider Queen. I would love to make The Wedding Ring Shawl out of Poppy, but don't think I have enough, not to mention, I don't have the pattern yet.

Be sure and stop by The Gossamer Web and read her stories/descriptions of Vorpal Bunny Ranch & AK47. She's very funny and a dyeing expert. I'm so thrilled that she's making these luxury yarns available for us. Thanks Fleegle! :)

OH! and look in the sold section. She dyed Phoenix Peacock. I almost died! I love that color! NO, I didn't buy it. I wanted to though.

Can't live by lace alone

And look what else I scored! St Aula in Calluna (dark green) & Pebble Beach.

So, yes, I will be knitting something other than lace in the future.

It's all Brigitte's fault! She showed her St Aula on her blog & I died. That just shoved me over the edge. Hers is blue & green. Beautiful!

I enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars. It's all smiles for me. I record it, so I can race through the commercials. I've got to say that I'm so proud of Kelly Osbourne. What a transformation! Gotta give Louis - her professional partner - alot of credit too, great teacher!

"Jonathan is a Smooth Champion like me... Smoothie!"

"Well, all the professionals have turtle tummies like me... Tale Telling Turtle!"

"SHUT UP you two!"

Okay, so I guess Kamati is tired of the peanut gallery. lol! :D

We're officially in Fall now, so I hope you're all gearing up for the holidays and cooler weather.

Until next time, happy knitting!

Peace out! :)

Red Fall

"Here comes Smoothie Cottontail...
hopping down the bunny trail...
WHOA! That's the biggest maple leaf ever!"

Blocking shot. I never get tired of these Chevron blocks!

Post blocking. You can really see the beads shining & nupps popping.

The details:

Aeolian Shawl by Elizabeth Freeman

Knit Picks Bare Merino Laceweight - Geranium

(dyed by me using Jacquard Salmon & Fire Red)

S/L Gold beads size 8

3.5mm or US4 Clover circular bamboo needles

32" X 64" inches

I knit 8 yucca + 1 agave & beaded the edge.

It was a total joy to work on and I love everything about it.

I love Estonian Lace!

I'm ready for Fall... bring it on! :)

Speaking of Estonian Lace... look what came in the mail for me!

Direct from Estonia! If you love nupps, you'll love this book. I can't read Estonian, but the photos are breathtaking. It's full of patterns so you can design your own nuppy shawl. I've been hearing about this book via blogs... the final enabling happened in Ravelry.

I thought my nupps were pretty good... until I saw what they are suppose to look like. HAH! I'm always striving for perfection. :D

Now I want to learn Estonian.

More Red

"I wanna be a bagpiper!"

Poohla's second birthday. Can you spot Wooly? He's 5 years old & brother Snotty is 4.

Look! He's wearing this hat! LOL! I love it!

"Hey Merry! Is that YOU with the red ribbon in your hair? Looking pretty feminine! Who knew?!"

"Yes Michele!... That's me!... YEAH! Who knew?!... I was YOUNG once!"

Which poses the question... are bagpipers made or born?

I don't know either.

Wooly was just singing, "I wanna be a COWBOY..."

He's excited for Fall because he gets to wear his cowboy boots & jeans again...

Bluebird

I'm making progress on Bluebird for Poohla. The only blue bird I've seen are Blue Jays. I just happened to have one and he agreed to stand on the edge.

Blue Jays are really noisy, so you always know when they're around. I was standing in the kitchen thinking it would be nice if I had a photo of a real Blue Jay. Then I heard one... then I saw a flash of blue. I grabbed my camera & there he was standing on the fence holding his nut!

I can't believe I got a photo of him! I love that blue. I'm usually saying, "Hey Jay! You're disturbing my calm! What are you squawking about?"

Speaking of squawking...

Did you notice a familiar photo in the July/August Piecework Magazine on page 3?

Someone from Piecework saw that photo on my blog and emailed me and asked it they could use it. I said they could. Then they told me to write something to go with it. So I did. Then I forgot about it.

Early August I get an email from Anne - who's photo of Harry Bear wearing the bonnet she made got me started on this madness. She congrats me on my photo. Then I get an email from Monika - congrats on the photo.

What's funny is that Anne is in Canada & Monika is in Germany and they BOTH knew about it before me! lol! What a small world! So I called around and got 2 copies, one for me & one for Corey. (Hey Corey! Look! Your bonnet!)

I showed Mom and she asked why Corey's photo isn't in there like those 2 other cutie kids. Corey wasn't born when I sent the photo in and they wanted the 3 hats photo.

geez.

So, I hope you're ready for Fall. It was cool and rainy this morning, so I think Summer is over. That's okay with me, I've got my shawl!

Happy Knitting! :)