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! :)

Dyeing for The Queen

My first attempt at dyeing yarn ever, in my entire life...
I say I got lucky! Beginner's luck for sure! LOOK!
Same color as my Japanese Iris! I'm calling her my Japanese Iris Queen!
I used Jacquard Lilac + Hot Fuchsia.

My favorite flower... besides my pink peony.

It's 2/52 gossamer yarn. Merino (60%) Cashmere (20%) Silk (20%). It's Fleegle's 'Perfect Yarn' which she has named Phoenix. She bought it in Japan & loved it, then realized she bought the last skein ever. She contacted a mill in China who could reproduce it for her, but the minimum order was 50 kilos. She asked in Ravelry's Heirloom Knitting/Princess group if anyone wanted a cone or 10 skeins (both equal a kilo). I ordered 1 kilo in skeins, with the plan to dye it for my Queen. Fleegle is going to open an online store later this year. She's dyeing yarn like crazy & will have laceweight too. I'm pretty sure she will do well since lots of people know her & she's got a great reputation & an awesome knitter. I'm thrilled to be in on this from the start! I'm usually asleep when great opportunities arise.

I also dyed some Knit Picks Bare Merino laceweight...

and got this! Lilac + touch of Hot Fuchsia. I'm going to make Mom's Christmas present out of this.

I also made what I'm calling Geranium for my Aeolian out of the other skein of KP Bare laceweight. Fire Red + touch of Salmon. I was so anxious, I forgot to take a picture of the skein.

Which is good, because nothing has been thrilling me since I finished The Princess.

I've also started Bluebird for Poohla's Christmas present. This is KP Gloss - Mermaid. It's a little more green than this picture.

I asked Poohla what her favorite color is this year. She said, "Turquoise!" I fell on the floor, because turquoise is MY favorite color. I dug through my stash & took her 5 skein of various blue/greens and asked her which is her idea of turquoise? She chose the Mermaid. Then said, "But that (lacey lamb) is the color of turquoise stones..." which I consider turquoise! Good thing I asked!

I'm going to try and get Christmas knitting & maybe Delphine done before starting The Queen. Last year I was rushing and ended up hurting my shoulder. Don't want to repeat that.

I hope to be dyeing more for myself later too. I still have 8 skeins of Phoenix, which will make 4 more large gossamer shawls. Fun fun fun! Oh! and I found out that you can test the color you made in your pot by dropping in a little yarn. I didn't know that! Like I said, "Beginner's luck!"

Have a great week! Sending some luck your way! :)

My Princess

"Dreams don't matter, unless you make them come true..."

Look!

Can you believe it?!

Oh My GOD!

I knit this?! Me?! Really?!

Look! I can wear it!

I can fly!

Center feather detail

I'm in love!

Really smitten!

Can't stop smiling!

I can't believe I finished this!

Breathe. Okay. Now the details.

Princess Shawl - Sharon Miller
Heirloom Knitting Gossamer Merino - 220grams
2mm US 0 Knit Pick Circular Needles

70.5" X 109" point to point
140" around upper edge
134" around bottom edge
26" from edge through Border to Center edge
24.5" from edge through border's center feather to Center edge pt
4" edge points

Started 1/1/2008
I took Laritza's advice & knit 72 edge points, picked up 12 sts per point + 1 in the middle = 865 sts.

After Center completed, I knit 2 rows, yo - K3 tog - yo break row to mimic the break row before the Border. Knit 2 rows. Took Seaglass' advice & short rowed, so there was no jog.

On the final edge I ran out of yarn. Ordered more 20 grams.

After I finished, I wasn't thrilled. I thought the Border looked too short & the Center too big. It really looked like Havarti cheese.

Wooly called me out & said, "You need to block it. It always looks like shit before you block it. DO IT NOW!"

I was skeptical. Washed the kitchen sink & let it soak for 30 minutes. Blocking took me 1.5 hours ... I'm anal. Water spray bottle was my friend.

Couldn't believe the transformation! I'm thrilled with it! Love it! Can't stop staring & petting!
Finished & blocked 7/31/09.

Photo shoot 8/1. Almost had a major disaster. Zipper on my dress is NOT my friend! Shawl got hooked on it. Wooly saved the day. No damage. Whew!

Boy, this sure was an emotional roller coaster ride. I'm glad I finished on a high note. Glad I stuck with the wool too. It was really smooth & strong (2ply) and blocked out great. I kinda still wish it was a color other than natural white.

I need to thank everyone for their encouragement, support & advice. I would have never completed this without you. Love you all!

I still can't believe I knit this. ME! *happy dance*

So, what's your dream?

I think I've got a Queen in my future! :)

But don't hold your breath. There's a lot of thinking & planning to do for Her.

Onward & upward! :)

Unplug

I finished Aeolian for Mom's birthday.
Gotta say, I absolutely love everything about it and wish I could keep it for myself.

I only had 1 skein, so I made the shoulderette with the narrow edge.

Not the true color, but I'm trying to show the beads.

Hand Maiden Sea Silk - 70% silk 30% Seacell - Melon

S/L Transparent Light Amber AB beads - size 8

Clover bamboo needles - 3.5mm US4

23" x 42"

I really want to keep it for myself.
I'll be making a large one for myself soon. I'm not going to edit the beads. The big decision is which yarn to use. I have lots of precious lace yarn... one will be sacrificed for this dream project. :)

Unplug

We decided we needed to 'unplug' and go to Cannon Beach Oregon.


Here we are by Haystack Rock. This will be our Christmas photo. Unless we come up with something better.

Wooly complained about my camera (Nikon) the whole time we were there. When he looked at the photos on the computer, he said, "HEY! Your camera takes NICE photos! I look ALOT better here, than in real life!"

Dude, the camera doesn't lie! He drives me crazy! He wished I had brought the Canon, but I wasn't going to drag it around with me.

We really unplugged and had fun drifting along. We're having post-vacation blues now.

Self timing camera fun.

You know the song... sing it with us!

Getting to know you...

Getting to know all about you...

Getting to like you...

Hoping that you like me...

Getting to know you...

Putting it my way, but nicely... (Wooly's sock!)

You are precisely, my cup of tea!

We went to Brother's house and had dinner with family & friends.

Mr K loves his camera (like brother & I).

I told Brother to look at the photos Mr K took...

Brother: "Who taught Mr K how to do the self timer?" while giving me the evil eye.

Me: "I don't know... Not me!... HONEST!" LOL!

We had the camera on the top of the couch.
Mr K was thrilled that the Wii was in the photos too. :)
I was thrilled that Corey & Wooly joined us... and that we had the giraffe & duck in the photos too.

Spending time with kids is another great way to unplug!


You know, I haven't knitted a stitch this last week. I didn't take knitting to the Coast. Since we've been back, I've been at work, or it's been too hot.

Since I last posted, I got through chart 1 of Genevieve.
I got half way through the final edge of Princess. I'm so ready to be done with Her Highness!

So, until next time, take a break & unplug! :)

Curse Continues

Sure enough! I ran out of yarn on the final edge!
Remember how Unst took me 3 tries?!
The Heirloom Knitting Curse continues!


The good news is that I knit 2 row, knit a break row, knit 2 rows, after I completed the Center... and took Seaglass' advice & short rowed them, so there is no jog.



The Princess has been sitting in her sexy bag...
I got an additional skein...
See it sitting in the bag too...?
There they sit...

Genevieve

While I was waiting for the yarn to arrive,
I decided to test my fate...


I started Genevieve. I ordered the kit from Renaissance Dyeing when it first came out. It's been sitting next to me on my couch ever since. I would pet it & admire the colors daily.

I 'talked' to the dyer via Ravelry & she suggested I get started. LOL! :)

Being the type that doesn't disappoint... I started.

Wouldn't it be funny if I ran out of yarn... NOT! LOL!

Aeolian

For Mom's birthday, I'm knitting her Aeolian.


I'm using Handmaiden Seasilk & S/L Gold AB beads & Bamboo needles.
It's absolute heaven for me.

I think Elizabeth Freeman is a genius. I loved Laminaria & made 2 of them. I'm going to make another Aeolian for myself. It sure has a lot of beads though. Might edit that on mine.

What's Blooming?


My pink Peony is blooming. I wait all year for them to bloom. Love love love them! I didn't get as many as last year. I think it's because it was a tough winter.

Despite lots of stress in my life, my neck & shoulder has stabilized! YAY! And my range of motion for my arm is better than normal! YAAY!

I still have a 'chicken arm' when I put my hand on my hip, and can't put it behind my back. Doc says that's going to take longer, so keep stretching that tendon. Will do!

I took Mom out to lunch & told her about my 'battle.' Poor Mom was biting her fingernails & finally told me I need some peace. Funny, my brother told me, Wooly & I need a spa day. I told him I need to go by myself... he laughed. Wooly is working on being kind to me. I think it's fear aggression... you know, like dogs. He's not use to me being less than 100% and doesn't know how to say, "Hey, I'm worried about you..."

Work has been a real pain in my headache too. I don't know why I can't handle the stress of it all. We get to keep the 11 positions, but all the full time people only work 38 hour weeks through the end of the year. People are pissed. I keep saying that we ALL win, but am concerned about what will happen next year... do they cut hours down to 35?!

Anyways, at least I've got Aeolian to work on! Absolute joy!
OH! and it's sunny!
And I'm on my summer schedule - work 2 days per week!

YAAY!

Have a great week! :)