Category Archives: Knit

My winning ways

Posted on July 15, 2009 | 12 comments

I won a contest! Twisted’s June contest was “Flowers and Knits.” I submitted this picture of the beginning of my Malabrigo Sock yarn Ishbel in our purple irises, and it was the winner.

The prize is this pretty embroidered bag.

The beautiful irises from the photo don’t look so lovely any more, but that doesn’t seem to bother my little friend.

Thanks, Twisted!

When I went to pick up my prize, I also picked up two skeins of Mirasol T’ika, 100% Pima Cotton, 83 meters/50 gm. I’m going to make another Baby Bolero from Leigh Radford’s One Skein for a little girl scheduled to debut at the beginning of September. (Two skeins for a One Skein sweater sounds funny, but if it were a 100 gm skein it would make sense.)

The WIPs just keep stacking up…

I’ve been a cookin’ fool since I got home from vacation. A lot of blueberry baked goods! And tonight’s dinner, lemony zucchini pizza. I adapted a recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Instead of goat cheese, I used ricotta. DH wasn’t sure he could wait for me to photograph the pizza.

But I prevailed.

It was delicious; this recipe is a winner, too!

12 Comments

Posted in Knit, recipe

Tagged Knit

Voilà Ishbel, encore

Posted on July 12, 2009 | 18 comments

The blue laceweight Ishbel is done, finally. She took a little trip to Vietnam, had some good knitting on the plane over, and then completely languished during her time there. I was too tired in the evenings to knit, because I was waking up at 4:30 every morning due to the time change. I did a little knitting in Tokyo, but couldn’t knit Ishbel on the way home. I had a little scare with my circular brass needles with airport security in Vietnam, and didn’t want to risk having to take Ishbel off the needles on the way home from Tokyo. I finished here at home.

Unblocked, the shawl measured 46″ x 17″

This is the lace pattern that I was never able to memorize, even after finishing two Ishbels.

Blocked, the shawl measures 56″ x 22.5″

So the sheep says.

Ishbel, pattern by Ysolda Teague
Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Silk Lace, color Deep Blue
Addi Lace needles, US size 5
Weight: 32 grams

Mods: I made the larger stockinette center, and the smaller border.

This shawl is beautiful. It’s extremely lightweight and ethereal. It is destined to be a gift. There’s more than enough yarn left (46 grams) to make one more, or I may play with some ideas from Evelyn Clark’s book, Knitting Lace Triangles. But not any time soon. Sock Summit is coming, and I have homework!

BTW, I did make Blueberry Boy Bait the other night, after buying more butter. (It takes a cup/half pound!) And it was delicious. The boys of the house were quite taken with it, and so was I. The only problem was that it was bigger than my largest platter, so the ends fell off. We ate them right away, warm, so it wouldn’t look bad. Altruistic, aren’t we? 😉

18 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged ishbel, Knit, lace shawl, yarn

Curiosity

Posted on June 30, 2009 | 9 comments

I’ve made two lace triangle shawls so far, the Shetland Triangle and Ishbel. I think it’s ingenious how these start at the center of the neck, and grow out from there. I want to know more about how this works, so I bought this book.

Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn A. Clark. The Shetland Triangle is one of her patterns, and it was a fun knit. This book is kind of a recipe book for knitting triangle shawls using four different lace stitches. You can use one, two, three, or all four of the different lace patterns. Ingenious! All of the patterns increase four stitches every other row.

What I really want to know, though, is what happens when the increases are more frequent, as in Ishbel. I know it makes the triangle shallower, but what happens to the lace at the sides? I guess I’ll have to chart it out and see.

9 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, lace

I’ve got the blues…

Posted on June 25, 2009 | 13 comments

And I love them! Blue is my favorite color. I’m still plugging away on the blue Ishbel and the blue Ruffle Tank. And now I’ve won some beautiful blue yarn from Lorajean at Knitted Wit.

It’s 400 yards of fingering weight sock yarn, colorway Blue Sky. Lorajean noted that I don’t knit socks, but that’s not completely true. What’s true is that I don’t knit socks with fingering weight yarn! Someday I may. But wouldn’t this blue make a gorgeous scarf or shawl?

I also harvested the first of the blueberries on Sunday when I got home from Carmel. I made blueberry cobbler, and we had it with vanilla ice cream for Father’s Day dessert. It was delicious! While I was picking the berries, I noticed a blue jay on the corner of my roof, with a big fat blueberry in his beak. I think there’s enough for all of us, but that was pretty cheeky of him!

13 Comments

Posted in Knit, recipe

Tagged birds, blue, blueberries, Knit, knitted wit, yarn

Piano weekend

Posted on June 22, 2009 | 10 comments

Picture this: Sitting in your seat, knitting on an airplane. A pattern is on the tray table; Ishbel is in your hands. A ball of blue laceweight yarn is on your lap. You shift in your seat slightly, and the ball rolls off your lap, under the seat in front of you, and down the aisle…

No, it didn’t happen, but I was visualizing it as I was knitting. Just in case, next time the yarn should be in “cake” form!

The weekend was lovely. Five erstwhile pianists (I think only two of us are actively playing right now) who met at piano camp several years ago. Two more piano buddies came down on Saturday to play for us: Satie, Grieg, Mozart, Bach… D’s piano sounds fantastic in its new space. It sounds rich and round. The space is very open, with a cathedral ceiling. And the view from the piano is inspiring, looking across the Carmel Valley.

How could I not be inspired to play? I re-acquainted myself with the Granados Waltzes from Valses Poeticos. And the Adagio movement from Mozart’s K 332.

Friday afternoon’s sky was especially lovely.

Saturday’s walk took us down by the beach.

In other piano buddy news, fellow piano camper Katie Hafner’s book on Glenn Gould, A Romance on Three Legs, is now available in paperback. The book is a great read. Katie is one of the smartest, funniest, and most charming people I’ve ever met.

I did a lot of knitting on Ishbel while listening to my friends. But it’s not done yet. :sigh:

10 Comments

Posted in Knit, music, piano, travel

Tagged Knit, piano

Travel knitting

Posted on June 18, 2009 | 9 comments

I’m going away for a weekend with the Piano Babes. Too bad I haven’t played the piano very much this year. Oops. Knitting and blogging have taken up a lot of my leisure time! But I’ll try to resurrect the three Granados Waltzes from Valses Poeticos that I played this year. Wish me luck.

I’m trying to decide what knitting to take for the plane. I think my socks on dpns (poor languishing Kai-Mei) would be a bad choice because it’s so easy to drop a needle. Circular needles are great for plane knitting, because you can’t drop one! That means I should take the Ruffle Tank. Or my new Ishbel. Or both.

New Ishbel? Yes! I was feeling sorry about not using that glorious blue Claudia Handpaint Silk Lace. It was a bit spendy, and I was feeling guilty. I bought some Addi Lace needles, and it has made all the difference. I also went down a needle size to a US 5. The silk glides along on the metal needles, and I’m a happy camper.

This doesn’t meant that I don’t love my Lantern Moon Ebony needles. They’re still my favorite. And they’re working great on the Ruffle Tank! I finished the back, and have cast on for the front. This is a great knit, just enough pattern to it that I’m engaged, but simple enough to knit while watching old episodes of Firefly. Mmmm, Firefly. I’m going to be sad when the 14 episodes are done!

Have a great weekend! What’s on your needles?

9 Comments

Posted in Knit, piano, travel

Tagged addi lace, ishbel, Knit, Ruffle Tank, yarn

I feel lucky…

Posted on June 15, 2009 | 14 comments

And I am! I’ve won two contests in the past week, and am now the happy owner of two new sock patterns. The first is Zoom Zoom, by Samantha Roshak at KnitQuest.

The other is Cotty, by Carrie Sullivan at IrishgirlieKnits.

These both look like fun knits. I have Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Alley-Oop, and I think that will work for Cotty. I’ll have to buy (twist my arm) fingering weight yarn for Zoom Zoom. but I’ll probably wait for the market at Sock Summit.

Thank you, Sam and Carrie, for the patterns, and for permission to use your pictures, too!

For someone who wasn’t a sock knitter, isn’t it funny that I have sock patterns, sock yarn, and am going to Sock Summit in August? Never say never!

14 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, knit socks

WWKIP Day: Where did you knit?

Posted on June 13, 2009 | 22 comments

I made it to two WWKIP Day events. The first was at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. I met the organizer, BubblesAnne from Ravelry. It was great to meet her in person; last fall I knit several squares for a charity afghan she was making. We knit, met some nice people, and answered questions about why were were knitting at the market. I forgot to bring my camera, and completely forgot about pictures.

I also went to Pioneer Courthouse Square to knit with Melissa, KnitFemme on Ravelry and Twitter. She said they’d be on the stair, so I circled the place and didn’t see any knitters on the stairs.

Then I noticed the group at the end of the flowers. There were a few more people at this gathering, and even more after I took this picture with my phone!

Don’t ask me names, though; I’m really bad with names. I think that’s Emily on the left? I do know that she made the most delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies. Wow!

After all the knitting fun, I helped DH at a wine-tasting event. The wine was tasty, and so were the Moonstruck Chocolates!

Here’s the sky at the end of the event:

Where did you knit today?

22 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, WWKIP Day

Promises and Potpourri

Posted on June 11, 2009 | 14 comments

I can’t remember exactly when our blueberries ripened last year, but there are promising signs out there.

All five bushes are heavily laden again this year. I hope they’re ripe soon; I love blueberries!

My Ruffle Tank is showing signs of promise, too. The knitting is easy, and it’s a great take-along knit. I’m almost to the armhole shaping on the back, and still on the first of three skeins of yarn. I don’t think I’m going to run short.

It’s interesting knitting with this linen/merino mix. It’s string-like, but not really hard on the hands. I know that when it gets washed and dried, it’s going to get a lot softer, and it will help even up the stitches, too.

And one more sign of promise:

This robin is nesting in Carole’s lilac. Since our wreath nest was abandoned, Carole says we can share this one instead.

In other local news, Lorajean of Knitted Wit is having a contest. She’s participating in Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis, a fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. For every $5 you donate to Take Steps on her behalf, she’ll enter your name in a drawing for some wonderful prizes, including a Lantern Moon circular needle case, and hand-dyed yarn and fiber.

Deb Accuardi of Mt. Hood Fibers is starting a local sock club, which includes a lunch at Gino’s Restaurant in Sellwood (Portland) with every yarn/pattern release (every other month from October 2009 through August 2010).

And lastly, Saturday is World Wide Knit in Public Day. Last year I was on a camping trip, knitting in a field. I have several choices for this year: Hollywood Farmers’ Market at 8 a.m., Pioneer Courthouse Square at 10 a.m., or Hillsboro from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get your needles ready!

Looking for a WWKIP Day event near you? Check here!

14 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged contest, Knit, Ruffle Tank, WWKIP Day, yarn

Ishbel, you heartbreaker

Posted on June 8, 2009 | 30 comments

Heartbreakingly gorgeous, yes?

It’s been a bumpy road with Ishbel. First, I chose a yarn that I didn’t enjoy working with. Then I switched to a different yarn, and ran out before I was done. (Sooooo close. 1.5 rows, plus bind off.) After a rescue by KellyinTexas from Ravelry, I finished the knitting on Saturday.

Here it is unblocked.

I was pretty pleased, and started the wet block process. I bought blocking wires last year after making my Shetland Triangle shawl. These are a great invention. I love how easy it is to pin out points with these. But seriously, I am going to have to get a plain white towel for blocking. This cacophony of color is just too much!

What is it about a blocking shawl that is so attractive to cats?

As I was pinning the shawl out, I noticed this disintegrating section (without the needle in it, of course).

I must have dropped a stitch during the bind off. I was devastated. But there was nothing I could do, until the shawl was dry. Which gave me time to think it through. There were bound off stitches on each side of the dropped stitch(es), so that meant the run was confined to a small area. After Ishbel was dry, I picked up all the live stitches I could see, and then removed the blocking wires. I tinked back the bound off stitches (luckily, this was near the end), and then proceeded to recreate the three rows that had ripped out. This took three tries to get the lace pattern correctly. I finished binding off again, and voilà!

See the second from the bottom motif on the left? Yeah, I fixed it. Due to the bit of curl, you can’t see the whole motif, but it’s there. It just needs to be blocked to bring out the point. But no, I’m not going to re-block the shawl right now. It’s just fine the way it is.

But I have a comment, and a question. I never quite memorized the lace pattern, despite the fact that the repeat section is the same in sections A, B, and C. Is it because I was fixating on the holes, and not the solid parts? Which is figure, and which is ground? The branching holes, or the solid parts that look like leaves on a vine? What do you see?

Despite all the stumbling blocks, I’d love to knit this shawl again. But I think I’ll make the larger size with the smaller border, or the smaller size with the larger border, to make sure I don’t run out of yarn again! And this yarn blocks like a dream, and is soooo soft. I’m going to love wearing this!

Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague
Larger size, with larger border
Malabrigo Sock yarn in Violeta Africana, one skein plus a few more grams!
Size 6 (4 mm) needles (Lantern Moon ebony circulars)

30 Comments

Posted in Knit, ravelry

Tagged ishbel, Knit, malabrigo, yarn