lace – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Clouds Beret

In the spring of this year, I decided to work up a lace beret. I’ve had the pattern written up and completed for some time, but did not want to publish it until I had included more photographs in the publication.

I am really pleased with the pattern, and my test knitters did a wonderful job correcting mistakes, as well as posing for pictures. These wonderful people include Judy and Donna, as well as models Alicia and Emmy.

Today, I posted this pattern on Ravelry, and on the Patterns page here on Ink, Yarn & Beer. Here are some of the photos taken in the process.

94 Days Until Christmas

The Buttoned Cardigan is at a point where I have to focus and pick up stitches for the sleeves. I like to do this when it is quiet, when there is good daylight, and I can listen to music that soothes the nerves. Calmness. Once I’m there, I will be able to work on the sleeves and watch a movie, but until that point comes, it is time to work on more mindless projects, or at least the sections which I deem mindless. And, with only a few days left for Christmas, I felt it was a good time to begin work on projects for family members.

The two projects I have going on right now are Anemoon, by Lucy Sweetland, and Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague.

Lucy Sweetland is a very talented designer and photographer, with an eye for clean design combined with beautiful touches. Anemoon is an example (see below). Her Emerald Mitts are also another example. Check out her blog, A Black Pepper. There is a link for her under the “blogroll” to right, as there is for Ysolda Teague of Scotland. Ysolda is another talented designer who creates everything from little mice and mushrooms to intricate sweaters.

Anemoon

A number of years ago I attended a conference at Asilomar in Northern California where I took a dyeing class with Nancy Finn of Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks. From this workshop, I have about 300 yards of single ply mohair-wool blend that is sort of a mottled purple. Knitted up, a stitch here and there stands out, bright against the rest of the stitches. It is this yarn that I am using for the Anemoon beret by Lucy Sweetland, author of “A Black Pepper” blog.

I think the word “anemoon” is Dutch, and means “anemone” in English. The anemone is a beautiful flower, elegantly simple.

This beret is like the flower – very elegant, simple, with a sophisticated design. Cables emerge from the body of the beret, not out of the ribbing as most cables do. A number of plain, purled rounds are done, and then the cables begin, like a stem, to emerge and twine, with bobbles like flowers to add interest.

Straight out, cables annoy me! I really don’t like the idea of doing an Aran sweater at all. In a beret or hat, cables don’t go on and on and on. Much more fun!

Anemoon is intriguing because the cables weave in and out, yet are held within four panels which repeat themselves. I’ve separated out the panels by containing them with different colored stitch markers setting up their boundaries, and a different one to mark the beginning of each round. For someone like me who doesn’t like doing a lot of cables, Anemoon is the perfect project. What you see here was accomplished, once the ribbing was done, in a few hours of a lazy afternoon. I’ve totally enjoyed the rhythm of the cables and watching them grow along with the hat.

This yarn makes me think of storm clouds as they fly across the sky. Colors shift and puddle, and then change in the blink of an eye.

Ishbel

I began Ishbel just a few days ago, and am in the process of doing the stockinette that leads into the lace. Pleasant, easy knitting – perfect for doing in front of the television. The color is a lovely turquoise merino-bamboo blend single-ply. I’ve got about 400 yards, so the small Ishbel may be the one I end up making. As a shawl, or neck scarf, the yarn will be very pleasant against the skin as it is not scratchy at all. I am making Ishbel for a family member who walks to work; she can wear it on those chilly mornings approaching so soon.

Who Gets Anemoon??

While I’ve got definite plans for Ishbel, I must admit, this Anemoon may end up on my head! I’ve got the ribbing of another started in a white tweed for another family member . . .

And for More Distraction . . .

Look what came in today’s mail! I’m in trouble now! I still have my Selbuvotter mittens to finish!

Old Vines Scarf

Last week I completed a scarf I had been knitting for awhile, using up some of the stash I “discovered” (read “rediscovered”!) out in the garage: 3 balls of a handpainted Paton’s yarn I bought some time ago.

Once finished, I did something I have never done in my life – I blocked a knitted item! To do this, yet another item was excavated – the cutting board from my sewing days. T-pins were boughten from the nearby JoAnn’s. Then, into the washing machine on the washable woolens cycle, soaked and rinsed, spun out, and given a final soak in hair rinse before the final spin-out. Then, out to the patio, to the picnic table, and the process began. The old cutting board was spread out, the scarf was flattened and blocked out. It sat there from about 8 a.m. to the end of the day.

The scarf wanted to curl up on itself, so the first step was to move along its very long length (just over 6 feet), and begin patting it flat.

Next decision on how wide it was going to be. I decided on 8 inches wide, and pinned it out so that the curves created by the pattern were enhanced. I pinned each crest on the edge out to 3 inches apart. Making the scarf 8 inches wide opened up the eyelets – on the needles, the scarf was about 6 inches.

The scarf was too long for the cutting board, so I folded it over on itself. Dried, there was a bit of a crease, but easily enough steamed out.

On the backside of the scarf, you can see the pattern of the eyelets. These next pictures give a better idea about the color of the yarn, as well as the overall pattern.

The picture below is a pretty good approximation of the real color of the yarn – soft and misty.

Normally, I don’t really like variegated yarns with lace or textural patterns. Everything gets lost in the color, so why waste the energy on a fancy design as well? This, though, worked out. The colors are soft and subtle, and make me thing of vineyards in the fall and the fog rolls in. Soft colors, subtle shadings.

Next on the agenda: write up the pattern, take “professional” pictures (ha!) with my husband modeling, and create the pdf file. This, and my Clouds beret are nearly ready for publication and offering on Ravelry! Tomorrow, my in-laws are coming for brunch, and my MIL, Judy, will be bringing her Clouds for show and tell.

And in the meantime – ARF! I’m actually knitting Continental, using what I learned from Heather’s Norwegian Purl video. Sweet! The only thing I do differently is how I knit – I knit through the front of the stitch, but do that oh-so-easy Norwegian Purl. (What a pearl of a video!) Pictures at a later date!